Category: Championships
Herrmann wins 38th Iowa Mid-Amateur, Palmer & Brooks top divisions
Muscatine’s own Sam Herrmann (right) finished victorious at the the 38th Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship hosted by Geneva Golf and Country Club. 1-under on the day, Herrmann finished the tournament 2-under (211), holding off Ankeny’s Connor Peck who played the final round 2-over for a total of 214. Josh Janeczko of West Des Moines and Jon Brown of Adel tied for third place at 217. Janeczko played a strong 1-under (70) round while Brown struggled to make up ground, ending up with a 3-over 74.
While having the home course advantage, this was Herrmann’s first ever IGA victory.
“Patience was the biggest thing for me,” he said. “[I] knew I was going to be nervous out of the gate.”
Despite Peck’s early lead, Herrmann stuck to his plan and it paid off on the back nine.
“[I] had a few putts roll my way, Connor got plopped out on 16 and [I] just sort of capitalized on that,” Herrmann explained after the round.
Herrmann commented his driver was instrumental in closing out his win.
“Those finishing holes were no joke, especially with the wind,” Herrmann said. “[I] just had to commit to free swinging it.”
With the course being “the firmest” and “the fastest” it has played in a while, Herrmann believed that “growing confidence with that club was big” down the stretch.
In the Senior Division, Joe Palmer (left) of Norwalk triumphed over Ankeny’s Curtis Holck after three playoff holes in a finish reminiscent of the 2021 Senior Match Play championship match, when Palmer defeated Holck in a neck-to-neck 20 hole match. Holck played the final round 1-over (73) to force a playoff with Palmer despite teeing off three strokes back. The pair finished the tournament at 221, with Ottumwa’s Jeff Collett in third at 223.
Bob Brooks of West Des Moines continued his dominance over the Super Senior Division with a 1-over 72, gapping the field by 9 strokes on the tournament with an overall 1-over 214. Runner-up Tom Norton of Muscatine totaled a 223 and third place Dave Waugh of Davenport finished at 225.
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Two share lead into final round of 38th Iowa Mid-Amateur
The second round of the 38th Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship at Geneva Golf and Country Club in Muscatine saw brisk winds throughout the day. In the Mid-Amateur Division, Sam Herrmann of Muscatine carded the low score of the day with a 2-under 69, followed by Dustin Atkinson of Marion and Jon Brown of Adel at an even 71 each.
Herrmann joins Connor Peck of Ankeny at the top of the leaderboard with total scores of 141, with Brown’s total of 143 only two strokes behind heading into the final round.
The Senior Division is led by Jeff Collett of Ottawa and Bruce Westemeier of Cedar Falls with 3-over scores of 74, with Ankeny’s Curtis Holck and Polk City’s Brian Verduyn hot on their tails with a pair of 75’s. Norwalk’s Joe Palmer remains on top with a total of 145, due to his strong first round performance. In second place with a total of 146, Collett looks to build upon his second round momentum on Saturday.
Bob Brooks of West Des Moines maintained his first-round lead in the Super Senior Division with an even-par 71. At a total gross of 142, he leads the division by eight strokes going into the final round with Tom Norton of Muscatine and Dave Waugh of Davenport tied for second at 150.
Brown comes out on top at 21st IGA Senior Match Play, Gaer claims Super Senior bracket
Jon Brown (right, who has had success in match play format events before, came away with the 21st IGA Senior Match Play Championship at Lake Panorama National Golf Course on Tuesday, with a superb 4 & 3 victory over fellow Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Gene Elliott.
“It feels great. This is my first IGA event as a senior golfer,” Brown said. “Gene is, if not the best, one of the top three or four senior players in the world. He’s such a great guy, great friend and I was looking forward to playing him. You know you better bring your ‘A’ game against Gene to have a chance.”
Brown, who defeated Terry Cook 6 & 5 in the morning semifinals, got off to a quick start versus Elliott in the afternoon, racing out to a 3 up lead after nine holes. A par on the 15th hole, after Elliott had tried to claw his way back into the match, gave Brown the trophy.
“I love match play and have had some success in it, ” Brown said. “Honestly, having the success at last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur, having success against national-caliber players and building off that has been everything (for me). I hadn’t been scoring this year, but I felt like something clicked this week.”
Elliott, who defeated Jay Gregory in his morning semifinal match, battled back to 3 down after 13 holes against Brown. However Brown just would simply not let Elliott get any closer.
“I felt like if I could just keep doing what I was doing and try to run out of holes, that’s how to do it, ” Brown said. “You don’t want to give a guy like Gene any room (to make a comeback). It’s nice to get a win early in the season and this gets me fired up. There are some tight driving holes on this course. I was really happy with my ball-striking this week.”
Brown defeated Bret Taylor (4 & 3) in the Round of 16 and Ron Peterson (7 & 5) in the quarterfinals during his path to the championship.
“This is where we (Gene and I) wanted to be, we wanted to be playing each other,” Brown said. “It’s not hard to play against your buddies. I have been doing that for 35 years. You appreciate these moments as we are on the back nine of our careers. When you look back at tournaments you’ve won when you beat a guy like Gene or Mike (McCoy) or Joe (Palmer), they mean more because of all their accomplishments.”
In the Super Senior Division, Dave Gaer (left) defeated Tom Norton 3 & 2, in a match that Gaer was able to control most of the way.
“I hit the ball really well this week,” Gaer said. “Match Play is a grind. You have to pay attention. I got off to a great start and was hitting in close (against Norton). I hit it well all day and I can’t complain. It’s great to be a part of the Iowa Golf Association and the event was great.”
Gaer, who defeated Tom Schilling 4 & 3 to reach the finals against Norton, who beat Bob Brooks in a great match by the score of 1 up, knew Norton wouldn’t go down without a fight in the afternoon.
“Tom is a grinder,” Gaer said. “He’s proven he can win and he’s a great competitor. We had a great match.”
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Buerman, Parmenter take home top honors at IGA Mid-Am Series Event #1
Julie Buerman (above right) of Cedar Rapids took home the victory at the IGA Women’s Mid-Am Series Event #1, held Saturday, May 13 at Gates Park Golf Course in Waterloo. Buerman won the stableford tournament with 50 points, five points ahead of the field, with back-to-back birdies on holes 2 and 3 and a 76 on the day.
In the Net Division, Urbandale’s Ardrae Parmenter (above left) won with 55 points. Buerman finished second with 53 points, followed by Cedar Falls’ Margene Grady and Grimes in a tie at 52 points. Leszczynski rounded out the top five with 51 points.
Hoyle / Stith pull away for win at 27th IGA Four-Ball Championship
Just when things looked to get interesting, the side of Charlie Hoyle / Tyler Stith (above) left no doubt on who would be holding the trophy at the conclusion of the 27th IGA Four-Ball Championship hosted by Burlington Golf Club.
Birdies on #16 and #17 by Stith and a par on #18 by Hoyle gave them a comfortable three-shot win over a trio of teams. Hoyle / Stith posted rounds off 62-67 for a -15 total.
“This is the first one of these going in the trophy case,” Stith said. “I knew the course a little bit and I knew with his (Charlie) length he could hit a lot of drivers. I had to manage the course a little more. We felt like there weren’t as many birdie holes on the back nine to start out on Friday. We took off after that and that set us up for today (final round).”
Hoyle echoed Stith and commented that staying in the correct positions around the BGC layout was critical.
“I am generally a long hitter, so for me it plays a little different, but you can’t get out of position.” Hoyle said. “You’re playing defensively if you do. We tried to hit as many greens as we could. Tyler made some clutch shots coming down the stretch.”
After a chip-in birdie on the 16th hole, Stith found himself above the hole on the 17th. A spot that doesn’t lend itself to much success, yet Stith had a feeling this was his time – and it was.
“I knew I was going to make it.” Stith said. “I told him I got this. I felt at that moment I was going to make that putt. It crept in on the edge. Something came over me the last few holes and I was able to execute some shots that we needed. For the most part, we did a great job of staying under the hole all week.
In the Senior Division, the side of Jay Gregory / Jeff Collett (right) collected the win, but it wasn’t easy.
Gregory / Collett, who shot rounds of 67-66, had to overcome a hometown team of John O’Neill and Micheal Mathiasmeier in a playoff that lasted three holes.
“They hung in there tough and I made a 20’ putt from above the hole on our third playoff hole.” Gregory said.” I finally got one to go in. You had to be very careful on the greens. If you got above the hole it was tough, but the greens were fantastic. We made a lot of birdies over the two rounds. ”
In the Super Senior Division, there was little left to doubt when then the dust had settled. Bob Brooks and Jim Butler (left) paired up to win by an astonishing 12 shots, following a pair of 66 rounds (-12). The side of Brooks / Butler only had to count a pair of bogeys over the 36-hole event – which came on the 10th hole both days.
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Four advance from U.S. Open Local Qualifying at Glen Oaks CC
(From left) Josh Bousman (73), Brandon Bauman (73), Lucas Scherf (74) & Jack Dumas (74) advance from U.S. Open Championship Local Qualifying hosted by Glen Oaks Country Club on May 1.
Brutal.
To put it lightly Glen Oaks Country Club played tough for the field on Monday, during U.S. Open Local Qualifying. Strong, gusting winds (30-40+ mph), cooler temperatures and championship course conditions left many scratching their head after their round and several just glad to have ‘weathered’ the day.
Professionals Josh Bousman (Clinton) and Brandon Bauman (Las Vegas) fared the best, posting 73 (+2) to share medalist honors and advance to Final Qualifying. Both players were successful in keeping the big number off the scorecard, as each had only one score higher than double bogey and added five birdies to the mix, on a day that sent scores sailing.
“This was one of the hardest rounds of golf I have ever played,” Bauman said. “I tried to pick a spot on the driving range to get a feel for the wind. No matter what direction the wind was, you had to take it flat out one shot at a time. I practically had to start it out of bounds on #12, in order to hit the fairway. You had to make a few birdies to have a chance on Monday. There’s no way you could par all 18 holes, you were going to make a bogey here and there.”
Bousman closed out his day with three straight birdies (on holes #7-9), which he commented were holes he thought he could attack.
“It was a grind out there,” Bousman said. “There weren’t any holes you could just put it in neutral. I switched golf balls (on Monday) to keep my spin down into the greens. I knew #7, #8 and #9 were my best chances to make birdie, so I was just trying to get to that stretch with a chance. I wasn’t trying to think too far ahead. I actually left my eagle putt on my last hole just short. I had a lot of birdie opportunities and tried to stay below the hole as much as I could, so I could be aggressive on the greens. I didn’t have any three-putts on the day.”
Rounding out the final two of four qualifying spots included a pair of Drake University golfers, Lucas Scherf and Jack Dumas, who both posted 74 (+3). Scherf collected four birdies in his round, while Dumas found pars to be his friend – making 10 total on the day.
Earning 1st Alternate on Monday was Tracy Vest (Iowa City) by way of a four-hole playoff that began with five total players who posted 75 (+4). Sam Meuret (Waukee) earned 2nd Alternate.
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2022 IGA Annual Awards Banquet Recap
The 2022 IGA Awards Dinner took place Thursday, December 8 at Terrace Hills Golf Course in Altoona. It was an enjoyable night with several deserving honorees and award winners in various categories being celebrated for their efforts.
The following individuals and courses were honored –
PGA Pro of the Year – Jeff Moore, Finkbine Golf Course
Club Manager of the Year – Deb Jaycox, Spencer Golf & Country Club
9-Hole Superintendent – Scott Rohlfsen of Jesup Golf & Country Club
18-Hole Superintendent – Anthony Mieske, Crow Valley Golf Club
9-Hole Course of the Year – Gateway Recreation, Inc., Monroe
18-Hole Course of the Year – Fort Dodge Country Club
George Turner Distinguished Service Award – Rick Brown, Pleasant Hill
Sean Flanders Volunteer of the Year Award – Carolyn Frescoln, Norwalk
Player of the Year – Nate McCoy, Ankeny (View video)
Senior Player of the Year – Mike McCoy, Norwalk (View video)
Super Senior Player of the Year – Pat Ryan, Marshalltown (View video)
Read more about the Men’s Players of the Year
Women’s Player of the Year – Ruby Chou, Ames (View video)
Senior Women’s Player of the Year – Laura Leszczynski, St. Mary’s (View video)
Read more about the Women’s Players of the Year
Junior Girls’ Player of the Year – Bella Pettersen, North Liberty (View video)
Junior Boys’ Player of the Year – Maxwell Tjoa, Cedar Falls (View video)
Read more about the Junior Players of the Year
2023 IGA schedule, USGA qualifying locations announced
The 2023 IGA Championship calendar has been released. The schedule includes a tremendous lineup of IGA Member Clubs that will serve as host sites for next year’s IGA championships and USGA Qualifiers. There will also be some changes to a few championships, including an expansion of the Iowa Mid-Amateur and the hosting of qualifying events for the Iowa Amateur.
The Iowa Amateur will return to Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines from July 24-26. This will be the second time Glen Oaks CC hosted the state’s biggest amateur event, having previously hosted in 2011 (won by Gene Elliott). Qualifying events will return for the Iowa Amateur Championship as well, the first time since Glen Oaks CC last hosted in 2011. There will be three sites across the state in July where players who are not exempt can attempt to qualify and make the field of 132 that will tee it up at Glen Oaks CC.
Glen Oaks CC will also be the home of Iowa’s U.S. Open Local qualifier in 2023. The club will host top amateurs and professionals on Monday, May 1, as they try to move on to the sectional round and, perhaps, the championship itself at Los Angeles Country Club.
The Iowa Women’s Amateur will return to Finkbine Golf Course, one of the top collegiate courses in the midwest, in Iowa City for the fourth time. Finkbine also hosted the Iowa Women’s Amateur in 2016 (won by Jessie Sindlinger), 2010 (Kristin Paulson) and 2001 (Mary Anne Locker). The 2023 edition will be played Sun-Tues, July 16-18. Finkbine GC continues to make wonderful improvements to its facility, including a brand new clubhouse and updated practice facility.
Talons Golf in Ankeny will be the home of the men’s and women’s IGA Match Play Championships for the fourth straight year. The event will take place June 27-30. Talons Golf is a privately-owned course routed between beautiful rock-walled streams and covered bridges. As a popular venue for this event, many players, both men, and women, will look to add their names to the list of IGA Match Play champions.
The Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship will expand to 54 holes in 2023, allowing top finishers to receive World Amateur Golf Ranking points. Geneva Golf & Country Club in Muscatine will host the event next spring, May 18-20. Geneva G&CC has become a frequent stop for IGA events over the past few years, hosting the Senior Match Play in 2021 and U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifying in 2022. They also were home to the annual Iowa Cup Matches in 2022 (hosted by the Iowa PGA) which featured many top amateurs.
The Herman Sani Tournament will return August 11-13, to Johnston’s Hyperion Field Club. Since 2013 the event has rotated between Echo Valley Country Club and Hyperion and continues to feature the state’s best amateur and professional golfers vying for the trophy. Hyperion will also be home to the annual Iowa Cup Matches that feature the state’s top amateurs and professionals competing in a “Ryder Cup Style” competition on Sept 28-29.
The Senior Amateur Championships will head to venues that have hosted IGA championships in the past but never these specific events. The Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur will be played at Prairie Links Golf Club in Waverly on August 6-7 while the Iowa Senior Amateur (Men’s) will be played at Dubuque Golf & Country Club on August 23-25.
In addition to those championships listed, the IGA will conduct events at the following venues – Burlington Golf Club (IGA Four-Ball – May 5-6), Lake Panorama Nat’l GC (IGA Senior Match Play – May 14-16), Echo Valley CC (Iowa Women’s Forever 39 Match Play – June 5-6), Jester Park Golf Course in Granger (Father/Son, Parent/Child – June 17-18), Pheasant Ridge Golf Course (Iowa Junior & Girls’ Junior Amateur – June 19-21), Elmcrest Country Club (IGA Women’s Club Team – Aug. 14), and Davenport Country Club (IGA Club Team – Oct. 2).
The IGA Women’s Four-Ball and Women’s Mid-Am Series events dates and locations will be announced at a later time. Those updates can be found by checking back to this release.
The IGA will also conduct and administer several USGA Qualifiers throughout the state in 2023. Here are the sites for this year’s qualifying events:
• Glen Oaks Country Club, West Des Moines – U.S. Open Local Qualifier – May 1
• Ames Golf & Country Club, Ames – U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier – June 12
• Coldwater Golf Links, Ames – U.S. Amateur Qualifier – July 10
• Des Moines Golf & CC (South), West Des Moines – U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifier – July 27
• Beaver Hills Country Club, Cedar Falls – U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier – July 31
• Des Moines Golf & CC (North), West Des Moines – U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifier – Aug 17
• Cedar Rapids Country Club, Cedar Rapids – U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier – August 28
Three qualifying events for the 121st Iowa Amateur will be held across the state. Those sites are as follows:
• Terrace Hills Golf Course (Altoona -Central qualifier) – July 5
• Ellis Golf Course (Cedar Rapids – East qualifier) – July 11
• BVU Golf Club at Lake Creek CC (Storm Lake – West qualifier) – July 12
Also new in 2023 will be a partnership with Strackaline to provide options for IGA players to purchase detailed yardage books and green guides at a discounted rate. More information will be forthcoming on that partnership after the first of the year.
Entries to all IGA Championships will be available in March.
Entries will be available for USGA Championships at a later date, which will be determined by the USGA and announced on their website.
Geneva Golf & CC, Willow Run CC take home IGA Club Team titles
The 16th IGA Club Team Championship title went to the team of Geneva Golf & Country Club (pictured above). The team carded a three-under round of 213 to win the tournament by eight shots over Urbandale Country Club.
Geneva Golf & Country Club was led by Sam Herrmann, who also tied for first in the individual standings. Herrmann fired a three-under round of 69 that included five birdies. Tied for second on the team was Bryan Lemkau and Dillon Cooney with rounds of 72.
Placing second, as mentioned, was Urbandale Country Club with a team score of 221. Blake Dabney joined Herrmann at the top of the individual standings and led the Urbandale Country Club team. Jeff Weisenborn carded a 73 to place second on the team and Reid Turner rounded out the team’s top-three with a round of 79.
Winning the Net Division was Willow Run Country Club (right) with a score of 200. The team defeated Monticello Golf Club by six shots and was led with rounds of 69 from Nicholas Hildebrandt and Brian DeUries. Clayton Liddle was the third counting score for the squad, posting a net round of 74 to give Willow Run Country Club a dominating victory.
Monticello Golf Club tallied a 206 in the Net Division and was led by Dustin Hall. He carded a net round of 70, but also finished in third place in the gross individual standings with a 71. Kevin Goedken and Kevin Bergman were Monticello Golf Club’s final two scorers with a 71 from Goedken and a 74 posted by Bergman.
Gross Scores
1. Geneva Golf & Country Club -3
2. Urbandale Country Club +5
3. Waveland Country Club +14
4. Monticello Golf Club +17
5. Dyersville Country Club +20
Net Scores
1. Willow Run Country Club -16
2. Monticello Golf Club -10
T3. Geneva Golf & Country Club -5
T3. Waveland Golf Course -5
Urbandale Country Club -3
Individual Results
T1. Blake Dabney 69
T1. Sam Herrmann 69
3. Dustin Hall 71
T4. Bryan Lemkau 72
T4. Dillon Cooney 72