The IGA, IWGA, Senior, and Super Senior Match Play Championships took place the past few days at Plum Creek Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana.
Day one consisted of a Stroke Play Qualifier for each division where the top-32 players advanced onto match play the following day. The cut then proceeded to the round of 16, round of 8, the final four matches, and finally cut down to two finalists.
There was some great golf played at Plum Creek, despite a 2.5 hour weather delay yesterday. Three of the players even won their first ever IGA Match Play Championship and one moved on to defend their title.
IGA Super Senior Match Play
Carmel’s Jerry McMullen was the eighth-seed after firing a +4 (76) in the Stroke Play Qualifier. McMullen fought back up to the top after defeating Larry Harmon 2 and one in the round of 16. McMullen then moved on to face Steve Sterrett in the round of 8 where he won with an impressive 5 and 3. In the final four match, he had a tight competition finishing 1 up over Skip Runnels. In the last match he was paired against the number-three-seed, Stever Norris. McMullen continued to battle it out and won the final match 4 and 3, claiming the IGA Super Senior Division victory for the first time.
“I wanted to try out this event one more time since I am getting older and I don’t live too far from Plum Creek. I know the course and it’s really in great shape so I wanted to give it another try. I had a few good shots and I ended up winning this time” said McMullen.
IGA Senior Match Play
Michael Williams of Indianapolis started off strong finishing 1-under par in the Stroke Play Qualifier, ranking him as the number-two-seed going into the match play portion of the Championship. During the first round of match play, Williams defeated Brett Lee 1 up and advanced into the next round where he won 4 and 3 over Todd Wottring. Williams was matched up with Steve Walter for the final four match where he came out victorious at 5 and 4. Moving into the final round, Williams was paired with defending champion Dave Williamson of Crawfordsville, who he beat 5 and 4.
Williams turned 55 back in December and has dedicated himself to staying in shape, noting that it has really paid off in a multiple day event like the Match Play.
“It’s good to be young again. All of these guys are giving me crap because I’m the young guy now” said Williams.
IGA Match Play
Evansville’s Ben Hoagland, who is a junior golfer at the University of Michigan, started off the IGA Match Play Championship with an impressive 7-under par (65) earning him the number-two-seed going into the match play rounds. Hoagland continued his playing streak defeating Kevin Tillery 4 and 2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16 Hoagland came out swinging, securing his victory over Brandon Hansen 8 and 6. Hoagland continued his win streak against Brett Widner in the round of 8 to move into the final four match. Hoagland went head to head with Carter Smith in the next round, ultimately coming out with a win at 5 and 4. Damon Dickey, the 2020 Match Play Champion, was Hoaglands competition going into the last round. This final match went 20 holes with Hoagland securing the win after sudden death.
“It’s the first time that I have won in a really long time. So more than anything, I was just glad to really play well for the whole tournament. I didn’t have any easy matches whatsoever and I felt like I had to have my A-game the entire time and luckily I was able to do that” said Hoagland.
IWGA Match Play
Simone Senk of Fort Wayne and our 2022 IWGA Match Play Champion shot a +3 (75) on the first day of qualifying, making her the eighth-seed going into the matches. Senk defeated the ninth-seed Lexi Stuart 5 and 3 in the round of 16 and pulled a similar win out against Amy Frazier in the round of 8, winning 4 and 3. Senk’s final four match against Summer Stillson went 20 holes where she claimed her victory in sudden death. Her final match up was against 2x IWGA Match Play Champion and 2022 finalist, Julia Potter-Bobb of Indianapolis. It was a tight race to the finish but Senk claimed her victory over Potter-Bobb 2 and 1.
“I really wanted to defend the title that I had from last year but ultimately I was just trying to play my best and see what happened. I didn’t feel like it was my best ball striking day today but I was trying to keep doing my best” said Senk.
Senk added “I was really excited to play with Julia. I love her and I got to play with her in the stroke play portion, so I was really excited to get to do it again. I knew that she played really well throughout the matches too so I knew it was going to be a longer match than some of the other one’s that I had. So I was really excited and ready to fight again”.