It wasn’t a Cyclone who swept through the competition of the 2007 Iowa Masters Golf Tournament last weekend – it was a Hawkeye.

Twenty-two-year-old Dan Holterhaus, of Cedar Rapids, won the event at Veenker Memorial Golf Course, 1925 Stange Ave., by two strokes over ISU golfer Joe Cermak.

“Obviously I’m not the guy a lot of people around here wanted to win,” Holterhaus said. “I come here a lot though and am always treated fairly. I played with Joe and we’re friends, so you could just call it a friendly rivalry.”

Holterhaus’ prize was a $750 gift certificate to the Veenker Clubhouse, and a glass bowl as a trophy. Holterhaus said the certificate is nice, but the trophy is better.

“I thought it would be cool to get the money, but that’s not as nice as the trophy, I’ll have that forever,” Holterhaus said.

Rounding out the top five at the 70th edition of the event were Cermak, Jon Brown of Urbandale, Michael Oimoen of Clear Lake, and 17 year-old Nate McCoy of West Des Moines.

Holterhaus finished the three-round event at 7 under par, Cermak and Brown came in at 5 under, Oimoen was 4 under, and McCoy finished at 3 under. Last year’s winner and soon-to-be Cyclone golfer Nathan Leary had a rough last round and finished the 160-person event tied for eighth at par.

Mark Atchinson, assistant pro at Veenker Memorial, said based on the top outcomes in the event, the future of golf in the state of Iowa is bright, especially for Iowa State.

“The popular players such as Brown, Leary and Cermak all finished at the top so that made it a good showing,” Atchinson said. “Leary’s coming here next year, Cermak will be back, and McCoy bought an Iowa State bag from the clubhouse which could be a good thing for the school. The future looks good for local golf, and possibly for Iowa State golf.”

Atchinson said this year’s scores were better overall than in years past, which could be attributed to the weather.

“Weather-wise, it was excellent,” Atchinson said. “That’s the only thing we can’t control are the elements, and they stayed clear for us this week.”

Bad weather may have stayed clear of Central Iowa, but the heat was definitely prevalent, with temperatures climbing into the 90s on all three days of the event.

Trent Hapler, who works in the Veenker Clubhouse said the heat definitely boosted drink sales.

“I sold more Powerade and bottled water than I thought was possible,” Hapler said. “Guys were coming in drenched in sweat – I’m glad I was inside working this week.”

Atchinson saw the effects of the weather as well.

“Friday and Saturday when I was out spotting on the course, you could just tell some of the guys were dragging,” Atchinson said.

For Holterhaus, it wasn’t the heat but the wind that had him frustrated.

“I wouldn’t say the heat affected me too much, but I’d say the wind had more of an effect. It was swirling pretty good the last couple days,” Holterhaus said.

Neither the wind nor the heat was enough to keep Holterhaus away from his glass trophy.

“I don’t have a spot for the trophy yet,” Holterhaus said. “I’ll find a spot for it at my parents’ house, probably – it’s definitely something I’ll cherish forever.”