At long last, the IGA Women’s Match Play Championship held at Talons Golf in Ankeny is officially in the books. After a two-week delay caused by severe flash flooding, one player persevered to take home the title.

Yinuo Yan (above) of Ames defeated Marion’s Morgan Rupp 3&1 to earn her first IGA title in her first start. Yan took an early lead, going 1 up with a birdie on the par-five first hole. After matching Rupp for the next nine holes, Yan edged ahead with back-to-back birdies on the par-three 16th and par-five 17th.

“I felt like I was driving the ball well out there,” Yan shared. “I didn’t miss too many fairways, and once the putter warmed up I started making some birdies.”

Before meeting Rupp in the final match, Yan defeated Karli Kerrigan of Des Moines 2 up during their morning semifinal match. Kerrigan put up a good back-and-forth duel against Yan, but two clutch putts on holes 15 and 16 sealed the deal for Yan.

“I really focused a lot on my strength training during the two-week break between matches to stay sharp,” mentioned Yan. “I also changed my putter so that was very helpful for today.”

Bettendorf’s Camille Wood dueled Rupp in their morning semifinal match. It was an intense back-and-forth battle that saw tremendous play from both sides. Wood made clutch pars on her last two holes to take the match to the 19th, but it was ultimately Rupp who would play the championship match after securing a par to Woods’ double-bogey.

With the Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship only three days away, Yan is excited to be in the mix for the coveted Fladoos Trophy.

“I’m going to carry this momentum into the women’s amateur and just stay present and patient throughout the week. I’m excited, it will be fun.”

Special thank you to the staff and members at Talons Golf for hosting this event and kindly welcoming IGA staff and players back for the completion of this championship.

Complete Results