IAGA Quick Hits | 4.7.26
Reese Isings, Drake Lai receive inaugural Andrew Putnam Scholarship
From Washington Golf
The Washington Golf Foundation has announced that Reese Isings of Puyallup, Wash., and Drake Lai of Sammamish, Wash., have been selected as the recipients of the inaugural Andrew Putnam Scholarship presented by TRUE linkswear.
Introduced in 2026, the annual scholarship – established by the Washington Golf Foundation in partnership with Tacoma native and PGA TOUR player Andrew Putnam – offers financial support to two standout junior golfers who have demonstrated strong character and community engagement in addition to both golf talent and financial need. Both Isings and Lai, through their academic and golf efforts, unequivocally fit the spirit of the award.
“We want to provide opportunity to those who show promise, and we want to assist in their growth as young people and as golfers, in developing character and skills,” Putnam says. “I benefited from an incredible junior golf program when I was growing up, and this scholarship is one way to provide others that same opportunity.”
Reese, 15, is a sophomore at Emerald Ridge High School. She can remember golf being part of her life for as long as she can remember, growing up watching her father play and eventually getting her own clubs at the age of seven. In the few years since she began to compete competitively, Reese has garnered seven top-10 finishes in WJGA events. At Emerald Ridge, she maintains a 4.0 GPA and was on the girls’ golf team that placed fourth in the 2025 WIAA 4A Girls’ State Golf Championship.
“Being selected for this scholarship means a lot to me,” Reese said of her honor. “It allows me more opportunities that I wouldn’t have had, which excites me and makes me feel like my goals are more achievable.”
Missouri Golf Association Rebrands as Missouri Golf
From Missouri Golf
For more than a century, the Missouri Golf Association has worked to promote and protect the game of golf throughout the Show-Me State. As the game has evolved, so too has the organization, continually adapting to better serve golfers across Missouri.
Now, after more than 120 years serving golfers across the state, the organization is taking the next step forward. The Missouri Golf Association is introducing a refreshed brand that honors its legacy while looking toward the future of the game in Missouri.
Focused on inclusivity and the growth of the game in the Show-Me State, the rebrand starts with the subtle but meaningful name change from “Missouri Golf Association” to “Missouri Golf.” While the name is changing, the organization’s mission and commitment to serving golfers across Missouri remain the same.
The change reflects a simple idea: every golfer in Missouri has a place in the game and within Missouri Golf.
Simply put, Missouri Golf represents the game for everyone who loves to play it in the Show-Me State.
Indiana PGA HOPE Veterans Heading to National Secretary’s Cup
From Indiana Golf
For the first time in program history, the Indiana PGA Section will have a team represented at the PGA HOPE Secretary’s Cup, often referred to as “The Veterans Major.” The 2026 event will take place on Monday, May 11 at Chester Valley Golf Club, located just outside of Philadelphia.
The Secretary’s Cup brings together teams from across the country to celebrate the impact of PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere)—the flagship military program of the PGA of America. Each team is made up of four military veterans and one PGA Professional, competing in a 9-hole scramble format against teams representing PGA Sections from across the nation.
Representing Indiana in the 2026 Secretary’s Cup will be:
Dan Heavrin – U.S. Army
Jeremiah Runser – U.S. Army
Travis McGovern – U.S. Navy
Gil Sanchez – U.S. Army
Crystal Morse – PGA Professional
Together, the group will compete against 11 other PGA Sections, proudly representing veterans from across Indiana on the national stage.
Owning His New Role
From the Colorado Golf Association
When Whitey O’Malley, his wife Lanna and some partners built Saddleback Golf Club in Firestone starting in 1998 and opened it in 2001, it was one of O’Malley’s first impressions about the golf course business.
“My first experience, going back to the early 2000s, was ‘Holy smokes is this industry slow to take up technology,” O’Malley said in a phone interview with Colorado Golf Journal late last month. “That was my first take on it. … I was just amazed that the adaption of technology, even in 2001, was that slow.”
Even now, a quarter-century later, he noted, “I think we’re behind on the track quite a bit. It’s an industry that’s steeped in tradition, and I don’t think we’re as willing to try things. Here’s a good example: the autonomous mowers out there right now. We’re all excited because we’ve got all this new technology, right? These autonomous mowers running around the courses and how they can mow all night, how efficient they are and this and that. There are a lot of benefits. (Then) you look over to Europe; they’ve been (using autonomous mowers) for freaking 10 years. You know, what the hell are we doing? So we’re slow to adopt, very cautious, maybe afraid of change. But it slowly creeps in.”
(For the record, Saddleback recently went to basically totally autonomous mowing, with 16 such mowers soon expected in the fleet that does it thing overnight. “There’s no downside to it really,” O’Malley said. “We’re all in.”)