The first round of the 35th IGA Match Play Championship—a hot but cloudy day at Talons Golf, Ankeny—whittled down 132 players to only 64 on Tuesday.
Webster City’s Avery Fuhs earned the 1-seed after a (-6) 66. With his defending champion status, Nate McCoy, of Ankeny, was automatically given the 2-seed. Nevertheless, McCoy finished T2 with (-5) 67 and earned his seed anyways. Fort Dodge’s Nico Booyens and Clive’s Jake Weissenburger joined McCoy at (-5) 67, and were given the 3- and 4-seed respectively following USGA tie breaking rules.
Of the 132 men, 37 finished even-par or better. Six edged their way into the first round of match play, tying at the (+3) 75 cut line. The 64 qualifiers will play tomorrow in the first round of match play.
“It was good,” Henson said after the round.
Cedar Falls’ Hannah Bermel earned the second seed with a (+1) 74, and West Des Moines’ Paige Hoffman earned the 3-seed with a (+2) 75. 15 pars, a birdie, a bogey, and one double rounded out a steady round for Hoffman. She noted that the greens defended the course well with their speed.
The top eight seeds earned byes into the second round of match play to be contested on Thursday. The remaining sixteen women will compete in the first round of match play Wednesday.