Lady Hype
Written by Amber Balbas, IGA Board Member
Everyone has something they could call their “passion”. That thing that people think of when they hear your name. For me, it’s golf. I don’t love many things more than the gift of golf. Whether I am watching it, playing it, or learning about it, golf brings me so much joy. In fact, the word has become so synonymous with my name that people are often shocked to learn that I have not been a golfer my whole life, or even in high school. My passion for it leads people to assume I was raised to love it or have played since I was young.
I was born into softball and about every other team sport my dad could get me in. They taught me to be competitive and tough as nails (physically… still working on the mental part), never give in, keep my chin up, and always be the loudest voice out there.
However, with all of that fierceness, you are also taught all of the cheers, special high-fives or handshakes, and showered with lots of encouragement. Softball is a sport that guarantees that no matter what happens, you have a team that has your back. Always ready to pick you up by the bootstraps when it gets tough. You never felt like it was just “you” because it was bigger than just you.
I loved softball and all that came with it. Not always was I the team MVP, but I was consistently the girl who received the “most encouraging”, “spirit of the game”, or “warrior” recipient. Every year. I was known as “the ultimate hype girl”. Even off of the field, you could find me at every track meet screaming the loudest, at every soccer game waving our school flag, and at all those pep assemblies just being the number one fan of every athlete there.
The camaraderie and rallying were my favorite part of sports, and I absolutely loved it. I so cherished being a competitor, but seeing others do something incredible or achieve a new personal best was what I lived for. Whether I was on the field or on the bench, they always heard my voice and I made sure of it.
In my freshman year playing third base for my college softball team, I endured a terrible shoulder injury that resulted in surgery. I was told I wouldn’t be able to throw from third as I could before, so my scholarship and roster status would likely dissolve. In desperation to at least get my swing back, I tried all sorts of rehab.
Looking to help, a friend on the men’s golf team invited me out to the driving range to try to swing his golf clubs to ease back into it, hopeful that maybe I could at least bat. After a few times out there, continuously attempting to hit this tiny ball straight, I was asked if I wanted to play a round with the team (all boys at the time and their coach). I had no clue what I was doing, but they didn't seem to mind so I was all in.
After 4 hours of trying to get this ball into the hole 18 times without having an aneurysm or throwing anything, while the men’s golf team observed and laughed (a lot I'm sure), I fully expected that to be the last time I visited a golf course.
I’ve learned so many times though that my plan is usually far different than what God has planned. “Amber, we are starting a women’s golf team here at Corban, we would like you to be the first player and if you’re interested and your softball coach gives the ok, we’d also like you to be the team captain.” Those were the words out of Coach Sisler’s mouth after that round and no, it wasn't a joke… I asked.. multiple times.
I slept on it, prayed about it, and before I knew it, I had a set of King Cobra Golf clubs, multiple fancy polos, a bag with my name on it, and soon, four other girls expecting me to lead the way to… well I wasn't really sure where you go with golf, but I just knew that we were going and we would have some big smiles our faces!
Being new to the college golf scene, I didn't know how tournaments operated or even what the proper etiquette was. l did know that walking 4 rounds of 18 holes (push carts or fancy rangefinders weren't allowed yet), mostly in the Oregon rain, definitely meant we needed snacks and lots of smiles (and extra socks).
I still remember my very first tournament. I clapped for each competitor who teed off before me. Then, my name was announced at the first tee box, “Next to the tee, Amber Meeker from St. Helens, Oregon…” I aimed about 80 yards left of the fairway (softball) like always and hit the nastiest slice you've ever seen that landed about 240 yards in the middle of the fairway. I took 127 painful shots after that.
In round one, the three girls I golfed with that round were silent. They didn't clap, high-five or cheer. It was so odd to me. I remember seeing a teammate of mine make an awesome putt on the green next to us, so naturally I yelled, “Great shot, Hailey!” I was thrilled for her, but I could have just murdered someone with my divot fixer judging by the looks I received. Noted: don't yell.
We turned around to play our second round of 18 for the day. I offered snacks to my playing partners, then ate them all myself because apparently eating during a tournament was also taboo. I continued to congratulate my group on great shots, even encouraging them during tough holes. At the end of the round, we shook hands and that was that. They all looked so miserable. I would have loved to have played like they did, but they didn't seem to have enjoyed themselves.
Amber is "Nicole's biggest fan" and it definitely shows!
That next day, the silence was near painful. I continued to offer snacks and all of the words of encouragement I thought might help. I played heaps better, so my spirits were much higher but the vibe in the group was still drab.
It was nearing the end of the last round and one of the girls broke her silence to say something to me along the lines of, “You’re really nice, even when you play bad.” Then she smiled. A real smile. I was elated.
Two weeks later at the next invitational, on the first tee box, our group traded scorecards and introduced ourselves. The same girl was in my group and when she handed me her scorecard, she wished me luck and smiled. In that round of golf, we both played well. We congratulated each other on good shots, we laughed a few times, and by the end of the round, the other girls even joined in some high fives.
Each tournament that first year, the reuniting party in the clubhouse grew more and more. Girls were excited to see and compete with each other, all eager to hear who they were seeded with for the weekend. It was the best.
Ever since I started playing competitive golf, I’ve been told that I need to want to beat the people I play against. I assure you, I am one of the most competitive people you will meet. I want to blow you out of the water no matter the challenge. But I never, ever want you to be miserable. I want to beat you when you are playing your absolute best. I want to see you celebrating an amazing eagle putt. I want to be a part of your victory dance when you shoot a career low. I want you to succeed. Whether it is that shot, that hole, that round. I know how amazing it feels when you experience even those small victories, and I want everyone to have that. We need more of that.
After college, I coached high school softball and golf in Colorado for a number of years. My athletes called me (and still do) “Lady Hype” or “Lady Coach”. Our teams were not always the state champions or all-state athletes, but I continually receive calls and messages from them over the years commenting on the impact of the encouragement they received from me.
Some of my athletes have gone on to coach teams themselves, writing to tell me that they try to be to their teams “the hype girl I was to them.” (Insert teardrops on my keyboard here.) We need more hype girls. More hype bros. We need to be the encouragement for others that we all so desperately need sometimes.
I was specifically asked to write about “What golf means to me”. What golf has become to me these past 16 years, is more than just a game; it is a profound expression of my faith, a place where I encounter God’s creation in its most intricate detail. It is joy. It is a gift God gave me during a time of sorrow and confusion.
Each time out, I try to take in the beauty of the landscape and the rhythm of each swing, being so thankful for the Creator’s handiwork. At times, the game becomes a prayerful meditation, where each moment of calm and challenge reminds me of the grace and patience that God extends to me. The joy I find in golf goes beyond the game itself; it’s about planting a passion and a sense of community in others. But, the true reward comes from seeing others find their own joy in the sport, as it mirrors the excitement and happiness that golf has brought to my own life. It’s a beautiful exchange of enthusiasm and encouragement that I so cherish.
I’ve realized the mental berating we give ourselves as golfers is inevitable at times. I chose to share a short-ish version of my story with you in hopes of giving you a new outlook. I know the terrible things I've said to myself during a round of golf. I have experienced the feeling of absolute failure and anger after a tournament. I’ve nearly left my golf clubs on the side of the road with a “free” sign. I don't want anyone to experience that feeling.
If I can be a small part of helping you smile or gain a little more confidence during a round, then I know I am turning my passion into a purpose. If I’m losing to you, you’ll still hear me. If I didn’t make the cut, I’ll still come to watch you grind. If I am melting down on the 14th green after hitting two “OB” and you make birdie, you bet I’ll have a high-five for you. I want to be a person who helps you feel all the positives because I have been in a place with nothing but negatives and no one deserves to be there. So go out and play a round of golf, whether it be your first or your thousandth, find grace in every stroke, and just smile.
HOF Spotlight: Scott Masingill
Scott Masingill works on his silky-smooth putting stroke on the practice green at his beloved Scotch Pines Golf Course.
By: Shane René, USGA P.J. Boatwright Intern
If the Idaho amateur golf community had a Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods-type figure, most would point to Scott Masingill.
The Payette native was born into one of the families that established Scotch Pines Golf Course in 1962 (then Payette Golf Course), where the seeds of his historic amateur career took root. A couple decades later he would try his hand at course architecture during the course’s expansion from nine to 18 holes, and he served as president of its board of directors. For decades, his love of golf has been rivaled only by his commitment to the communities that raised him.
“I’ve lived in Idaho my whole life,” he said. “So, anything that says it’s a state tournament, I’m interested in it.”
Golf was not always the obvious path forward for Masingill, who grew up showing talent for a variety of sports including basketball and baseball. In fact, baseball was the family sport, played by his father and uncle, and a popular pastime in the town that raised MLB legend Harman Killebrew. But as Masingill arrived at his sophomore year, Payette High School wouldn’t allow him to play both sports due to the amount of time each would force him out of classes. When his parents arranged hitting lessons with Killebrew for Masingill and his cousin Brad, the Hall of Famer suggested, on account of their slender builds, that they better stick to golf.
Today, Masingill’s legacy, which is highlighted by stunning longevity, stands on the shoulders of his unmistakable talent. After winning his first junior tournament in 1967, it wasn’t until 1999 that he endured a title-less season on the golf course. Following consecutive state titles with Payette High School, Masingill played for his beloved Oregon State Beavers, where he won the PAC-8 championship in 1971, besting the likes of Tom Watson and Craig Stadler.
In 1972, Masingill captured his first Idaho Men’s Amateur title, beginning a run across four decades that would become the flagship accomplishment of his career. Today Masingill stands alone with nine state titles, winning his last in 2001, and continues to make strong showings in the event as he wades into his 70's. In 2023, he entered the final round with just three players between him and the lead — two of them were yet to graduate high school and the third was 22 years old.
“I was a college kid trying to beat the older guys; I was the older guy trying to beat the college kid; I was the father just trying to cobble something together,” he said. “So, each of those eras was a completely different challenge.”
Masingill turned professional in the wake of his final Men’s Amateur win, at 50 years old, and spent a few years Monday qualifying into events before earning status on the Champions Tour in 2006. Across 33 appearances in Champions tour events, including a handful of Senior Major Championships, he shared fairways with many of the game’s greatest champions. But ultimately, Masingill says the magnet that drew him back to the amateur game is the people who play alongside him. They are doctors and lawyers, plumbers and schoolteachers, students and social workers; they are successful, he notes, in other parts of their lives. Their lives are enriched by the game, but never made miserable (at least, not too miserable) by the horrors of their short game. They are people for whom golf is not a matter of life and death, but a matter of heart and soul.
Masingill is drawn to them because he’s one of them; he’s one of us. He just happens to have won more times than most of us have in our dreams.
The IGA announced in 2019 that the Men’s Amateur trophy be named in Masingill’s honor and he’s handed the Scott Masingill Cup over to the winner every year since — even after being in contention to win it many of those years.
“I’m flattered that somebody feels that way about me,” Masingill said as he reflected on having his name on the Men’s Amateur trophy. “When you’re doing this, you don’t know what legacy you’re going to have. And that just embedded that all of the things that I’ve done — and what I’ve been — is worth it.”
Accomplishment Highlights:
Idaho Men’s Amateur Champion (1972, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2000 & 2001)
Match Play Champion (5-time winner)
1997 PNGA Master-40 Champion
Champion’s Tour (2001-06)
Patience Pays: The 2024 Senior Amateur Championship
A foggy morning as the 2024 Senior Amateur Championship got underway.
Jug Mountain Ranch asks players to be patient.
The golf course, as Joe Malay put it after his opening round, asks you to play it the way the way it was designed to be played — from point A to point B, and only then may you advance on to point C. To disobey, you must push two shots and a golf ball into the middle of the table and roll a die weighted against your favor. And when you lose, you’ll be forced to withstand anxious walks along the edges of meadows so lush you’re better off not finding your ball.
Jug Mountain is a reliable test of resilience — and resilience may be the best word to describe 2024’s trio of Champions. Fran Matthias fought his way back from an opening 81 to run away with his third consecutive Super Senior Title. Jennifer Harper earned her first IGA Championship title from five-shots back. And Darren Kuhn, a six-time runner up finisher in IGA Championships (including the 2024 Senior Match Play), outlasted newly minted senior Brian Swenson in a two-hole playoff.
SUPER SENIOR
Fran Matthias cruised out of the gate on Thursday morning with squeaky-clean 36, making nine consecutive pars as he rolled into Jug Mountain's feast or famine final nine. A bogey on the 10th and a second on the 12th (the week’s easiest par-4) then sent him trending in the wrong direction. When he arrived on the 16th tee, the beginning of Jug’s most notorious stretch, at three-over par a leftward tee shot found the penalty area.
“I had a brain fart and should have taken a drop,” Matthias said. “That was kind of silly on my part.”
It took Matthias three swings to free his ball from the lush native area beyond the red line and he chased his ball into the hole for a quadruple-bogey nine. Two more bogeys on the troublesome 17th and 18th sealed the deal on a rare birdie-free round of 81, eight shots back of the lead set by 2017 champion Skip Pierce.
Matthias got back on his horse in the second round, using three birdies and two bogeys to stroll into the clubhouse with a round of one-under 71. But Boise-native Joel Hickman did the same, posting 71 to follow an opening round of 75 and take firm control of the golf tournament through 36 holes.
Paired with Hickman in the final round, Matthias sat six shots back of the lead on the first tee. But after just one hole, the deficient was down to three after Hickman opened with a triple-bogey. With a birdie on second for Matthias, he found himself one back after Hickman made bogey. By the time they turned onto the back nine, Matthias held onto a two-shot lead and never let it go. He’d go on to win by four.
“It’s very gratifying,” Matthias said. “It was a pretty rough start the first day, but after that I just put my head down and went one shot at a time. It’s an old cliche, but that’s the way you’ve got to do it. Just a little bit at a time...
“I’m pretty pleased with how I finished.”
WOMEN’S SENIOR
The Women’s Senior field arrived at Jug Mountain Ranch on Wednesday morning without a clear favorite on the leaderboard for the first time in a long time. With Karen Darrington out of the picture, there was a clear opening for a new name to find its way onto the Karen Darrington Cup with just two former champions in the field — Shawna Ianson and Sheryl Scott.
Jennifer Harper established her campaign for her first IGA Championship title early on, riding a bogey-free 33 on the back nine into the clubhouse for a one-over par 73 and a one-shot lead. In close pursuit, Kris Fenwick made five birdies in her opening round, but stumbled on 17, making double bogey to take the luster off birdies at 16 and 18.
Stacey Camara and 2021 Champion Sheryl Scott — who battled in the final match at the 2024 Senior Women’s Match Play — rounded out the top four with rounds of 77.
Harper stumbled in the second round, beginning and ending her back nine with runs of bogey-bogey-double and signed for 83. Fenwick found some steady play early on Friday, making birdie at the 2nd and 4th, but a double bogey at the ninth moved her over par. Then the 17th reared its ugly head once again, as the creek swallowed Fenwick’s approach and dished out double bogey for a second day in a row. But it was Camara who found herself floating to the top of the leaderboard, finishing bogey-par-bogey to lead by one.
Just one shot back to begin the day, Kris Fenwick moved back into the lead after nine holes and moved two up through over Stacey Camara after the 10th. Mean while, Jennifer Harper had moved along steadily on the front nine, matching Fenwick with 39. Then as Fenwick and Camara began bleeding strokes on the back nine, Harper’s steady play continued, and she found herself floating toward the lead.
On the par-5 16th, Fenwick four-putt for double bogey and found the water with her approach on the 17th for a third consecutive double bogey on the hole. As the final pairing stood on the 18th tee, Fenwick was one back of Camara and Harper who shared the lead at 17-over par.
All three pushed their tee shots up near the front of the 18th green and Fenwick stuffed one into just inside 10 feet for birdie. Harper then sent one by the difficult hole location and down the back of the green. Camara tentatively left herself a long putt below the hole.
With Fenwick’s miss, and Camara’s three-putt, Harper found herself with 6 feet for par and the win. She poured it in the middle.
“I’m feeling butterfly-ie on the inside, a little nervous, disbelief, happy,” Harper said. “Last year when you guys hosted the State Am, and all the high school kids and college kids were out and it was set up quite difficult, I was hoping to break 90 every day. So, I was looking forward to the forward tees today.
“It means a lot [to win].”
SENIOR MEN’S
Crane Creek’s John Drescher came out of the gates firing with an opening round of 68 (-4) to take a three-stroke lead on Wednesday. In the group behind him, Darren Kuhn and Gary Sherrell were the only other players to break par, one stroke ahead of Brian Swenson who opened with a round of 72.
Through the second round, Drescher struggled early, making consecutive double bogeys on the 5th and 6th, and limped home with a round of 75 to fall back to one-under par. And as Kuhn played a smooth round of even par, making two birdies and two bogeys, Brian Swenson stormed through the front nine with an eagle and two birdies to go out in 32. He would reach five-under on the day with a birdie at the 13th.
But as after a poor tee shot on the 17th, Swenson was forced to lay up to just outside 100 yards for his third. With a back hole location, Swenson flagged it, landing his ball just a couple paces long of the hole and received an inexplicably long, hard bounce over the green and into the hazard long of the green. He would walk away with a quadruple bogey 8 and fell to one-under par for the tournament.
In the final round, Dean Park — who began the day two back of the lead — made a late charge but stumbled coming home on the 18th hole to post two-over for the tournament. And as John Drecsher struggled in the final pairing with Darren Kuhn and Brian Swenson, the latter two had the tournament focused on themselves.
Kuhn made bogey at 15 and handed Swenson a one-shot lead with three to play. Swenson then birdies the 16th to take a two-shot advantage as he turned toward the hole that derailed him the day before.
Both Kuhn and Swenson trickled their tee shots into the hazard long through the fairway, but both were able to get a club on the ball. Swenson elected to chip his down the fairway, and Kuhn chose to go for the green.
“I’ve I wasn’t two-back,” Kuhn said. “I probably would have laid up.”
His second from the hazard came out well right of the green and took a long hard hop further to the right, leaving himself a difficult up and down. But Swenson, meanwhile, dumped his third into the bunker short of the green. Kuhn hit a quality pitch shot to 15 feet above the hole, and Swenson scared the hole with his bunker shot, but it released out to less than a foot beyond Kuhn’s mark, forcing him to putt first.
Swenson missed, and with the help of his read, Kuhn buried the putt for par — moving them to 18 in a tie for the lead.
After trading pars on the 18th, Swenson and Kuhn moved into a playoff, both finishing with rounds of 73 in a tie at even par for the week. They would trade pars again on the first playoff hole (hole No. 1 at Jug Mountain), and moved to the par-5 second.
Kuhn hit an ideal tee shot up the middle of the fairway, while Swenson tugged one into the left rough. Still within striking distance, Swenson fired at the green, missing short right in the rough. Kuhn hit a beautiful shot falling just beyond the bunker short left of the green.
But when Kuhn arrived at the green, he was stunned to see the gallery searching for his ball behind the green. Once found, he had a difficult chip to a front left hole location. Swenson caught his chip a little bit thin, sending it a good 20 feet by the hole, and Kuhn misread his, leaving it a good 12 feet right of the hole.
But much like the 17th, Kuhn used the information from Swenson’s putt to pour his in the center.
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” Kuhn said. “It was a tough day — a tough three days. The golf course was pretty tough, you always have to be on guard. I’m just grateful to have it work out the way it did.”
After six runner-up finishes in IGA Championships, Darren Kuhn collected his first last week.
“It get’s frustrating I think because you want it so much and then it gets so far away when it gets down to it,” he said. “Today I just tried to stay calm and in the moment even when it wasn’t going well…. It’s always more up here [pointing at his head] than it is anywhere else.”
Lawson wins PNGA Mid-Amateur in Playoff
Written by Tom Cade, Director of Communications for WA GOLF/PNGA
McCall, Idaho – Andrew Lawson of Dallas, Tex. shot rounds of 71-75-69 and then survived a two-hole playoff to win the 39th PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, held this week at Jug Mountain Ranch in McCall, Idaho.
Andrew Lawson, winner of the PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur
Lawson defeated Jesse Hibler of Meridian, Idaho, in the playoff to take the title.
Andrew Lawson, winner of the PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur.
The 54-hole stroke-play championship featured a strong field of the top men’s mid-amateur players from across the Pacific Northwest.
Championship links:
Lawson started today’s final round four shots back of Hibler, who held the top spot at the top of the leaderboard after the second round. Between Hibler and Lawson were Colton Kleis of Kenmore, Wash. and Michael Cairns of Carnation, Wash., both at two shots back of Hibler.
Hibler still held a two-shot lead after the front nine in today’s final round, and when Lawson double-bogeyed the short par-5 13th, the way looked clear for Hibler. But he ran into trouble on the relatively innocent par-4 15th and double-bogeyed as well, to fall behind Lawson by a shot. When Lawson bogeyed the final hole, he and Hibler headed for the playoff.
Lawson was playing the second-to-last group today. “I had no idea what was going on behind me (in Hibler’s group),” he said. “I was just trying to take care of my own game.”
On the 13th, Lawson four-putted for the double-bogey, scuffing a six-inch tap-in. On the 18th, from the middle of the fairway he hit his second shot to the back edge of the green and proceeded to three-putt from there, then watched as Hibler parred the final hole to force the playoff.
Lawson and Hibler were the only two players in the field to finish under par.
Lawson, 41, spends his summers in Sun Valley, Idaho, playing the resort’s Bigwood course, as well as the nearby Valley Club. “I played in college, but that was many years ago,” he said. “Then I played absolutely no golf at all for four or five years. Didn’t pick up a club. But now I try to play in a few events each summer. I’m already planning on defending my title in this championship next year. I’ll be back.”
Hibler brought a lot of experience to Jug Mountain this week, having won back-to-back PNGA Master-40 titles in 2021-2022, with the 2022 championship held at Jug Mountain. He also won the 2019 IGA Men’s Tournament of Champions, and the 2023 Idaho Men’s Mid-Amateur. He has been named to several PNGA Lamey Cup competitions as a member of the Idaho Golf Association team.
To be eligible for this championship, players had to be 25 years of age or older by August 6, 2024 and have a USGA Handicap Index or Golf Canada Handicap Factor of 8.4 or lower at the time of entry, and must be a member in good standing of a PNGA Member Association.
The PNGA Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship is one of 11 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
About Jug Mountain Ranch
Designed by Donald Knott, the golf course at Jug Mountain Ranch was named second-best new public course by Golf Digest in 2008, and was named one of the “Best Courses You Can Play” in Idaho by Golfweek in 2016. The course is an amenity of a 1,410-acre private residential community set beneath Jughandle Mountain’s 8,310-foot peak. Roughly 75 percent of the Ranch (1,000 acres) has been set aside for preserved open space and a championship golf course. Visit jugmountainranch.com for more information.
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Smith's Season: The 96th Men's Amateur Championship
By: Shane René, USGA P.J. Boatwright Intern
Fourteen years ago in Midland, Texas, Nate Smith holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to earn his first and only win on the Korn Ferry Tour at the WNB Golf Classic.
Now 40 — the better part of a decade removed from the day he tucked his clubs away, letting dust collect so he could build a life away from the professional game — Smith found himself stalking a 25-foot putt for eagle on Saturday afternoon, tied for the lead with two college sophomores on the final hole of the 96th Idaho Men’s Amateur Championship. And just like that day at Midland Country Club, he arrived at BanBury Golf Course two strokes off the lead and walked away flexing his clutch gene and holding the trophy.
“I’m just flooded with emotions,” Smith said after the round. “We spoke yesterday — yes, maybe I don’t care as much as I used to, but I still care a lot. And this means a lot, especially getting it done on the last hole. You always want to see your competitor do something exceptional to beat you — you don’t want to win on a mistake — and I felt like I went out and took it from them. That’s rare.”
Left to right: McArthur and his father, Smith up ahead in his cart, Lekkerkerk and his girlfriend — all making their way down the 7th.
Before that putt tumbled into the heart of the hole, Smith entered the final round as the least known commodity in the final pairing — despite his professional pedigree. Derek Lekkerkerk stood on the first tee at 10-under par with a two stroke lead over Smith and recent IGA Junior standout Ashton McArthur.
Lekkerkerk had posted bogey-free scores of 30 on BanBury’s front nine each of the first two days, and used a birdie-birdie finish to get into the clubhouse Friday after a rare double-bogey at the brutish, water-laden par-3 14th. The Twin Falls native was seeking his second IGA Championship of the summer — winning the Match Play for a second consecutive year in June — and stormed into the Men’s Amateur after a deep run into the semifinals at the PNGA Men’s Amateur. McArthur was coming off a Friday 63 (-8) and is a player that Idaho’s elite amateurs have increasingly recognized as one of the most talented southern-Idaho golf products in recent memory.
“It was an absolute dogfight out there today,” Smith said. “The two guys I played with were exceptional young players; I look forward to watching them continue in the game — their careers are on a great trajectory.”
After a trio of opening pars, Smith flagged his approach into the par-5 2nd to inside of 10 feet, looking at a putt for eagle to presumably close the gap if not take the lead. But then Lekkerkerk hit his approach into less that two feet. Smith made his, Lekkerkerk cleaned up, and the lead remained unchanged. McArthur made par, falling two stokes back of Smith.
After Lekkerkerk made bogey from the bunker on the par-3 3rd, his lead shrunk to one. On the par-5 4th, Lekkerkerk found the left trees and scrambled his way up to the green. Smith then holed his green-side bunker shot for his second eagle in three holes, and Lekkerkerk missed his birdie effort.
Smith had taken his first outright lead of the tournament.
But Lekkerkerk fired back on the par-3 5th, holing a 20-foot put for birdie as Smith two putt from off the green for par. They were tied at the top again. McArthur also made birdie, keeping himself within striking distance of his playing partners.
All three players missed good looks at birdie on the 6th. Then Lekkerkerk and Smith found themselves with nearly identical putts short of the hole on the 7th. Lekkerkerk makes. Smith misses. Lekkerkerk leads again.
Lekkerkerk sent his tee shot at the on the par-3 8th hooking toward the water, taking one long hop before it disappeared into the reeds. Smith, possibly spooked by the prospect of a rightward miss, found the left bunker. McArthur showed them how it was done, hitting a proper shot at the middle of the green. Lekkerkerk caught his chip heavy, leaving himself a good 15-20 feet for bogey and Smith continued his bunker clinic, knocking one inside three feet for his par. Then Lekkerkerk poured his bogey putt in the center to keep a share of the lead.
Lekkerkerk would go on to bogey the ninth, handing the lead back to Smith who would make par. But, in a predictable fashion at this point, Lekkerkerk made birdie at the 10th, taking back a share of the lead. And when Smith found trouble at the 11th, Lekkerkerk’s par gave him the outright lead once again.
McArthur’s approach into 12
But this trend of yo-yoing leads would not let up. Lekkerkerk’s tee shot on the strategic par-5 12th found the water as he attempted to lay up with an iron, and both McArthur and Smith took outrageous lines up over the trees into the second portion of fairway. (If you’ve never played BanBury, reaching the second portion of fairway off the back tee is NOT the recommended line of play). Lekkerkerk failed to scramble his way in for par, tapping in for bogey after Smith and McArthur cleaned up for routine birdies.
Two shot swing, Smith leads at -12. Lekkerkerk -11. McArthur -10.
The 13th featured a rare laps in Smith’s bunker play, leaving himself a slippery 12-footer down the hill for par — he missed to fall back into a share of the lead.
McArthur and Lekkerkerk made routine pars, and then the final pairing held their breath and made a trio of bogeys at the often-disastrous par-3 14th.
Smith’s bunker shot into 12
The fifteenth gave all three players fair looks at birdie, but this time it was McArthur who would pay it off, bringing the final pairing into a deadlock at the top of the leaderboard at -10.
Smith nearly holed his chip on the par-3 16th, but the trio moved onto the gettable 17th where all three players missed birdie putts on nearly identical lines long of the hole — setting the stage for a three-way tie and a par-5 finish.
Finding the right trees, Lekkerkerk played first. Then McArthur and Smith followed each other with gargantuan drives into the heart of the fairway. Lekkerkerk, forced to lay up, knocked his second inside 100 yards, opening the door to McArthur and Smith. McArthur’s approach looked perfect in the air, but whether it be the heat or adrenaline, his ball pitched just over the green, leaving a delicate chip some 15 feet above the hole.
This was a moment where Smith’s background in big moments at the highest level seemed to be giving him an edge. He found the middle of the green, playing away from the tucked left pin over the water, leaving himself a quality look at eagle from 25-feet. Lekkerkerk played up and two putt for par. McArthur left his chip three feet left of the hole.
Then Smith did his thing, finding the middle of the cup right when mattered most.
“It’s difficult to win golf tournaments,” Smith said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time — with a hiatus — but it never gets any better. You have to celebrate these times because golf is full of disappointment more often then it is with success. And so when it happens it’s really special — I feel blessed to be in this moment and I’m just thankful that everything came together.”
Smith’s victory earns him a spot in the 124th U.S. Amateur Championship. Last year, he made a deep run into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. He will join the 95th Idaho Men’s Amateur Champion, Trevor Garus, at Hazeltine National Golf Club next month, who is making his second consecutive appearance in the championship after making it through final qualifying last week.
Garus used a Saturday 65 to finish in a tie for 4th behind Lekkerkerk.
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The Shosted Show: 2024 Women’s Amateur Championship
Shosted with her tee shot on 18 in the final round.
By: Shane René, USGA P.J. Boatwright Intern
Dominance, at times, can feel random and hard to source.
A fruitful warm-up can emerge abruptly from weeks of hemorrhaging confidence with every club in the bag. Putters are known to wake from a slumber without warning, like a moody toddler in the middle of the night demanding (the bottom of) a cup of apple juice. Sometimes trees really do feel like they are 90% air – a crop of divine and leafy shepherds keeping your ball on the short grass.
After a seven-birdie opening round of 66 on Monday to lift herself five shots clear of the field, Leighton Shosted pointed to a common set of factors for her dominant play. Powerful lashes with her driver found friendly pockets of the fairway. A good bounce here and there kept her momentum going. And her putter, of course, was feeling thirsty.
Shosted with the Jean Lane Smith Cup.
But as Shosted’s lead shrunk from 12 shots to 10 on Wednesday afternoon, and she wept her way off the 18th green at Hillcrest Country Club as the 2024 Women’s Amateur Champion, it was clear that a much more human inspiration fueled her stunning wire-to-wire performance.
“My freshman year of college my grandfather passed away,” she said, tears welling up again. “And I never really got to play in this event and have him watch... It’s just really cool to come back to Idaho and play good for him. I know that he’s looking down on me and is proud of me – so it’s really cool to have that.”
Shosted and her father walking up the 18th hole.
Under her name on the leaderboard, Mesa, Arizona is credited as Shosted’s hometown – but her roots are set deep in Idaho. Speaking to the crowd with the Jean Lane Smith Cup by her side, she reflected on the memory of the lapel pins the Idaho Junior Tour handed out to winners in the early days of her competitive golf career and distant memories of playing Hillcrest Country Club when she was 12 years old.
“From little eyes to big girl eyes – it's different,” she joked.
Shosted and her family left Idaho when she was 12 years old but returned to the Treasure Valley for middle school. Before moving back to Arizona for high school, Shosted represented Idaho in the Girls’ Junior Americas Cup and the North Pacific Junior Ladies team event in 2017 when she was just 14 years old.
With her father on the bag, the week unfolded like a homecoming celebration for Shosted. Reunited with old friends from her junior golf days as she gears up to transfer for her final year of college golf at the University of Tennessee, she’ll leave the Gem State with a blissful reminder of where her life in the game began.
“I’m excited; I’m happy,” she said. “It’s fun to play in this event. This is my first time playing in it and I’ve always wanted to play in it. To come out and play well was fun.
“And it was awesome to have my dad caddy for me – he did a good job.”
Paired with Shosted in the final round, 2020 champion Brooke Patterson and defending champion Maddie Montoya did what they could to chip away at Shosted’s lead, but neither of them were able to get within more than eight shots. They both finished in a tie for second with 2022 Champion Carly Carter at five-over par.
Gridley with the Vicki Mallea Cup.
MID-AMATEUR
The dominance theme continued on the Mid-Amateur side of the 2024 Amateur Championships, with newly minted Mid-Am Madison Gridley cruising home to a five-stroke victory over defending champion Bailey Henley.
“I’m feeling good – today was honestly a grind trying to keep it, ya know, below a certain score,” she said with a chuckle.
Gridley graduated from Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) this spring, qualifying her for Mid-Amateur competition in Idaho, and she made the most of that opportunity while competing in the Women’s Amateur and Mid- Amateur divisions. She finished T-6 in the Amateur.
Along for the wire-to-wire victory was her caddy and former teammate Grayson Giboney, who she credited with keeping her on track for much of the week.
“Me and my caddy Grayson just had fun the whole time – we played really smart,” she said. “That was honestly the key to this week, just golf management... I’m really glad he got to caddy for me because I don’t think I would have played as well without him.”
In one of her first events without a team behind her, she reflected on what she missed and some of the comforts she had out at Hillcrest this week.
“Golf is a very individual sport, so I do miss having the team aspect – just having those buddies to watch you coming in and support you,” she said. “So that felt really good today with Grayson and Christine (Cho) and my coach Fred was watching – so that felt kinda normal since being out of it.
“I really wish I could have gotten my fifth year, but it’s okay – I'm good.”
Bailey Henley finished in second place, 15 strokes clear of a small crop of former IGA champions including 1997 Women’s Amateur Champion Sheryl Scott, and former Mid-Am Champs Michelle Gooding-Badiola and Lori Harper.
Women’s Amateur Banquet and Celebration
Following the close of play on Tuesday afternoon, players and a cast of other women’s golf supporters in Idaho gathered for a banquet dinner to recognize the ever-richer community of women golfers in the Gem State.
The 2024 Amateur Championships and Celebration marked an inaugural effort to give the Women’s Amateur its own stage away from the Men’s Amateur. In doing so, the Amateur and Mid-Amateur fields competed concurrently at a single venue.
Joining Tuesday’s festivities was 2022 Mid-Amateur Champion Lori Harper to host a conversation with two-time Idaho Women’s Amateur Champion and former Stanford All-American Andrea Baxter-Bretz.
Baxter-Bretz grew up playing on the Idaho Junior Tour and went on to play for the Stanford Cardinal (overlapping with none other than Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods) and earned first and second team All-American honors to go along with many top-finishes in major amateur and college events.
Andrea Baxter-Bretz (w/ microphone) and Lori Harper.
Bretz turned professional after college and spent many years teaching at BanBury Golf Course in Eagle. In 2011, she was named Teacher of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Section PGA. As part of her discussion with Harper, she shared the following “isms” with the players in the room – many of whom are in or soon to be entering the college ranks.
Andrea Baxter-Bretz “ISMS”
Be fun to play with
When you’re not practicing, somebody else is
You are only as good as your last round
Let your golf do the talking
Work hard, play hard – have a non-golf outlet
Tee it up for yourself
2024 Idaho Hickory Golf Championship
Written by Tom Tracy, IGA Contributor
The 2024 “Spud Cup” is in the books, and by most accounts, it was a roaring success. Thirty-two courageous souls, dressed in knickers, flat caps and long skirts wielded 100-year-old clubs in quest of prizes and eternal glory at River Birch Golf Course in Star, Idaho, on May 31-June 1. The expected sideways duffs were more than offset by some incredible performances in all flights (Open, Senior and Ladies). Perfect course conditions and weather led to record scoring in this second annual event.
Idaho Golf Association Player of the Year in 2023, Boise’s Burke Spensky, demolished the Open Division with a second-day 68 (five under par), which included six birdies and an eagle on the challenging par-5 ninth hole. His two-day total of 145 was good for an eight-shot margin over Walla Walla’s Brian Hansen, who only recently took up hickory golf. Spensky, for that matter, using just six borrowed clubs and driving the ball nearly 300 yards, had not touched a hickory club since his victory last year. Third place at 156 went to event organizers Tom and Sue Tracy’s son Mac, 35, who was playing his first hickory event using the other half of his dad’s borrowed set.
Senior Division (men over 60) honors went to John Henry Williams of Bend, Oregon, who fired a fine 151 36-hole total, including a one over par 74 on the second day. As a former World Hickory Open champion, he was never challenged as second place went to Tom Tracy with 157. The first net finisher was another new-to-hickory player, Meridian’s Chuck Horel.
In the Ladies Division, Sue Tracy, another former World Hickory Open champ, ran away with low gross honors with a fine 164 (87-77) total. She was followed by Boise’s Diana Sellers and Terri Nero, who tied for runner-up at 188.
(Photos provided by Tom Tracy)
The first day also included a mixed-team competition, which was won by the “Au Gratins,” comprised of JH Williams, Sue Tracy, Chuck Horel and Sue McNab. Some claimed the team was stacked, but the tournament committee denied collusion or bribery.
Low gross and low net winners were presented with custom carved, engraved hickory cutting boards, and various other awards were presented to participants. Eight players had never played pre-1935 clubs before, and several others had only played once at last year’s event. Players came from as far as California, Washington, Oregon and Arizona to participate.
Hickory shaft golf play is growing across the country and globally, with the Society of Hickory Golfers (www.hickorygolfers.com) now having over 700 active members. The regional group Northwest Hickory Players (www.nwhickoryplayers.org) is very active and anticipates hosting the U.S. Hickory Open in 2026.
Next year’s event is expected to be bigger and even more fun!
Birdies for Burke: The 2024 Mid-Amateur Championship
Burke Spensky getting a yardage for his approach on the 10th hole at RedHawk in the final round of the 2024 Match Play Championship.
By: Shane René, USGA P.J. Boatwright Intern
Burke Spensky arrived at RedHawk Golf Course Friday morning for the 2024 Mid-Amateur Championship with a cocktail of context swirling beneath his bucket hat.
The reigning Master-40 Player of the Year left the 2023 Mid-Amateur at Pinecrest Golf Course wounded by the memory of a five-foot putt railing off the right edge on the final hole of regulation. Less than an hour later, after finding the wrong side of Pinecrest’s famously lush tree lines, he lost in a playoff.
“Last year I lost a heartbreaker to Jesse Hibler,” Spensky said following a two-under opening round of 68.
“So, I’d like to avenge that. I’m right where I want to be.”
This year’s venue, however, seemed poised to soften the scar tissue. After a strong showing at the 95th State Amateur and heartbreak at the Mid-Am, Spensky won his second IGA Four-Ball title with Justin Merz at RedHawk Golf Course this past fall.
“I love this course,” he said. “It’s a fun course; it gives you a lot of options ‘cause there’s not very many trees, so you can hit the ball left to right or right to left. It plays firm and fast which is a lot of fun. And the greens are good — you guys had a few nasty hole locations out there.”
Spensky for a closing birdie on Saturday.
Spensky said his spring was a bit of a struggle — despite winning the 2024 Mixed Couples Chapman with Kris Fenwick in May — and was pleased to find a bogey free 32 on the back nine to vault himself just two-shots behind Andrew Cornella’s lead (-4) and tied with Hibler, setting the stage for a repairing of the final round in 2023.
First out on Saturday morning, both players managed two bridies in the first four holes, moving into a tie for the lead at four-under par. But it was Hibler who ultimately stepped into the spotlight, playing his first 15 holes bogey-free with five birdies. Tap-in bogeys on the brawny par-3 16th and from an awkward fairway bunker lie on the 18th would drop him back to five-under, but still leading the way. Stumbling through the turn, Spensky birdied two of his last five holes for 69, leaving him two shots back at three-under par.
In Saturday’s afternoon wave, Gilbert Livas stormed out of the gates with 31 on the front nine to tie Hibler but stumbled down the stretch, making nine on the drivable 15th to kick him out of Sunday’s final pairing. Meridian’s Sean Travis buried a long birdie putt on 18 to be the last of three men under par, earning a place in the final pairing. Cornella, the round-one leader, struggled early and withdrew.
Hibler playing his second on the par-5 ninth.
With two shots separating each of the three men in Sunday’s final pairing, Hibler was in a position to separate himself early — and he did. Matching Spensky with a birdie on the opening par-5, Hibler watched his lead balloon to four-shots as Spensky bogeyed two of his next three holes. But you could almost see the steam rising off Hibler’s brow as the defending champion rolled onto the back nine.
A third consecutive day of clinical ball-striking had suddenly gone unpaid by his putter. A short par putt on the long par-3 sixth limped wide of the left edge for a second consecutive bogey to see his lead shrink back to two. His birdie putt on the short par-3 8th died in the jaws. An equally good look on the par-5 9th did the same.
Sharing a cart with Hibler, Spensky rolled in a clutch par save on the 8th after a poor chip and cut the deficit to one with a six-foot slider for birdie on nine. Trading pars at 10 and bogeys at 11, Spensky’s ball horseshoed out of the hole as he tried to clean up for par.
Back to where he started the day, Hibler stepped up on the par-3 13th and hit the kind of golf shot we expect of championship players, stuffing one inside 10 feet to a back-right hole location shoved against the water. With his momentum slipping, Spensky needed to respond.
“I just had to step up,” Spensky said. “I made some really sloppy swings on 10 and 11. And I’ve been struggling this year, so it was basically just trust in yourself to hit the shot and have some guts about it. And I did — that was cool.”
Spensky battling from the hay.
Firing just left of the flag, Spensky put the ball right back in Hibler’s court, forcing him to putt first. But once again, a good roll from Hibler limped right as the ball’s shadow cast over the hole and died on the right edge. Spensky settled over his putt and knocked it in the middle.
The deficit was back to one with five holes to play — none of which Spensky had bogeyed all week long.
Each finding the fairway on the par-5 14th, Spensky leaned on his patented draw and threw one high-up over the water some 30 feet behind the hole. Hibler, with a shorter approach, knocked one aboard 35 feet left of the hole. Two-putt birdies sent them onto the drivable 15th where green-side drives and chips left them each inside 10 feet for birdie — and the putting dynamic continued. Short right for Hibler; the bottom of the cup for Spensky.
Tie ball game.
Both players then found trouble at the 16th. The hole cut behind the deep, front-right bunker 234 yards from the tee, Spensky went hunting, pitch a five-iron on the front edge of the green that trundled off the back and into a catch basin.
“It hit right where I wanted,” Spensky said. “I didn’t realize it was shaved back there, it rolled all the way down and then I had the downslope going straight up the bank.”
Then Hibler, once again looking for some magic, found the front right bunker. But he found the magic with his second, knocking his bunker shot inside two feet. Spensky, opting for the low route, skipped his ball up the slope some 12 feet by the hole. With Hibler securing three, Spensky poured in the par save to keep the championship tied with two holes to play.
“That was big because [Hibler] had just hit an amazing bunker shot from where he was.” Spensky said. “So that kept the momentum going. That was a big, big hole.”
Routine pars at 17 and 18 left the 2024 Mid-Amateur Championship (and the Master-40 title race) with a tie at the top through 54 holes of regulation. Returning to the 17th tee for the first playoff hole, both players played safe, blowing their tee shots well right of the water, trading fairway lines for an ideal angle into undulating green with a back-left hole location. Hibler’s approach found the middle of the green, leaving a putt up and over a ridge. Spensky, from a patch of fescue, got his approach onto the back shelf some 25 feet from the hole.
Both lagging their birdie putts withing three feet of the hole, Spensky tapped in leaving Hibler a short, slippery putt to force a second playoff hole — but it slipped by the right edge.
Spensky hoisting the Hiskey Family Cup.
“I feel great — oh, man, I feel great,” Spensky said. “I had a heartbreaker last year to Jesse Hibler... we battled for the last two days, went to a playoff — it was tough. He’s such a great competitor, such a good golfer, so steady. I made a little run on the back nine, birdied three in a row — got me back in it. We both made great pars on 16, good pars on 17, good pars on 18. Then I got a little lucky, he three-putted to another nasty pin...
“But it feels great to get a victory.”
Despite being among the IGA’s most pedigreed players with five USGA Championship appearances and consistently competitive showings across the state, this is Spensky’s first major individual IGA title. He also earned the Master-40 title with the win.
A Burley Test: 2024 Match Play Championship Recap
Written by Shane René, USGA P.J. Boatwright Intern
BURLEY — Defending champions lurked in four of six divisions last Thursday as wind whipped across Burley and players set out on River’s Edge Golf Course for a seeding round in the 2024 Match Play Championships.
River’s Edge may be best known to Idaho’s golfers as the one they glance at travelling east and west across southern Idaho, but a classic set of pristine, small and demanding greens proved to be a worthy test for players from across the Gem State.
With wind a feature early, ball strikers bubbled to the top; and as gusts laid down for match play, the gutsy found glory.
Ava Schroeder
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Ava Schroeder’s round of even-par 75 ran away with the No. 1 seed Thursday, followed by fellow Twin Fall’s junior Tanli Lemoyne who created some separation of her own.
Defending champion Caroline Caven struggled in qualifying, drawing the No. 6 seed.
With players seeded directly into the quarterfinals, Schroeder continued her dominant showing with an 8&7 victory to punch her ticket into the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Lemoyne won 3&2 to draw a semifinal match with Caven, who returned to form with a 4&3 upset of No. 3 seed Ellyce Simmons.
Caven and Lemoyne found themselves in a tight match Friday afternoon, trading blows until the defending champ fell on the seventeenth hole 2&1. Schroeder, who was forced to scramble back to the golf course for her tee time, also found herself in a back-n-forth match with Halle Western until she won the sixteenth hole to advance 4&2.
“It’s fun,” Schroeder said. “My match with Halle was very back and forth. Super competitive.”
While Lemoyne never held a lead in the final match, that fact is no reflection of the fight she showed. Down early, she continued to hold the match at or near square, winning two consecutive holes through the turn. But then Schroeder turned on the gas, winning three consecutive holes before throwing a dagger into the sixteenth green and tapped in for the win, 4&2.
Sheryl Scott
“My driver was pretty good this week,” Schroeder said. “I’ve been hitting it pretty far lately — because I do yoga.”
SENIOR WOMEN’S DIVISION
Stacey Camara and Sheryl Scott put the field on notice early with two-over rounds of 77 to run away with the top-two seeds. Both women would run through their respective sides of the bracket to square off in the championship match.
Scott’s birdie on the first was her first and final lead of the day. But after Scott got to 3 up through five holes, Camara struck back with a birdie on the sixth to chip away at her deficit and was only 1 down after a birdie on the tenth. Evidently bothered by Camara mounting her comeback, Scott birdied the next two holes and won a third consecutive hole with par at the thirteenth.
Standing over a four-footer for the win on the fifteenth hole, Scott conquered her putting demons of the last year and poured it in.
“[I was thinking] I hope I make this because I don’t want to play any more holes because she was tough.” Scott said. “It was really a fun match.”
This is Scott’s third IGA Match Play title.
MEN’S DIVISION
Lekkerkerk using the tenth green as a dart board in his championship match Saturday.
Boise State’s Seth Jones and Nampa’s newly-reinstated amateur Keynan Fanslow found themselves two shots clear of the men’s field with scores of 70 (-2) in Thursday’s seeding round. Burley’s own Brock Whitaker locked up a top-three seed with an even par 72, matched by Weiser’s Carter Williams to round out the top four. A low-handicap tie breaker handed Fanslow the No. 1 seed.
Defending Men’s Amateur Champion Trevor Garus — who finished runner-up in the 2023 Match Play — stumbled out of the blocks with a double bogey on the benign par-5 first and continued to scrape his ball around before playing his final five holes in two-under par to lock up the No. 5 seed. Defending Champion Derek Lekkerkerk provided some fireworks in his seeding round with an ace on the par-3 seventh, helping him lock up the No. 9 seed in an otherwise messy round.
The round of 16 was highlighted by key upsets. Buhl’s Braden Anderson downed No.2 seed Jones 3&2 and Blackfoot native Skyler Jensen cruised by Fanslow 6&5. Fifteen-year-old No. 10 seed Trey Lambert, who made the trip south from Coeur D Alane, captured a decisive 4&2 win over Caldwell’s Connor Johnstone (No. 7 seed).
Garus made light work of his opening match, winning 5&3 to advance into a heavyweight battle with Utah Tech’s Carter Williams. With a 3&2 victory there, Garus found the rematch he was looking for from last year's championship match. With a habit of digging holes and crawling out of them, Lekkerkerk squeezed by Ryan Shepard 1-up and used a hot start to his back nine to win his quarterfinal match 4&3.
On the ninth hole of their semi-final match, Garus’s tidy lag-putt for eagle was knocked away by Lekkerkerk who then smoked his birdie effort past the hole, making the turn down in his match once again. But Lekkerkerk’s birdie on the scenic tenth squared the match, and the two continued to trade pars down the back nine until Lekkerkerk broke the tension with a birdie on 15. With his back against the wall, Garus took aim at a hole location pasted up against the left edge of the 17th green and watched his ball spin out of sight and off the green. Knocking his chip long of the hole, he buried a 12-footer to extend the match to 18 holes, but tree trouble on the par-5 closer all but dashed his hopes of a comeback, as Lekkerkerk sent a long iron to 25 feet for an eagle putt he never had to hit.
On the other side of the bracket, Lambert — fresh off a 20-hole victory the day before — continued to impress early in his semifinal match, charging out to a 4-up lead through 6 holes over Wacey Williams. Williams battled back through the turn as Lambert played holes 7-9 in three-over par, but the emerging Northern Idaho junior stand out shut the door on the back nine without losing another hole, closing his match 4&3.
Lambert kept the momentum going into the afternoon’s championship match, using birdies on the first and third to take an early 2-up lead. Gifted a bogey from Lambert on the fourth, Lekkerkerk returned the favor with a bogey on six and found himself destined to enter the back nine down in a match once again.
Derek Lekkerkerk
“I just think I’m wired different than the next guy,” Lekkerkerk said. “Whether that’s real or not, I don’t know, but it seems to work. One thing I tell myself when another player is putting to beat or tie me — I tell myself ‘I want you to make it because I want to keep going. Let’s keep battling.’ I just think the love of that keeps me going.”
In that spirit, Lekkerkerk turned with his jet thrusters on high, making back-to-back birdies to take his first lead of the match and moved 2-up with another birdie at the par-5 fourteenth. Lambert, struggling with the driver most of the afternoon, caught a break on sixteen when his tee shot rattled around in the left trees and kicked back in bounds. With Lekkerkerk in for birdie, Lambert canned a slippery 12-footer to halve the hole and keep the match going, but a concession after a tidy birdie lag handed Lekkerkerk his second consecutive victory at the IGA Match Play Championship.
“It’s nice,” he said. “It’s nice. I went through a lot of adversity in this last year — first year in college and some challenges there, but that prepared me a lot for all of these matches. I think I was down in every match, except one, maybe. It was close every single time.”
The win is his first amateur victory since announcing that he is transferring from Colorado State to California Baptist University this fall.
“God puts us through things to grow us and allows us to fall to some pretty low places for us to have him pick us up again. It’s hard to put into words how much I’ve grown. That maturity and understanding has helped a lot on the course, specifically when things feel like they are going bad in a round — it’s like take a deep breath and be like, man, I’m loved by so many people, and I’m loved by the Lord, so this is pretty good.”
Robb Price
MEN’S MASTER-40 DIVISION
2022 Men’s Master-40 Match Play champion Gilbert Livas took hold of the No. 1 seed on Thursday with a round of one-over 73, followed by Robb Price and Dustin Ianson with 75. Kenny Walker earned the No. 4 seed.
With a first-round bye, Livas found himself scheduled for a dance with defending champion Jason Clifford — which did not go his way, losing in 19 holes. Kenny Walker met a similar fate when he faced Clifford in the semifinals, falling 3&2.
In the other half of the bracket, Robb Price found himself in a friendly match with 2023 runner-up Brien Riff, ultimately besting his practice round partner 2&1. In the semifinal, Price dug a hole for himself early on, down 2 through 4 holes and would make the turn with the same deficit to make up. Playing with a par-birdie-birdie start to the back nine, Price finally found himself briefly on top of the match. Trading blows down the stretch, Price used a par on the eighteenth hole to win the match 1 up and advance to the final.
In the championship match, the defending champion took the first hole with a birdie, but a birdie at the third for Price squared the match and Clifford was unable to retake the lead for the rest of the day. Birdie at the eleventh, a classy up-and-down at the thirteenth and birdie at the fifteenth put Price in cruise control and a par at the sixteenth closed the deal.
“I was able to stay out of trouble for the most part,” Price said. “I was hitting a lot of fairways with the driver and keeping it around the green — I wasn’t short siding myself and able to get it up and down when I needed to. I didn’t make a lot of birdies, but a lot of pars.”
SENIOR MEN’S DIVISION
Brad Bartram’s cool two-under round of 70 earned a bye in the round of 16, but a field of seasoned competitors stood in his way. Among them, Jay Sutton — the defending champion — turned in a round of 71 to lock up the No. 2 seed, followed by Scott Vermeer, Darren Kuhn, Randall Cross, Stephen Hartnett, Bret Rupert, and Steve White to round out the top half of the bracket.
Stephen Hartnett
Sutton had his back against the wall early in the round of 16, requiring extra holes to escape the clutches of No. 15 seed Calvin Fillmore, but made quick work of his quarterfinal match, 5&4, to cruise into the semifinals.
Hartnett joined Sutton in that semifinal match, surviving what he described as a “heavyweight” battle with Scott Vermeer — trading birdies and eagles for much of the round before escaping 3&1. That blow-for-blow theme continued in the semifinal but back-to-back birdies on the difficult par-3 seventeenth and par-5 eighteenth earned Hartnett a 1up victory and a trip to the championship match.
On the other side of the bracket, Bartram squeezed by Mark Spalding before running into a competitive match with 2023 runner-up Darren Kuhn. Early on the back nine, Kuhn took advantage of Bartram’s stumbles, going par-birdie-par to move three up before a par at the sixteenth sent Kuhn back to the championship match for a second consecutive year.
Hartnett and Kuhn danced along a knife’s edge for the better part of 18 holes with Kuhn applying the pressure early, moving 2 up through four. Hartnett’s birdie on the sixth and par on the eighth squared the match, and he took his first lead of the match on the tenth after Kuhn’s long deliberation in the penalty area left of the green resulted in a drop, chip and a two putt.
“I was just trying to stay in the moment,” Hartnett said. “You’ve heard it said: shot by shot, just trying to focus on myself... just tear off that NASCAR windshield and let that one go.”
Kuhn re-squared the match with a birdie on the fourteenth hole and seemed to be summoning some fire with a hearty fist pump after saving par from the trees on the sixteenth. As the match moved to eighteen all square, Kuhn found trouble in the right trees, as Hartnett freely plotted his way toward the green, coasting in for par and the victory.
Peter Sacks
“[My mental game] served me really well this week,” Hartnett said. “That and the fact that I really, really enjoy the Burley course. It was a good combination.”
SUPER SENIOR MEN’S DIVISION
Peter Sacks cruised through the Super-Senior division last weekend. He and Bruce Dunham were the only two players to break 80 in Thursday’s seeding round, and each made quick work of their semifinal matches, winning 4&3 and 5&4 respectively.
Sacks got on the move early in the championship match, winning three of the first six holes. And while Dunham found his moments to chip away at Sacks’ lead, Sacks took the momentum back with a chip-in birdie at the treacherous par-3 twelfth and ran away with the title.
“My irons were really sharp yesterday,” Sacks said. “Today I was just a little off, but I managed to get a 4 up lead and hang on to win it at the end. The putting — I got up and down a few times, and I chipped in for two on a par three which was huge.”
*Side note: Sacks is an author who lives in Hagerman, Idaho. His new book, Liberty Land, is available on Amazon (but check your local bookstore first!).
My toddler taught me how to play golf again: How my relationship with golf evolved from childhood through motherhood
Lexie VanAntwerp (left) with her son, Bridger (middle), and her dad, “Papa” (right).
Written by: Lexie VanAntwerp, Manager of Member Services
Many former little girls can say the same, but I discovered my passion for golf at a very young age thanks to my dad. My life and golf have been entangled ever since, and I imagine my two-year-old son, Bridger, will get a similar introduction soon — just from some combination of “Papa” and Mom.
Standing hip-high to my father, I took my first swings when I was just five years old and began playing three-hole tournaments soon after. At 15, I took my first job in the golf industry at BanBury Golf Course in Eagle, Idaho, working for the widely acclaimed teaching professional Jerry Breaux. As my first coach and mentor, Mr. Breaux opened my eyes to the idea that a life in golf was waiting for me.
My junior days were defined by a merging of passion and identity. I became as much a golfer as I was blond or a woman. And the relationships I’d built on the golf course quickly became the most valuable relationships in my life, ranging from family and friends to professional mentors. In a high school golf tournament during my freshman year at Capital High School, I met my best friend Gabrielle, a relationship that continues to enrich my life off the course as we begin our adventure with motherhood at the same time.
“But just seven weeks after he was born, Bridger brought me back to the golf course.”
As long as my putter behaved, golf was always a place that felt like home, which made the decision to play college golf seem easy and I arrived at Weber State University ready for the next chapter.
My college experience was full of all the things you hear about from college athletes — team comradery and school pride, friendships and new experiences. I wouldn’t trade the community I built in Ogden, Utah, for the world. But as rewarding as that journey was, it was also quite intense — full of travel, classes, practice, competition, injury, recovery, a social life and learning how to live on my own for the very first time. Golf, at times, started to feel like a lot less fun. It became a less reliable source of joy.
Coming from a small pond like Idaho, I struggled with the feeling that I’d become a much smaller fish. I was surrounded by perfect golf swings when I showed up on the range. I watched players shoot scores I’d only dreamed of posting. Within my own team, I found myself stuck as the sixth woman in a five-player lineup, traveling to play as an individual the vast majority of the time. Just as my competition asked for more out of my game, my game seemed harder to find. I felt inadequate, almost helpless. Then a hip injury that required surgery hampered my ability to play even more. Then my coach, “Smitty”, who recruited me to play for him passed suddenly from cancer. For the first time in my life, golf didn’t make me feel like I mattered.
My main reprieve over that time was during the summers when I would teach junior clinics in the time I wasn’t practicing out at Falcon Crest Golf Club in Boise. That familiar happiness I felt around the game when I was teaching encouraged me to turn professional, and I continued teaching juniors after college until I landed a dream gig as an assistant pro at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. If you’ve never been, it’s often described as “Disneyland for adults” and that’s what if feels like to work there, too. I had to pinch myself reporting to work every day and felt my love for the game return, focused on the natural beauty of the courses us golfers get to play. Golf had evolved, yet again, from a chore into a privilege.
But when you attach your love of the game — and at times your sense of self — to something that depends on the forecast, it’s never as fulfilling as it should be. At Bandon Dunes, you are, for all intents and purposes, stranded out on a cliff edge. For weeks at a time that feels like bliss. But I found myself missing my family and friends back home; all the loved ones who had let my roots in golf run deep.
Before I left Bandon in 2018, I married my husband, Jace, and the prospect of starting a family motivated me to leave even more. In doing so, I left the golf industry for something more stable, predictable and “normal.” But in even less time than it took me to return to the golf industry, I found myself pregnant with Bridger after signing up to work for the IGA.
The combination of two worlds for Lexie VanAntwerp: golf & parenthood.
When Bridger arrived, I found myself disconnected from the game in a whole new way. My work life was consumed by golf, but I didn’t have a strong sense of where it belonged in my personal life. Recovering from an unplanned C-Section left me feeling estranged from my body, let alone a solid golf swing. My identity as a golfer felt uncertain in ways it never had.
But just seven weeks after he was born, Bridger brought me back to the golf course. With my baby boy in one stroller and my clubs on another, we ventured out to Pierce Park Greens in Boise for our first walk as a mother and son. We’ve enjoyed many more since, and two years later my game is better than it’s ever been, giving me an essential physical, mental and emotional outlet that helps me be the best mother I can be.
Of course, Bridger won’t remember that moment in the Spring of 2022, but it’s the day I re-discovered what this game means to me and the people I share my life with. Through college and my professional life, I realized how easy it is to let this game make you feel small — to make you feel like you don’t matter. But every time I look at Bridger, I know that can’t possibly be true.
Experience and consistency bring victory to winners
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
Pathways from Idaho to the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship
Over the next few months, thousands of hopeful amateurs from across the world will begin their quest to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championship — one of the world’s premier amateur events. In 2024, a new route to the U.S. Amateur has emerged exclusively for golfers in the Gem State.
The winner of this year’s Men’s Amateur Championship, along with the Scott Masingill Cup, will earn an automatic exemption into the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship field at Hazeltine National GC Aug. 12-18. Runners-up in the 2024 Men’s Amateur (all those finishing second or tied for second) will receive an exemption into Final Qualifying for the 2025 U.S. Amateur Championship. No alternate spots will be rewarded for 2024 or 2025.
The 2024 Men’s Amateur Championship will be held July 18-20 at BanBury Golf Course in Eagle, ID.
The IGA will also host 18 holes of Local Qualifying on June 4 at Ridgecrest GC in Nampa, ID, for birth into final stage of qualifying. The USGA has modified its qualifying structure in 2024 by reducing local qualifying from 36 to 18 holes and adding a final qualifying stage for those advancing through a local qualifier.
The number of qualifiers and alternates will be determined by the final field size. Applications for local qualifiers close May 29.
"A Club for Every Kid"
The pursuit of a First Tee Idaho headquarters, and a case for reimagining green-grass golf facilities
By: Shane René, USGA P.J. Boatwright Media & Operations Intern
In the back wing of what’s been dubbed “Golf House Idaho” — a cozy office space shared by the Idaho Golf Association, Idaho Junior Tour and First Tee Idaho — you’ll find the office of Nick Blasius. Inside, you’ll see the 32-year-old executive director working away, chasing an idea that he believes will unleash the potential of his First Tee chapter.
Katie McKelvey teaching a class at Falcon Crest Golf Course in Kuna. | Drake Cooper Agency
Through three floor-to-ceiling windows, which limit privacy more than they shout: “executive director,” his desk looks across a cluttered hallway to an office shared by First Tee Idaho Program Director Katie McKelvey and Coordinator Britnee Kemble. The three of them are responsible for running First Tee operations in Idaho, a national organization that introduces young people to golf, engaging them with the values and assets surrounding the game.
“Our goal is to use the game of golf as a vehicle to give kids skills to be successful in life,” Blasius said. “First Tee does a great job of actually taking those feelings, and that general consensus, and putting it into a curriculum of building strength through character.”
Britnee Kemble demonstrates a putting lesson for two students | Drake Cooper Agency
McKelvey and Kemble are, in some sense, the faces of First Tee Idaho. Effortlessly personable, bright and bubbling with their own love of golf, they are the ones you’re most likely to see (often accompanied by a small cast of volunteers) out at Treasure Valley golf courses delivering the First Tee curriculum to its students. In the office, you’ll find them shuttling bags of donated clubs to and from parents, planning classes and events, creating promotional content and cobbling together First Tee’s resources into a product that carries its mission forward. They are, in the purest sense, foot soldiers in the grassroots development of youth golf in Idaho.
Back in his fishbowl of an office — where his PGA credentials hang unassumingly on the wall behind him — General Blasius is channeling his capacity as executive director into a literally and figuratively groundbreaking new project: build a green-grass First Tee facility in Idaho.
Blasius uses the phrase “golf education center” to describe the concept — something that serves First Tee’s dual mission of teaching golf skills and personal development. And while he’s still in the early phases of pushing his project toward realization, indicators of the projects short-and-long term feasibility, he says, have been strong. And his organization continues to grow, underpinning the case for new space.
“I’ve learned that it’s a very slow process,” he said. “But you’ve just got to keep putting one foot in front of the other and make sure you believe in the vision — and the concept and vision has changed throughout the process.”
The origins of this pursuit trace back to those murky, early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, a mere six months into Blasius’s time as executive director. As the PGA Tour, NBA, and every other non-essential institution hit pause, Blasius and his team followed suit, canceling all classes in the spring of 2020.
But while concerts, schools and restaurants shuttered, golf was having a moment in the sun. Outdoors and naturally distanced, a game that once withered in the economic downturn of 2008 became a safe haven for everyone gone stir-crazy during lockdown. Suddenly, First Tee Idaho found themselves uniquely equipped to solve a crisis for families across the Treasure Valley.
Hauling in donations of masks and gloves, even cleaning supplies to wipe down grips, Blasius and his team took every precaution they could for a summer full of classes. But as registration opened, the flood of displaced youth was more than they imagined. Classes at Pierce Park Greens were full in just two hours, spilling over into a waitlist twice as long as the number of students they could accommodate. Other host sites filled waitlists of their own.
“I was frustrated because our job is to service youth and give them an avenue to do this, and we weren’t living up to that,” Blasius said. “Yeah, it filled up; that’s great... but more kids wanted to partake, and we couldn’t do that for them.”
While First Tee enjoys a productive, if not symbiotic, relationship with many of Southern Idaho’s public golf courses (a relationship Blasius hopes to continue), relying solely on small slices of borrowed space and time seemed to be an impassible barrier to First Tee’s ability to scale its operations. So, Blasius picked up the phone and tapped into an impressive network of golf-loving community figures, and emerged with some faith in the possibility that, one day, First Tee Idaho could have its own space to call home.
“It turned into this kind of feasibility study with a lot of people in the community about — hey, if we can make something like this happen, does it seem sustainable? Is the community going to rally behind it?” Blasius said.
“The answer was overwhelmingly ‘yes’.”
First Tee’s priority is to serve youth and not golfers, per se; they aren’t here to develop Idaho’s next PGA Tour player. And that position gives Blasius some flexibility with the golf-centric elements of this project, which he sees as an opportunity to be as creative as they can with the playing surface.
“Golf in 2023 isn’t our dad’s version of golf, right?” Blasius said. “Golf has changed a lot; the culture of golf has changed a lot. You don’t see a lot of pleated Dockers on the golf course anymore…
“Let’s do fun, cool, creative projects.”
Blasius is as credentialed as golf nuts come. Launching his golf career in the cart barn at Plantation Country Club (now The River Club) as a teenager, he became the club’s head professional in his mid-20's. His office and wardrobe are bursting with items that beg other golf nuts to stop and chat, even when he’s walking his goldendoodle, Ollie, who wears a collar from Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. He represents a growing demographic of golfers willing to re-evaluate the conventions we use to introduce new golfers to the game.
When we sat down to talk about his project, we quickly found ourselves deep in the weeds, waxing on about the introduction of par as a scoring standard in the early 20th century and the implications its had on the way golfers approach the game. Blasius is exactly the kind of guy you want around for a geek-fest like this, but his greatest skill is understanding how to take golf theory and present it in a way that is palatable, practical and productive.
Golf, after all, is a game that begs to be explored, not explained.
Ultimately, this looks like exploring the middle ground between golf’s common arrangement of facilities: 9-or-18-hole loops for play and flat slabs of grass to practice your swing. Places like Pierce Park Greens in Boise (including Falcon Crest’s Cadet course and Sand Creek’s six-hole par-3, among others) are a popular vision of what intermediate or “bridge” facilities look like. Ranging from 85 to 115 yards, no hole will leave you feeling like you’ll never find the bottom of the flag stick. It’s a place where golf’s difficulty is accessible.
“We need more places like Pierce Park,” Blasius said. Discussions of bridge facilities have gained steam with the rise of Top Golf and other non-traditional golf experiences, as green-grass facilities try to convert new golfers into long-term customers.
But Blasius is interested in doing something more dynamic — something entirely removed from conventions of par, length, routing or the driving-range teaching model that demands a burdensome time commitment to see results. He’s inspired by places like Bandon Dunes, where the idea that golf courses should have a certain number of holes is seen as a suggestion, not a rule, and where exploration of the land is paramount. He wants to build something that engages a more holistic golf experience, where good golf shots win the day and making eight never needs to matter.
“From the core of this project, it was going to have to be creative for us to get this done,” he said. “Now the more I do research on it and pursue it, I think the whole project itself is a creative project — it’s essentially giving a golfer, like yourself, a canvas.”
Maybe that looks like a handful of fun green complexes that can be played in a flexible, undefined routing. Maybe it’s a multi-sided driving range that you can play through the middle of. Maybe it’s one, big hydra of a golf hole that lets you pick your own adventure.
No matter how that vision solidifies, Blasius wants this to be the coolest golf playground you’ve ever seen.
“Let’s build something that is every kid’s club,” Blasius said. “Whether you play your golf at Warm Springs or Crane Creek Country Club, this can be a common home for both of those kids.”
In the Weeks to come: the IGA's new Manager of Rules and Competitions
Boise, Idaho — The Idaho Golf Association has a new chief in its championship department, welcoming PGA member Kyle Weeks aboard as Manager of Rules and Competitions.
After a career largely focused on innovating how the game is taught — most recently as Director of Golf at Eagle Hills Golf Course — Weeks says he’s eager to return his attention to the competitive game.
“I’m very excited to join the team at the IGA,” Weeks said. “I think competition is the most exciting part of the game and I am really looking forward to bringing my experience as a player and PGA Professional to help grow competitive golf in Idaho.”
While Week’s resumé is headlined by his credentials as a teacher, his work shows exemplary leadership and a routine commitment to growth by advocating for ways to make the game more approachable for players of all ability levels. He’s armed with a keen sense for evolving with the game.
“Kyle’s experience speaks for itself,” IGA Executive Director Caleb Cox said. “With more than a decade of leadership not just in golf but golf in Idaho, Kyle is an ideal candidate to serve our membership. His perspective on education and commitment to fostering community around the game aligns perfectly with our mission, and we are confident that his credentials as a golf professional will elevate the championship experience for players of all kinds.”
Before earning PGA membership in 2012, the New Plymouth High School grad played golf at Treasure Valley Community College before transferring to the Professional Golf Management (PGM) program at the University of Idaho, then to Boise State. He would go on to complete the PGM program outside of a university setting, but make no mistake: Weeks bleeds blue and orange.
Weeks began working in the golf industry in 2006 under Dave Bartels at Terrace Lakes Golf Course in Garden Valley, eventually earning the title of Assistant Pro in 2009. When Eagle Hills Golf Course came calling in 2012, Weeks landed his first gig as Head Professional.
In 2016, Weeks hopped over state lines to work at Bend Golf Club in Oregon and a short stint teaching full time at Lost Track Golf Club. Eventually, the Treasure Valley called him home, landing him back at Eagle Hills as Director of Golf in 2019.
Weeks lives in the Eagle foothills with his wife, Lindsey, and two daughters, Palmer (two) and Kollins (8 months). When he’s not working or on the golf course, he enjoys spending time outside with a slate of hobbies familiar to Idahoans such as hiking, hunting, and fishing.
Weeks is set to take the reins March 18.
Growing the game by expanding opportunities for women golfers
Written by: Caleb Cox, IGA Executive Director
NOTE: This article was originally published in the PNGA’s Golfer Magazine
Each Spring, I can’t help but feel a renewed excitement as the golf season approaches. The energy that comes from seeing the grass begin to green up, the flowers to bloom, and the sun to shine really fills me with anticipation for the season. Spring brings a fresh set of opportunities to finally get that elusive hole in one, shoot that career low round, or even play that golf course that I’ve only dreamed of playing.
We have many reasons to be excited about the opportunities that our Idaho Golf Association staff has worked tirelessly to prepare for the months ahead. The IGA has recently completed our comprehensive Strategic Plan for the next 5 years, and we look forward to implementing many new ideas and plans that are packed with new initiatives for you, the member. There is one in particular that I’m excited to share with you.
While we at the IGA has been known for many years as an organization that hosts championships for high level players, the last few years have encouraged us to become a more all-encompassing association by offering specific events for members of all ability levels. More recently, we’ve seen immense growth in women’s membership events through initiatives like our Ladies’ Play Days. On the docket for 2024, our Ladies’ Play Days are expanding, and every IGA district will be hosting one of the fun and exciting events. Look for updates on dates and locations in the Treasure Valley, as well as Idaho Falls and Twin Falls.
Secondly, we are excited to announce that we will be hosting our very first Women’s Getaway. Nationally, women’s golf trips have begun to soar in popularity in the last few years. The IGA Getaways have become a popular item on our schedule over the last several years, and our female players have been a big part of that. In 2024, our staff will be hosting the first Idaho Women’s Golf Getaway to Walla Walla, Washington, where the trip will pair exciting golf course play with local wine tastings. Event details will be made available soon on the IGA website.
After returning from the IGA Women’s Golf Getaway, you will need a place to post your pictures and reconnect with Women from the trip. That’s why our Manager of Member Services, Lexie VanAntwerp, has endeavored to create the first ever Idaho Women’s Golf Facebook Community! The goal of this community is to connect women across the Gem State who have a love for the game. We hope this new community helps to connect and inspire women to take the next step in their golf journey while enjoying the company and camaraderie of fellow Idahoans who enjoy the competition and beauty of our local courses.
Finally, Women’s golf in the Idaho has had a rich tradition of great events over the years and the Idaho Women’s Amateur has been part of that staple part of the tradition. We are looking to add to that rich tradition by enhancing the event into a time to celebrate the ladies in this sport. Beginning in 2024, we are combining the Idaho Women’s Amateur and the Idaho Women’s Mid-Amateur into one great event with two fields of players and paired with an evening social celebration for all in attendance. We are confident it will be an event to remember!
Cheers to the IGA staff and the amazing players in our women’s fields across the state! We hope this next year provides opportunities for you to invite others to these exciting new events, allows for growth in your personal abilities and bring more of our community together for the love of the game!
Not a Boys' Club: three keys for women's participation in golf
By: Nicole Rutledge, Manager of Course Rating and Finance
I’ve been a part of the Idaho golf community since I could hardly hold a club. My father would bring me along to play nine-holes with him at Jerome Country Club when I was just two years old, and I graduated to playing Idaho Junior Tour golf against other girls my age by the time I was nine. Over the years, golf has continued to find its way into my personal and social life, and today I work for the Idaho Golf Association where I manage course ratings and finance. I can’t imagine my life without this game.
The truth is, not all little girls have a father anxiously waiting to put a club in their hands like me. Many women aren’t presented with the opportunity or resources to play until later in life when the boys-club golf culture can feel intimidating. My childhood on the golf course with my father and brother helped make me comfortable in male spaces, but my life in golf has given me so many of my most cherished relationships with other women who play and love the game. Golf isn’t the boys’ club we imagine it to be.
This past fall, the IGA set a new strategic plan in motion, driven by our mission to enhance, engage and grow the Idaho golf community. One of our priorities in that mission is women’s participation. For women who want to join this family of golfers, and for golfers looking to bring more women into the family, here are my three keys to encouraging women’s participation in golf.
Ask and invite questions
One of the main differences I see with how men and women come into the game is that men are ready to roll with what they think they know; women tend to be much more worried about what they might not know. If you’re new to golf, it can feel like golfers are speaking a different language, and that’s sort of true. We don’t have prices; we have “greens fees.” We don’t have reservations; we have “tee times.” Then there is the pin, the cup, the hole, and the flag — four different words that may or may not mean the same thing.
This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the weird and complicated things about golf, but I know very few lifelong golfers who have mastered them all. Just last year on a course rating trip I was quickly corrected by one of those few when I referred to a bunker as a “sand trap.” It doesn’t matter how much you already know; everyone is still learning this game. This is why it’s so important to ask questions, and for golfers and industry professionals to be ready and willing to answer them.
Find and build women’s golf communities
The idea that the golf community has more barriers for women than it does for men is too often overstated. There are millions of women golfers all over the world, which means there are plenty of opportunities for women to find community with other women in the game. My advice for women looking to get involved is to go find them. My advice for golf clubs is to broadcast them.
One of the best ways to make asking questions more comfortable for women trying to pick up the game is for clubs and associations to create spaces exclusively for women. The time between golf shot, and the time before and after rounds, are sacred moments to many golfers (I even make sure to leave time for these moments with my course rating crew). These are the moments where golfers trade laughs and stories, share memories and pitchers of beer. When women see women in golf engaging in those moments together, the world of golf seems all the more welcoming.
Don’t be afraid of competition
For women who do find their way into the golf community, too many seem to think that tournament golf is not for them. This could not be further from the truth. I’ve been playing tournament golf since I was nine, and I’ve found that many of those tournament rounds feel a lot more like social rounds than you might think. Golf tournaments, especially at the club level, are all about community — golfers play them to support the institutions that make the game possible, share a day with other people who love the game, and hand out pro shop credit to those who play well. As long as you have a functional understanding of the rules and can get around the course in a timely manner, golf tournaments are for anyone who calls themselves a golfer. Some of my best memories every year come from community golf tournaments; it’s never because of how well I played.
I spend many of my working hours surrounded mostly by men on course rating trips. All of them are committed to making sure that ratings for women are given the same attention to detail as the ratings for men because they understand golf is a game for everyone. But this game isn’t for everyone if the people inside the game don’t reach out to those on the outside. I’m proud to be part of an organization that’s reaching out.
A brief note regarding your membership
The IGA will be implementing two changes to how your membership works in the new year that we hope will make it more valuable.
First, we will be improving our membership model. Classically, our membership timeline has been centered around a calendar year where members could get started with their membership and Handicap any time after January 1, and it would expire at the end of the calendar year regardless of when you signed up.
We are excited to announce that starting today, January 1, all memberships will now follow a 365-day cycle, enhancing your membership by providing a full year's worth of membership from the date of purchase. We couldn't be more excited about this change.
For us to make the 365-day membership model happen, we will also need to implement a second change for all public handicap registrations. In 2024, all publicly purchased IGA memberships will have to be purchased directly through the IGA via our online registration system located on our website, over the phone, or by visiting the IGA office.
These changes will enable us to have features like auto-renew and reminder emails that help us enhance your overall membership experience.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year in 2024!
-Caleb Cox, IGA Executive Director
IGA Championships Volunteer: Rick Krajnik
1 – Where are you originally from? If not from Idaho, what brought you here?
Originally from Bayonne, New Jersey, I moved to California with my family. In 2014, we moved to Boise after accepting a position with the State. We love it here in Boise—from the people to the politics to the geography!
2 – What is/was your career occupation?
I spent 35 years in the software industry from building a small consultancy focused on security-based software development to working with most of the major consulting companies (such as Microsoft, Accenture and Deloitte) in a director-level role in selling, shaping, and delivering software solutions.
3 – What is it about the game of golf that you love so much?
I started playing when I was about 8 years old with my Dad. I’ve had a lifelong love affair with the game and during the mid-80s, I was playing tournament-quality rounds. In addition to falling short at eight different U.S. Open Qualifiers, I was the club champion at Mountain Meadows in LaVerne, California, never to repeat that again.
A late 30’s back injury also forced me to step away for a short 20 years. I have, over the past five years, tried to get my game back, no pun intended.
Rick Krajnik spending quality time with his granddaughter, Sophie.
4 – What made you want to volunteer for the IGA? When did you start?
As I mentioned, I’ve had a lifelong love for golf and came across the IGA as I was looking to try to get back into playing more regularly. I thought that by being around the game again I’d get myself ready to play again.
I started with the IGA roughly 6 years ago and have enjoyed the roles that I’ve helped with. I’m always looking to take on more responsibility, I look forward to continuing my work with the IGA.
5 – What do you hope to get out of volunteering for the IGA? What motivates you to keep coming back?
I enjoy watching good quality golf and the IGA tournament delivers that. I get a feeling of community and contribution when I participate in the IGA events, just as I do when I’m volunteering for the local food banks. So, both of these have been what I’m looking for and what keeps me coming back!
6 – What has been your favorite memory from volunteering for the IGA?
While working as a spotter, I had a ball whiz by my ear, and because I immediately dove to the ground (why?), I lost track of the ball, and we had to assume it went OB as it was nowhere to be found. It was quite embarrassing.
Another favorite memory has been each time I’ve watched the awards presentation for an event and seen the look of pride and relief from the winners - that’s a special moment.
7 – What would you say to someone who is thinking about volunteering?
Jump in! The IGA team (Nicole, Anne, etc.) makes the process easy and is always ready to answer any questions you might have. There are a number of roles, so you’ll very likely find your sweet spot within the team.
8 – What is your fondest memory on the golf course?
Two things jumped out for me… my first eagle (I was 12 years old, hit a three wood to about 4 ft and made the putt… My Dad made me buy beers for him and his friends we were playing with, and of course, they knew the people that worked there).
Secondly was probably the first time I beat my Dad and his buddies— legit, I was probably 13 or 14.
9 – When were you introduced to the sport? By who?
At the age of 8. My Dad would always be going out to the range at the Arcadia Par-3 Course. One day, he asked me to go with him and he’d show me the basics. It’s been a family activity ever since.
10 – What is your home club? How often do you play?
I am registered at Quail Hollow here in Boise, but unfortunately, I’m still having back problems that keep me from getting out too often. This past year I played three or four rounds, hoping to step it up this coming spring.
11 – What's something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?
I play lead guitar in a worship band!
12 – Who would be a part of your dream foursome to play a round of golf with?
My Dad, my brother and Frank Sinatra.
13 - What has been your favorite golf course that you have played?
Here in Boise - I like BanBury GC and Quail Hollow GC (Jug Mountain Ranch, further north). Everywhere else, I like Pebble Beach Golf Links and/or Torrey Pines GC.
14 – Describe your golf game in six words
Painful to play, painful to watch
15 – What's one item that you can’t live without?
My Bible
IGA announces honorees for 2023 Players of the Year Award
BOISE, Idaho — With the tournament season now in the books, the Idaho Golf Association would like to officially announce the recipients of the 2023 Players of the Year Award:
MEN
-Trevor Garus (Men’s)
-Burke Spensky (Men’s Master-40)
-Darren Kuhn (Men’s Senior)
WOMEN
-Maddie Montoya (Women’s)
-Kris Fenwick, Melinda Howard & Sadie Fisher (Women’s Mid-Am)
-Karen Darrington (Women’s Senior)
The IGA would like to congratulate each golfer on their successful year on the golf course and for the impact they’ve had on golf in the great state of Idaho.
MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR: TREVOR GARUS
Garus, an upcoming golf star in Idaho and a commit to the UCLA Men’s Golf Team, showed this season why he is a force to be reckoned with in future IGA Championships and beyond. His ability to hit the ball a mile while having a soft touch around the greens helped lead him to some stellar finishes, including a victory at the 95th State Amateur at Jug Mountain Ranch — a course that isn’t for the faint of heart.
Here are his finishes for the 2023 season:
Trevor Garus hits an iron off the tee on the 1st hole at Jug Mountain Ranch during State Amateur
-IGA State Amateur Championship (1st)
@Jug Mountain Ranch
-IGA Match Play Championship (2nd)
@Jerome CC
-U.S. Amateur (Qualified)
@Warm Springs GC
-IGA Tournament of Champions (T-4)
@Falcon Crest GC
Nicole Bird, Manager of Rules and Competitions at the IGA, stated: “Winning the Player of the Year Award just caps off an amazing season for [Trevor]. He played so well in every event from finishing runner-up at the Match Play to becoming the IGA State Am Champion. It sure has been a fascinating journey to watch. [He] is definitely worthy of being player of the year for the men in 2023!”
MEN’S MASTER-40 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: BURKE SPENSKY
After being out for the 2022 season, Spenksy returned in style and dominance in all Master-40 events this golf season. With consistency as one of his greatest strengths, Spensky always found himself at or near the top of every leaderboard. Having a solid flat stick and great ball striking, Spensky rarely shot himself out of an event. His top finish this season was as a runner-up at the Mid-Amateur Championship.
Burke Spensky tries to chip it close on the long par-3 16th at Pinecrest GC.
Here are his finishes for the 2023 season:
-IGA Mid-Amateur Championship (T1)
@Pinecrest GC
-IGA State Amateur Championship (7th)
@Jug Mountain Ranch
-IGA Tournament of Champions (6th)
@Falcon Crest GC
“[Burke] had an outstanding year,” Bird said. “We were thrilled to have him back competing in 2023 after being out due to injury in 2022. He had several top finishes at IGA Championships, and due to some great golf, he definitely deserves this award!”
MEN’S SENIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR: DARREN KUHN
If there was an event, Kuhn was there. He didn’t just show up to play in almost every event, he showed up to compete and battle his fellow competitors for each event’s shiny hardware. No stranger to big events and competitive fields, Kuhn let his game do the talking this season — using a somewhat unconventional swing and solid mental game to get him there. ‘Mr. Steady’ would be a great nickname for Kuhn, despite having a zero in the win column this season.
Darren Kuhn hits his tee shot off an elevated tee box on the 16th at TimberStone GC during Senior Amateur.
Here are his finishes for the 2023 season:
-IGA Match Play Championship – Men’s Senior Division (2nd)
@Jerome CC
-IGA Senior Amateur Championship (T-3)
@TimberStone GC
-IGA Senior Tournament of Champions (T-4)
@Falcon Crest GC
-PNGA Senior Amateur (T-11)
@Canterwood G&CC (WA)
-IGA Mid-Amateur Championship – Master-40 Division (T-13)
@Pinecrest GC
“[Darren] played in a number of IGA events this year and finished well in all of them,” Bird mentioned. “He finished runner-up at the Senior Match Play and continued his strong play all the way through the Senior TOC, never missing a beat! Congratulations to [Darren] on winning the Senior Men's Player of the Year.”
WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR: MADDIE MONTOYA
In what is a talented core of young female golfers in the IGA, a single player separated herself from the rest of that cluster with a win at the biggest women’s championship of the year. Montoya, a sophomore on the Montana State Women’s Golf Team, claimed the Women’s Player of the Year award with what may have been the round of the year in women’s golf throughout Idaho.
Maddie Montoya embraces Women’s State Am trophy following comeback victory.
She snuck up on then-leader Emily Cadwell during the final round of the Women’s State Amateur to win the tournament in a playoff after trailing by five strokes to begin the final round — etching her name in the history books and on the trophy that bears the name of Idaho great Jean Smith.
Here are her finishes for the 2023 season:
-IGA Women’s State Amateur Championship (T1)
@Jug Mountain Ranch
Referring to Montoya’s play this year, the IGA’s Manager of Rules and Competitions said: “[Maddie] played really well at the Women's State Amateur and is deserving of this award. I fully expect big things to come for her in future IGA Championships!”
WOMEN’S MID-AM PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: KRIS FENWICK, MELINDA HOWARD & SADIE FISHER
For what might be a first in IGA history, the award for the Women’s Mid-Am Player of the Year will be shared between three individuals: Fenwick and Howard are two familiar faces within women’s golf in Idaho, and Fisher, on the other hand, is an occasional participant in IGA Championships who simply balls out when she does. Each competitor gets to claim a piece of the pie — playing the game in their own way and style.
Here are their finishes for the 2023 season:
-Kris Fenwick finished T-2 at the IGA Mid-Amateur Championship
@Pinecrest GC
-Melinda Howard finished T-2 at the IGA Mid-Amateur Championship
@Pinecrest GC
Kris Fenwick (top left), Melinda Howard (bottom left) & Sadie Fisher (right)
-Sadie Fisher finished as the runner-up at the IGA Match Play Championship
@Jerome CC
“Congratulations to all three ladies on their co-Player of the Year honors; they all had an outstanding season and are very deserving of this honor,” Bird said.
WOMEN’S SENIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR: KAREN DARRINGTON
Darrington continued to show dominance in 2023 just as she has over the last couple of decades — getting the luxury of adding several new trophies to her already overflowing collection. Darrington known as a crowd favorite amongst peers, showed humility and respect in both victory and defeat this season.
For those who are entrenched in sport’s lore, agreeance would be had that Darrington has that “It Factor,” and it is something that roots its head at each event. Some would even say it is the very reason why Darrington has been so difficult to beat for the long list of gals who have played in IGA Championships for the last 20-plus years.
Here are her finishes for the 2023 season:
-IGA Women’s Senior Amateur Championship (1st)
@TimberStone GC
-IGA Women’s Match Play Championship – Senior (1st)
@Jerome CC
-IGA Senior Tournament of Champions (2nd)
@Falcon Crest GC
-PNGA’s Senior Women’s Amateur (6th)
@Twin Lakes G&CC (WA)
Karen Darrington watches her tee shot off the 1st hole at Blue Lakes CC during the 2023 PNGA Lamey Cup.
“While [Karen] is no stranger to this award, she is definitely worthy this year!” said Bird while describing Darrington’s 2023 season. “She won two events as well as picking up several top finishes in other events. She played really well in 2023 and will be extremely missed during the 2024 season.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
It was an impressive year of golf within the IGA. Golfers were treated to some fabulous venues and weather, well, at least when the thunderstorms stayed away. The competition level in each division raised the quality of play, which proved to be a true testament to the players who registered for them.
Now putting the 2023 season in the past, the IGA couldn’t be more excited about 2024 and all that is in store! Be sure to stay tuned for next year’s schedule! We can’t wait to see you at an IGA event!
CLICK HERE for a complete look at each division’s standings.