Seven Past Champions

In the first ten years of the Iowa Women’s Amateur, Lucile Robinson dominated the championship. Capturing five titles in a six-year span, she was the player to beat. Had it not been for Dorothy Pardue of Sioux City, she would have collected six straight. Arriving at Cedar Rapids Country Club in 1930, all eyes were on Robinson and Pardue. Pardue was a household name across the nation and was the tenth-ranked female golfer in the entire United States. She wound up going toe to toe with the defending champion as the two worked their way through the tough country club track.

The two battled for each of the 36-hole final, often never leading by more than two holes. Many reported it was “the most spirited tournament ever engaged in by Iowa Women” and it showed. Momentum shifted quickly and often as the summer heat wore on. Steady iron play and an even steadier putter kept Pardue tight with the teenager from Des Moines. Pardue wasted little time making her presence known, beginning birdie-birdie jumping out to a quick two-up lead. Robinson battled back and overtook Pardue through the first nine holes, but as the dust settled on the first 18 holes, Pardue was back in the driver’s seat with a one-up lead. The pair continued to exchange wins throughout the afternoon round, but as they came to the 36^th and final hole, Pardue made another routine par en route to her first Iowa Women’s Amateur title. She added to her already established resume of a Women’s Western Championship, Minnesota State Amateur, and Florida Open title.

The 1930’s had been dominated by teenage victories at the Iowa Women’s Amateur. 1938 was more of the same as a 17-year-old captured the title, but it wasn’t Dubuque’s Edith Estabrooks. Instead, it was a new champion in Ottumwa’s Ruth Smith. Even at 17, Smith wasn’t intimidated by the much older and experienced competition she faced. The championship match featured a head-to-head battle against Nelle Staats, more than twice Smith’s age. Smith stuck with Staats through the first 18 holes and found herself trailing by just one as the pair entered the final 18.

Smith flipped the switch and put the pedal down during the afternoon round, blazing through the first 14 holes. Shaving off four strokes on the front nine from the morning to afternoon, Smith was on a mission. Squaring the match on the 21^st hole, the pair remained in a deadlock through 23 holes, Smith reeled off seven wins in the ensuing nine holes. Just a single loss and halve made up for the other two holes as Smith recorded a dominant 6 & 4 victory to raise the trophy. In just her second time teeing it up in the state’s top women’s event, Smith wrote her name in the record books on the short list of teenage champions.

The 1971 Iowa Women’s Amateur was a pivotal championship for the eventual winner, but also the runner-up. Melanie Schiller of Waterloo was just weeks away from moving to Chicago when she teed it up at Westwood Park Golf Course. Firing a final round of 77, Schiller took down the state’s top players, including the defending champion, Corkey Nydle. It also marked another close call for Nydle who still searched for the illusive successful title defense.

Strong iron play and swinging easy guided Schiller through each of the four rounds. Not looking at the leaderboard also aided the Waterloo native along the way. “I went out there for the final round with three things on my mind. I think I followed through” she would later say. Opening the final round with a 39 on the front nine, Schiller remained steady on the closing stretch where she posted 38. Saving her best for last, her approach shot came to rest just two feet from the hole for the closing birdie. In reflecting on her victory Schiller shared “I’m proud to be from Iowa and any tournament I win in the future, I’ll tell them I learned my golf in this state.”

Deb Lewis will never forget the 1984 Iowa Women’s Amateur. With the event being contested at one of the state’s top clubs, Des Moines Golf & Country Club, the field featured all of the best players. The Marshalltown resident was fresh off winning the Fort Dodge Eclectic title earlier in the week and kept the momentum rolling when arriving in Des Moines. After opening with a 78 and 81, she found herself trailing the leaders by six shots. Even with a large deficit, she never lost faith saying, “In the back of my mind I thought maybe I could catch them”.

The leaderboard was crowded early in the final round a plethora of players were within five strokes of the leaders. By the time play was finished, five different players either led or held a share of the lead during the final round. Lewis slowly plotted her way around the par-73 layout and saved her best for last. Birdies on two of the final four holes saw her jump into a share of the lead as her final putt dropped. Tied with Joan Fails, the 36-hole co-leader, the pair entered into a sudden-death playoff. Matching pars on the first playoff hole saw the duo head to the second hole where both were left with lengthy par putts. Neither would capitalize, but it would Lewis’ bogey that would capture the Fladoos trophy after an untimely miss from Fails to extend the playoff. Her final round 75 tied the low round of the day by an impressive three strokes.

Ann Slater entered the 1996 Iowa Women’s Amateur with plenty on her mind. Slater’s mother was in the hospital recovering from brain surgery the month prior during the first two rounds and had been released during the final round. Even with it on her mind, Slater kept her head down and focused on taking it one shot at a time. Opening up the championship with back-to-back rounds of 72, she took a one-shot lead into the final round.

Just a year removed from being in the third flight, Slater teed off the final round in the last group with nothing to lose and no expectations. The only real prediction she had was that she would eagle the par-five 11^th hole. After a high towering three wood found the putting surface, Slater rolled in the 20-foot putt to rejoin the lead with just seven holes to play. The following hole, she drained her second straight 20-foot putt, this time for par, to regain the solo lead of the championship. Her lead grew to three by the time she walked off the 16^th green. Standing on the tee of the 18^th hole, her lead was two shots and Slater admittedly had no idea where she was at on the leaderboard. Her final stroke of the day was a four-foot bogey putt that she calmly rolled in before finding the nearest phone to call her mom. Six-time champion Corkey Nydle presented Slater with her trophy saying “Now you can take this home and show it to her”.

If the 1999 Iowa Women’s Amateur were to be described with one word it would be dominant. M.C. Mullen roared past the rest of the field during her record-setting victory 25 years ago at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids. Opening up the event with a four-under-par 68, the Peosta native led by six strokes. That was only the beginning as she followed it up with an even-par 72 to double her lead to 12 strokes entering the final round.

With the Fladoos trophy in sight and the rest of the field in the rearview, Mullen was focused on chasing down the Elmcrest course record of five-under 67. With birdies on 9 and 10, she was two-under with eight to play. Another birdie on the par-five 15^th saw Mullen reach three-under and within striking distance of the record. Two late bogies derailed her chance at the course record but two other records were secured. She set both the largest margin of victory, 19 strokes, and the lowest 54-hole total. Her 54-hole total broke the previous record set by Iowa golf legend Jacque Fladoos of 219.

The 99th Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship at Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City was a thrilling event, with the outcome undecided until the final hole. The leaderboard saw constant changes, with five players taking turns in the lead throughout the round. Ultimately, Hawkeye sophomore Kaitlyn Hanna emerged victorious on her home course to lift the Fladoos trophy. Hanna delivered a remarkable final round of one-under 71, matching the tournament’s lowest round, to overcome a four-stroke deficit and secure a one-stroke victory. Playing in the penultimate pairing, it was her dad who broke the exciting news to her.

The Hawkeye wasted no time cutting into the deficit, birdieing the second and fourth hole. Two bogies in a three-hole stretch brought her back to even on the day but she rebounded nicely with a birdie on the par-three 8^th to turn in one under 35. She played consistently on the back nine with two birdies and two bogeys to take control of the championship after the 15^th hole. With Finkbine known for its difficult closing stretch, Hanna finished with three straight pars to secure the win. It wasn’t without its drama, though.

Tied for the lead on the 18^th, she short-sided herself in the right rough. A spot that had given many of her fellow competitors fits, her home course advantage aided her as she successfully got up and down for par. Waiting to see how the last group finished, Hanna watched as a late bogey from Marshalltown’s Amber Henson left her atop the leaderboard. Reflecting on her win after a productive summer with her coaches, Hanna said, “It was great to cap it off with a win.”