Category: Championships

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.

Back-To-Back Wins for Heinz, Kerrigan

July 18, 20170 commentsChampionships, IGA Women's Four-Ball

Jenny Heinz and Karli Kerrigan shot a 67 in the final round at the 7th IGA Women’s Four Ball to clench yet another championship title at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville. Heinz and Kerrigan shot a 65 in the opening round for a total of 132 (-10) and won the open division by six.

The duo won the Iowa Women’s Four-Ball last year at Jester Park Golf Course, where they won in extra holes. Heinz was IGA Women’s Player of the Year for 2016 and Kerrigan has just finished her freshman year at the University of South Dakota.

Katie Hansen and Kelly Nelson beat out Janelle Carter and Julie Buerman In the second round by three strokes by posting another 69 to finish runner-up.

Rose Kubesheski continued to show her great play along with her teammate Margene Grady to win the Senior Division by eight strokes. Kathy Fortune and Mary Sauter were only two strokes back going into the second round, but Kubesheski and Grady shot an impressive 69 to clench the title.

Kubesheski won the Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur at Clarinda Country Club last weekend. She also won the senior division of the Iowa Women’s Four Ball last year with teammate Robin Webb. Kubesheski was the Senior Play of the Year last year and is currently leading the senior women’s point standings for this year.

The next IGA event for women will be the Iowa Women’s Amateur that will be held at Hyperion Field Club in Johnston from July 31 – August 2. Registration deadline for that event is July 24.

Heinz, Kerrigan Set Sights On A Second Victory

July 17, 20170 commentsChampionships, IGA Women's Four-Ball

Jenny Heinz and Karli Kerrigan fired a 65 in the first round of the Iowa Women’s Four-Ball at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville. Heinz and Kerrigan hold a four stroke lead in theC hampionship Division going into the second round tomorrow morning

The Heinz/Kerrigan side won the Iowa Women’s Four-Ball last year after tying for first in regulation and then winning after play was forced to extra holes. Though a back-to- back win by Heinz and Kerrigan may be in sight, with two teams hot on their heels in second, their work is not done yet.

Julie Buerman and Janelle Carter shot a 69 this afternoon, putting them in a second place tie with Kelly Nelson and Katie Hansen going into round two tomorrow. Buerman and Nelson went head-to- head in the final match at the Forever 39 Match-Play just last month. Buerman went five and three in her final match against Nelson to clench her Forever 39 champion title.

Rose Kubesheski and Margene Grady shot a 72 giving them a four stroke lead in the Senior Division. Behind them is Janis Owens and Ila Gilbert with a 76. Kubesheski won the Senior Women’s Amateur last weekend at Clarinda Country Club in Clarinda.

Round two tee times begin Monday at 7:30 a.m.

Click here for a recap of scores.

Kubesheski wins 6th Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur title, third in a row

July 9, 20170 commentsChampionships, Iowa Senior Women's Amateur

When the dust had settled in Clarinda, a familiar face was still sheriff of the territory.

For the third year in a row and sixth time overall, Rose Kubesheski took home the trophy from the 52 Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur. Kubesheski fired a final round 73 (+4) to outdistance opening round leader Kathy Fortune by six strokes. Kubesheski made a total of three birdies to help her pull clear of the competition. Hitting it close with her short irons was the key for the champion.

“I hit some really good wedge shots today,” Kubesheski commented.

Another fine round was turned in by Janece Schwartzkopf (73) to capture low Super Senior (60 and older) honors, as well as finishing in 3rd place overall.

Click here for a full recap of scoring.

Steady play key for Kinney all week, Snelling wins Women’s Match Play Championship set

June 28, 20170 commentsChampionships, IGA Match Play, Wmn's Match Play

The 29th IGA Match Play and 6th IGA Women’s Match Play Championship began on Monday, June 26, at The Harvester Golf Club, Rhodes. All players played an 18-hole qualifying round on Monday morning to determine seeding into match play.

On the Men’s side, Gene Elliott was medalist of the qualifying round with 66 (-6) and earned the #1 seed into match play on Tuesday morning. J.D. Anderson, playing along side Elliott on Monday, earned the #2 seed with a 67 (-5) of his own.

A total of 16 men will teed it up this morning (Wednesday) and those surviving into quarterfinal matches this afternoon are Jon Olson/Josh Black, Tripp Kinney/Sam Zoske, Charles Jahn/Jon Brown and Conner Koberg/Aaron Stevens.

Semifinals, which were played Thursday morning, saw Tripp Kinney (pictured above) come out on top against Josh Black (5&4). In the other semifinal, Conner Koberg outlasted Jon Brown (1 up). Both Kinney and Koberg, who squared off in the finals, play golf for Iowa State University. Black and Brown have long since exhausted their eligibility.

In the final match, Kinney used a quick start to race to a 3 up lead after only five holes. He made the turn 4 up and never looked back, cruising to a 6&5 victory over his good fiend and teammate.

“My goal this week to just stay steady through all my matches,” Kinney said. “I just wanted to make a ton of pars. I did a really good job sticking to my game plan. It’s a tough golf course and it got windy.”

Click here for complete brackets and starting times for the 29th IGA Match Play.

Snelling wins 6th IGA Women’s Match Play title

Jenny Heinz, last year’s runner-up, shot 80 (+8) to secure medalist in the qualifying portion of the women’s side and was the #1 seed into match play.

The finals of the 6th IGA Women’s Match Play featured Emily Snelling against Tenley Moretti. Snelling defeated Karli Karrigan on Wednesday morning, while Moretti dispatched defending champion Julie Buerman.

In the final match, Snelling (pictured right) outlasted Moretti (left) 3&2 in a hard-fought, back and forth match.

“I am glad I won the 15th hole (to win the match),” Snelling commented.

Click here for a complete recap brackets in the 6th IGA Women’s Match Play.

Iowa Junior, Girls’ Junior Amateur champions crowned

June 21, 20170 commentsChampionships, Girls' Junior Amateur, Iowa Junior

The 2017 Iowa Junior, Girls’ Junior Amateur is concluded on Thursday at Ames’ Coldwater Golf Links. This two-round event featured the best players, both boys and girls, from across the state. Coldwater GL proved to be a firm, but fair, test for players as scores for those in divisions that played two days reflected the challenge.

Cole Davis (74-75) played steady golf to win the Boy’s 14-15 Division, defeating Conner Van Weelden (73-76) on the first playoff hole. Ashley DeLong outdistanced runner-up Grace Vandersee to win the Girls’ 14-15 division.

In a battle to the end, Andrew Wood battled back on day two to capture the Iowa Junior Amateur (Boy’s 16-18) title. Wood posted rounds of 75-74 to slip by first round leader Jake Marvelli (71-79) by a single shot. A total of 8 players finished with in four strokes off the lead. Brooke Boardman left no doubt in the Girls’ 16-18 Division, as she posted rounds of 82-78 to win the 2017 Junior Girls’ Amateur crown.

Check a full recap of scoring from all division by clicking here.

Boys’ 11 & Under, Girls’ 11 & Under Division
From left – Girls’ 11 & Under Champion Meghan DeLong,
Boys’ 11 & Under Champion Evan Smith and Runner-up Gavin Drake.
Girls’ 12-13 Division
From left – Girls’ 12-13 Champion Maura Peters
and Runner-up Rebecca DeLong.
Girls’ 14-15 DivisionFrom left – Girls’ 14-15 Champion Ashley DeLong
and Runner-up Grace Vandersee.
Girls’ 16-18 Division
From left – Girls’ 16-18 Champion Brooke Boardman,
Runner-up Casey Noble and Third Place Hanna Zikuda.
Boy’s 16-18 Division
From left – Boy’s 16-18 Champion Andrew Wood,
Runner-up Jake Marvelli and Third Place Brock Barnhart

Luett, Lierz move on to U.S. Junior Amateur

June 19, 20170 commentsChampionships, USGA

It took a great score.

Jacob Luett (Clinton) and Hank Lierz (St. Joseph, Mo) fired rounds of 66 and 67 respectively on Monday, June 19, at Otter Creek Golf Course and qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur.

Luett, who’s medalist-winning performance featured six birdies and only one bogey, commented that he tried to give himself a lot of look at birdies. Luett headed to play at Missouri S&T this fall.

“I just tried to give myself chances,” Luett said.

Lierz, fresh off his Missouri Junior Match Play title, found five birdies to go along with a lone bogey of his own at Otter Creek GC. Lierz will be a junior in high school this fall.

“I like course,” Lierz said. “I hit a lot of greens and made a few birdies. You could hit a lot of fairways out here and get wedge in your hands. I hit it well, which was nice.”

The U.S. Junior Amateur will be played July 17-22 at Flint Hills National Golf Club, Andover, KS.

Click here to see a full recap of all scoring.

Elliott goes back to back at IGA Senior Match Play

June 3, 20170 commentsChampionships, IGA Senior Match Play

Gene Elliott never played the 15th hole at Fort Dodge Country Club during this year’s IGA Senior Match Play.

“That was the key for me,” Elliott said jokingly.

In the final match, against Tom Norton, Elliott found himself in unfamiliar territory, 2 down through four holes. Elliott would win the fifth hole with a par and then would rattle off four straight birdies on #7-10 to take a commanding 3 up lead. Elliott would add two more birdies, six total in an eight-hole stretch, to close out Norton 5&4.

The win marks the second year in a row that Elliott has won this event and his third IGA Senior Match Play title overall.

Click here to see a recap of all the matches.

Elliott, Norton advance to IGA Senior Match Play Final; Evans wins President’s Bracket

June 3, 20170 commentsChampionships, IGA Senior Match Play

Gene Elliott raced out to an early lead and never let up against Fort Dodge CC member Dave Sergeant, winning his match 6&5. Elliott will now face Tom Norton, who defeated Jay Slings in 19 holes, in the IGA Senior Match Play Championship Match.

In the President’s Bracket Final, Edwin Evans defeated John Brooke 4&2. Evans mentioned that he was able to get off to a nice start and not make too many mistakes as the morning went along at Fort Dodge Country Club.

“I got up early in the match and just tried to hit fairways and greens,” Evans said. “I was just trying to not hit it in the rough.”

Click here for a full recap of all matches.

 

Down to four at IGA Senior Match Play

June 3, 20170 commentsChampionships, IGA Senior Match Play

Great weather and golf shots have been seen across all of Fort Dodge Country Club for this year’s IGA Senior Match Play Championship.

Entering today’s action, Ankeny’s Jay Slings will square off against Muscatine’s Tom Norton is one semifinal match, while West Des Moines’ Gene Elliott faces Fort Dodge resident and FDCC member Dave Sergeant in the other semifinal. Sergeant has won the Senior Match Play title a total of four times. Elliott has collected two.

In the President’s Bracket John Brooke and Edwin Evans will play this morning in the championship match of that bracket. Brooke advance with a 5&4 victory over Randy Studer on Friday afternoon and Evans had to go one extra hole to defeat Randy McCaulley.

The finals of the Championship Bracket will be played this afternoon.

Click here to see a recap of all matches.

Click here to read an article from the Fort Dodge Messenger on the event.

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