Leanne Smith (Indianola) secured the victory at the 61st Iowa Women’s Forever Match Play Championship at Ankeny Golf & Country Club. Some may recall Smith also won the 59th Women’s Iowa Forever 39 Match Play at Hillcrest Golf & Country Club in 2021. After shooting 38 (+2) in the qualifying round, Smith was seeded fifth. Smith was determined to capitalize on the format of match play.

“I just feel like you’re always in it, whether you really have it all together. Something may happen, you have your own fate in your hand,” Smith said.

In the her first match Smith played against No. 4 seed Carroll Dethrow (Nevada). The two of them both played solidly; but Smith would win 1 up. In round two’s match Smith was up against No. 8 eight seed Kelly Nelson (Waterloo) who defeated defending champion and No. 1 seed Fiona Watson (Des Moines) in round one. Smith would end up defeating Watson 1 up. In the final match Smith went against No. 3 seed Geri Huser (Altoona), Smith would go on to defeat Huser 2&1 to claim the overall title. 

In the first flight No. 3 seeded Rosalie Kubesheski (Dubuque) secured the victory. Along the way Kubesheski defeated No. 6 seed Nicol Jones (Ankeny) 3&1, No. 2 seed Mary Howell (Ames) 1up, and No. 4 seed Erin Schaffer (Johnston) 2&1.

Janis Owens (Cresten) No. 3 seed would breeze her way to win the second flight. Along the way Ownes would defeat No. 6 seed Bonnie Jones (Cedar Rapids) 2 up, No. 2 seed Cindy Morrison (Indianola) 2&1, and No. 8 seed Laura Pierce (Ankeny) 4&3.

Smith commented about her mom (Janis Owens) winning the second flight.

“It is so fun sharing all of this with my mom, we play in a lot of the same stuff and get to hang out together,” she said.

No. 3 seed Shirly Rochelle (Council Bluffs) held on and captured the victory in the third flight. Along the way Rochelle would beat No. 6 seed Juile Hartman (Greenfield) 2&1 No. 2 seed Kelly Grimes (Des Moines) in 10 holes. Before the final match No. 1 seed Darci Duey (Johnston) and No. 4 seed Becky Schwiete (Ankeny) fought hard for 16 holes before Schwiete won on the 17th hole. In the final Schwiete fell to Rochelle 2&1.

No. 1 seed Fiona Watson (Des Moines) battled back in the consultation bracket finals and won. Watson took down No. 4 seed Carroll Dethrow (Nevada) 3&2 and No. 2 seed Kathy Fortune (Rockwell City) 2&1.

In the first flight consultation bracket No. 2 seed Michell Klein (Jesup) won in style. Kline took down No. 3 seed Nicol Jones (Ankeney) 3&2 and Jan Sewright (Ankeny) in 11 holes to capture the win.

No. 1 seed Jan Herke (Ankeny) would win the second consultation bracket. In the process Herke defeated No. 4 seed Leighann Larocca (Clive) 1 up and No. 2 seed Sue Harmon (Slater) 3&2.

Julie Hartma (Greenfield) No. 3 seed would take home the victory in the third consultation bracket. Hartman would defeat No. 2 seed Lora Winter (Walford) and Mary Nelson (Ankeny) 2&1. 

From left – Erin Schaffer (First Flight Champion), Fiona Watson (Overall Champion), Kelly Nelson (Second Flight Champion) and Jan Sewright (Third Flight Champion).

Fiona Watson left little doubt in the 60th Women’s Forever 39 Match Play Championship hosted by Echo Valley Country Club in Norwalk.

Watson (right), who earned medalist honors following a 33 (-3), made short work of #8 seed Janece Schwartzkopf in her opening round match of the Championship Flight, winning 4&3. Watson earned her way into the final match with a win over Robin Webb 3&2. Watson met Laura Leszczynski in the finals, who defeated Kelly Grimes (3&2) and Leanne Smith (3&2) in her route to the finals.

In the finals, Watson led from the word go and never looked back after winning two of the first three holes, leading to another 3&2 victory with the help of three birdies in eight holes.

Erin Schaffer defeated Kathy Fortune 2 up to win the First Flight and Kelly Nelson defeated Leighann Larocca 4&2 to take the Second Flight victory. Jan Sewright defeated Cindy Morrison 2 up in the final match of the Third Flight.

Click here to see full results

Leanne Smith was crowned champion at the 58th Iowa Women’s Forever 39 Match Play Championship on Tuesday afternoon at Hillcrest Golf and Country Club in Adel. Smith (pictured above), of Indianola, defeated Laura Leszczynski, of St. Mary’s, 4&3 in the final round.

After winning the Forever 39 Match Play and the 2019-2020 IGA Women’s Match Play, it is official that Smith knows how to win match play events.

“I can be a little errant sometimes,” Smith said. “Giving up a big hole doesn’t really phase me in match play, you just lose the hole, you don’t fall behind in strokes. I know that I can go out and make birdies.”

In the stroke play qualifier, Smith carded a 1-under 35 and finished runner-up to medalist Fionna Watson. Smith earned the No. 2 seed in the Championship Flight bracket and faced off against Carole Schlapkohl in her first match.

“I had never played out there (at Hillcrest),” Smith said “I was trying to figure out where to be off the tee and just trying to figure out where I needed to be on the greens. It was nice to shoot a good number to set yourself up well in the matches.”

The stroke play qualifying helped Smith prepare for her matches and gave her a little boost of confidence going into them. She stuck to her game plan and won the Women’s Forever 39 Match Play in her first appearance in the event.

The No. 1 seed, Fiona Watson faced off against the No. 6 seeded Rosalie Kubesheski in the Consolation Match and won 4&3. Watson lost to Leszczynski, who won 2 up, in the second round and Kubesheski fell to Smith, 2&1.

In the First Flight bracket, the No. 5 seeded Margene Grady knocked off Sue Harmon, 2&1 in the final match. During Grady’s journey to the win, she had to take on three of the top four seeds, including the No. 1 seed in the second round, Noreen Christians.

In the Consolation Match for the First Flight bracket, Ann Slechta took down Christians, 2&1. Slechta, who was the No. 7 seed, fell to Sue Harmon in round two, 3&1.

The No. 7 seed, Jan Sewright, was victorious in the Second Flight bracket, defeating the No. 1 seed Nancy Olberding to win the bracket. Sewright did not have an easy path either, beating the No. 2 seed Donna Vroom and the No. 3 seed Carroll Dethrow in rounds one and two.

Dethrow defeated Lora Winter in the Consolation Match for the Second Flight. Winter fell to the No. 1 seed Nancy Olberding and her match with Dethrow came down to the final hole.

The Third Flight bracket featured the No. 6 seeded Ardrae Parmenter taking on the No. 5 seeded Nancy Lorenzini in the final round. Parmenter pulled off her third upset of the tournament, and won the match against Lorenzini, 2&1.

Cathy West lost the Consolation Match for the Third Flight bracket to Jane Suiter, 1UP through eight holes. West was defeated by Lorenzini in round two and Suiter fell to the bracket winner, Parmenter.

In the consolation brackets, Julie Buerman won the Championship Flight over Robin Webb, 3&1. Michelle Klein took down Leighann Larocca in the First Flight Consolation bracket. Kelly Nelson beat Susan Mitchell in the Second Flight bracket and Bonnie Jones defeated Becky Schwiete in the Third Flight bracket.

Championship Flight Winner:
Leanne Smith def. Laura Leszczynski, 4&3

First Flight Winner:
Margene Grady def. Sue Harmon, 2&1

Second Flight Winner:
Jan Sewright def. Nancy Olberding, 5&3

Third Flight Bracket:
Ardrae Parmenter def. Nancy Lorenzini, 2&1

For the second straight event, Julie Buerman (pictured above right) walked away victorious.  The Cedar Rapids resident collected her third Iowa Women’s Forever 39 Match Play Championship with a 2&1 over Nicol Jones of Ankeny after making birdie on two of her last three holes.  Last Saturday (June 6th), Buerman was the winner of the first Women’s Mid-Am series event of the year held at Irv Warren GC in Waterloo.

Buerman defeated Nancy Lorenzini 3 &1 to reach the finals while Jones defeated Creston’s Janis Owens 2 up in the morning match. An IGA ‘rookie’, Jones made the most of her championship debut as she defeated Creston’s Janis Owens 2 up to advance to the championship match.

In the first flight, Sue Harmon (pictured above second from right) defeated Kathy Fortune 3&2 in the finals to capture the bracket title. Harmon advanced to the finals via a 10-hole victory over Jesup’s Michelle Klein. Like Harmon, Fortune’s morning match featured extra holes as she secured an 11-hole victory over Nicki Clayton.

In the second flight, 2019 Forever 39 Champion, Kelly Grimes (pictured above second from left), won the bracket title after a 1 up victory over Noreen Christians. Grimes advanced to the flight finals after she defeated Urbandale’s Ardrae Parmenter 3&2. Christians posted one of the largest margins of victories in the morning matches as she posted a 5&3 decision over Laura Leszczynski.

In the third flight, Clive’s Leighann LaRocca (pictured above left) posted a 2&1 victory over Ankeny’s Becky Schwiete. LaRocca advanced to the finals following a 1 up win against Urbandale’s Cathy West. Schwiete posted a 2 up victory over Karol Hare during the morning matches.

Waterloo’s Kelly Nelson (right), who captured medalist honors during the stroke play qualifying round, defeated Ila Gilbert in her final match of the tournament.

Click here for full results

The 57th Women’s Forever 39 Match Play Championship began Monday at Urbandale Golf and Country Club with nine holes of stroke play qualifying followed up by first round matches. Waterloo’s Kelly Nelson earned the #1 seed in the Champions Flight after she was the only competitor to shoot below par during the qualifying round. Her -1, 36 was highlighted by birdies on two of her last three holes. Janis Owens, of Creston, earned the #2 seed after she shot +1, 38 in qualifying.

One of the biggest upsets of the day came in the first match out as Nancy Lorenzini, #8 seed, beat #1 seed Kelly Nelson 3&1 in the Championship Flight. Two former Forever 39 Champions battled it out during the first round of match play as well, as Julie Buerman defeated Rose Kubesheski 2&1 to advance to the semi-finals. Buerman closed out the match with an eagle on the par-5 8th hole. Janis Owens and Nicol Jones also advanced to the semifinals of the championship with victories of 1 up and 2&1 respectively.

In the First Flight, Rockwell City’s Kathy Fortune advanced to the semifinals with a 1 up victory over Jennifer Corkrean of Ankeny. Fortune will face Greenfield’s Nicki Clayton, who defeated Jan Sewright 1 up. The other semifinal match-up with feature Michelle Klein, of Jesup, and Sue Harmon, of Slater, who won their matches 2&1 and 3&2 respectively.

The Second Flight bracket featured three run away victories: Urbandale’s Noreen Christians (5&3), Indianola’s Kelly Grimes (4&2), and Urbandale’s Ardrea Parmenter (3&2). Christian’s will face Laura Leszczynski in the first semifinal match while Grimes, the defending Forever 39 Champion, will face Parmenter.

The Third and final bracket will feature Urbandale’s Cathy West and Clive’s Leighann Larocca. Johnston’s Karole Hare, who won her first match 3&2, will face Ankeny’s Becky Schwiete who is coming off a 2&1 victory.

Day two gets underway tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. and live results can be found by clicking here.

Due to severe storms hitting Mason City and producing over 1.5 inches of rain overnight the front nine was closed for day two of the 55th annual Women’s Forever 39 Match Play.  Luckily the back nine was playable and used for the last two rounds of the tournament.

After nine holes Waterloo’s Kelly Nelson (above left) was 3 up with only two holes to go against Nancy Olberding, good enough to advance her to the final match against Janece Schwartzkopf (Stuart).  Schwartzkopf (above right) took the lead early on and never looked back, winning 2 & 1.

The first flight championship match included Jennifer Corkrean of Ankeny versus Carroll Dethrow of Nevada, who was the 2012 Forever 39 Match Play champion.  Corkrean ultimately prevailed, winning 2 up through nine.

Nicki Clayton and Becky Schwiete battled it out in the second flight bracket.  Never losing a hole, Clayton ended up winning 2 & 1 to be named champion of the second flight.