May 15, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Steven Ihm, a member of the University of Iowa men’s golf team, has earned a sponsor’s exemption for the PGA TOUR’s John Deere Classic.
The 2013 John Deere Classic, held at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., marks the 43rd annual PGA TOUR event in the Quad Cities and the 15th year for John Deere as the title sponsor. This year’s tournament runs from July 8-14.
Ihm, a junior from Peosta, Iowa, was one of six Big Ten golfers to earn first team all-league honors earlier this month. The former Wahlert High School standout led Iowa to the NCAA Championships a year ago, and to its fifth-straight appearance in NCAA Regional competition this season.
A second-team All-Big Ten selection last year in his first season with the program, he carries a team-best stroke average of 71.46. Ihm has provided Iowa’s top individual finish in 6-of-8 stroke play tournaments. He has a team-high four top-10 finishes and has played 15 rounds at or below par. Ihm earned co-medalist honors at the Hawkeye-Great River Entertainment Invitational (211/-5) and the Boilermaker Invitational (211/-5), becoming the first Hawkeye to win back-to-back stroke play tournaments since Brad Schuchat in 1970.
Ihm earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors for the second time of his career on April 24. Ihm has also notched top-10 finishes at the Golfweek Conference Challenge and the Rod Myers Invitational. At one point in the spring season, Ihm played seven consecutive rounds at or below par. Ihm is ranked 64th in the Golfstat Cup Standings and 67th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
Ihm is believed to be the first University of Iowa player to receive a sponsor’s exemption as a collegian in the 43-year history of the Quad Cities’ PGA TOUR event.