2022 Yearbook

11 and Iowa Masters along the way. Mike backed up good friend Gene Elliott’s victory at the British Senior Amateur and kept that trophy in Iowa for at least 12 more months! Ruby Chou was impressive in taming Cedar Rapids Country Club en route to the Iowa Women’s Amateur and Iowa Women’s Player of the Year crowns. We saw repeat Player of the Year performances from Laura Leszczynski and Pat Ryan in the Senior Women’s & Super Senior Men’s categories, respectively. Plus Bella Pettersen and Max Tjoa burst on the scene to capture the respective Junior Player of the Year titles. Not to mention, all of the success Iowans had qualifying and playing in USGA championships, including Jon Brown’s run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Senior Amateur in his “debut” as a newly minted 55-year old. We continued to expand on our impact with youth golf and golfers. We recognized the accomplishments of eight outstanding young students with our Ann Griffel and Herman Sani Scholarships. Our Youth on Course program continues to grow, now with over 600 members playing over 3,000 rounds of golf. This resulted in over $18,000 worth of subsidies to our participating courses. Plus, we will increase our cooperation with the First Tee through the upcoming Golf House facility. It’s rewarding and exciting to introduce this great game to so many young people. Our staff had a new member this year as Karli Kerrigan took over the role of Director of Competitions. Karli spent two seasons with us as an intern and we were thrilled to welcome her back to our team. She started full-time in May as she was finishing graduate school earlier in the year, but once she got rolling she never stopped. It has proven to be a great fit and we look forward to giving her even more autonomy next year and moving forward. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the entire staff and our interns - Katelynn, Nate, Clint, Karli, Justin, Gavin, & Jackie. These guys and gals came in clutch for us in a bunch of ways in 2022. With the Golf House project taking up so much of my time, along with the birth of our son in the middle of the summer, these folks stepped up and covered for me in a bunch of ways. They are the best people to work with. I am so appreciative of their professionalism and dedication to the IGA. We are very lucky. Finally, I look forward to a historical 2023. The Ryder Cup andWalker Cup will be captained by two Iowans in Zach Johnson and Mike McCoy. It is hard to believe that I just wrote that previous sentence. Plus, if all goes according to plan, Golf House Iowa will rise from the ground as the year progresses. Finally, we have some awesome venues lined up to host our championships and anticipate golf to continue to see high levels of participation and engagement. We can’t wait. See you all in 2023! Karli Kerrigan, newly hired IGA Director of Competitions. IGA staff members Katelynn, Clint, Chad, Nate, and Karli (L to R).