Stroke play qualifying for both the 31st IGA Match Play and 8th IGA Women’s Match Play Championship begins today in Polk City at Tournament Club of Iowa.
Follow live scoring/match results for both championships by following the links below.
Nick Pittman (pictured above left), of Urbandale, put up another good score (73) in the final round of the Iowa Junior Amateur at Indianola Country Club to win by a pair of strokes over Clive’s Jake Calhoun, who posted 67 (-4) in the final round to almost catch Pittman, and Matt Gardside, of Bettendorf, who posted 70 in both rounds. Pittman, who opened with 65 (-6) in the opening round said he had a plan of attack before teeing it up at Indianola CC.
“I had a game plan coming into this tournament and I feel like I followed that well both days,” Pittman said. The first day everything was clicking really well. I was hitting the ball really well and my distance control was the best of anything. I gave myself so many birdie looks. Since I had the lead I did, I was able to stick with the plan I had to begin with and keep ahold of the lead.”
Pittman, who admitted he’s played Indianola CC a handful of times, was impressed with the condition of the course.
“I thought the course was in really good shape,” he said “I have played there 6-7 times and this is the best I have seen it.”
In the Boys’ 14-15 year Division Will Simpson (pictured right), of Pella, won by three over Collin Schmit, of Marshalltown, but three strokes. Simpson posted rounds of 74-78 (+10) over the two-day event.
Click here for a full recap of scoring
Annika Patton (pictured above), of Aurelia, put together a pair of fine rounds of golf to win the 2019 Iowa Junior Girls’ Amateur by 13 shots. Patton, who posted 76 (+6) in the opening round, fired a 79 (+9) rounds to outdistance Allison Nuss, of New Hampton in the 16-18 year Division.
“I thought the course was in excellent shape with the opportunity to shoot low scores while also being challenged in all aspects of my game,” Patton said. “Overall, I was pleased with how I played despite letting a few strokes get away here and there.”
Patton commented that get the tee was a key to her success in Indianola.
“I drove it well off the tee which allowed me to go for the greens, however, some of my putts just didn’t seem to drop. All in all, the rounds I was able to put together and experienced gained turned out for a great win. I also want to thank the IGA for such a well run tournament.”
Rylee HeryFord, of Newton, posted rounds of 74-83 to win the 14-15 year Division by three strokes over Wakuee’s Kyle Carey (pictured right).
Click here for a full recap of scoring.
Urbandale’s Nick Pittman fired a 65 (-6) to lead the Boys 16-18 Division of the Iowa Junior Amateur at Indianola Country Club. Pittman’s round was clean, no bogeys and six birdies. Matt Garside, of Bettendorf, is five off the pace at, after shooting a 70 (-1) of his own.
Pella’s Will Simpson leads the Boys 14-15 Division with 74 (+3) today. He leads by three of Luke Meyer, of Cedar Falls. Meanwhile, Rylee HeryFord, who shot 74, leads by 8 the Girls’ 14-15 Division and Annika Patton leads the 16-18 Division by 10 following a 76.
Final rounds for the Boys, Girls 14-15 and 16-18 divisions will be played on Tuesday.
Carson Korver, of Orange City, and C.T. Norris, of West Des Moines, shot 42 in the 11 & Under Division. They went to extra holes where ultimately Carson came out victorious with a par on the first playoff hole.
Lauren Nuss from New Hampton shot 49 to win the 11 & Under Girls’ Division.
In the Boy’s 12-13 Division, Joseph Currans, of Ames, shot 79 (+8) to outlast Evan Smith, Knoxville, by two. Tanner Wachtl finished third.
Lauren Briggs, Burlington, shot 87 to win the Girls’ 12-13 Division by five shots over Eden Lohrbach, of Ames.
Click here for a full recap of scoring from all divisions.
A good time was had by all at this year’s IGA Father/Son & Parent/Child held at Jester Park Golf Course, Granger.
The duo of Brian and Burke Pitz captured the overall Father/Son title with an impressive round of 69 (-3). Their round included five birdies to help ease their only hiccup, a double bogey on #10. The teams of Jay and Robert Johnson, Neil and Robert Johnson and Gary and Nash Bucher all finished runner-up, shooting 71 (-1), two shots back of the lead.
In the Father/Son Young Adult Division, the team of Sam and Isaiah Zoske repeated as champions, firing a round of 71 (-1). Their round included a trio of birdies and only two bogeys, good enough for a 10-shot win over Nathan and Eric Boehlert. In the Parent/Child Open Division, Ben and Maura Peters posted a round of 79 (+7) to win by two shots over Brett and Paige Hoffman, who shot 21 (+9).
Neil and Ava Johnson captured the Parent/Child – Young Adult Division crown with a round of 84 (+12).
On the Jester Park GC Par 3 course champions were also crowned. Those included Anthony and Greyson Marlow in the Father/Son – Junior Division 8 & under with a score of 62, Ryan and Case Bishop in the Father/Son – Junior Division 9 & 10 years old with score of 59, Mikkell Baker and Kylin Baker in the Parent/Child – Junior Division 8 & under with a score of 74 and Nick and Maicy Baker in the Parent/Child – Junior Divsion 9 & 10 years old with a score of 62.
Click here to see a recap of scoring all division, which is broken down by Saturday and Sunday.
The 56th playing of the Women’s Forever 39 concluded today at Grinnell College Golf Course. Kelly Grimes (above) of Indianola went 3-0 en route to her second Women’s Forever 39 Match Play title.
The opening round of matches had their fair share of upsets with both the #1 and #2 seeds losing in the championship flight. Stroke play medalist, Kathy Fortune (Rockwell City) was defeated by #8 seed Jennifer Corkrean (Ankeny) 2 up and Schwartzkopf (Stuart) was defeated 2 & 1 by #7 Sue Harmon. The biggest excited of the day was in the match of #5 Rose Kubesheski (Dubuque) and #4 Robin Webb (Clive). It took 13 holes before Kubesheski was finally able to break through and win the match on the par 5, 4th hole.
During the second round of matches, Jennifer Corkrean continued her run for the title and defeated Rose Kubesheski 1 up. In the other semifinal match, Kelly Grimes overpowered Sue Harmon, 5 &4, to advance to the finals.
(L to R) Julie Hartman, Jan Sewright, Margene Grady & Kelly Grimes
Corkrean and Grimes each continued their steady play into the finals with neither having a lead greater than 1 up. Corkrean provided some excitement when she birdied the par 3, 9th hole to square the match and send it into extra holes. Grimes was able to hold off the charge and win their 10th hole to claim the 56th Women’s Forever 39 Match Play title.
Kelly Grimes was not the only winner as Margene Grady (Cedar Falls), Jan Sewright (Ankeny), and Julie Hartman (Greenfield) each won their respective flights. Margene Grady defeated Nicki Clayton (Ankeny) in 10 holes, Jan Sewright defeated Carolyn La Rue (Oskaloosa) 1 up, and Julie Hartman defeated Mary Nelson 3 & 1.
Gene Elliott (above), Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member of West Des Moines, captured his fourth IGA Senior Match Play crown on Saturday. He defeated Terry Cook of West Des Moines 3 & 2 in the championship match.
Elliott took command early in the final match by winning holes 2 thru 5 and then hole 7 to 5 up. After Cook won the 8th hole, Elliott won the 10th to go back to 5 up, which was plenty to withstand the run Cook made near the end by winning two out of three holes (12 & 14). Ties at 15 and 16 secured the championship for Elliott.
Elliott advanced to the finals by defeated #1 seed Tony Newkirk of Pleasant Hill in the semifinals. Elliott came out on top by a margin of 5 & 4. Cook defeated Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member Jon Brown of Adel in his semifinal match. A birdie on the first extra hole propelled him into the championship match.
Steve Kahler (left) of Marion is the Super Senior bracket champion. Kahler outsted Mark Hogenson of Cedar Rapids in the championship match 2 & 1.
Kahler took control early winning the first two holes. He would make the turn 3 up in the match and would remain 3 up thru 12. Hogenson then made his move, winning 14 and 15 to get within a hole. Kahler slowed the momentum by halving the 16th hole, then won the 17th to take the match.
Matt Weresh (bottom right) of Clive earned the President’s Bracket title by defeating Brian Persson of Elk Run Heights by a 4 & 3 margin. Marty Goetz of Marion defeated Doug Bryant 6 & 5 to win the Vice President’s bracket.
After consulting with the Bos Landen Golf Club superintendent and viewing the damage to the golf course we have decided to cancel the 24th IGA Four-Ball Championship for the next two days. The course received an additional 2 inches of rain since last night and has taken on nearly 7 inches since the middle of the week. There is more rain expected which looks to add to that total.
IGA Four-Ball Rescheduled
We wanted wanted to inform players that the rescheduled date for the IGA Four-Ball Championship is going to be September 6-7. The championship will still be held at Bos Landen Golf Club.
If you know for sure that those dates will NOT work out please let us know and we will make sure to get you a refund. If you aren’t quite sure yet we recommend you hold off on withdrawing until you know for sure.
If you are definitely planning on playing we will hold your entry fee and keep you in the field. Please feel free to give us a call this week at 515-207-1062 to inform us of any change. Thank you for your understanding and we hope this date works out for many of you.
Stocking caps and jackets were the order of the day on a cold and windy Sunday at Green Valley Golf Club.
The weather, however, didn’t seem to affect Tyler Danke (pictured right), who stormed from behind to win the 15th Tri-State Masters by one shot.
With temperatures in the 40s and a strong wind that made it feel even colder than it was, Danke turned in the only sub-par round of the day with a 2-under 70. That was good enough for a one-stroke win over defending champion Adam Fields.
Two IGA Additional Sanctioned Point Events are taking place this weekend.
The Tri-State Masters – played over three courses in the Sioux City area – gets underway on Friday, May 17th and finishes on Sunday, May 19th. You can follow the find scores and tee times by clicking this link.
The Southeast Iowa Amateur at The Preserve on Rathbun Lake is contested over Saturday and Sunday, May 18th and 19th. Follow the action here.