FORT MADISON – For the first time in recent memory the Iowa PGA Junior Tour stopped in Fort Madison for a day-long event at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Course.
But it may be just the beginning of a relationship that has legs.
Tessa Goudy, director of the Iowa PGA Junior Tour, was on site for Tuesday’s event and said she was impressed with the 71 youth that registered from Iowa and western Illinois to play in the event.
“I'm impressed and I'm happy, but I'm not surprised. When we do our thing, the juniors will show up. They love what we do and we're always looking for new places like this for those kids that love to play golf,” she said.
Goudy said the Iowa section of the PGA Juniors has more than 2,000 golfers registered. She said the numbers jumped after COVID.
“We were very lucky that we had a forward-thinking governor that said you can play golf. It's an outdoor sport with no contact, so we never shut down in 2020. We were a little limited in what we did, but we never shut down and golf saw a tremendous amount of growth,” she said.
Fort Madison’s Cole Quittem’s 74 was 2nd best in the 16-18 boys division, but he placed 4th due to a cardback tiebreaker based on performance of the course’s toughest holes. Quittem, a junior at Fort Madison High School, played on the Bloodhound golf team in the spring.
He said the event was challenging and he liked the quality of competition, saying it forced a different type of focus around the course.
"That 74 was one of my better rounds out here. I had three birdies and 5 bogeys. I chipped in on 17 and then I almost holed it on three from, like, 130 yards out which is really good, but besides that, I kind of just played power golf,” he said.
Fort Madison has a group of other players, including FMHS’ Rowan Benda, Kylie Lumino, Allee Rose Booten, and Natalie Wright. Benda finished 10 over on his 18 holes in the 16-18 division. Lumino and Wright were close in the 16-18 girls with 17 and 21 over, respectively. Booten was 13 over in the 14-15 girls’ division.
Carrigan Morris of Keokuk finished 4th in the girls' 16-18 division. Other Lee County golfers competing included: Wyatt Brennan, Hayden Welch, Keagan Westfall, and 2025 Central Lee High School state qualifers Caleb Larson and Carter Jones.
Larson shot a 4-over 76 and Jones was 8-over 80 both in the 16-18 division.
Sheaffer Memorial board member Doug Snaadt collaborated with the PGA group to bring the event to Fort Madison. He said he played in a junior event when he was a kid and it sparked his love of the game.
Snaadt said the exposure of the game to the youth is what guarantees the future of the sport.
“I played absolutely terrible. My score was huge and I was so motivated to get better, he said.
“And that's all I want for kids to do, is just come out here and try to play. Maybe they get the bug and maybe they get motivated to be better, but most importantly, what I want for Sheaffer’s and for southeast Iowa is to grow the game with the young people. Because the game and the golf course specifically does not perpetuate itself unless the next generation is coming to play.”
Snaadt said the results for the first year were outstanding with the PGA expecting 40 or so entrants. With more than 70 registered to compete, Snaadt said that will increase the chances of growing the tournament next year.
He said they would like to possibly partner the event with another nearby course and make it a two-day PGA Youth event which could bring people from farther away.
“The design next year is to combine this tournament on a Tuesday with another course locally on Monday to do a 2-day event so people that are traveling from the middle of the state and from some of the cities in Iowa can stay overnight and get two tournaments done in one shot,” Snaadt said.
He said seeing the young golfers on the course brought a smile to his face.
“They look like they’re on the PGA Tour. That's what they look like, but they're just really small players,” he said of the Pee Wee youth warming up near the putting green outside the clubhouse.
Benda said the event was more intense than the high school golf season.
“It was fun. There was a little bit of intensity here, but that made it fun. We’re not used to this kind of an event,” he said.
“Honestly, I feel like you pay more attention during this event. It’s like you have more of an awareness of everything that's happening around you. I find it fascinating and I think they're gonna do it year after year."
Results from the Iowa PGA Junior/Pee Wee Tournament at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Course in Fort Madison.
Pee Wee Results
Boys 7 & Under (6 holes)
No. 1 – Kingston Alston, Burlington, Even
No. 2 – Hudson Wink, Conesville, +17
Girls 8-9 (9 holes)
No. 1 – Lynnix McMullin, New London +10
Girls 10-11 (9 holes)
No. 1 – Macklynn Housman, New London, +13
Boys 10-11 (9 holes)
No. 1 – Zaveyn Eggers, Baxter, IA., +10
No. 2 – Teagan Hepner, Monmouth, IL., +11
No. 3 – Wyatt Brennan, Fort Madison, +30
No. 4 – Evan Hartley, Niota, IL., +30
No. 5 – Dexter Rich, Washington, IA., +30
No. 6 – Ryden Wilke, Danville, IA., +36
Girls 12-13 (9 holes)
No. 1 – Emily Weiss, Burlington, +21
Boys 12-13 (9 holes)
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