The Classic at Elmwood, the Joe August Match Play and the Mason City Amateur are now point events.

The Iowa Golf Association Board of Directors recently approved a recommendation of the Rules & Competitions Committee to sanction these new events for the annual Player of the Year races.  They are categorized as an “Additional Sanctioned Point Event”.

The Classic at Elmwood Country Club in Marshalltown is a new event that will be played under the stableford format.  It will be contested during the last weekend in April, making it the kick-off event for annual point races.  Stableford is a format in which golfers play traditional stroke play, but earn points per hole based on their scores with the highest point total being declared the champion.

The Joe August Match Play began in 1948 in Marshalltown, but has been held annually at Ames Golf & Country Club since 1993.  It is a Four-Ball Match Play event in which teams of two play a stroke play qualifying round and are then placed into a bracket based on their qualifying score.  They play match play over the weekend until a champion is declared.  The Joe August Match Play (named after the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame member) will fall into the mid-July weekend where the retired Lake Creek Amateur once was held.

The third event added to the list of sanctioned point events is the Mason City Amateur.  It will be held over Labor Day weekend, making it one of the final opportunities for players to earn points toward the respective Player of the Year races.  The tournament has been played since 1951, moving around a bit on the calendar.  Previously played as a 1-day, 27-hole tournament, now that it is a point event, the event will be staged over two days and 36 holes.  Past champions of the Mason City Amateur include Iowa Golf Hall of Fame members John Jacobs and George Turner, and 2008 Iowa Senior Amateur champion Joel Yunek.

These events are additional to IGA conducted championships and USGA qualifiers, which are also point events for determining the Players of the Year.  This brings the total of “Additional Point Events” to 13.

Entry applications will be available for The Classic at Elmwood on March 1st.  The Joe August and Mason City Amateur entry applications will be available as soon as possible.  You can view information on all Additional Sanctioned Point Events at this site.