Category: Iowa Amateur

Huseman leads, several within five shots at 116th Iowa Amateur

July 23, 20180 commentsChampionships, Iowa Amateur

Ankeny’s Andrew Huseman leads the charge after the opening round of the 116th Iowa Amateur. Huseman, who posted 67 (-4), thanks to seven birdies, leads another Andrew. Andrew O’Brien, of Clive, put up a 69 (-2) of his own, as did Tate Arends, of Orange City.

Great weather welcomed golfers to Polk City’s Tournament Club of Iowa (pictured above), as a total of 19 golfers are within five shots of the lead. Players will be jockeying for position tomorrow, as the field will be cut to the low 60 and ties for the final round.

Click here for a summary of scoring

116th Iowa Amateur Pairings Released

July 17, 20180 commentsChampionships, Iowa Amateur

GROUPINGS AND STARTING TIMES RELEASED

The groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the 116th Iowa Amateur Championship have been released.  You can view them under the “Tee Times” link in the blue menu above.

The Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City will be the host for the 116th playing of Iowa’s most prestigious amatuer championship.  It is the only Arnold Palmer Signature Designed course in the state.

Players will compete over the first two rounds to try and make the top 60 and ties, which will play a final round on Wednesday, July 25th.  Trevor Ullestad is back to defend the championship he won last year at Cedar Rapids Country Club.

VIEW GROUPINGS & STARTING TIMES

CARNEY FUNDRAISING CHALLENGE

We are excited to announce a tremendous gift and challenge from Jim Carney, who won the Iowa Amateur 50 years ago as a 19-year old.  Jim has pledge to make a gift of $5,000 to the IGA Foundation in honor of the 50-year anniversary of his win.

In addition to that, he will match any donation made by an Iowa Amateur contestant up to two weeks following the championship, up to an additional $5,000 gift.  So if you give $100, Jim will match with another $100.  If you give $20, Jim will match with another $20. If we meet Jim’s challenge, it will mean a total gift of $15,000 to the IGA Foundation!

Click here to see a flyer on the Fundraising Challenge

Iowa Amateur Qualifiers Canceled

July 6, 20180 commentsChampionships, Iowa Amateur

The qualifying events for the 116th Iowa Amateur Championship have been canceled.  All players originally enrolled in qualifying will be advanced to the championship proper at Tournament Club of Iowa on July 23 – 25.

The IGA accepted 139 entries through the deadline of July 5th.  We will accept up to 144 total entries before beginning a waitlist.  Those from the waitlist will be added to the field as other players withdraw.

Players who signed up for qualifying at the $85 fee are required to pay the remaining $65 fee to bring their entry fee to the full $150 amount.  They can do that by clicking here:  https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1271147

Groupings and Starting Times for the 116th Iowa Amateur will be released by Tuesday, July 17th.

Iowa Amateur adds qualifying with lower fee, reduces field to 132

April 6, 20180 commentsChampionships, Iowa Amateur, Uncategorized

The Iowa Golf Association has made some changes to it’s flagship event, beginning in 2018.  The Iowa Amateur will hold two qualifiers to identify golfers who will join the exempt players into the final field at the Tournament Club of Iowa.

The payment structure has been adjusted to encourage more players to try to qualify.  Those who enter a qualifying event will pay $85.  The players that make it through qualifying to play in the championship proper will then pay an additional $65 fee ($150 total).  Players who are exempt will enter the championship proper at TCI directly and will pay the full $150 entry fee at the time they enter.

Additionally, the field size at the championship proper at TCI will be reduced from 156 to 132 players.  This was done to to insure adequate pace of play during the championship, allow for more flexibility with weather and also to insure the necessity of the qualifying events.

“In the past, when we would bring 156 players to the championship proper, we would schedule qualifiers and then either cancel because we only had 156 total players enter, or we would have 80-90% of those in the qualifiers making their way through to the championship, which seemed a bit silly,” stated IGA Executive Director Chad Pitts.  “This would cause undue strain on the member courses that had agreed to host when we would cancel a qualifier.  Sometimes, that meant they could have hosted another outing or event on those days.”

“Granted, we may still have to cancel or have a very high qualifying rate even with reducing the field to 132, but the chances of it happening are drastically reduced”, added Pitts.

The qualifying events will take place at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames on July 11 and Amana Colonies GC in Amana on July 13.  The championship proper will be contested at Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City from July 23-25.  You can find entry information here.

 

Ullestad makes charge, wins 115th Iowa Amateur

July 27, 20170 commentsChampionships, Iowa Amateur

It wasn’t the start Trevor Ullestad, trailing by three to start the day, was looking for in the final round of the 115th Iowa Amateur at Cedar Rapids Country Club, but the Jewell native kicked it in gear mid-way through his opening nine holes and held on to the lead the rest of the way.

“I topped a three wood on #2,” Ullestad said. “Not sure where that came from. Then I made a pretty bad bogey right after that. But I knew there were plenty of birdies out there. I made a lot of them this week. I tried to keep my head down and recover as best I could.”

Following an impressive, and must needed, eagle on #6, Ullestad birdied both #8-9 to turn in 34 and had erased the deficit to Broc Everett, who led after two rounds.

Three bogeys on the front nine for Everett left him chasing on the back nine holes. After a bogey on #14, Ullestad answered right back with back to back birdies on the next two holes to leave Everett and Bull will fighting for the lead.

A birdie putt on #18 by Everett slid by that would have put somewhat of pressure on Ullestad’s upcoming par putt. Needing only to two-putt from mid-range, Ullestad rolled in the par putt to claim the title.

“My eagle on #6 (was a turning point),” Ullestad said. “That really settled me down and thought I could make a few more birdies.”

Not out of the mix, opening round leader Dennis Bull put on a charge of his own, birding #9, 10 and 11 to get to -4 on the day and briefly tied for the lead. Bull (68) would par in from that point leaving him, along with Everett(74), two strokes off of Ullestad’s 206 (-10) total.

“I knew I had to get it to 10-under-par,” Ullestad said. “I love this course, it’ so important to know where to put the ball on the greens. It’s a great golf course.”

The 115th Iowa Amateur champion commented it was the big stick that was the key for him at CRCC. Ullestad, who plays college golf at Missouri and will be a senior this fall

“I hit driver really well” Ullestad said. “I hit a lot of fairways. My putting wasn’t great, but I made enough of them to make up for that.”

Click here for a full recap of scoring.

College ‘kids’ take charge at 115th Iowa Amateur, Everett leads

July 25, 20170 commentsChampionships, Iowa Amateur

It was college day at the Cedar Rapids Country Club as four of the top five on the leaderboard will be buying books this fall in preparation for classes.

West Des Moines’ Broc Everett (pictured above) made the biggest statement, playing in the morning wave, of the second round of the 115th Iowa Amateur at CRCC.

Everett, who will be a senior on the golf team at Augusta University, matched Dennis Bull’s opening round 65 (-7) and leads the way at -10. His round included a total of seven birdies, an eagle and a pair of bogeys (bookends of a four birdie in a row stretch).

“I didn’t really have any expectations coming into the rounds,” Everett said. “I just tried to take it one shot at a time and early in the round I began to hit it really well. I was able to cruise my way in.”

By cruise he meant, continuing to add to his birdie count on the day.

“I had some kick-ins (on the back nine),” Everett said. “I made a couple nice putts as well. I know the course is going to play tougher tomorrow, which is great. I think we will see the Cedar Rapids Country Club we all expected tomorrow. On a Donald Ross course you have to stay below the hole and in the right spots. I hope for a carefree day tomorrow.”

Jewell’s Trevor Ullestad, who plays college golf at Missouri and will also be a senior this fall, posted another fine round of 69 (-3) to go along with his 68 yesterday and sits at -7.

Sitting at -5 and five strokes off the lead after two days is Alex Moorman (Centerville), who now plays at Iowa after transferring from Kansas this past spring.

Lurking at -4 is Frank Lindwall (Cedar Rapids), who will play for Iowa State beginning this fall. The lone ‘Mid-Am’ in the top five is opening round leader Dennis Bull (Norwalk), who is at -4 as well for the tournament.

The two-day cut was 153 (+9), which included the low 60 scores and ties.

Click here for a full recap of scores.

Bull charges out to the lead at 115th Iowa Amateur

July 24, 20170 commentsChampionships, Iowa Amateur

When the afternoon wave of the 115th Iowa Amateur arrived at Cedar Rapids Country Club and glanced at the leaderboard, some may of thought they were in Pamplona. However at CRCC, the Bull was out front and remained there throughout the day.

Playing in the morning group of tee times, Norwalk’s Dennis Bull made a run through the course in route to a sizzling 65 (-7). Bull’s round included 5 birdied, an eagle (#9) and no bogeys.

Cedar Rapids’ Jordan Even and Jewell’s Trevor Ullestad both posted fine scores, 68 (-4), to stay within striking distance of Bull. Even, an employee at CRCC, used his knowledge of the course to put six birdies of his own on the scorecard. Unfortunately he also made a pair of bogeys. Ullestad made six birdies of his own against two bogeys. A total of five players sit just four back of Bull’s lead at 69 (-3).

With the help of ideal scoring conditions, a total of 16 players broke par in the opening round. Play resumes tomorrow morning, where the field will be cut to the low 60 scores and ties after the second round.

Click here for a full recap of scoring.

Nate Dunn to Defend Iowa Amateur Title Against Tough Field

July 19, 20170 commentsIowa Amateur, News

Follow live scoring from the 115th Iowa Amateur

ANKENY, IOWA – Nate Dunn will be defending his Iowa Amateur title on home turf this year in a field of prestigious players. In addition to his win last year, he won the Iowa Amateur Championship in 2004 and 2014. Dunn was the Player of the Year in 2007 and won the IGA Match Play Championship in 2015.

The Iowa Golf Association is excited to come back to Cedar Rapids Country Club for the 115th Iowa Amateur Championship July 24 through July 26. Cedar Rapids Country Club hosted the Iowa Amateur in 1984, 1955 and 1929. Pairings for the first round of the 115th Iowa Amateur Championship were released on Tuesday and can be found at https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/899233.

This year’s field is full of decorated players who are seeking to add an Iowa Amateur to their list of Championship titles. The field was extended from 144 players to 156 players to accommodate the surplus of entrants.

The current field includes 51 players who have received exemption status due to their outstanding performances in past championships. On that list you will see names like Mike McCoy, Gene Elliott, Jon Olson, J.D. Anderson, Nate Dunn, Tripp Kinney, Andrew Wood and Jon Brown.

Tripp Kinney is going into his second year at Iowa State University and plays for the Cyclone Men’s Golf team. Kinney won the IGA Match Play Championship in June. Andrew Wood won the Iowa Junior Amateur in June as well. He just graduated from Linn-Mar High School and has committed to play on the University of Northern Iowa Men’s Golf team in the fall.

J.D. Anderson won the Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship last May. He also has an Iowa Four-Ball Championship title as well as multiple wins in sanctioned point events over the years.  He is currently third in the 2017 Player of the Year point standings.

McCoy and Elliott teamed up to win the IGA Four-Ball in late May. McCoy has won five Iowa Amateur titles in addition to being Player of the Year an impressive eleven times. Elliott has won three Iowa Amateur Championships and four Player of the Year titles. Elliott has won Player of the Year for the last two years running and is currently second in this year’s standings, buoyed by a recent win at the Iowa Masters. Both McCoy and Elliott are Iowa Golf Hall of Fame members and are major competitors within and outside the state.

Brown is currently leading this year’s Player of the Year point standings by twenty points. He won Player of the Year titles in 2006 and 2004 and won the Iowa Amateur in 2006. He recently finished second to Elliott at the Iowa Masters.

Jon Olson won the Iowa Amateur Championship in 2012 and was the IGA Player of the Year in 2014. He also won the IGA Match-Play Championship in 2011 and has won the Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship three times (2011, 2014, 2015).

Play gets underway Monday at 7:30 a.m.  All players will play two rounds and then the low 60 & ties will make the cut to the final round on Wednesday.  You can follow live scoring here.

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