Category: Championships

Iowa Junior Amateurs POSTPONED to Aug 7 & 8

JUNE 19, 2018

The 2018 Iowa Junior Amateurs, originally scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, June 20 & 21, has been postponed to August 7th & 8th.

We have worked out new dates with the Coldwater staff.  The 2018 Iowa Junior Amateur Championships (boys & girls) will be held Tuesday, August 7 and Wednesday, August 8.  Here is the complete schedule:

  • Tuesday, August 7
    • 11 and under boys & girls play 9 holes
    • 12 to 13 boys & girls play 18 holes
    • 14 to 15 and 16 to 18 boys and girls play their first round (18 holes)
  • Wednesday, August 8
    • 14 to 15 and 16 to 18 boys and girls play their final round (18 holes)

We expect the tee time setup to be the same as originally scheduled, with times ranging from 8 a.m. to about 10 a.m. off both #1 and #10 tees, if that helps in your planning.

In establishing these dates we took into account a wide array of factors including Coldwater’s schedule, the IGA schedule, the Iowa PGA Junior Tour schedule and thinking about High School (4A boys golf in particular) sports and school.  In weighing pros and cons of various dates and how they conflict with all of those things, Aug 7 & 8 stood out as our best option.

Having said that we know that this will not work for everyone.  If you need to withdraw, we will issue a FULL REFUND.  Please just reply to this email or give us a call (515-207-1062) if you need to WD.

Finally, with this date change, we will open entries back up to the public.  If you know of anyone who would like to play on these new dates, please pass the word along.  Entries will remain open through July 30th.

Thank you for your patience as we deal with Mother Nature.

 

 

JUNE 18, 2018

The 2018 Iowa Junior Amateurs, originally scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, June 20 & 21, have been postponed.

Coldwater Golf Links in Ames, the host for 2018, was had flooding over many of their holes late last week.  The water stood for a good portion of two days, finally receding late yesterday.  Unfortunately, it left behind lots of mud and silt which is currently in the process of being cleared off.

After looking at course conditions throughout the day today the IGA and our hosts at Coldwater have determined that opening their golf course on Wednesday and Thursday this week just wasn’t possible.  In fact, the Superintendent has informed us that they are “hopeful” the front 9 would be open by Friday at the earliest.

The holes hit the hardest were 5, 6, 7 & 8 and 14 & 15.  Parts of many other holes were also affected in some fashion.  Thankfully the greens are untouched and in great condition.  

The grounds crew at CW has been hard at work all weekend and throughout today to get things cleaned up as best they can.  But the reality is that there is still a lot to do, including pumping some standing water out of low-lying areas.

We will be working with our hosts throughout the day tomorrow (June 19) to establish new dates for the championship.  We are hopeful to have those set by the end of the day tomorrow and will email/text them ASAP. 

Once these new dates are established, anyone who wishes/needs to withdraw will be issued a full refund.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work with our hosts.  We are looking forward to presenting an excellent 2018 Iowa Junior Amateur at Coldwater Golf Links later this summer.

Champions crowned at IGA Father-Son, Parent-Child

Participants in the 2018 IGA Father-Son & Parent-Child, held at Jester Park Golf Course, endured warm temperature and wind gusts all weekend. The Father-Son duo of Brian and Todd Rose (above) got off to a hot start of their own, birdieing the first two holes. The Rose’s, who played Sunday morning, made a total of seven birdies on the day in the modified alternate shot format and posted 67 (-5), good enough for the overall title. Finishing runner-up with a 71 (-1) of their own was Mike and Danny McCoy.

In the Father-Son Young Adult Division, the team of Isaiah and Sam Zoske (right) posted 73, good enough for a three-shot victory over Barry and Evan Smith. In the Parent-Child Open Division, Brett and Paige Hoffman paced the field with an impressive 71 (-1). Their round, on Saturday, included three birdied and an eagle. Dennis and Vicki Rodenberg finished in second place with a score of 76 (+4).

Ava and Neil Johnson (left) captured the title in the Parent-Child Young Adult Division, by way of their round of 86 (+14). The Johnson’s round was highlighted by a birdie on the challenging par 5 11th hole at Jester Park GC.

In the Junior Division, played on Jester Park GC’s Par 3 course, Case and Ryan Bishop finished with 64 (+10) to outdistance Grant and Jeff Osby by two in the 8 & under age division. In the 9 & 10 age division Jackson and Matt Zeller (bottom right photo) were one stroke better than runner-up Matt and Noah House. The Zeller’s posted 61 (+7) to win their division.

Click here to see a recap of scoring in all divisions (broken down by Saturday and Sunday).

Bull/Drenth win 23rd IGA Four-Ball, Cook/Palmer repeat in Senior Division

Dusty Drenth and Dennis Bull (-15) put together two fine days of golf. After opening the 23rd IGA Four-Ball at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames with a 64 (-8), posted 65 (-7) to outdistance the side of Matthew Walker/Aaron O’Brien by two strokes. Bull/Drenth (pictured above) made a total of birdies over two rounds.

The side of Bill Matzdorf/Jason Thornbrugh turned in tournament low round in Saturday’s final round, firing 62 (-10) to finish at -12, three strokes off the lead.

“It was a good team effort,” Bull said. “We have ourselves a lot of chances. Dusty really takes advantages of the par fives. The putt (25’) Dusty made today on #9 to save par kept us going. We were going to make birdies, but we were able to stay away from bogeys.”

Drenth praised the play of his partner as well.

“Denny just keeps it in play,” Drenth said. “He rips it down the middle and is a really good iron player on par threes. He freed me up to be aggressive. I hit more drivers than I normally would. We both made some putts we needed to.”

The win marked the first IGA victory for Bull after many near misses.

“It feels good,” Bull said. “I have had several runner-ups, but it’s nice to bring home the trophy. I had a good partner. I think we partner up again next year.”

In the Senior Division, Joe Palmer and Terry Cook (pictured right) repeated as champions thanks to 17 birdies between the two of them (twice they both made birdie on the same hole). Palmer/Cook, who posted 64 (-8) in the opening round, followed that up with a 65 (-7) in the final round. The side of Ron Peterson/Jay Gregory also played well, finishing at -13 for the tournament, two strokes back of the lead.

“We really just tried to stay patient,” Cook said. “We kept the ball in front of us and never made bogey (in two rounds).”

Click here for a full recap of scoring

Anderson wins 33rd Iowa Mid-Amateur, final round rained out

The final round of the 33rd Iowa Mid-Amateur at Burlington Golf Club was cancelled due to heavy rains that rolled into town just as the final groups were finishing their opening hole.

J.D. Anderson, of Johnston, set the pace after day one with an opening round 68 (-4). Anderson was declared the winner when the announcement was made to cancel the final round.

“I said to myself yesterday that this is how I wanted to start the year,” Anderson said. “You can’t get above the hole here. This course can be penal if you go in the wrong spot. I was lucky to play a practice round and figure some of that out.”

Terry Cook (left) won a four-way playoff for the Senior Division title. Cook made a par on the second playoff hole to earn the victory.

Dan Dalziel (right), who posted 69 (-3) to lead the Super Senior Division (65 year and older) by six shots over Jim Campbell after the opening round, was declared winner in that division.

Click here for a full recap of scores

 

Anderson birdies first four holes, leads 33rd Iowa Mid-Amateur

J.D. Anderson, of Johnston, caught fire early at Burlington Golf Club.

Anderson, the 2017 IGA Player of the Year, birdied his first four holes and was five under par through six holes of the opening round at the 33rd Iowa Mid-Amateur Championship. Anderson, who posted 68 (-4), made a total of eight birdies on the day.

Anderson dropped three shots just prior to make the turn, but rebounded nicely and made three birdies coming home on the inward half.

Norwalk’s Brian Allison is close behind lead, firing a fine opening round score of his own, 70 (-2). Allison’s rounds included four birdies against juts two bogeys.

Nick Eilertson, of Cedar Falls, is three back of Anderson’s lead after his round of 71 (-1).

A total of four players share the lead in the Senior Division, as John O’Neill, Jay Goeser, Bret Taylor and Terry Cook all shot 73 (+1). Ron Peterson sits just a shot back after his own 74 (+2).

Dan Dalziel posted 69 (-3) to lead the Super Senior Division (65 year and older) by six shots over Jim Campbell.

Hole in One – Father Marty Goetz, a member at BGC, made an ace on the 17th hole during today’s round.

Click here for a full recap of scoring

Iowa PGA Section wins 2018 Iowa Cup

Honorary Iowa Cup Captain Bob Moreland (Iowa PGA)
and Jim Becker (Iowa Golf Association) pose with the Iowa Cup.

Team IGA gave it a good effort, but ultimately could not gain any ground over the Iowa Section PGA during the second and final day of the 2018 Iowa Cup. The IPGA won the Iowa Cup by a margin of 24-16, including a 10.5 – 9.5 advantage in single matches this morning.

Winning matches for the IGA this morning included Wes Butenbach, Gene Elliott, Justin Pansegrau, Tom Norton David Combs, Ron Peterson, Trent Lindenman, Joe Bates and Logan Schweinefus. Rob Christensen won a half point for the IGA, as he halved his match.

Elliott was on the winning side of all three of his matches, while Dusty Drenth also went undefeated, winning the two matches (Four-Ball and Foursome) he participated in.

Click here for full results from the 2018 Iowa Cup

IPGA leads Iowa Cup 13.5-6.5

Day one of the 2018 Iowa Cup belonged to the Iowa Section PGA, as they opened up a 13.5 – 6.5 lead after the morning and afternoon sessions at Burlington’s Spirit Hollow Golf Course.

In the morning Four-Ball matches the side of Gene Elliott/Ron Peterson and Dusty Drenth/Jeff Collett were victorious. The side of Ethan Mechling/Trent Lindenman and Joe Bates/Terry Cook halved their matches.

During afternoon Foursome (alternate shot) matches, Team IGA was able to collect wins from the side of Gene Elliott/Scott Briggs and Dusty Drenth/Logan Schweinefus. Team IGA also earned half points from Brian Allison/Tom Norton, Bret Taylor/Trent Lindenman and Jeff Collett/Justin Pansegrau, who halved their match.

Single matches will begin this morning.

Click here for complete results

Above – Honorary Captain for the IGA Jim Becker talks to the team during the
opening day of the Iowa Cup at Spirit Hollow Golf Course in Burlington.

Significant updates to IGA Player of the Year point systems

The IGA Rules and Competitions Committee spent a good deal of the offseason studying the IGA Player of the Year points systems.  Following that study, the following recommendations were approved by the Board of Directors in late March and will go into effect this season.

Added new point events

We recently announced the addition of three new Sanctioned Point Events – The Classic, a new stableford format event at Elmwood CC in Marshalltown, the Joe August Match Play, the long-standing Four-Ball Match Play format tournament held at Ames Golf & CC and the Mason City Amateur, a 36-hole stroke play tournament held over Labor Day weekend at the Mason City Country Club.

Now counting four

Players will now count up to four additional non-IGA or non-USGA events.  That means a player can now count their top four point totals from of Additional Sanctioned Point Events and non-USGA national events.

“Tiered” structure for Additional Sanctioned Point Events

Additional Sanctioned Point Events in Iowa (non-IGA conducted) will be assigned separate point scales based on how many people participate in each event.  Depending on the number of players, an event will be either “A”, “B”, “C” or “D” with 300, 250, 200 or 150 points being awarded to the winners, respectively.  The “A” level events will award points to the top 30, “B” level will award to the top 25, “C” level will award to the top 20 and “D” level will award to the top 15. This adds a bit more point value to those who finish higher in fields with more players.

Players who play “up” in competition

Players age 50 and over who play in an Open Division rather than a Senior Division will be eligible to earn points.  The amount of points they earn toward the Open Player of the Year race will transfer equally to the Senior Player of the Year race.

For example: A player age 52 plays in the Open Division of the Iowa Masters and finishes 4thoverall, earning 80 points toward the Open POTY race.  That player would also earn 80 points toward the Senior POTY race.  This same philosophy will apply to Super Senior Players who choose to play in an Open Division or Senior Division rather than Super Senior Division.

National non-USGA events

Performance in non-USGA national events will continue to be counted toward the Open POTY race and will be added to the Senior POTY race.  They will be counted toward a player’s four extra events they can accumulate (in addition to the Sanctioned Point Events).  A big change will be that the IGA will simply rely on the World Amateur Golf Ranking to determine which national events are worthy of points. WAGR was created by the USGA and R&A to rank the top amateurs around the world so we will use that as our basis. Their events are ranked from “Elite” to “F” level events.  We have created our own scale of points depending on those rankings.

Herman Sani and Iowa Mid-Amateur points elevated

The amount of points and number of players who will earn points have increased in both the Herman Sani Tournament and the Iowa Mid-Amateur.  In the Sani, the winner (low amateur) will now receive 300 points with the top 30 earning points.  In the Senior divisin of the Sani, it will be 250 for the winner and the top 25 will earn points.  At the Mid-Am, the champion will receive 250 points and the top 25 will earn points in both the Open and Senior Division.

Super Senior Points System

Following the first year of the Super-Senior Player of the Year, many additions and tweaks were made.  See this link for the entire system.  Some highlights include:

  • Addition of Super Senior Division to Iowa Mid-Amateur
  • Addition of Super Senior Division to Herman Sani Tournament
  • Addition of Super Senior bracket to the Senior Match Play
  • Increased point values of Super Senior Division at Iowa Senior Amateur and IGA Senior Match Play

View the complete rules and regulations for all the Player of the Year point systems here.

The Classic launches this weekend

The Classic, the new modified stableford competition taking place at Elmwood Country Club in Marshalltown, gets underway this weekend.  67 golfers are scheduled to compete in the inaugural tournament.

This will be the first Iowa Golf Association point event played under the stableford format, in which players earn points per hole based on their score.  In this case, the administrators at Elmwood CC have modified the traditional stableford point system as follows:

  • Double Eagle: 12 points
  • Eagle: 8 points
  • Birdie: 4 points
  • Par: 2 points
  • Bogey: 1 point
  • Double Bogey or worse: 0 points

This modified scoring system will put a premium on making birdies and eagles and should make for some exciting “go for broke” golf.

Play will begin on Saturday with the first 18 holes and conclude on Sunday with the final round.  There is an Open and Senior Division. In addition to a trophy and gift certificate, the champion will receive the “White Jacket” with The Classic logo embroidered on the chest.

Follow all the action by clicking here.

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