2022 Yearbook

47 After knocking off the No. 1 seeded Dylan Ellis, Willis Gaer and McCoy met in in the championship match, each looking for their first career IGA Match Play title. Both players were white-hot coming into the finals. “Willis didn’t let up all day,” McCoy said. “I watched wrestling videos to get me pumped up. I knew I was going to have to fight in the final round, so I listened to Tom Brands hype up his team to get me ready to take on Willis. Willis is really sharp right now and he played very well recently at Fort Dodge, so I had to give him my best.” After a hard-fought front nine McCoy headed for the back nine 2 up in the match. He went 3 up with a birdie on the par-five 11th hole, but very quickly Gaer would battle back. With wins on 12 and 13, Gaer was able to bring McCoy’s lead back to one. This put extra pressure on the reigning IGA Player of the Year. That one-hole lead ended up being the deciding factor of the match as McCoy and Gaer matched each other the rest of the way. With a two-putt par on the 18th hole, McCoy joined the many great Iowans who have claimed the IGA Match Play Championship title. 1 Dylan Ellis Parkersburg -5 67 2 Connor Peck Ankeny -2 70 3 Chris James Cedar Rapids -2 70 4 Joshua Manske Algona -2 70 5 Jay Gregory Lineville -2 70 6 Anthony Ruthey Port Byron -2 70 7 Brian Allison Norwalk -2 70 8 David Combs West Des Moines -1 71 9 Jonathan Douglas Sioux City -1 71 10 Nate McCoy Ankeny -1 71 11 Kelly Brown Marshalltown -1 71 12 Willis Gaer Des Moines -1 71 13 Bill Matzdorff Ankeny E 72 14 Ben Epperly West Des Moines E 72 15 J.D. Anderson Johnston E 72 16 Tate Carlson Marshalltown E 72 17 Jon Brown Adel +1 73 18 Sam Vertanen Ames +1 73 19 Burke Pitz Des Moines +1 73 20 Tony Birmingham Norwalk +1 73 Name City (Par 72) R1___ Stroke Play Qualifying 79 (+7) qualified for the 64-person bracket (L to R) Dylan Ellis (semifinalist), Willis Gaer (runner-up), Nate McCoy (champion), and Ethan Mechling (semifinalist)