Judy McCarty is this year’s George Turner Distinguished Service Award recipient for her years of service to the game of golf, both as a player and a volunteer. She was recognized during a ceremony at Elmwood County Club in Marshalltown on Dec. 15.

“I think it’s a great honor,” she said. “It’s fun to be recognized for all those years of hard work. It was work, but it was all for the love of the game. It was really just spreading that love for the game to more people and stuff like that.”

McCarty was very involved with and on the Iowa Women’s Golf Association board for many years.

Her accomplishments include:
• District Co-Chair 1994-97;
• Board of Directors 1998-end of IWGA;
• Assistant Secretary/Treasurer 2000, 2001;
• Secretary Treasurer 2002-2005;
• President 2006-2009;
• Iowa Women’s Am Co-Director 2001-2007;
• Iowa Wife-Husband Committee 2004-2014;
• Webmaster 2001-2006;
• Ann Griffel Scholarship Committee 2010-present (also served as chair for several years; scholarship is now administered by the IGA Foundation).

Click here to read a feature article on McCarty by Matt Levins, The Hawkeye (Burlington)

Sean Flanders (pictured), of Urbandale, is this year’s IGA Volunteer of the Year, which is decided by IGA staff. This marks the second time Flanders has been honored with the IGA’s Volunteer of the Year.

Flanders is one of the most selfless people you will ever meet. He has a tremendous work ethic and is uplifting to everyone he comes across. Sean has been a student of the rules and has been willing to officiate all over the state of Iowa.

Sean is a friend to all and when he isn’t volunteering at a Championship he is missed.

The Iowa Golf Association Foundation is continuing their partnership with the Iowa Section PGA to promote the 2018 Iowa PGA Golf Pass to members of the IGA.

An Iowa PGA Golf Card is a booklet that contains FREE or discounted rates at over 250 golf facilities across Iowa and Western Illinois. By purchasing the golf pass, you can save hundreds – even thousands – of dollars on green fees, cart rentals, range balls, merchandise, and golf lessons!

Golfers now have the option to purchase the 2018 Iowa PGA Golf Pass in an electronic version ($40) or the typical printed booklet ($45) that has been available in the past.

The best part is you can use the coupon code “iowagolf” at checkout to receive $10 off your purchase (from $45 or $40 down to $35 or $30). Additionally, if you use that code, the IGA Foundation will receive a $10 donation from the Iowa PGA.

Don’t forget to use the coupon code “iowagolf” to receive $10 off your purchase of the Iowa PGA Golf Card.

Click here to purchase your Iowa PGA Golf Pass

On Friday, October 27, the IGA Board of Directors named recipients of the 2017 Annual Awards in six categories. We are pleased to announce this year’s honorees.

Frank Lindwall (above) focused mostly on big tournaments against strong fields this summer. High finishes in those events propelled him to the IGA Junior Boy’s Player of the Year award.

Lindwall, 18 of Cedar Rapids, outdistanced Kaleb Hagge by 50 points (747.5 to 697.5) to win the award for the first time.

Lindwall, who is currently competing as a freshman on the golf team at Iowa State, placed 4th at the 115th Iowa Amateur at Cedar Rapids Country Club and had a top 5 showing at the Midwest Junior Championship at Finkbine GC in Iowa City. He added to his point total with a tie for 6th at the Iowa High School Class 4A State Tournament.

Hagge, 18 of Morning Sun, won the Iowa High School Class 1A State Tournament and placed 7th at the Midwest Junior Championship. He also was T15th at the Iowa Junior Amateur.

Other top finishers in the player of the year race where Chris Cooksley, 18 of Winthrop (3rd), Iowa Junior Amateur Champion Andrew Wood, 19 of Marion (4th) and 42nd Iowa Junior PGA Champion Brock Barnhart, 15 of Robins.

Britta Snyder (above) showcased her talents across the country in 2017.

In a summer that included many highlights, the most notable was probably her runaway victory at the 93rd Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship at Hyperion Field Club. The 15-year old from Ames became the second-youngest to ever win the state’s biggest amateur competition, and did so by a whopping 13 strokes.

In addition to her win at the Women’s Am, she partnered with Sarah Beqaj of Canada to medal at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Qualifier held in Minnesota. She added points from a win at the AJGA Randy Wise Junior Open, AJGA Junior at Lake Forest and finished in 3rd place at the AJGA Lockton Kansas City Junior.

Finishing runner-up in the standings was Paige Hoffman. Hoffman, 15 of West Des Moines, won a total of five Iowa PGA Junior Tour events this summer and also finished runner-up at the Iowa PGA Junior Championship.

Her wins included the Iowa Junior PGA, Junior Tour 2-Person Team event (low individual), Iowa PGA Junior Mid Summer Classic, Iowa PGA Junior Kick Off and Iowa PGA Junior Cedar Rapids Junior.

Following close behind this year in the standings were Brooke Boardman, 16 of Waukee (3rd), Casey Noble, 18 of Morning Sun (4th) and Maddie Hawkins, 18 of Asbury (5th).

The players will be honored at a ceremony in mid-December. Details on the event will be released in the coming weeks.​

Julie Buerman (above) of Cedar Rapids had a terrific golf season.  She posted numerous top finishes which led to her claiming her first IGA Women’s Player of the Year award.

Buerman, 42, was the Forever 39 Match Play in 2017. She also was medalist at the IGA’s Women’s Club Team event, a semifinalist in the IGA Women’s Match Play and finished in third place at the IGA Women’s Four-Ball (with partner Janelle Carter).

Finishing runner-up in this year’s IGA Women’s Player of the Year race was Karli Kerrigan of Ankeny. Kerrigan, 19, teamed up with Jenny Heinz to capture the Iowa Women’s Four-Ball, finished second individually at the IGA Women’s Club Team and was a semifinalist at the IGA Women’s Match Play.

Iowa Women’s Amateur champion Britta Synder, 15 of Ames, finished third in the standings, while Heinz (Cedar Falls) and Leanne Smith of Indianola finished in 4th and 5th place, respectively.

Rose Kubesheski (above) is once again the IGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year, and she won it going away in 2017.

Kubesheski, 57, of Dubuque, won the Senior Player of the Year in 2016 and has now been honored four times.  She won her third straight Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur title (and sixth overall). She also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur and claimed the Senior Division of the Iowa Women’s Four-Ball title (with partner Margene Grady).

Kathy Fortune, 59, finished runner-up to Kubesheksi.  Fortune, of Rockwell City, posted top finishes at the Iowa Senior Women’s Amateur (2nd), Senior Division of the Iowa Women’s Four-Ball title (2nd) and Iowa Women’s Amateur – Open Division (3rd).

Other top finishers in the final standings were Janece Swartzkopf (3rd place), Margene Grady (4th place) and Janis Owens (5th place).

​The players will be honored at a ceremony in mid-December.  Details on the event will be released in the coming weeks.​

J.D. Anderson (above) has been a model of consistency. His 13 top-ten finishes in the IGA Player of the Year standings since 2002, including 3rd place in 2014 and 2016, can attest to that.

When the dust had settled in 2017, Anderson’s consistency paved the way to his first IGA Player of the Year honor. The 43-year old from Johnston started the year strong with a win at the 32nd Iowa Mid-Amateur, then followed that up with a victory at the Briarwood Amateur and medalist honors at U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying. Anderson also added top-5 finishes at the Southeast Iowa Amateur, Northwest Amateur and Herman Sani Tournament.

Two-time defending and four-time overall IGA Player of the Year Gene Elliott of West Des Moines finished runner-up in the standings this year. Elliott, who is 55 years old, continues to more than hold his own against the younger set. His run to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Mid-Amateur kept the race for player of the year interesting down to the wire. Elliott notched wins at the Iowa Masters and 22nd IGA Four-Ball (with partner Mike McCoy). Elliott also finished T5th at the Stocker Cup and T9th at the George L. Coleman Invitational in 2017.

Rounding out the rest of the top five in the IGA Player of the Year were Jon Brown of Clive (3rd), Dusty Drenth of Davenport (4th) and Trevor Ullestad of Jewell (5th).

For the second year in a row and third overall, Gene Elliott (above) earned his way to IGA Senior Player of the Year, but it wasn’t decided until the final hour.

Elliott’s performance (Round of 32) at the U.S. Mid-Amateur gave him enough ‘bonus’ points to overtake Joe Palmer for the award. Elliott won the IGA Senior Match Play, the Iowa Senior Amateur and made it to the Round of 32 of the U.S. Senior Amateur. While not counting towards his point total for IGA Senior Player of the Year, it should be noted that Elliott also won the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship (Montreal, Quebec) and was T2nd at The (British) Seniors Amateur Championship (Sunningdale, England).

Palmer, 55 of West Des Moines, who won the award in 2014, had an extremely successful summer of his own. He won the Senior Division of the 32nd Iowa Mid-Amateur, 22nd IGA Four-Ball (with partner Terry Cook), Fort Dodge Amateur, Waterloo Open and Herman Sani Tournament.

Terry Cook of West Des Moines (3rd), Bret Taylor of Booneville (4th) and Ron Peterson of Urbandale (5th) made up the rest of the top five in this year’s standings.

Rob Christensen (above) won the 2017 IGA Super Senior Player of the Year, a new honor started by the IGA this year.

Super-Seniors are those that are 65 and older and have seen an increased level of participation in recent years, therefore the IGA felt it was time to recognize the top players from that division.

The first year of the award was a tight race that came down to the final event, the Iowa Senior Amateur. Heading into that championship in early September, Christensen, Dave Sergeant and David Studer were all within 10 points of each other. Christensen prevailed and won the Super Senior Division of the Iowa Senior Amateur to take the POTY award. The 66-year old from Marshalltown also won the Super Senior division of the Carroll Amateur and Briarwood Amateur. He finished second in the Super Senior Division of the Iowa Masters.

Sergeant, 72 of Fort Dodge, finished just behind Christensen in the standings. He won the Super Senior Division of the Fort Dodge Amateur and finished second in that division of the Briarwood Amateur. He was 4th at the Iowa Senior Amateur (SS division) and 3rd at the Carroll Am (SS division).

Other top finishers in the Super Senior Division were Studer of West Des Moines (3rd), Tim Taylor of Ankeny (4th) and Mike Mumma of Jefferson (5th).

​The players will be honored at a ceremony in mid-December. Details on the event will be released in the coming weeks.​

The Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament is the premier way to gain status on the following year’s Web.com Tour.

Each year, several worthy players take their shot at advancing through pre-qualifying, First Stage and Second Stage at various sites across the country — all leading up to Final Stage, which will be held this year at Whirlwind GC (Devils Claw and The Cattail) in Chandler, Arizona.

Players who advance to Final Stage are assured a Web.com Tour card for the following season, and the top 45 finishers (and ties) at Final Stage are assured a healthy number of starts in the first part of the 2018 Web.com Tour season.

Those who participated in First Stage Qualifying with ties to Iowa include:
Zach Steffen – Maricopa, AZ (Ak-Chin Southern Dunes GC)
Josh Manske – Lakeland, Florida (Grasslands G&CC)
Steven Ihm – Lantana, Texas (Lantana GC)
Matt Jennings – Nebraska City, Nebraska (ArborLinks)
Nick Voke – Nebraska City, Nebraska (ArborLinks)
Ruben Sondjaja – Nebraska City, Nebraska (ArborLinks)
Brian Bullington – Nebraska City, Nebraska (ArborLinks)
Nate Barbee – Nebraska City, Nebraska (ArborLinks)
Nate Yankovich – Nebraska City, Nebraska (ArborLinks)

SECOND STAGE:
These players qualified for the second stage of Q-school:
Jack Newman – Dothan, Alabama (Highland Oaks)
Josh Manske – Plantation, FL (Plantation Preserve GC)
Steven Ihm – Plantation, FL (Plantation Preserve GC)
Vince India – Brooksville, FL (Southern Hills Plantation Club)
Brad Hopfinger – McKinney, Texas (TPC Craig Ranch)
Matt Jennings – McKinney, Texas (TPC Craig Ranch)
Nick Voke – McKinney, Texas (TPC Craig Ranch)
Nate Yankovich – Brooksville, FL (Southern Hills Plantation Club)

FINAL STAGE:
These players will participate in the final stage of Q-school:
Vince India
Brad Hopfinger
Steven Ihm
Brady Schnell
*Iowan Travis McAlister (Ankeny) is caddying for Maverick McNealy at final stage

Click here to follow all the action.

(Photo by Golf Canada/ Bernard Brault)

– Iowa native cards even-par 70 to claim the John Rankin Memorial Trophy and earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur –

KAHNAWAKE, Que. – Iowa’s Gene Elliott carded an even-par 70 during the final round to claim the 2017 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship at Kanawaki Golf Club and hoist the John Rankin Memorial Trophy.

The native of West Des Moines,, finished at 3-over (283) for the championship, which was good enough for a 2-shot win over third-round leader Doug Hanzel of Savannah, GA.

“I am so thrilled – this is tough competition,” said Elliott, who recently competed in the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship where he fell in the round of 32. “Senior golf is tough; these guys are good. You win very little in golf at all and when you do it’s very special. To win in Canada, I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

(Photo by Golf Canada/ Bernard Brault)

Elliott may be new to the senior circuit having just turned 55 in February, but he’s enjoyed a stellar competitive golf career throughout the years. Among his many accomplishments, he’s amassed more than 20 titles in his home state of Iowa and also won the prestigious Porter Cup in 1998.

The veteran had high praises for the host club of Kanawaki.

“I hit the ball well today. I hit a lot of greens this week. I didn’t have many 3-putts,” he added. “But this Kanawaki, it’s a tough little bugger. It looks like you can get after it, but it gets after you. It’s a wonderful place to host a championship.”

With the win, Eliott earns an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur Championship at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., from August 25^th to 30^th.

He’s also committed to returning to Canada to defend his title at next year’s Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, which will take place September 4-7 at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club in Bathurst, N.B.

“I can’t wait to get to New Brunswick,” he laughed. “I have no idea where it is or how to get there, but I’ll be there.”

Hanzel, who finished runner-up, never could get things on the right track during Thursday. His 5-over round of 75 included four bogeys, a double bogey and just a single birdie.

A trio of Americans tied for third. Allen Barber of Yorktown, VA, Paul Simson of Raleigh, NC and Jack Hall of Savannah, GA, all finished at 7-over (287).

Doug Roxburgh, an honored member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, was the top Canadian finisher. The Vancouver native finished tied for 6^th at 8-over (288). Roxburgh won the Canadian Junior Boy’s Championship in 1970 and Canadian Amateur titles in 1972, 1974, 1982 and 1988. He also claimed the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship in 2014.

Additional information, including complete scoring info for the 2017 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship can be found here.

Gene’s wife, DaLena, served as his caddie during the event. (Photo by Golf Canada/ Bernard Brault)

Listen to Elliott’s post-round interview below