2018 Champion Derek Jacobsen

Atlantic native Derek Jacobsen rallied to win the 60th annual Tournament of Champions at the Atlantic Golf and Country Club on Sunday.

Jacobsen started the final day a shot back of past champion Matt Weresh and fell behind a few strokes before eventually grabbing the lead on the 17th hole. Jacobsen had a strong stretch on the front nine scrambling for par on the 4th hole and following that with three straight birdies. It was a tight race until the end. Matt Weresh lead the entire day until a bogey at the 15th. That put three players in a tie for the lead at -1 for the weekend: Weresh, Jacobsen, and Zach Christensen.  The tie held through 16 and then Jacobsen launched a great drive on 17 and took advantage by getting close in two and making birdie. That gave him the one shot edge that he would hang on to. Weresh had a chance for birdie skate by the hole on 18 and Jacobsen just needed to tap in for par to win.

Jacobsen finished with a weekend total -2, 205. He shot rounds of 68-69-68 on the weekend to grab the win. Weresh was Runner-Up at -1. Zach Christensen finished 3rd at Even. Barry Smith was 4th at +3 and Andrew Martin, Matt Haley, and Jake Olsen finished at +4.

Senior Champ Darron Baker

Past Senior Champ Darron Baker was the Senior division champion by two shots with a weekend +12, 219. Baker shot rounds of 73-71-75 to beat out Daryl Armstrong who was two shots back.

Super Senior Champ John Willmore

John Willmore completed the Tournament of Champions grand slam by winning the Super Senior Division by one shot over two- time defending champ Arnie Leistad. Willmore shot +2, 209 for the weekend. He had rounds of 68-69-72. This was his first year playing in the Super Senior Division and the win adds to his prior titles in the Open and Senior Divisions.

Thanks to all of players, volunteers, AGCC staff, and spectators for another great year of the Tournament of Champions.

Derek Jacobsen, Darron Baker, John Willmore

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Luke Weaver cut his finger while opening a food tray in the clubhouse at Kansas City and was scratched from his start against the Royals. Weaver had been scheduled to pitch Sunday.

The accident occurred Saturday night when the righty sliced the index finger on his pitching hand on the aluminum foil covering a tray. Super glue was applied, but it did not hold sufficiently for Weaver to pitch deep into a game.

Tyson Ross, claimed by the Cardinals last week off waivers from San Diego, pitched in place of Weaver. “He cut it on the piece of the topping,” Cardinals interim manager Mike Shildt said. “We found out about in the seventh inning. It just made sense long term to give him the day off.”

“It’s on his right index finger. He probably could have started, but it just made sense to not push it and have him throw 90 or 100 pitches. We didn’t want him to miss another start,” he said. “We want to put this behind him and have him move on to the next start, and give Tyson Ross an opportunity. It’s worked out for Tyson and for us to have a quality starter, and he’s available and is on more than regular rest.”

The 24-year-old Weaver is 6-10 with a 4.66 ERA in 23 starts.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jack Flaherty struck out nine in seven innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 8-3 for their fourth straight win. Harrison Bader and Jose Martinez each hit a two-run homer, helping the Cardinals move seven games above .500 for the first time since June 12. They are 15-9 since Mike Shildt was named interim manager on July 15.

UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs will be without starting safety Daniel Sorensen for the start of the season after he had surgery to repair a broken shin bone and damage to his left knee. Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder described the injury Saturday as a tibial plateau fracture, which involves the upper part of the shin. Sorensen also damaged his medial collateral ligament and tore his meniscus when he was hurt last week.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — After largely avoiding the junior college and graduate transfer markets under coach Kirk Ferentz, Iowa found success a year ago with one-and-done running back James Butler. The Hawkeyes might have landed another good one in transfer Mekhi Sargent. Sargent parlayed one brilliant season at junior college power Iowa Western into a full ride with the Hawkeyes. Ferentz says he envisions a three-man backfield, with Sargent complementing freshmen Toren Young and Ivory Kelly-Martin.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brooks Koepka will take a two-shot lead over Adam Scott into the final round of the PGA Championship after shooting a 4-under 66 that left him at 12 under for the tournament. Koepka is trying to become the first player since Tiger Woods to capture the U.S. Open and PGA in the same year. Woods did it in 2000 to join Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen as only the fourth player to do it.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tiger Woods was one good putt away from an eagle that would’ve vaulted him into second place at the PGA Championship. Instead of one putt, he needed three. That disappointing par on the 17th hole left him four behind Brooks Koepka heading into the final day. Not as good as it could’ve been, but if he can get a few putts to drop, Woods knows he’ll have a chance.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Stewart Cink felt like someone turned back time on Saturday when he played alongside Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship. His game felt like it did years ago, too. Cink shot a 4-under 66 to climb into contention heading into the final round at Bellerive, the kind of run that nobody expected out of the 45-year-old.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis has been suspended for the first game of the regular season without pay by the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Pierre-Louis was arrested and charged in January with several misdemeanors, including possession of marijuana, after a traffic stop in suburban Kansas City.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — After largely avoiding the junior college and graduate transfer markets under coach Kirk Ferentz, Iowa found success a year ago with one-and-done running back James Butler. The Hawkeyes might have landed another solid transfer back in Mekhi Sargent.

Sargent parlayed one brilliant season at junior college power Iowa Western into a full ride with the Hawkeyes — and it sounds as though he won’t have to wait long for playing time. Ferentz said Saturday that he envisions a three-man backfield in 2018 with Sargent complementing freshmen Toren Young and Ivory Kelly-Martin.

“Well, I think I speak as a staff, I think we’re all hopeful that we can get to that point. That was one of the primary reasons we made that move,” Ferentz said about using three backs this fall. “We have two freshmen that we really like, but we wanted to have at least three guys on campus.”

The third guy was supposed to be Toks Akinribade, but he was forced to retire from the game because of medical issues. That left the Hawkeyes scrambling to find another back after also losing Akrum Wadley (1,109 yards and 10TDs in 2017) and Butler to graduation. Though Butler was limited to just 396 yards because of injuries last season, he was a factor when he could find the field.

During that time, Butler’s de facto replacement was busy proving he belonged at a Power Five program. The 5-foot-10, 210-pound Sargent didn’t get the Division I opportunity he was hoping for despite rushing for 2,094 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior at Key West High in Florida. Sargent chose instead to start his career at Iowa Western, where he racked up 1,449 yards rushing and 16 total touchdowns in just 10 games.

The offers predictably started coming in after last season, most notably from Louisville. But Sargent had been on Iowa’s radar after an impressive performance in a postseason game at nearby Northern Iowa in December. Sargent described his decision to choose Iowa over other schools earlier this summer as a “no-brainer.”
“I feel like it’s come pretty natural to adjust from the junior college level,” Sargent said.

Iowa will likely lean on Young as its main back and use Kelly-Martin in change of pace and third-down situations to start 2018. But Sargent will get a shot as well, and the opportunity to carve out a much bigger role could be there for him given the lack of experience in the Hawkeyes’ backfield. “The big question was, ‘How is Mekhi going to do with us?’ He was great in the summer program, great attitude, is a really impressive young guy, seems very humble and very appreciative, and now we’ve got seven practices under our belt,” Ferentz said. “And I’m not going to give a lot of scouting reports, but Mekhi looks like he’s really starting to warm up.”

Iowa (8-5 in 2017) opens its 20th season under Ferentz on Sept. 1 against Northern Illinois.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sophomores Alaric Jackson and Tristan Wirfs each possess the potential to finish their Iowa careers ranked among the best tackles the lineman-rich Hawkeyes have ever produced. They’ve just got to stay out of trouble.

Jackson, who was suspended for last season’s Pinstripe Bowl for breaking team rules, will miss his second straight game on Sept. 1 against Northern Illinois for what coach Kirk Ferentz said was a violation of team policy. Wirfs won’t play against the Huskies either after being charged with drunk driving on July 29.

Defensive tackles Brady Reiff (public intoxication) and Cedrick Lattimore (team rules) will also be suspended for the opener. But Ferentz said Friday at the team’s annual media day that he’s optimistic that each of those four incidents will wind up being “a blip on the radar” as far as those player’s careers are concerned.

Every team in America says it prides itself on being physical up front. But it’s a special emphasis at Iowa, which has sent scores of linemen to the NFL under Ferentz, a longtime line coach with Cleveland and Baltimore. The Hawkeyes will likely struggle unless Jackson and Wirfs — who got unexpectedly early playing time in 2017 after injuries to since-departed seniors Boone Myers and Ike Boettger — stay healthy and in the coaching staff’s good graces.

Jackson, who is listed at 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds, was the only Iowa lineman to start all 12 regular season games at the same spot, left tackle, a year ago. Jackson is considered raw but with plenty of potential, and the fact that Ferentz felt comfortable enough to put him in charge of protecting quarterback Nate Stanley’s blind side in his first season spoke volumes of how much the staff thinks of his potential.

Ferentz said in announcing Jackson’s suspension that his issue, which isn’t a legal matter, popped up in the spring. Ferentz added that Jackson and Lattimore were given guidelines to meet and that their responses have been “excellent.” “It’s like any player on our football team. Everybody has got a resume that they’re building, and they’re either adding to it or taking away from it,” Ferentz said. “I think Alaric is a tremendous young man, and I’m very hopeful that he’s going to have a great career here,” Ferentz said.

Wirfs is perhaps the most promising lineman the Hawkeyes have landed from their own state in quite some time. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Wirfs did it all for nearby Mount Vernon High, winning state titles in wrestling, shot put and the discus in addition to leading the football team to the state championship game. Last season Wirfs became the first true freshman to ever start at tackle for Ferentz, and he was one of just two newcomers to land on the team’s vaunted leadership group.

“It’s frustrating. It’s embarrassing. I feel like I let a lot of people down,” Wirfs said in his first public comments since his arrest. “You just want to put it behind you and…move past it. My mom says that there’s greener grass ahead. Just keep moving forward.”

Championship Division:

• Matt Haley (Indianola CC)  32 – 34 = 66 (-3)
• Matt Gearhart (Atlantic G&CC)  32 – 35  = 67 (-2)
• Jeremy Johnson (Indianola CC)  34 – 33 = 67 (-2)
• Mike Davie (Logan-MoValley CC)  32 -35 = 67 (-2)
• Derek Jacobsen (Top 25)  33 – 35 = 68 (-1)
• Barry Smith (Pine Knolls GC)  34 – 34 = 68 (-1)
• Matt Weresh (Past Champion)  31 – 37 = 68 (-1)
• Zach Christianson (Atlantic G&CC)  37 – 32 = 69 (E)
• Hank Weresh (Des Moines G&CC)  34 – 35 = 69 (E)
• Tim Murphy (Dunlap GC)  31 – 38 = 69 (E)
• Andrew Martin (Past Champion)  33 – 37 = 70 (+1)
• Sam Pieczynski (Waveland CC)  34 – 36 = 70 (+1)
• Aaron King (Sac CC)  34 – 36 = 70 (+1)
• Bill Matzdorff (Briarwood GC)  33 – 37 = 70 (+1)
• Nathan Zimmerman (Treynor Rec Area)  35 – 35 = 70 (+1)
• Austin Reitz (Onawa CC)  35 – 35 = 70 (+1)
• James Reynolds (Griswold G&CC)  34 –  37 – 71 (+2)
• Chris Nelson (Past Champion)  34 – 37 = 71 (+2)
• Jaxson Armstrong (Crestwood Hills GC)  36 – 35 = 71 (+2)
• Jeff Gude (Atlantic G&CC)  36 – 36 = 72 (+3)
• Evan Baldwin (Villisca CC)  35 – 37 = 72 (+3)
• Joe Schafer (Waveland CC)  36 – 36 = 72 (+3)
• Jason Reynolds (Past Champion)  34 – 38 = 72 (+3)
• Jared Koch (Majestic Hills GC)  33 – 39 = 72 (+3)
• Tim Redding (Hillcrest CC)  35 – 37 = 72 (+3)
• Evan Schuler (Past Champion)  36 – 37 = 73 (+4)
• Darby McLaren (Atlantic G&CC)  35 – 38 = 73 (+4)
• Ryan Clark (Briarwood GC)  36 – 37 = 73 (+4)
• Eric Brown (Mt Ayr G&CC)  37 – 37 = 74 (+5)
• Jake Olsen (Atlantic G&CC)  38 – 36 = 74 (+5)
• Ryan Grove (Happy Hollow CC)  37 – 38 = 75 (+6)
• Dave Kaili (HH Blank GC)  37 – 38 = 75 (+6)
• Brett McDannald (Osceola CC)  36 – 39 = 75 (+6)
• Jeff Johnson (Greenfield G&CC)  37 – 38 = 75 (+6)
• Troy Finestead (Woodward GC)  38 – 37 = 75 (+6)
• Cyle Renaud (Nishna Hills GC)  37 – 39 = 76 (+7)
• Kyle Pieper (Jester Park GC)  37 – 40 = 77 (+8)
• Mike Bauer (Audubon G&CC)  36 – 41 = 77 (+8)
• Max Langenfeld (Harlan G&CC)  34 –  44 = 78 (+9)
• Nick Weihs (Audubon G&CC)  39 – 39 = 78 (+9)
• Steve Davie (Majestic Hills GC)  41 – 37 = 78 (+9)
• Ron Eads (Waveland CC)  38 – 40 = 78 (+9)
• Ben Renaud (Nishna Hills GC)  40 – 38 = 78 (+9)
• Jake Reynolds (Griswold G&CC)  40 – 39 = 79 (+10)
• Matt Gross (Nishna Hills GC)  37 – 42 = 79 (+10)
• Jason Vanderkooi (Hinton GC)  37 – 42 = 79 (+10)
• Drew Thompson (Lenox GC)  39 – 40 = 79 (+10)
• Nathan Ross (Atlantic G&CC)  40 – 40 = 80 (+11)
• JJ Petersen (Quail Run GC)  40 – 41 = 81 (+12)
• Don Newbury (Lakeview CC)  42 – 39 = 81 (+12)
• Steve Christman (Crestwood Hills GC)  39 – 43 = 82 (+13)
• Cruz Reed (Lenox GC)  42 – 41 = 83 (+14)
• Jake Daeges (Rosman-Glendale GC)  44 – 44 = 88 (+19)

Senior Division:

• Daryl Armstrong (Crestwood Hills GC)  34 – 37 = 71 (+2)
• Jim Wood (Red Oak CC)  38 – 34 = 72 (+3)
• Tad Olsen (Atlantic G&CC)  34 – 38 = 72 (+3)
• Kim Peters (Crestwood HIlls GC)  35 – 38 = 73 (+4)
• Mike Martin (Nishna Hills GC)  35 – 38 = 73 (+4)
• Darron Baker (Past Champion)  38 – 35 = 73 (+4)
• Del Miller (Past Champion)  35 – 39 = 74 (+5)
• Bobby Rist (Lake City CC)  37 – 37 = 74 (+5)
• Jeff Morenz (Atlantic G&CC)  36 – 41 = 77 (+8)
• Rick Thompson (Past Champion)  37 – 41 = 78 (+9)
• Rick Carter (Past Champion)  38 – 41 = 79 (+10)
• Jeff Heckroth (Woodward GC)  39 – 40 = 79 (+10)
• Blair Hoegh (Ankeny G&CC)  39 – 40 = 79 (+10)
• John O’Hair (Indianola CC)  39 – 41 = 80 (+11)
• Lyle Wittrock (5 X 80 GC)  41 – 39 = 80 (+11)
• Ken Portsche (Past Champion)  36 –  45 = 81 (+12)
• Chuck Smith (Nishna Hills GC)  36 – 45 = 81 (+12)
• Ryan Phifer (Gateway Rec Area)  39 – 42 = 81 (+12)
• Tim Dooley (Eagle Grove (GC)  44 – 42 = 86 (+17)
• Frank Moran (Woodward GC)  42 – 45 = 87 (+18)
• Roger Fisher (North Kossuth GC)  47 – 47 = 94 (+25)

Super Senior Division:

• John Willmore (Past Champion)  35 – 33 = 68 (-1)
• Arnie Leistad (Past Champion)  36 – 35 = 71 (+2)
• Allan Hjelle (Atlantic G&CC)  36 – 37 = 73 (+4)
• Terry Richardson (Oakland GC)  39 –  36 = 75 (+6)
• Jim Mullenix (Atlantic G&CC)  38 – 38 = 76 (+7)
• Jim Redemske (Clarmond CC)  38 – 42 = 80 (+11)
• Ron Brooks (HH Blank GC)  41 – 40 = 81 (+12)
• Roger Herring (Nishna Hills GC)  40 – 41 = 81 (+12)
• Rod Toftey (Clarmond CC)  40 – 43 = 83 (+14)
• Gaylord Schelling (Atlantic G&CC)  42 – 43 = 85 (+16)
• Ed Collins (Audubon G&CC)  43 – 42 = 85 (+16)
• Perry Paulsen (Atlantic G&CC)  43 – 45 = 88 (+19)
• Bruce Henderson (Top 25)  45 – 45 = 90 (+21)
• Ed Troll (Avoca GC)  41 – 53 = 94 (+25)
• John McDermott (Nishna Hills GC)  47 – 51 = 98 (+29)