Aug. 2, 2011
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Riverside, Iowa – University of Iowa redshirt freshman Ian Vandersee has become the first Hawkeye to qualify for the 2011 U.S. Amateur. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native punched his ticket with a tournament title at the qualifier held August 1 at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course in Riverside, Iowa.
With the top two finishers advancing to the U.S. Amateur, Vandersee finished three strokes ahead of runner-up Nate Dunn of Hiawatha, Iowa. Aided by an opening round of four-under 68 and followed by a consistent second round of 71 (-1), Vandersee posted a tournament total of five-under 139. He recorded a tournament high eight birdies with just three bogies.
With an appearance in 2009, this marks Vandersee’s second trip to the U.S. Amateur. He will return to Iowa this fall to contribute to a program that is currently ranked ninth in the nation by Golfstat.com and No. 17 by Golfweek.
Considered to be one of Iowa’s home courses, Blue Top Ridge plays to just over 7,500 yards from the championship tees. The par 72 layout was designed by Rees Jones who owns a list of more than 100 courses, including seven U.S. Open venues, five PGA courses and three Ryder Cup sites.