Winning resumes?

A glance at the most gifted young golfers in the Waterloo Open's amateur division …

- Nathan Leary: Iowa State Cyclone was battle-tested in Big 12 this year

- Cody Schweinefus: Decorah native was Drake's second-best scorer this year (75.0)

- Jonathan Tink: Prep status makes him a darkhorse, but his length is unrivaled

- Troy Hoffman: Northern Iowa Panther recently won the Beaver Hills club title

WATERLOO - Nathan Leary seems to be taking his practice rounds especially seriously this week.

Perhaps that's because Leary, a former state golfing champion at Waterloo West, knows how difficult sustained success can be in the Waterloo Open's amateur division. Or … maybe Leary realized that the two previous winners won't compete in the Open's amateur division this year.

Keith Jungen and Jamie Frazier, who took home amateur titles here in 2007 and 2006, respectively, are currently competing as pros. That means this year's amateur scrum could be especially competitive.

"Even if you're a defending champion, it's pretty hard to win it twice," noted Leary, after firing a 1-under par round at South Hills Wednesday.

"It's tough to defend your title because the field's just so stacked."

The 2008 Waterloo Open's amateur action gets under way Friday at 7 a.m., at both South Hills and Gates Park.

Leary, a sophomore-to-be at Iowa State next fall, averaged a little more than 75 strokes per round as a Cyclone last year. He's lethal with a putter. Still, he'll have plenty of competition if he wants to claw a trophy away from the clutches of these Open veterans:

- Matt Lowe: The Cedar Falls native took home the Waterloo Open amateur title in 2005.

- K.C. Doland: The 2000 amateur titlist once went 34 holes without a bogey in the Open earlier this decade.

- Scott Morgensen: A former Katoski Memorial champion.

If those men don't trump the likes of Leary, plenty of youthful big hitters might.

Jonathan Tink, a two-time Class 1A state champion for Walnut Ridge, could create some carnage with his Callaway driver - which he often uses to hammer 300-yard drives.

But Tink knows courses like South Hills are no pushovers.

"The greens are really hard; it's tough to hold approach shots," said Tink of South Hills, where he once fired a 69. "The greens are pretty fast. That's probably the toughest thing."

Decorah native Cody Schweinefus also could loom large. Schweinefus, who once hit a 400-yard drive that's a thing of legend in Winneshiek County, posted the second-best scoring average (75) of any Drake golfer last year as a freshman.

And, Schweinefus won the Fort Dodge Amateur in late June. Thus, he'll arrive in Waterloo with ample self-assurance.

"Right now, my ball-striking (is a strength)," he said. "I've got a lot of confidence coming into this."

There's no easy route to a Waterloo Open amateur title - especially with nearly 270 competitors to contend with.

In the end, Tink may have the only flawless philsophy:

"I'll just play my game," said the Waterloo resident, "go around and have fun, and do the best I can."

Open dialogue

NOT SO "ROUGH": A tour of Irv Warren Municipal Golf Course - where Waterloo Open amateurs will play in the final round - showed surprisingly short rough on Wednesday. In most locations on the course, the rough stood barely four inches high.

"Last year I had the rough mowed down, and it was actually the (worst) winning score (12-under par) we've had in a long time," noted course superintendent Tom Klein, while toiling in his shop.

Even if Irv Warren's rough makes things easy on golfers this weekend, Klein won't mind too much.

"People come to see birdies anyway," he said, smirking.

STILL TIME TO SHINE: As of Wednesday evening, three spots remained available in the tournament's amateur field. Interested golfers can sign up online, at waterloojaycees.org/open.

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com