Empowering Generations: The Ann Griffel Scholarship

Ann Griffel made significant and diverse impacts on golf in Iowa, wearing multiple hats as a player, volunteer, administrator, and benefactor. Jill Blackwood, former president of the Iowa Women’s Golf Association, once highlighted Griffel’s unparalleled influence on women’s golf in the state, saying, “I doubt that there is another individual who had had a greater impact upon women’s golf in Iowa than Ann.”

Elected president of IWGA in 1962, Griffel held the position for 23 years, during which new competitive avenues for women were introduced, such as the Iowa Girls’ Junior Amateur, the State Wife-Husband, the Forever 39 Match Play, and the Senior Women’s Championship. Griffel’s leadership extended to chairing the State Wife-Husband tournament and winning titles like the Forever 39 and the Senior Amateur Championship multiple times. Her record 11 Iowa Women’s Senior Amateur titles remain to this day. She also played a pivotal role in establishing the Ann Griffel Scholarship Awards for Iowa high school seniors. The scholarship was later renamed in her honor.

Blackwood emphasized Griffel’s indispensable role in IWGA’s evolution, noting her initiative, foresight,leadership, and character during her long tenure. Griffel’s legacy endures, with the tournaments she initiated still thriving, even after passing in 2009.

Leighann LaRocca now chairs the Ann Griffel Scholarship Committee and is tasked with determining the annual winners. It is a challenging task as more than 50 highly qualified girls apply yearly. Narrowing the list down often takes weeks, and no details go unnoticed. Though this year’s scholars have yet to be decided, recipients know their efforts in the game of golf are well deserving of this prestigious scholarship.

The History of the Ann Griffel Scholarship written in Ione Reid and later updated by Sally Sharp

The Iowa Women’s Golf Association awards annually a full tuition scholarship to an Iowa high school girl graduating from an Iowa high school and enrolling at Iowa State University, State University of Iowa, or the University of Northern Iowa. This scholarship is open to 1) Girls of excellent character; 2) Girls who meet entrance requirements at the three universities; 3) Girls who are recommended by one or more high school officials; 4) Girls who are recommended by member golf associations of the IWGA; 5) Girls who have participated in at least one golfing event, either the Iowa Junior Girls’ Tournament, the Iowa Women’s Tournament, or one local city, club, or high school golfing event; 6) Girls who complete an application and submit it by April 1 of the graduating year. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered; 7) Golfing skill has no direct bearing on the scholarship award. Award of Scholarship will be made by the Scholarship Committee of the Iowa Women’s Golf Association. Send the application by April 1st to Mrs. Kenneth Watts, 3102 Terry Dr., S.E., Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52403. Additional application blanks may be obtained from Mrs. Watts.

In 1973, the IWGA awarded two $750.00 scholarships to two Iowa high school girls graduating from an Iowa high school and enrolling at any accredited state or private college in Iowa. This differs from the statement made in 1972 of awarding a full tuition scholarship. Also, there is a written paper in the historian’s records that three scholarships were awarded in 1973.

1980 is the first year that this writer can find any winners of the scholarship awards, and even though the IWGA book states that they are only awarding two scholarships of $750.00 each, the records that were found list five winners for 1980. 1981 was the first year for six scholarships.

The 1982 IWGA book states that this is the 20th annual scholarship award and that this year, they areawarding several $750.00 scholarships to Iowa high school girls.1985 was the year that the Scholarship award was changed to the 23rd Ann Griffel IWGA Scholarship Awards. The awards were changed to $1000.00. 1994 was the first year that the winners of the Ann Griffel IWGA Scholarship award were listed in the IWGA book. At the October 2005 fall board meeting, it was decided to change the six annual Ann Griffel scholarships to $1500.00 each, beginning in 2006.

Since 1963, more than 250 students have received this scholarship. The Ann Griffel Scholarship now awards five $2,000 scholarships to incoming first-year college students as Griffel’s legacy continues to impact the game’s future.

For a complete list of Ann Griffel Scholarship recipients, click here.

Next Week on Women’s Wednesday…

Iowans who have reached the pinnacle of professional golf and teed it up in history’s top significant championships.

South Hills Golf Course located in Waterloo, was host of this year’s Women’s Mid-Am Series Event #1. This event was in Stableford format. Individuals that played well would be rewarded more Stableford points throughout the round. Lindsay Burry (Waterloo – pictured above), proved playing smart and steady was key.

Burry finished with the lowest gross score with a 71 (-1), receiving 55 points for the day. Coming in second (gross) was Karli Kerrigan (Grimes), shooting a 73 (+1) being awarded 53 gross points and finishing tied for fifth in net points of 53. In third place was Geri Huser (Altoona), shooting a 75 (+3) receiving 51 points and finishing first in the Net Division 55 points, due to Burry winning the Gross Division. Ardrae Parmenter (Urbandale), shot a gross score of 88 (+16) finishing with 38 points, and net points of 54 finishing in third.

Honoring the Life and Legacy of Celia Barquin Arozamena

The following is an excerpt from Golden Harvest: Iowa’s Rich Golf History

Celia Barquin Arozamena was warming up for the final round of the 2018 Big 12 Conference women’s golf championship with a smile on her face. The late-April wind was blowing at better than 20 miles per hour at the Dallas Athletic Club. Celia was so excited that she got out her phone and texted her mom, MaA’ngeles Arozamena, back in Puente San Miguel, Spain.

“Mom,” she said. “It’s really windy. I’ve got this.”

Celia didn’t hit a long ball, but she was a low-ball hitter who loved playing in the wind.

“Her wind game was phenomenal,” Iowa State Coach Christie Martens said. “When she started a round and it was windy, she was so excited. She would always say, ‘Everyone else has already quit, guys, this is our day. Cyclonitas Day.’”

Celia started the final round two back, but fired a three-under 69 to win the elite championship by three shots. Martens, who has built a perennial NCAA program in Ames, always plays a strong schedule. So winning individual titles takes some doing. The Big 12 title was the first tournament victory of Arozamena’s career. Iowa State hadn’t had an individual women’s conference champion since Shelley Finnestad, who won the 1993 Big Eight Championship.

Mike Green, Iowa State’s director of athletic communications, was following Arozamena’s progress on line during that final round in Dallas.

“I remember sitting there thinking, ‘Holy cow, she’s going to win this thing,’” he said. “Everyone knew she was good enough to do it. But you’ve still got to do it.”

Green has interviewed countless Iowa State athletes over the years. The most enjoyable conversation of his career came when he talked to Celia right after her Big 12 triumph.

“She was ecstatic,” Green recalled. “That was like her ultimate goal. And she got it. She wanted to win a tournament so bad. Not for herself, but for Iowa State. This is what was so special about her.”

Five months later, it was Martens who had to phone Celia’s parents back in Spain with unspeakable news. Their daughter had been murdered while playing a round of golf at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames, a senseless tragedy that brought a tidal wave of heartfelt and international support reaching as far as the Ryder Cup in France.

“It was really, really hard,” Martens said. “I recruited her in Spain. Everyone told her if you want to play college golf you had to go to the south. I met her and her mom when I watched her play in a tournament in France, and we just got along great. Her mom said, ‘I trust you, I want my daughter to go to Iowa State.’ It was very hard, but I guess the thing that meant the most to me is that she said Cel was happy every day that she was there. And even though this has happened, if we had to decide all over again we’d still send her to Iowa State.’ That meant a lot.”

Her Iowa State career ended at the NCAA Regionals, but Celia was just getting started. She qualified for the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open in dramatic fashion. Playing a 36-hole qualifier in Stillwater, Minn., Celia appeared to shoot herself out of contention with an opening 78. She was so far back that Green didn’t bother to follow her progress in the second round. He had no clue what was going on until Iowa State assistant coach Sarah Butler texted him and said, “I think she has a chance to make it.”

Arozamena shot a second-round 66, including a back-nine 31, that got her in a two-player playoff for the final spot. After getting outdriven by 80 yards on the first extra hole, Celia hit a hybrid within inches of the cup and tapped in the winning birdie putt. Celia texted her close friend, M.J. Kamin. The message read, “I’m in.” It included a smiley face. She shot 76-75 in the Open at Shoal Creek and missed the cut by three shots, but the experience was invaluable.

Just the second Cyclone player to be named to the All-Big 12 first team on three occasions, the civil engineering major won the European Ladies Amateur Championship in Slovakia at the end of July. Celia finished at 16-under 272, which included a course-record 63 in the third round. Then she got past the first stage of qualifying for the LPGA Tour, and was preparing for the second stage in October when she lost her life. “I firmly believe she was going to get on the LPGA Tour,” Green said.

Iowa State was playing in a tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., and had the lead heading into the final round on Sept. 17, 2018. The last text Martens received from Celia, sent the morning of her death, included a screen shot of the standings along with these words: “Nice to see my Cyclonitas on top. Keep it up girls.” The Cyclones withdrew from the tournament after learning of Arozamena’s death, and the university sent a plane to fly them back to Ames to deal with the tragedy. The following day, ESPN, CBS, NBC and ABC all had reporters in Ames for what had became a national story. Martens spoke at an emotionally-charged news conference on September 18.

“I couldn’t have done what she did,” Green said. Martens talked about Celia’s competitive spirit, and about her love for Iowa State and her native country. “She was such a competitive person,” Martens said. “If she put her mind to something she was always going to accomplish it. The spotlight was on her because of her golf. But what makes it so hard and so special is who she was as a person and how much she meant to me personally, and to our program and everyone at Iowa State.”

Celia was to be honored as Iowa State’s female athlete of the year at halftime of the Cyclones’ football game on Sept. 22 at Jack Trice Stadium.

“When we told her she was going to be honored for being athlete of the year, she just started crying,” Martens said. “She said, ‘This is such an honor. I can’t believe I’m going to be on the field’.”

Fans wore yellow, her favorite color, to honor her. Yellow t-shirts were sold with proceeds going to a memorial fund in her name. Both Iowa State and Akron players wore CBA decals on their helmets. Iowa State’s band formed her initials during a halftime routine. Men’s and women’s professional golf tours and college tournaments honored Celia. A moment of silence was held in Puente San Miguel the day after her death. A campus vigil was held in Ames. Celia’s favorite professional golfer, Sergio Garcia, tweeted his condolences. He had also tweeted congratulations after she had won the Big 12 Championship.

“She loved Spain, and she loved Sergio,” Martens said.

Garcia and his European Ryder Cup teammates wore yellow ribbons in her honor the week of the competition in late September.

“The golfing family extends way beyond what we are trying to do this week,” European captain Thomas Bjorn said. “You know, those events in America with Celia being killed playing golf is something that hit everybody in the golf family, and obviously our two Spanish players (Garcia and Jon Rahm) very much. And we felt that after a conversation from Ryder Cup Europe with Celia’s mother, that we would honor her this week. That’s what we are doing, and it’s nothing about us, but it’s just more about the golfing family being touched by these things all over the world. She was such a great prospect for the game of golf, but also a wonderful person. And when you speak to Sergio and Jon about it, they couldn’t talk highly enough about her.”

American players also wore yellow ribbons during opening ceremonies, and during the week. Zach Johnson, a vice captain on the U.S. team, used three words to describe his feelings about the tragedy.

“I’m so gutted,” he said.

The golfing family Bjorn spoke of is a tight group.

“We were stunned and amazed at the support from everyone,” Green said. “And it was across the board. We were just honored and thrilled to know that people cared about her. And it was fitting, because she was a special person. It was really neat to see people honor her legacy.”

Celia Barquin Arozamena, just 22 years old when she died, left a remarkable legacy in a short time. “She was really at the pinnacle of her career,” Martens said. Celia grew up playing Abra de Pas, a municipal course in her home town of Puente San Miguel. In a fitting tribute, it has been renamed for her.

Next Week on Women’s Wednesday…

Ann Griffel left a lasting legacy both on and off the golf course. The winner of more than a dozen IWGA events, Griffel’s biggest impact has been helping the next generation with the Ann Griffel Scholarship.