The end of the 2016 season brings the crowning of the new Players of the Year.

This year’s Senior Amateur Player of the Year goes to Steve Groom, who claimed the honor in a landslide of points.

Groom captured the title by nearly 1000 points.

His list of accomplishments in 2016 includes the StateLine Amateur Tour Senior Player of the Year and the StateLine Tour Championship Senior title. Groom added a Kansas City Senior Four-ball title, alongside his partner Mark Addington, and recently claimed the KC Master’s Senior title.

In addition, Groom added three StateLine Tour stop victories or ties for first.

Joe Ida earned the Amateur Player of the Year after winning the Kansas City Masters, successfully qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and earning the Low Amateur title at the Watson Challenge, finishing in third place.

Finally, Jean Tyrell took home the Women’s Amateur Player of the Year.

Tyrell posted a T4 at the Prairie Invitational and a T7 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Sectional qualifying tournament at Lawrence CC.

 

 

Thursday’s USGA Four-Ball qualifier at The National served as the bookend for the Kansas City Golf Association’s competition schedule.

Doug Albers and Ryne Fisher put the exclamation point on the season, firing a combined seven-under, 65.

The duo, who began their day on the back-nine, closed out the first half of their round with four consecutive birdies after knocking in an eagle on No. 13.

The pair added an additional birdie on the front nine and claimed a one stroke victory over the field.

The second qualifying spot needed an additional playoff hole to be decided.

Joe Ida and Spencer Alefs combined for a 66, while Scott Harvey and Todd Mitchell did so, as well.

When both teams looked in position to halve the hole, a long putt from the middle tier of the 18th green sealed the second qualifying spot for Harvey and Mitchell.

Ida and Alefs claimed the first alternate position, while William Gantz and Andrew King locked down the second alternate position in a three-way playoff.

Next year’s Four-Ball is May 27-31 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.

For complete results from the qualifier, click here.

Despite sitting three strokes off the lead entering the final round of the Kansas City Masters, Joe Ida played his way into a playoff hole, and eventually, the KC Masters title.

Ida entered the day at one-over, 73, sitting in a tie for third with Alex Springer.

Both Ida and Springer shot matching scores during each round, 73 and 72, respectively, which helped catapult them past round one leaders, Jeff Bell and Mark Terranova, and into a playoff hole.

Ida went on to defeat Springer on the first playoff hole, adding the KC Master’s title to his 2012 Watson Challenge title

The 2015 champion Ryne Fisher, finished three-over, 147, en route to a fourth place finish.

Steve Groom claimed the low-senior title, combining for a 14-over, 158.

For complete results from the Kansas City Masters, click here.

 

Contrary to recent history, golfers at the Kansas City Masters were met with sunshine and favorable temperatures for a late October event at Wolf Creek Golf Club.

Mother Nature, however, was not the only one generating some heat.

Both Jeff Bell and Mark Terranova posted rounds of two-under, 70, and claimed a share of the lead entering Tuesday’s second and final round of the final regional championship of the year.

Bell tallied five birdies on the day, including back-to-back birdies on both No. 7 and 8, as well as, No. 16 and 17.

Terranova, a familiar face at Wolf Creek, picked up two birdies and slammed home an eagle on No. 16.

Joining Terranova and Bell in the final pairing is Alex Springer, who signed a one-over, 73 scorecard.

Last year’s champion, Ryne Fisher, finished day one T5 with his two-over, 74 round one effort.

For full results from round one, round two pairings and live scoring for the final round, click here.

Blue Hills displayed a dominating effort in the women’s KC Cup final, winning all three of the four-ball matches against Sunflower Hills at Tiffany Greens.

Blue Hills earned the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs and lived up to that title. The team knocked off No. 8 Hillcrest in the quarterfinals before beating No. 5 Canyon Farms in the semifinals.

Sunflower Hills, the No. 2 seed, defeated the Deuce and Staley Farms en route to a finals appearance.

The title was the fourth KC Cup title for the Blue Hills’ women’s team.

 

The entire season came down to the last group on the course, on the final hole of the Kansas City Cup.

Both Shadow Glen and Shamrock Hills teams crowded around the 18th green at Tiffany Greens, awaiting the outcome of the final match.

Shadow Glen held a 5-2 match lead at one point, leaving no room for error by Shamrock Hills.

However, after all the match points were settled, Shamrock Hills managed to pull off four consecutive victories to retain the KC Cup with a 6-5 victory.

Shamrock Hills entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed and knocked off Fred Arbanas in the Round of 16, No. 5 Stone Canyon in the quarterfinals and No. 8 Mission Hills in the semifinals.

Shadow Glen, the No. 3 seed, defeated Shawnee Golf and Country Club in the Round of 16, No. 6 Hillcrest in the quarterfinals and No. 7 Canyon Farms in the semifinals.

The Stateline Amateur season wrapped up at Firekeeper Golf Course with Team Kansas retaining the Stateline Cup over Team Missouri.

Team Kansas and Missouri each claimed 10 points during the matches, allowing Kansas to hold onto the title for another year.

Kansas nabbed three match victories in both singles and foursome matches.

Missouri dominated the four-ball matches, claiming four of the five matches.

In the single matches, Brian Moeller turned in the most impressive victory over Logan Truninger, a 3 and 2 decision.

Turning to the foursomes, Michael Buckhouse and Addie Chapin staked a 5 and 4 victory over Brian Lambrecht and Jason Perengrine.

Finally, Greg Hillman and Jamie Lyndes took a 3 and 2 win over Mike Houtteman and Addie Chapin.

For complete results from the Stateline Cup matches, click here.

 

The Kansas City Golf Association recently announced it’s team of juniors for the Mid-America Junior Cup in St. Louis, Oct. 15-16.

Representing the boys for the KCGA is Joe Bultman, the 2016 Boys 16+ Player of the Year, Sam Parrott, the 2016 Boys Match Play Champion, Jackson Likes, the 2016 Boys 13-15 Player of the  Year and Michael Winslow, a member of the Shadow Glen Junior KC Cup champion team.

The girls’ side of the team is comprised of Taylor Black, the 2016 Girls Match Play champion, India Gaume, the 2016 Kansas City Girls Junior champion, Julia Misemer, the 2016 Girls 16+ Player of the  Year, and Megan Propeck, a semifinalist at the Girls Match Play Championship.

The team will play four four-ball matches Saturday afternoon and conclude the tournament by playing four mixed, alternate shot matches Sunday.

Team KCGA needs four match points to retain the cup for the fourth consecutive year.

The run of Mid-America Cup titles began in 2013, where the team won the cup outright at Blue Hills Country Club. In 2014, the team retained the cup at Fox Run Golf Club. Once again, Team KCGA team won the cup last year at The Nicklaus Club at Lionsgate.

In order to retain the cup again this year, the team will need 4 1/2 points.

The MAGA Team (Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association) is represented by Tommy Alferman, Joe Terschluse, Zach Shirley, Zach Walsh, Shannon Gould, Madison DeRousse, Momo Kikuchi and Brooke Biermann.