2018 Yearbook

32 IGA Match Play The Preserve on Rathbun Lake, Moravia June 27-30 Usually when someone is elected to a Hall of Fame, it is a cap on a terrific career. But Jon Brown isn’t content with letting his list of accomplishments lie stagnant. The 2013 Iowa Golf Hall of Fame inductee added another big one in 2018, winning his record third IGA Match Play crown. No one else has even won two. Brown, the #10 seed following qualifying, knocked off John Mey and Cody Holck in the first two rounds. Then he had an epic day where he took down fellow Hall of Fame member Gene Elliott and Dennis Bull, one of the top golfers of the past decade. The IGA Match Play is a grind of a championship, with a total of seven rounds being played over four days by the two finalists. And Brown, who just turned 50, had to fight through fatigue. During his quarterfi- nal match with Bull he experienced cramping in his hands which made it difficult to hold on to the golf club. He persevered and won that match in 20 holes. Earlier that day, he defeated Elliott in the round of 16, but he needed 19 holes to do it. It was a marathon day, for sure. “To beat Gene and Denny (on Friday) that was so special,” Brown said. “It was such a boost of confi- dence. I did find a little something in my game these last couple weeks. I didn’t play any tournaments, I was just hitting balls. I was working hard on my game and something started to feel good.” But he could not spend much time reveling in those victories, as a semifinal match with Iowa Hawkeye standout Matthew Walker awaited the next morning. Coming into the semifinals, Walker was playing so well that only one of his matches even reached the 14th hole. But Brown played perhaps his best round of the week, capturing a 4 & 3 win after making six birdies an no bogeys over the 15 holes. That left him to face another college standout, this time Iowa State Cyclone Frank Lindwall. This match would be more like the day three nail-biters. After Brown missed an opportunity on the 16th hole to take a lead, the pair came to the final hole all square. Brown left his second shot on the par-5 18th just short of the green and hit an excellent pitch to within 5 feet. After Lindwall’s birdie putt caught the lip of the hole but didn’t fall, Brown, after a few deep breaths, knocked his in and etched his name on the trophy once more. “Frank and I had a great match,” Brown said. “I missed a short putt on #16 and wondered if I would get a chance like that again.” It would be very easy to argue that Brown is the best match play player in IGA history. He has made a total of 6 championship matches. He lost to Mike McCoy in 1994, Jeremy Lyons in an epic 23-hole final in 2004 and to Jon Olson in 2011. He was victorious in 2003 (over Sam Aossey), 2006 (over Cory Braunschweig) and again this year. “Things just worked out in my favor,” Brown would say following his win over Lindwall. At this event, things usually seem to work out in his favor. 5 & 4 17 J. D. Anderson Lindwall 13 Frank Lindwall 10 Jon Brown 3 Matthew Walker Brown 4 & 3 Semifinal Round Jon Brown 1 up Champion Brown guts out win at Match Play Jon Brown