2025 Yearbook

13 Adaptive Golf Adaptive Golf has long been a space that the IGA wanted to expand into. This season marked the first annual Iowa Adaptive Open and with it, the IGA welcomed the new field of players to the Des Moines metro. Players traveled from all across the country to participate with more than 40 teeing it up at Terrace Hills GC in Altoona. Eight deserving champions took home first place in their respective categories while Ryan Brenden (Open), Steve Husome (Senior), and Bruno Garla (Super Senior) captured the age-eligibility championships. The inaugural Prairie Meadows Iowa Adaptive Open was not only a celebration of athletic excellence, but it was a powerful reminder of what’s possible when accessibility and opportunity come together on the course. The IGA looks forward to continuing this championship for years to come. Historic Hosts The IGA once again secured top venues for its most prestigious championships this past season. Des Moines Golf & Country Club (South Course) hosted the 123rd playing of the Iowa Amateur where Cedar Falls’ Owen Sawyer lifted the Elliott Family trophy. The victory earned him a spot in the United States Amateur just a few weeks later at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. On the women’s side, Wakonda Club in Des Moines welcomed the top female golfers in Iowa for the 101st Iowa Women’s Amateur. Cyclones Pimkwan Chookaew and Keeley Marx took extra holes to determine the champion as the two finished in a tie following the 54-hole championship. Chookaew’s par on the second playoff hole was enough to hoist the Fladoos Family Trophy and garner her first Iowa Women’s Player of the Year honor. The victory also earned Chookaew a spot in the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur which will be contested at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee. Down to the Wire The season-long race for the IGA Player of the Year keeps participants and spectators on their toes. This seasonwas no different, and could be called the closest race across the board since the awards began. On the senior side, Jon Brown needed to close out his season with two straight victories first at the Briarwood Amateur then the IGA Senior Four-Ball to secure his second straight season long award. He did just that, and edged out U.S. Senior Amateur Champion Mike McCoy by 45 points. The Women’s Player of the Year was decided by a mere 25 points between Chookaew and Erika Holmberg, yet even that margin wasn’t one of the two tightest races. In the Men’s Division, Grant Smith needed to win his first round match at the U.S. Mid-Amateur to take home the award. He did just that and nearly reached the round of 16 before falling in extra holes in the round of 32. He would go on to edge out the four- time defending Player of the Year Nate McCoy by less than 23 points. On the Junior Girls’ side of things, Morgan Rupp and Ainsley Wilson finished in a tie for first which meant for the first time in its history, the tie breaking method would be used to name the Player of the Year. Rupp won the tie breaker which looks at the head to head points earned at the Iowa Girls’ Junior which she took home the title at in June. Turning the Page 2025 will go down in the record books for its scores, championships and the role mother nature played in providing a true test of grit. The upcoming 2026 season will see new enhancements such as running the IowaWomen’s Amateur and Iowa SeniorWomen’s Amateur concurrently. Additionally, the Iowa Junior Amateur will also see an expansion to its field size from 104 to 120. With few guarantees in life, one thing is for certain; the IGA and its championships and players are in a great place. The bar is going to be raised next season with dozens of eager participants ready to be the ones to do so. The inaugural Prairie Meadows Iowa Adaptive Open was a celebration of inclusive and accessible golf