The reigning 2021 IGA Player of the Year, Nate McCoy (above left), of Ankeny, began his 2022 season with a three-point victory at The Classic, located at Elmwood Country Club in Marshalltown.

The Classic, an additional point event, uses Stableford scoring for the tournament. This unique style of scoring is calculated by points based on the number of strokes per hole in relation to par.

The Stableford format increases the players’ aggressiveness and motivates them to hunt for birdies. Eight points is awarded for an eagle, while a birdie is four points, two for a par and one for a bogey.

“Because of the (Stableford) format, one birdie can move you up quick because of the double points,” McCoy said. “As long as I could eliminate making bogeys and big numbers, I felt confident enough in my game to make birdies.”

McCoy carded a strong 41 in his opening round, but was three points shy of Owen Sawyer, of Cedar Falls. Sawyer recorded two birdies and an eagle in round one, giving him a slight edge over McCoy heading into the final round.

During his final round, McCoy recorded five birdies to surpass Sawyer. McCoy posted 44-points in his final round en route to his first white jacket.

“It’s always nice to start the year off with a win,” McCoy said “You always wonder how you will play coming out of winter. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t. I haven’t played a lot of golf this spring in Iowa, so it’s nice to play well when it matters.”

Sawyer finished runner-up with an 82-point total. He finished two points ahead of Ankeny’s Connor Peck, who managed a third-place finish with an 80-point total.

Curtis Holck (right), of Ankeny, earned his second-straight victory this season with a seven-shot win in the Senior Division. Holck is off to a hot start this year with an early lead in the IGA Senior Player of the Year standings.

Holck carded rounds of 41 and 44 for an 85 Stableford point total. In round one, he recorded a pair of birdies and an eagle. Going into the final round, Holck was two points behind the first-round leader, Ron Peterson.

“I knew that I would probably have to score more points in round two than I did in round one in order to have a chance,” Holck said. “I felt pretty fortunate to only be down two points. I had 33 putts in round one, so I knew if I putted better, I should be able to score more points. I went back to Ankeny Golf and Country Club and met with my son, who is the assistant professional, and he saw a couple of things in my set up and we got that straightened out and Sunday was much better on the greens.”

Holck stormed back into first place after making five birdies in the final round. Overcoming the two-point deficit and winning the tournament by seven shots was a confidence booster for the rest of the season for Holck.

Rob Christensen (right), of Marshalltown, won the Super Senior Division in a dominating fashion. Christensen fired a 41-point total and led the field by 10 shots after the first round at his home course. With a 10-point cushion heading into the final round, Christensen cruised to his first victory of the season.

“I came close (to winning) several years in the Senior Division,” Christensen said. “This year I finally got the white coat. It’s great to win on my home course. I got the big lead by shooting under my age the first day. It’s always good to do that but especially in a tournament. Lucky for me nobody really went low (on Sunday).”

Open Division
1. Nate McCoy 41-44=85
2. Owen Sawyer 44-38=82
3. Connor Peck 39-41=80
4. J.D. Anderson 37-42=79
5. Kelly Brown 40-37=77

Senior Division
1. Curtis Holck 41-44=85
2. Ron Peterson 43-35=78
3. Jeff Collett 38-39=77
4. Tony Newkirk 30-41=71
T5. Troy Underhill 33-36=69
T5. Brian Peterson 32-37=69

Super Senior Division
1. Rob Christensen 41-31=71
2. Pete Kelly 31-32=63
3. Rick Gorbell 28-34=62
4. Mike Ninneman 28-29=57
5. Brian Fell 27-27=54

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