Category: USGA

Iowa set to go at USGA Women’s State Team

Jenny Heinz, Leanne Smith and Britta Snyder head south to represent the state of Iowa at the final USGA Women’s State Team Championship.

These talented women will represent Iowa at the final U.S. Women’s State Team Championship next week at The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The biennial Championship will be conducted over 54 holes of stroke play with two of the best three scores counting. The Championship will be held September 26-28. Heinz, Smith and Snyder are excited to represent the state at such a high level and do their best to bring home a championship.

Jenny Heinz (Cedar Falls)
University of Northern Iowa Women’s Golf Team Letterwinner
3 Time Iowa Women’s Amateur Champion (2003, 2009, 2015)
Runner-up IGA Women’s Match Play (2016)
2 Time Iowa Junior Girl’s Amateur Champion (1998, 2000)
4 Time IGA Women’s Four-Ball Champion (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
3 Time IGA Woman Player of the Year (2014, 2015, 2016)
5 Time USGA Women’s State Team Member (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015)
U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship (2001)
U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship (2015)

 

 

Leanne Smith (Indianola)
Iowa State Women’s Golf Team Letterwinner
Drake University Women’s Golf Coach (ast. 2006-2010) (Head 2010-2015)
Pioneer Highlands Medalist (2002)
2 Time US Women’s Amateur Contestant (2001, 2004)
U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship (2004)
Des Moines Women’s City Champion (2002. 2004)
Runner up in the 2009 Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship
Turned Professional in 2005 and played on the Futures Tour for 2 seasons.

 

 

Britta Snyder (Ames)
IGA Women’s Amateur Champion 2017
U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Participant (2017)
2 time AJGA Champion
Ranked #46 on Rolex/AJGA Rankings
Player of the Year Honors on the Plantation Tour (2015)
Won the Hurricane Tour Junior Girl’s National Championship (2015)
Won over 100 Junior Golf Tournaments


 

The Championship is open to players from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. State associations may use any criteria of their choosing in selecting their teams, which comprise three amateur, non-college golfers. The Championship format consists of the best two scores of each state’s three players over the course of 54 holes.

The Club at Las Campanas’  has two Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses, both consistently rated among the very top courses in New Mexico by Golf Digest magazine. Be sure to check out live scoring at www.USGA.org once the Championship begins.

 

Kubesheski plays U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, misses cut into match play

Rosalie Kubesheski (pictured above), of Dubuque, participated in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur over the weekend. Kubesheski posted rounds of 84-83 (+23) at Waverly Country Club, Portland, Ore., which was four strokes off a playoff for the last remaining spots into the match play portion of the event. Kubesheski qualified at Greenbriar Hills Country Club in St. Louis, MO, on August 7th.

Click here to read more about the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.

Drenth, Anderson qualify for U.S. Mid-Am

Dusty Drenth (left) and J.D. Anderson (right) earned the two U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifying spots at Davenport Country Club on Monday. Both players posted 72 (+1), two clear of the next best finishers.

Drenth’s day included five birdies, while Anderson made just three birdies but also had 13 pars.

The 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur will use both Capital City Club (Atlanta) and Atlanta National Golf Club (Milton) in Georgia for stroke play qualifying into match play, Oct. 7-12.  Match play will be contested over the Crabapple Course at Capital City Club.

The IGA Player of the Year race will once again come down to how players finish at the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Anderson, with his medalist performance at Davenport CC, leads Gene Elliott, who also has qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur, by 260 points. Both players can earn bonus points if they qualify into match play and for additional match wins.

Anderson, Drenth and Elliott, will join Iowa’s Mike McCoy and Jay Gregory at the championship in Georgia.

Click here to see a recap of scores from Davenport CC.

Click here to view more information on the national championship.

Elliott reaches Rd. of 32 at U.S. Senior Amateur

Iowa’s Gene Elliott (pictured above), following stroke play qualifying scores of 77-69, earned the #15 seed into match play at the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship being contested at The Minikahda Club, Minneapolis, Minn.

In his opening round match, Elliott got off to a quick lead and never looked back, dispatching Virginia’s Patrick Tallent 6&4.

In the Round of 32 Elliott raced out to another quick lead, 3 up through 7 holes, on Keith Decker (Virginia). Holding a 3 up lead through 13 holes, Elliott would see his lead dwindle to all square (AS) through 16 holes. Decker would ultimately win the 18th hole to win the match 1 up.

Click here to see recap from the event.

Iowans at USGA Senior Amateur

Gene Elliott, of West Des Moines, and Sam Billmeyer, of Ankeny, are in the field this weekend at the USGA Senior Amateur Championship, being played at the Minikahda Club in Minneapolis.  This marks the first year Elliott was eligible to play in the 55 or older event.

While Billmeyer made it through the qualifying round held at Briarwood Golf Club, Elliott was exempt due to his top-500 ranking in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.  An additional Iowan has at least a chance of getting into the field as well – Joe Palmer, of West Des Moines, is first on the alternate list for the USGA and could possibly be asked to play if someone is forced to withdraw.  Palmer plans to be on-site and ready should that happen during the first day of play.

The championship begins with stroke play qualifying on Saturday, August 26th.  The top 64 after 36 holes of qualifying make the match play draw.

You can follow all the scoring by clicking here.

Elliott birdies four holes coming in, qualifies for U.S. Mid-Amateur

West Des Moines’ Gene Elliott (pictured above) continued his great play this summer with a 69 (-3) at White Deer Run Golf Club, Vernon Hills, IL, to qualify for the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Elliott’s score was good enough to tie for the final two qualifying spots. Elliott now moves on to the Atlanta area where the championship proper will be held (Capital City Club and Atlanta National Golf Club), October 7-12.

Elliott’s round at White Deer Run Golf Club included five birdies, with four of those coming in a five-hole stretch on his way in (#13-17).

Click here to see a recap of scoring from the qualifier.

Billmeyer takes medal at U.S. Senior Am qualifying

Sam Billmeyer (pictured at left above, with USGA Senior Amateur Committee member John Webb), of Ankeny, shot a 2-under 70 on Monday at the Briarwood Golf Club in Ankeny to earn the lone qualifying spot into the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.  Billmeyer moves on to play the national event August 26-31 at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Billmeyer, who played in the first group out, didn’t get off to a great start, but closed with a flourish.  After a birdie at 3, he made bogey at 5, 6 & 9 to turn at 2-over par 38.  But then he tore up the back nine, firing a 4-under 32 with birdies at 10, 12, 14 and 16 against no bogeys.  That run was good enough for a one shot win over Joe Palmer of West Des Moines.

Palmer is the 1st alternate while Tom Norton, of Muscatine, is the 2nd alternate.  Norton shot even-par 72.

You can view complete results here.

Sutton, Moorman take spots at U.S. Amateur Qualifying

A pair of college golfers advanced to the U.S. Amateur on Monday at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City.

Alex Moorman of Centerville, who plays collegiately at Iowa, and Daniel Sutton, who is from England but plays at Kansas, each posted 36-hole totals of 6-under 138 to claim co-medalist honors and the only two spots into the field at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles in mid-August.  Sutton shot identical rounds of 69 while Moorman posted 71 in the morning 18 and then fired 5-under 67 in the afternoon.

Garrett May (Rock Island, IL) shot 4-under 140 (68-72) to earn 1st alternate status while Luke Miller of Clive (71-71) was at 2-under 142 and is the 2nd alternate.  May plays collegiately at Baylor while Miller is a mid-amateur.

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL RESULTS

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

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.

Several from Iowa, with state ties chase U.S. Open dream today

Known by many as ‘Golf’s Longest Day’, several players either from Iowa or with Iowa ties are set to chase the dream of the U.S. Open at today’s sectional qualifiers being held across the country. Players will compete over 36-holes with a chance of qualifying for the U.S. Open to be played at Erin Hills, Erin, Wisconsin, June 12-18.

Lakewood CC – Dallas, TX
Mike McCoy (West Des Moines)

Brookside G&CC/The Lakes G&CC – Columbus, OH
Brian Bullington (Former U of Iowa)
Nate Yankovich (Former U of Iowa)

Springfield CC – Springfield, OH
Mitch Tucker (Oskaloosa)
Matthew Mickelson (Lamoni)
Vince India (Former U of Iowa)
Michael Roters (North Liberty)

Germantown C.C./Ridgeway C.C. – Memphis, Tenn.
Cameron White (Former Iowa State U)
Michael Wuertz (Davenport, Former Iowa State U)

Hawks Ridge GC – Ball Ground, Ga.
Andrew O’Brien (Clive)

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