IGA Women’s Player of the Year – Ruby Chou

Ruby Chou earned her first IGA Women’s Player of the Year title over the defending title holder, Leanne Smith. Chou’s season included a NCAA Women’s National Championship appearance and a top-15 finish at the Big 12 Championship. 

Chou earned her NCAA Women’s National Championship bid after a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Stanford Regional. Chou joined teammate Taglao Jeeravivitaporn as the two Cyclone individuals that qualified for the NCAA Women’s National Championship. 

As the season went on, Chou earned quarterfinalist honors at the IGA Women’s Match Play Championship. She claimed the No. 4 seed but was defeated by the 2021 Junior Girls’ Player of the Year, Paige Hoffman. 

Chou concluded her season with a win at the Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship at Cedar Rapids Country Club. This victory gave Chou 600 points to climb into first place in the IGA Women’s Player of the Year race. 

Now an Iowa Women’s Amateur Champion and an IGA Women’s Player of the Year, Chou has etched her name into Iowa Golf history with her impressive season. She was also able to write her name below the 2021 Iowa Women’s Amateur Champion and her sister, Joy Chou.

IGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year – Laura Leszczynski

Laura Leszczynski claimed her second-straight IGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year victory after another close race against Rose Kubesheski. The two competitors battled it out all season, but Leszczynski was able to make a late push and win back-to-back titles.

Leszczynski started off her year with a third-place finish in the Forever 39 Match Play Championship. She made it to the Championship Flight where she was defeated by Janis Owens. 

In the Senior Division at the 12th IGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship, Leszczynski and her partner, Cindy Morrison, finished second with rounds of 77 and 76. Following the IGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship, Leszczynski went on to make it to the Round of 16 in the IGA Women’s Match Play. This gave her another 100 points to her season total. 

Next on Leszczynski’s schedule was the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifier where she finished as medalist. She went on to earn a third-place finish at the IGA Women’s Mid-Am Series Event #2. 

At the Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship, Leszczynski finished as the runner-up in the Senior Division. Still trailing Kubesheski, Leszczynski needed a solid showing at the Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.

With her first win of the season at the Senior Women’s Amateur, Leszczynski inched closer to a repeat performance. There were two tournaments left on her schedule. Leszczynski earned a top-10 finish at the IGA Women’s Club Team Championship, which put her five points behind Kubesheski. 

Now with one tournament remaining, Leszczynski had to make up a five-point deficit to claim the player of the year title. Alongside her partner, Kathy Fortune, Leszczynski was able to finish in fourth place at the IGA Women’s Mid-Am Series Event #3 and win the 2022 IGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year title.