Written by Beaux Yenchik, Manager of Media and Communications
MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho— “Too hard, I’m sorry!” yelled a competitor off in the distance as a putt when whizzing by the hole.
This and many other comments must have become commonplace during the 2024 Mixed Couples Chapman—the first event on the tournament schedule for the Idaho Golf Association. For a sport that is typically a one-man/woman show, players from opposite genders joined together and entered a realm unfamiliar for many in the golf space. Needless to say, some handled this partnership better than others over the two days in one of Idaho’s windiest cities.
For those unfamiliar with this two-person format, here is how it works:
1. Both golfers tee off
2. Each plays their teammates’s drive for their second shot
3. The team then decides which of the second shots was better and then plays alternate shot with that ball until it is holed out
Simple enough?
Well, two different teams managed to work their way through the ever-changing competition and the difficult layout of Desert Canyon Golf Course. In the Desert Flight, it was Kris Fenwick and Burke Spensky who went 68-68=136 (-6) for a three-shot victory. And in the Canyon Flight, it was the husband and wife duo of Shawna & Bob Ianson who ran away with the title and bragging rights by posting 74-74=148 (+6).
DESERT FLIGHT
Having finished the first round with a two-shot lead over eventual runners-up Luke Birkinbine and Lauren Parish, the team of Fenwick and Spensky listened and smiled as Birkinbine mentioned how excited he was for the chance to chase down the leading pair in the final round of the event. Knowing they didn’t quite have the trophy in their grasp and using that comment as fuel, Fenwick and Spensky prepared themselves for one more round on a course that seemed to have a 24-hour blowdryer in the faces of any soul who stepped foot on the property.
Kris Fenwick (left) & Burke Spensky (right)
The first five holes of round two opened the doors for some potential excitement that wasn’t fully expected. Team Birkinbine-Parish rolled in three birdies during that stretch and found themselves with a one-shot lead for the ensuing two holes.
With the next closest team(s) to the lead at one-under par, the event changed for good on No. 8, the slightly uphill par-4. Fenwick and Spensky walked away with their second eagle of the event—the only team to have one or more eagles in the Mixed Couples Chapman—and a one-shot lead, which they didn’t relinquish for the rest of the tournament. With three more birdies and a lone bogey on No. 16, the first-time teammates claimed victory by three shots.
Upon the completion of the final round, Fenwick was heard saying, “We stuck it to those kids” with that ever infectious laugh!
It is safe to say they accepted that challenge and ended up victorious. It was the seasoned veterans who stood strong in a field that consisted of upcoming stars and still prevalent faces in IGA events.
Top 5
1. Kris Fenwick & Burke Spensky (-6)
2. Luke Birkinbine & Lauren Parish (-3)
T3. Sheryl Scott & Brian Scott (-2)
T3. Madison Gridley & Grayson Giboney (-2)
T5. Abby Black & Kevin Brocke (+5)
T5. Heather Donner & Lucio Morales (+5)
CANYON FLIGHT
For any of you who have played golf with Shawna & Bob Ianson, you know they just don’t miss. It is fairway after fairway, and green and after green. It is a style of play that many of us wish to master and just fall short of. The two of them played this way from start to finish to claim their victory at the Mixed Couples Chapman.
Though every hole of this 36-hole event could be used to demonstrate this point, here are two that show just how good they really are: Bob had laced a drive right down the middle of the fairway during the final round on the canyon-lined par-4 16th. With the breeze picking up and thoughts to not go left on any shot leading up to the green, Shawna pulled out her trusty hybrid or fairway metal and hit her white sphere no more than 10-15 feet off the ground. That ball, flying as straight as an arrow, rolled within a club length or two of the hole from about 150 yards out.
It was the very same thing on the next hole, except roles were reversed. Shawna had put her drive right in the middle of the fairway; Bob had hit a flighted wedge to about 10 feet from the hole; Shawna’s birdie putt rattled the pin as it dropped in the cup. (If you were nearby, you even heard her say “Bam!” as she made it.) The dynamic duo just couldn’t miss, and their games showed why their margin of victory was what it was.
Trying to keep it as close as they could, with valiant efforts might I add, Jen & Larry Warden, and Amalia & Norman Negrette finished as runners-up to the Iansons by eight shots at plus-14.
Shawna Ianson (left) & Bob Ianson (right)
The Ianson's showed nothing but consistency over the two days of play, even down to the scoring—shooting 37 for every nine holes of play.
Feeling elated from their victory, Bob Ianson said, “This is like days of old.”
Top 5
1. Shawna & Bob Ianson (+6)
T2. Jen & Larry Warden (+14)
T2. Amalia & Norman Negrette (+14)
T4. Julie Klefforth & Tyler Gomez (+19)
T4. Joanna & Robert Nealer (+19)
TOURNAMENT WRAP-UP
The IGA’s next event is the Idaho Match Play Championship at River’s Edge Golf Club at Burley in two weeks (May 30-June 1).
CLICK HERE FOR FINAL RESULTS