Written by Beaux Yenchik, Manager of Media and Communications
For those of you who love golf course architecture, Pinecrest Golf Course in Idaho Falls, ID, is the quintessential example of old-school design in Idaho. Its 18 holes are jammed between four city streets in the heart of Eastern Idaho’s biggest metropolis. When playing this diamond in the rough, one would be reminded of what it is like to golf in the Pacific Northwest — skinny fairways lined with tall, mature pine trees.
Pinecrest was built in 1936 and is the oldest course in Idaho, so talk about being rich in history. One walks into the clubhouse and is immediately met by décor reminiscent of the past and its origins. Yet, it could be considered holy ground in the lore of Idaho golf history. So, when the field teed off for the 2023 IGA Mid-Amateur Championships, each player hoped their name would be added to the history books of Pinecrest GC.
With the course not originally designed to cater to the grip-it-and-rip-it type players, the venue found a way to sift the field — bringing the best ball strikers to the top of the leaderboard. Any wayward movement off the tee left players fighting to make par but often settling for bogey.
It was, at least in my opinion, what cost someone the championship on the final hole of regulation. (More to be shared on this later in the article!)
WOMEN’S MID-AMATEUR
There she was, two shots back of first-round leader Melinda Howard after the conclusion of the first round. Having never played in an IGA Championship, Bailey Henley had found herself amongst a field of experienced and trophy-hungry competitors. A score of 79 (+7) had given her claim to second place. Knowing that it wasn’t over by any means, Henley knew her climb to the top would be tough, especially in the local swirling winds, but doable.
Bailey Henley nearly aces the uphill par-3 10th during her opening round.
Friday changed everything for the soon-to-be winner. It could be considered what the PGA Tour calls its Saturdays: “Moving Day.” Yet, in this case, the women’s field moved in one direction from par while Henley went the other way — shooting an astonishing 68 (-4), which stands as the lowest round of the year to this point in any IGA Women’s Championship. Henley had four birdies and an eagle to go along with her two bogeys on holes five and seven.
What was working for her Saturday, and really all weekend, was the flatstick. The interesting tidbit about Henley’s putter was that it wasn’t even hers! She had putted all week with Nicole Bird’s putter, the IGA’s Manager of Rules and Competitions, after showing up to the event without one. When her original putter was offered to go back in the bag, Henley declined since the borrowed one was working.
“It was kind of more about what I didn’t bring, what I forgot to bring,” said Henley when asked about what she brought to the event that had been working for her. “I was really good with the putter this week, which was [Nicole’s] putter because I actually showed up without one...I had under 30 putts in all three rounds, so that was my saving grace this week I would say.”
With a 10-shot lead heading into the final round, Henley merely needed to avoid imploding and the Vickey Mallea trophy would be hers. Though her final round of 81 (+9) wasn’t the lowest score of the day, Henley managed to do just enough to keep her distance from runner-up Kris Fenwick, who ended the week at +19 and seven shots back.
Henley held command of her game throughout the week, not pulling the driver on every hole or attacking every pin. Yes, she took advantage of her length when the opportunity presented itself, but she showed consistent ball striking and solid putting en route to her inaugural IGA victory.
What was unique though about Henley’s performance was her presence and the way she conducted herself amongst her peers. Some may define the stereotypical golfer, at least a tournament-based player, as someone who is serious and keeps to themselves. Henley’s style was not that. She engaged in conversations, always in a happy mood, and even rooted for her fellow competitors.
As she watched her second-to-last putt slip past the hole, she jokingly made fun of the situation, stating that this was her first time and that she needed another shot to win the championship — in a non-bragging manner.
When asked about what else was working for her besides her putting, she stated: “I feel like it didn’t have as much to do with my golf game as much as it was like how much fun I was having. If I am not having a fun time, if I’m not having a good time, and being glad to be here, I am probably not going to do very good...”
Henley finished her championship by posting scores 79-68-81 = 228 (+12).
To see the entire leaderboard, CLICK HERE.
MEN’S MID-AMATEUR & MASTER-40
As he stood on the 18th tee box, Jesse Hibler had found himself two strokes behind the leader, Burke Spensky, with one hole to play. He had just executed what might have been the best up-and-down par of the tournament on the previous hole — giving himself a chance to force a playoff and win the championship if things unfolded in the best outcome possible. Needing to throw his opponent off ever so slightly, Hibler tossed a wrench into the works as he pulled his driver from the bag on a hole that doesn’t require anything more than a 4-iron or hybrid off the tee. With the fairway bending sharply to the left, Hibler proceeded to pipe his drive into a position many players had yet to see that week.
“I just know I had to try to blitz him, so I hit driver where you shouldn’t hit driver to try to make birdie,” Hibler said. “He made a double, I made a par, and we just continued on.”
Having just watched his opponent pull a gutsy move, Spensky kept to his game plan and took a long iron out of the bag — playing the hole the “correct” way. Though steady all day, Spensky proceeded to hit the shot that may have cost him the tournament. The collection of trees to the left of the fairway had reached out and pulled his ball into their grasp, leaving an unsettling punch shot toward the green.
Fast forward a few shots. Spenksy now had a tricky 5-footer for bogey to win, and he watched as his ball lipped out, having taken a brief peek at victory as it glanced at the bottom of the cup while continuing its journey onward. Hibler, needing to respond to the newly found opportunity, stepped up and sunk his 4-foot putt for par to force Spensky to play him in extra holes.
Hibler and Spensky tied with pars on the first playoff hole. Each nearly winning the championship with chips from opposing sides of the green. With the playoff moving to the 15th, the second extra hole, Hibler pummels his driver right down the middle on a hole that is visually intimidating off the tee — out-of-bounds lining the right side of the hole with trees on the left that force players to move the ball left-to-right.
Spensky, needing again to match his opponent’s aggressiveness, proceeded to duck hook the ball off the tee into the greenside bunker on hole No. 17 — never being able to fully recover. Hibler — after hitting his second on to the green — two putted for par to claim his first Mid-Amateur and Master-40 Championship. (2023 being the first IGA Master-40 Championship.) He had snagged the victory right out of the grasp of Spensky, who had gotten wafts of the winner’s circle no more than 30 minutes prior.
“[My] mental set, like I didn’t panic,” Hibler stated when asked what his biggest advantage was for the week. “If it was a 10-footer, 20-footer or a 3-footer, it was the same attitude. I think that is what panned out. I didn’t' over overreact on certain things. I gave myself five to six bad shots, so I didn’t overreact...When it gets down to playing in these things, it is always between the ears.”
Humble in victory, the newly crowned champion had accepted his win in the same manner he would have defeat. Hibler showed graciousness and poise through it all — having proven his mental set to be superior, at least for the week.
Jesse Hibler hits his approach shot on the narrow 17th hole.
So, it comes as no surprise to anyone when Hibler goes wire-to-wire with the lead at the IGA Mid-Amateur Championship. He held off fellow 2023 Lamey Cup teammates Chris Boquette and Nate Smith — who shot a tournament-low 64 on Sunday and whose quintuple bogey on Saturday had kicked him out of contention — and local favorites: Lee Reed, Scott Nelson and Taylor Price.
Hibler had tamed the beast with distance and ball-striking, putting and a crisp short game. He walked away having mastered it all as the Mid-Amateur and Master-40 Champion — shooting 66-68-70 = 204 (-6).
CLICK HERE for the full leaderboard.
CONCLUSION
It was a championship filled with suspense, playoffs, testy weather, and more. It displayed championship-caliber golf on a course that has withstood the test of time. The cream of the crop had risen and those worthy to lift their respected trophies did so.
The IGA’s next event is its Four-Ball Championship at RedHawk Golf Course on September 9 and 10. See you there!
2023 IGA Mid-Amateur Championship Payout