Year: 2021

Sani Scholar Committee member Mark Lemon passes away

John Mark Lemon, age 66, passed away on December 15, 2021 in Lenexa, Kansas. To his friends he was known as Mark. Mark was born on February 12, 1955 in Sparta, Illinois to John and Bonita Lemon.

Mark received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa. He participated on the Men’s Golf Team while at Iowa. Mark turned professional and had stints as an Assistant Professional at the Des Moines Golf & Country Club. Then he was Head PGA Professional at Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny, Iowa and Irv Warren Golf Course (Byrnes Park GC) in Waterloo, Iowa before becoming a Co-Owner and building Airport National Public Golf Complex in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He sold that facility and retired to Lenexa, Kansas in 2019. Mark was a PGA Member for nearly 39 years, having gained his Class A status on June 1, 1983.

Mark was a 1973 Sani Scholar given by the Iowa Golf Association. He continued to serve on the Sani Scholarship Committee for multiple decades.

In 1999, Mark and good friend Jim McPartland helped start the Greater Cedar Rapids Open held at Hunter’s Ridge in Marion, Iowa. This tournament was modeled after the Waterloo Open that Mark helped to administer during his time at Irv Warren Golf Course.

Mark was named the Captain for the PGA Professional Team at the 2019 Iowa Cup Matches held at Crow Valley Golf Club. The Professionals maintained the Cup over the Amateurs as the Team’s tied in a rain shortened event.

Mark loved golf and was the Iowa PGA Section Senior Player of the Year in 2005 and was Super Senior Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016. His other passions included fishing and hunting.

Mark is survived by his mother Bonita, sister Pam and brother Scott. He was preceded in death by his father John.

There will be no service of any type held – that was Mark’s final request.  Donations may be made to the Greater Cedar Rapid Open, P.O. Box 10034, Cedar Rapids, IA  52410.

2021 IGA Annual Awards Banquet Recap

The 2021 IGA Awards Dinner took place Friday, December 17, at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines. It was an enjoyable night with several deserving honorees and award winners in various categories being celebrated for their efforts.

View photos from the 2021 IGA Annual Awards Banquet

The following individuals and courses were honored –

PGA Pro of the Year – Mark Egly, Des Moines Driving Range

Club Manager of the Year – Lance Marting, Dubuque Golf & Country Club

9-Hole Superintendent – Jeff Rokusek, Sheldon Golf & Country Club

18-Hole Superintendent – Matt Reifert, Whispering Creek Golf Club

9-Hole Course of the Year – Dyersville Golf & Country Club

18-Hole Course of the Year – BVU Golf Course at Lake Creek

George Turner Distinguished Service Award – Scott Fjelstul, Decorah

Sean Flanders Volunteer of the Year Award – Michelle Klein, Jesup

Phil Joselyn Inspirational Award – Thomas Storbeck, Ventura


Player of the Year – Nate McCoy, Ankeny (View video) (View acceptance speech)

Senior Player of the Year – Joe Palmer, Norwalk (View video) (View acceptance speech)

Super Senior Player of the Year – Pat Ryan, Marshalltown (View video) (View acceptance speech)

Read more about the Men’s Players of the Year

Women’s Player of the Year – Leanne Smith, Indianola (View video) (View acceptance speech)

Senior Women’s Player of the Year – Laura Leszczynski, St. Mary’s (View video) (View acceptance speech)

Read more about the Women’s Players of the Year

Junior Girls’ Player of the Year – Paige Hoffman, West Des Moines (View video) (View acceptance speech)

Junior Boys’ Player of the Year – Hogan Hansen, Waverly (View video & acceptance)

Read more about the Junior Players of the Year


Special Recognition – Gene Elliott, West Des Moines
2021 U.S Senior Amateur and British Senior Amateur Champion (View video)

Michelle Klein named IGA’s Sean Flanders Volunteer of the Year

Michelle Klein (right), of Jesup, is this year’s IGA Sean Flanders Volunteer of the Year Award recipient.

Klein continues to give up countless hours of her free time to help benefit many IGA endeavors including serving on the IGA’s Board of Directors, Communications Committee Women’s Rules & Competitions Sub-Committee, Herman Sani Scholarship Selection Committee and Ann Griffel Scholarship Selection Committee.

Klein has also assumed the role the last few years as a Junior Girls’ 4-State Co-Captain and serves as a mentor to many young junior golfers.

“Michelle is always there when you need help with something,” Clint Brown, Director of Marketing and Communications said. “I have known Michelle for many years and her enthusiasm for the game of golf in Iowa is second to none. She donates so much time to various committees, not to mention the IGA Board of Directors, I can’t imagine how many hours of her time she has given up for the betterment of the association and the future of golf here in the state. She is one of the best.”

It should be noted that, while not specific to 2021, Klein’s efforts were incredible in the face of trouble – as she helped secure a location for the 2020 IGA Women’s Club Team when Elmcrest CC was hit by the ‘Derecho’.

Klein will be recognized during a ceremony at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines on Friday, Dec. 17.

Click here to download a video of Klein being surprised by the announcement at at recent IGA Board Meeting.

Michelle Klein (right) pictured with Four-Ball partner Kelly Nelson. Klein will be recognized during a ceremony at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines on Friday, Dec. 17.

Luther College’s Fjelstul named GTDSA winner for 2021

Scott Fjelstul (right), Luther College men’s golf coach, has been named this year’s George Turner Distinguished Service Award recipient for his years of service to the game of golf. He will be recognized during a ceremony at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines on Dec. 17.

Fjelstul, a 1983 graduate of Luther College, has been the head coach for the Norse for over 34 years, has led the Norse to five of Luther’s 11 conference titles (1997, 1999, 2008, 2016, 2017) and has had five teams qualify for the National Tournament (1996 [T13], 1997 [12th], 2008 [21st], 2016 [T33], 2017 [T29]).

His teams have finished first or second in the Iowa Conference 17 of the past 27 years and has been named Iowa Conference (now American Rivers Conference) Coach of the Year a record 10 times (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017) and was named the NCAA Division III District 5 Coach of the Year in 1996.

Collectively, 50 student-athletes have earned 80 all-conference honors, including six conference Most Valuable Players, six All Americans and 31 Golf Coaches Association of American Academic All-Americans during his tenure.

“Coach Scott Fjelstul has been the face of Luther Men’s Golf for nearly 35 years,” Andrew Peter, a former player for Fjelstul said. “His professionalism, work ethic and passion for the game are qualities that have made him an ideal leader and mentor at Luther College and in the college golf community. Speaking from my personal experience, Scott and his players welcomed me with open arms when I enrolled at Luther as a transfer student-athlete in 2012, and I will be forever grateful for the relationships built and memories shared during my two years playing for him. Coach went to great lengths to ensure that our experience as student-athletes was entirely positive, and he served an important role in helping me and my teammates mature to become quality young men.”

Dan Hammes, Commissioner American Rivers Conference, also had high praise for Fjelstul.

“As with the game of golf, Scott Fjelstul is an individual of honor and integrity, demonstrated through his 34-plus years of successfully leading student-athletes on and off the golf course,” Hammes said. “Scott’s impact and dedication to his student-athletes, Luther College, the conference, and the game of golf have been remarkable. When you consider the time he has devoted and the totality of people he has impacted, Scott has established and continues to build an incredible legacy.”


The Iowa Golf Association named its distinguished service award after Turner in 2003. His name value runs beyond state borders. Turner qualified for and played in the 1981, 1984 and 1993 U.S. Senior Open and the 1988, 1990 and 1991 U.S. Senior Amateur. Off the course, George has been an Iowa Golf Association volunteer for decades, helping run numerous events. George and John Nervig took over operations of the Iowa Masters from the late Harry Burrell 20 years ago. It’s not an official Iowa Golf Association event unless George Turner was somewhere on the course! (Courtesy of Rick Brown)

‘Up and Down’ the Iowa Golf Scene – R&A, USGA Champion Gene Elliott

Iowa’s Gene Elliott poses with his winners medal, trophy and wife Dalena following victory in the R&A Senior Amateur Championship at Ganton Golf Club in Scarborough, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/R&A)

Championships in U.K., U.S. Catapult Elliott to the Top of Senior Amateur Golf in 2021

For Gene Elliott, the view from the summit of senior amateur golf is a majestic one. His journey to the mountaintop has been a long and steady climb, compiling season after season chock full of achievements and distinction at local, regional and national levels of golf.

But a magical 2021 season is set apart from the others, one that propelled him to the pinnacle of senior amateur golf.

“I’m not sure this has sunk in yet,” Elliott said. “The 2021 year was the most rewarding and most memorable in my 45 years of playing tournament golf.”

Elliott became only the second player to claim both the R&A Senior Amateur Championship and the U.S. Senior Amateur Championships in the same season, joining Paul Simson of Raleigh, NC, who accomplished the feat in 2010. Only one other Iowan has claimed the U.S. Senior Amateur title, that being Boone native Dr. Ed Updegraff in 1981. He is also one of only three players to win the U.S. R&A (United Kingdom) and Canadian senior amateur championships.

Elliott’s extraordinary year propelled him to the number one position as the globe’s top-ranked senior amateur player, according to the World Amateur Golf Rankings and AmateurGolf.com.

“I don’t feel like I’ve reached a plateau yet,” Elliott said. “This year was so special in so many ways. Yet I feel like there’s more out there. I still want to compete. Golf is such a hard game, you have to battle the course, your swing, your emotions and your body. You’re only as good as your last event, last round and last shot.”

He tuned up for a red-hot summer season by capturing the Golfweek Senior Amateur Championship in April at PGA West. In early July, Elliott captured the R&A’s Senior Amateur Championship, overcoming a difficult Ganton Golf Club layout, Covid- 19 protocols that included self-isolation for several days, and Ireland’s fast-closing David Mulholland by a single shot.

The victory qualified Elliott for the Senior Open Championship two weeks later at England’s Sunningdale Golf Club, where he was one of two amateurs to survive the cut. He eventually tied for 70th in a field filled with the best of senior golf professionals.

After spending nearly one month in England, the 59-year-old Elliott and his wife/caddie Dalena returned to the United States in time to prepare for the 66th U.S. Senior Amateur contested at the Country Club of Detroit. A steady145 total qualified Elliott for the match play segment of the tournament but earned the 38th seed and a challenging bracket draw.

His path to the finals would include matchups with some of senior amateur golf’s top players, including fellow Iowan and close friend Mike McCoy. Elliott needed an 18-footer to force extra holes against McCoy in the round of 32, then won the first extra hole. He nipped former Senior Amateur champion Doug Hanzel of Savannah, GA, in the round of 16 and dispatched local favorite Tom Gieselman of Commerce Twp. MI, in the quarters. Elliott defeated another nationally ranked and familiar foe Craig Davis of Chula Vista, CA in the semifinals to set up the championship final with another fan favorite Jerry Gunthrope of Ovid, MI.

Elliott never led in the closely contested championship match until Gunthrope failed to convert a 12-foot putt for par on the final hole, rallying from one down with two to play.

“To win my first USGA championship in this fashion is just a capstone to a fantastic season,” Elliott said. “Going into the championship, I felt loose and relaxed. I knew I had a tough side of the bracket, including Mike, but didn’t get ahead of things. Match play is such a grueling format, you have to survive and endure.”

The U.S. Senior Amateur victory comes with a basket full of rewards. Elliott will be exempt from sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open, two U.S. Amateurs, two U.S. Mid-Amateurs and a ten-year exemption into the U.S. Senior Amateur. Plus, he is an automatic qualifier into the 2022 U.S. Senior Open, where he will be paired with defending champion Jim Furyk.

A dominant force in Iowa golf for decades, Elliott’s career can be expressed in segments of junior and collegiate golf, professional, amateur and senior amateur. His 29 major Iowa tournament victories include three Iowa Amateur titles, four Iowa Senior Amateur titles, six Iowa Mid-Amateur victories, six IGA Four-Ball victories and two Iowa Open championships.

In 1998, he captured the Porter Cup and Terra Cotta Invitational on the national amateur stage and holds two Canadian Senior Amateur titles. He’s played in 37 USGA championships and competed at high levels in U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur competitions. He was the stroke play medalist at the 1999 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.

The competitive fires burned early.

Born in Fairfield, IA, Elliott started grooving his swing as a preschooler with plastic clubs. The home of Glen and Eilene Elliott backed up to a city park, where eight-year-old Gene moved on to junior clubs and would hit shag balls as a youngster from one end of the park and back, a distance of about one hundred yards.

“One day Dad came out and challenged me to really take a rip at it and I responded with a 150-yard bullseye, right through the neighbor’s picture window as they were having dinner. It took an apology and a new window to set things straight,” Elliott said.

The family moved to Bettendorf, IA where Glen Elliott’s business, Elliott Equipment Company, began to expand. Today, Gene is the CEO of a second-generation family business that provides garbage trucks and street sweepers to municipalities. While in the Quad Cities, Gene’s game started to develop as a junior member of Crow Valley Golf Club. In the mid-1970’s, the club hired a new golf professional, Butch Harmon, who would later move on to become one of the game’s legendary instructors and swing coach for Tiger Woods. Harmon sparked Elliott’s competitive spirit to new levels.

“Butch was the Dan Gable of golf in those days,” Elliott said. “He was such a great motivator and had the magnetism to push you beyond your limits. Besides the swing, he worked on your confidence, your course management and the ability to trust yourself.”

Harmon and Elliott played together in several pro-junior events, winning a prestigious title in Chicago and the Iowa state event in 1976 at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. None other than Arnold Palmer was on site to give an exhibition that day and presented the winners with their trophy, and a photo opportunity as Harmon’s father, Claude Harmon, the 1948 Masters Champ, was a close friend of Palmer.

As a prep senior at Bettendorf High School, Elliott captured the 1980 Class AA state medalist although the team title went to Clinton, led by future PGA Tour member Greg Ladehoff. He was a solid performer on the University of Iowa golf team from 1980-84 and played two seasons with Guy Boros, the son of three-time major champion Julius Boros. Elliott played professionally for several years in the US, Canada and internationally before regaining his amateur status in the mid-1990’s. His professional career included 12 starts on the PGA Tour and three made cuts, including a T7 at the 1986 St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

Looking forward, Elliott is anxious for the 2022 season. He’d like to add the Australian Senior Amateur to his lengthy list of titles, defend his two major amateur championships and continue to play at the highest levels of senior amateur golf.

“There are so many correlations to the game of golf and the game of life,” Elliott said. “Talent can take you only so far – you have to work for the rest of it. And you need a team to be successful in golf, in business, at home and in life.”


“Up and Down” the Iowa Golf Scene

A regular feature column written by IGA Foundation board member Mark Gambaiana, Up and Down the Iowa Golf Scene is designed to take the reader beyond the headlines and scoreboards to share stories of those who help make Iowa golf so rich and rewarding. Profiles will spotlight those who advance the game through volunteerism, service, extraordinary achievement, competition, human interest and the many other dimensions of golf in Iowa.

Model Local Rule to Further Limit Use of Green-Reading Materials

Golf’s governing bodies have made available a Model Local Rule (MLR) to further limit the use of Green-Reading Materials. MLR G-11 enables a committee to limit players to using only the yardage book that it has approved for use in the competition.

This local rule is intended only for the highest levels of competitive golf and, even then, only for competitions where it is realistic for the committee to undertake an approval process for yardage books. It will be available starting January 1, 2022.

The local rule gives a committee the ability to establish an officially approved yardage book for a competition so that the diagrams of putting greens show only minimal detail (such as significant slopes, tiers or false edges that indicate sections of greens). In addition, the local rule limits the handwritten notes that players and caddies are allowed to add to the approved yardage book.

The purpose behind the local rule is to ensure that players and caddies use only their eyes and feel to help them read the line of play on the putting green.

The USGA and The R&A developed MLR G-11 in response to feedback from several professional tours.

The MLR, along with question-and-answer guidance, can be found here.

As the local rule should only be adopted at the highest levels of competitive golf, all other golfers will continue to be able to use green-reading tools so long as they meet the requirements established in 2019. For more information on the current rule, see usga.org/grm.

Support the future of golf in Iowa on Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving back. Today, November 30, you’ll have the chance to join people around the world and support a cause close to your heart. This Giving Tuesday, help the Iowa Golf Association Foundation give the gift of golf and education to a junior golfer in the State of Iowa by supporting the Iowa Golf Association Foundation’s Youth on Course and/or Scholarship Programs.

At its most basic level, Youth on Course is a program that subsidizes rounds of golf for juniors at participating courses. In 2018 Iowa became the 21st state to offer Youth on Course.  It has now extended to all 50 states.

The concept is this: A junior boy or girl age 6 to 18 can join Youth on Course for a $15 yearly fee.  That gets them access to any participating Youth on Course facility (there are over 1,400 nationally) to play a round of golf for $5 or less.  Then the participating course receives an additional subsidy ($) for that round. To donate towards Youth on Course in Iowa visit https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E334279&id=14

The Iowa Golf Association Foundation also serves as host for two college scholarship programs – The Herman Sani Scholarship & the Ann Griffel Scholarship.

The Ann Griffel Scholarship was named after the long time IWGA President, Ann Griffel. Ann was inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame in 2006 to honor her contributions to the game. Since 1963, 253 students have received this scholarship. The IGAF awards $2,000 Ann Griffel Scholarships to Iowa high school senior girls who intend to further their education at an Iowa institution of higher learning, whether a college, university or trade school.

The Herman Sani Scholarship was established in 1958 in memory of Herman Sani who had a passion for golf and for young people. As of 2021, 195 college-bound students have been awarded this four-year scholarship. Each recipient receives $8,000 ($2,000 per year) over a consecutive four-year period.

To donate and read more about each scholarship program visit https://iowagolf.org/scholarships/

2022 IGA, USGA Qualifying Schedule announced

The 2022 IGA Championship calendar has been released. The schedule includes a tremendous lineup of IGA Member Clubs that will serve as host sites for next year’s IGA championships.

In 2022, the Iowa Amateur will be conducted at Crow Valley Golf Club (pictured above) in Davenport, July 18-20. This coming year will mark the third time the Iowa Amateur will be hosted by the club, previously hosting in 1990 (Brad Klapprott) and 2004 (Nate Dunn). The club has also been the site of many other IGA Championships and USGA Qualifiers including the Iowa Senior Amateur (2020), Iowa Cup Matches (2019) and IGA Match Play (2016). The John N. Cochran designed layout will be sure to test the best players from around the state from tee to green.

The Iowa Women’s Amateur is set to be played at Cedar Rapids Country Club, July 25-27. Cedar Rapids Country Club has hosted a total of six previous Iowa Women’s Amateurs and 10 Iowa Amateurs. The course, as many know, hosted the 2019 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship and was honored as the IGA 18-Hole Course of the Year that same season. Designed in 1915 by the internationally renowned architect Donald Ross, and immaculately restored by famed “Ross Restorer” Ron Prichard beginning in 2011, the course at Cedar Rapids Country Club has been called one of the prettiest pieces of land in the Midwest.

The men’s and women’s IGA Match Play Championships will return for the third time to Talons Golf (formally Talons of Tuscany) in Ankeny, June 28-July 1. Talons Golf, is a privately-owned course routed between beautiful rock walled streams and covered bridges. In 2020, the men’s and women’s IGA Match Play Championships were held at Talons Golf for the first time, when 2020 Men’s Player of the Year Connor Peck and IGA veteran Leanne Smith took home the hardware. In 2021, Smith repeated as champion of the event and Joe Palmer captured the title in historic fashion. As a popular venue for this event, many players, both men and women, will look to add their name to the list of IGA Match Play champions.

In 2022, Ames Golf & Country Club will host the Iowa Senior Amateur. The dates of the championship will be Monday-Wednesday, August 22-24. Ames G&CC last hosted the Iowa Senior Amateur in 2016, when Gene Elliott took home the crown over ‘newcomer’ Jay Gregory. The club also hosted the event in 2003, when Dan Naughton claimed victory.

The Iowa Wife-Husband Championship is set to return to Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo. The championship is set for Sept. 16-18. The tournament will remain a 3-day format in which couples choose to play their two rounds on Friday & Saturday, Friday & Sunday or Saturday & Sunday.

The Herman Sani Tournament will return August 12-14, to Norwalk’s Echo Valley Country Club in 2022. Since 2013 the event has rotated between Echo Valley Country Club and Hyperion Field Club and continues to feature the state’s best amateur and professional golfers vying for the trophy. The 2021 edition of The Sani was slated to be held at Echo Valley CC, but due to anticipated course projects at Echo Valley CC, Hyperion Field Club agreed to host, with Echo Valley CC hosting in 2022.

In addition to those championships already listed, the IGA will conduct events at the following venues – Spencer Golf & Country Club (Iowa Mid-Amateur – May 20-21), Coldwater Golf Links (IGA Four-Ball – May 6-7), Fort Dodge Country Club (IGA Senior Match Play – June 1-3), Pella Golf & Country Club (Iowa Women’s Forever 39 Match Play – June 8-9), Veenker Memorial Golf Course (IGA Women’s Four-Ball – June 16-17) , Jester Park Golf Course in Granger (Father/Son, Parent/Child – June 18-19), Finkbine Golf Course (Iowa Junior & Girls’ Junior Amateur – June 20-22), Elmcrest Country Club (IGA Women’s Club Team – Aug. 15), Lake Panorama National Resort (Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur – Aug. 8-9) and The Preserve on Rathbun Lake (IGA Club Team – Oct. 3).

The IGA Women’s Mid-Am Series events, IGA Member Play Day(s) and Iowa Cup dates and locations will be announced at a later time. Those updates can be found by checking back to this release.

The IGA will also conduct and administer several USGA Qualifiers throughout the state in 2022. Here are the sites for this year’s qualifying events:
Blue Top Ridge at Riverside Casino and Golf Resort, Riverside – U.S. Open Local Qualifier – May 9
Otter Creek Golf Course, Ankeny – U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier – June 6
Hyperion Field Club, Johnston – U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifier – July 12
Hyperion Field Club, Johnston – U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifier – July 12
Davenport Country Club, Davenport – U.S. Amateur Qualifier – July 25
Geneva Golf & Country Club, Muscatine – U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier – Aug. 1

Entries to all IGA Championships will be available in March. Entries will be available for USGA Championships at a later date, which will be determined by the USGA and announced on their website.

Storbeck to receive Phil Joselyn Inspirational Award

Ventura’s Thomas Storbeck’s world was turned upside down in 2019. 

Following a push from a close friend to be examined, an MRI conformed Storbeck’s fears – a rare spinal cord issue – which led to a laminectomy – that forced the removal of the T-11 and T-12, plus the L-1 and L-2 vertebrae.

An operation on his spinal cord was needed, one that left a 10-15% chance of Storbeck being paralyzed.

Fast forward to 2021 and Storbeck (pictured above), who now is enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa, is back on the course inspiring others follow his successful surgery at Mayo Clinic and lengthy rehabilitation process. 

Storbeck was recently honored for his courage and competitive spirit by being selected to receive the Phil Joselyn Inspirational Award. Storbeck will accept his award at the IGA’s Annual Award Banquet in December at Glen Oaks Country Club.

Joselyn (left), who won the 1960 Fort Dodge Amateur, served as President of the IGA from April 1989 through April 1991. Joselyn also served as honorary captain of the IGA’s Iowa Cup team in 2013. Joselyn served the USGA for 20 years on the Sectional Affairs committee from 1990-2004, then Regional Affairs committee from 2004-2010. 

Joselyn, who passed away in 2018, was proud supporter of the Iowa Golf Association and active participant for many years in its championships. His positive attitude, love for competition and ever-present smile was always present IGA events.

Read more about Stobeck’s inspiring story back to the course written by Zach Martin of the Globe Gazette by clicking here.

Elliott is GGP Amateur of the Year – Other Iowans honored

(Jeff Hayes/USGA)

Gene Elliott (at left), of West Des Moines, has been honored by Global Golf Post as their Men’s Amateur Golfer of the Year, regardless of age considerations.  Elliott excelled on the national stage in 2021, winning the most prestigious championships the two governing bodies present.  Elliott endured stringent testing protocols to travel to Europe in June & July which proved well worth it when he won the British Seniors Amateur by a single stroke at Ganton Golf Club in England.  He earned his coveted first USGA crown when he prevailed 1-up in the championship match at the U.S. Senior Amateur, held at the Country Club of Detroit.

In addition to Elliott’s recognition, other Iowans were named to the various GGP All-Amateur Teams as well.  Elliott was joined by Mike McCoy, of Norwalk, on the GGP Men’s Senior Amateur First Team.  McCoy captured the George C. Thomas Senior Division and the Crump Cup Senior crown in 2021.  He also made the cut at the U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club.  Joe Palmer, also of Norwalk and the champion of the Iowa Senior Match Play and the IGA Match Play, was named to the second team.  Finally, Nate McCoy, of Ankeny, was an Honorable Mention selection for the Men’s Mid-Amateur team.

Click here to read about Elliott’s Amateur of the Year Honor

Click here to view the Men’s Mid-Amateur Selections (N. McCoy)

Click here to view the Men’s Senior Amateur Selections (Elliott, M. McCoy, Palmer)

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