Principal Charity Classic – Syndication Server

Like big bunkers? Check out Tyler Rae’s restoration of Wakonda Club in Iowa

Big, steep bunkers and fresh greens highlight the work at Wakonda Club in Iowa.

Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa, is nearing completion of a restoration at the hands of golf architect Tyler Rae and his associate, Jim Ryan Jr. Work is nearly complete with just a few items left as the course grows in.

Wakonda Club opened in 1922 with a design by William Langford, who started laying out courses during the golden era of golf design. Langford typically worked with partner Theodore J. Moreau through the early 1940s before continuing on his own later.

Along with Wakonda Club, Langford’s highest-rated courses include Lawsonia Links in Wisconsin, Texarkana Country Club in Arkansas, Skokie Country Club in Illinois and Culver Academies in Indiana. Wakonda Club, as judged before the restoration, ranked No. 4 in Iowa in Golfweek’s Best 2023 ranking of private clubs in each state.

Wakonda Club has an extensive competitive pedigree, having hosted many tournaments including the 1963 U.S. Amateur won by Deane Beman, who would go on to play on the PGA Tour before becoming the Tour’s longtime commissioner. The club has hosted the Principal Charity Classic on the PGA Tour Champions since 2013, with Stephen Ames having won it this year.

Rae has an extensive list of credits to his name, including historical restorations and new builds. His other projects include Lookout Mountain Club in Georgia, Brookside Country Club in Ohio, Mountain Lake in Florida and Brae Burn in Massachusetts.

As noted in an email from the club, Rae’s extensive plan for Wakonda has included:

All new tee boxes, adding length to the championship tees while shortening the forward tees.
Ten-plus acres of fairway expansions, reinstalling width to the course. This includes joining two sets of fairways at Nos. 8 and 10 and Nos. 11 and 15.
Added five new greens (Nos. 2, 5, 9, 15 and 17) using themes from Langford and Moreau’s best work.
Used 22,000 square feet of sod from the old greens that were rebuilt to expand the greens on the 13 other holes.
Rebuilt every bunker to Langford and Moreau’s style, and reclaimed many bunkers that had been grassed over – L&M were not afraid to build deep bunkers with tall, nearly vertical faces. (Check the photos below for examples.)
Added XGD drainage to every green and installed a new Toro irrigation system.
Rebuilt the short-game practice area.

Check out several photos of the work below:

A Stephen, Steven or Steve has won the last five PGA Tour Champions events as Stephen Ames wins 2023 Principal Charity Classic

A Stephen, Steven or Steve has won the last five PGA Tour Champions events

DES MOINES, Iowa — Stephen Ames, Steve Stricker and Tim Herron shuffled around the green at the 18th hole, calculating the best strategy to finish off the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday.

Ames — who teed off the final hole with a one-stroke lead — knew he had secured the win when Stricker missed his putt, and the 2021 Principal Charity Classic winner was relieved to avoid a playoff for the trophy.

“The fact that Steve (Stricker) missed his putt, I knew we weren’t going to a playoff,” Ames said. “In the past, Steve would’ve made the putt on 15, 16 and here. Fortunately for me, it worked out that way.”

Ames finished 17-under for the week after scores of 66-66-67–200. The Canadian birdied four holes on the front nine and two in the back, which gave Ames the padding needed to pull off the win, even with a bogey on No. 14.

The win at the Wakonda Club marked the third PGA Tour Champions win of the season for Ames, who came out on top in the Trophy Hassan II in February and Mitsubishi Electric Classic in May.

The Principal Charity Classic victory was Ames’ second win on this tour in less than a month. He claimed the winner’s purse of $300,000, which brings his total Charles Schwab Cup winnings to $1,138,164. He was ranked fourth ahead of the PCC, with three top-10 finishes, including his two victories and a ninth-place finish in the Insperity Invitational.

“Everything,” Ames said when asked what was working well right now. “At this stage, it’s the same things I was doing last year…and maybe the putter’s a little warmer at times.”

He held on for the win, but Sunday’s round was Ames’ highest score of the competition. Fortunately for Ames, the other leaders struggled, as well.

Stricker, who won last week at the Senior PGA, had a bogey-free day but he only birdied four times, two in the front nine, two in the back nine.

Stricker has two PGA Tour Champions major wins in 2023 – the Regions Tradition and the Senior PGA Championship – and has three wins in all this year, including the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in January.

“It was a battle today, there’s no doubt about that,” Ames said. “Steve obviously, the way he’s played this year already tells you that it was going to be a good battle. And the fact that I ended up on top is more fulfilling than anything else right now.”

Herron, who entered the final round tied for the lead, slipped a bit on Sunday. He had three bogeys across the first five holes and dropped eight places to finish ninths.

Others outside of the leader group had successful performances, but they weren’t enough to get past Ames’ advantage. Richard Green finished with the best score of the day (63), and a few others — Miguel Angel Jiménez, Marco Dawson and Ken Duke — scored a 64 on the final round.

Defending champion Jerry Kelly was fifth in the standings after two rounds and tied Stricker for second. He avoided bogeys while picking up seven birdies to score a 65 on the final round.

But the players who crept into the top-three or moved up in the standings might not have had a chance to win if the Steves had anything to do with it.

A Stephen (or Steve or Steven) has won the last five PGA Tour Champions events and seven of the last 12 tournaments on the circuit this season. Steven Alker won the Insperity Invitational in April, and Ames and Sticker have each won two of the last four.

It’s a group that Ames is happy to be a part of.

“Popular names, I don’t know. I have no clue what’s working for the Steves, but nice fun fact, though.”

Golfers to keep an eye on at PGA Tour Champions 2023 Principal Charity Classic

This year’s field includes nine former champions at the Wakonda Club.

DES MOINES — The Principal Charity Classic tees off Friday as some of golf’s best on the PGA Tour Champions converge for three days of competition.

This year’s field includes nine former champions at the Wakonda Club, including defending champion Jerry Kelly and three-time winner Jay Haas. Five World Golf Hall of Famers and several fan favorites also highlight the tee sheet.

From Fred Couples to Steve Sticker, here are some of the golfers to keep an eye on at the 2023 Principal Charity Classic.

Stephen Ames

Ames won this event in 2021 and finished in a four-way tie for 12th in 2022. He is currently fourth on the PGA Tour Champions standings, but the third-highest-ranked player heading into the tournament, with Steve Alker not competing in Des Moines.

Notah Begay III

This is Begay’s first appearance in the Principal Charity Classic. One of the only Native American golfers to have played in the PGA Tour, the 50-year-old professional returned to playing with the Champions circuit. He is a top-100 player in the Schwab Cup rankings.

Fred Couples

A World Golf Hall of Famer and former World No. 1 will make another appearance in Des Moines. A fixture in pro golf for over four decades, Couples has finished in the top-10 twice this season — eighth in the Chubb Classic and 10th in the Galleri Classic.

Fred Couples reacts after making a birdie putt on the 18th green during the second round of the 2022 Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Ernie Els

Another World Golf Hall of Famer and former World No. 1 with four major championships and more than 70 career victories under his belt. He doesn’t seem to be slowing down, as Els is sixth in the Schwab Cup rankings.

Judd Gibb

Iowa golf fans, this is the player to root for this weekend. The Fort Dodge native was a four-year letter winner at Iowa State and a five-time Iowa PGA Player of the Year.

Miguel Angel Jimenez

Ever the fan favorite, Jimenez returns to Des Moines as the fifth-best player in the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard. He finished in the top-35 in last year’s event.

Jerry Kelly

Kelly returns to the Wakonda Club as the reigning Principal Charity Classic champion. He beat Kirk Triplett in a playoff last season. He is currently 12th on the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard.

Steve Stricker

Stricker is on an absolute roll right now. He sits at No. 1 in the Schwab Cup rankings after a 2023 season that includes three wins and three runner-up finishes. Stricker has already won over $2 million this season with wins in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship as well as two majors, the Regions Tradition and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

David Toms

Toms is No. 2 in the rankings behind Stricker. He won the Cologuard Classic and the Galleri Classic and has collected winnings of more than $1 million this season.

Kirk Triplett

Triplett may sit at No. 53 in the Schwab Cup rankings, but he isn’t a player to count out. He finished in the top-10 in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic and was the runner-up in this event last year. Only Kelly and the playoff stood between Triplett and a win.

Full field at the 2023 Principal Charity Classic

Robert Allenby
Stephen Ames
Billy Andrade
Stuart Appleby
Woody Austin
Notah Begay III
Shane Bertsch
Kris Blanks
Jason Bohn
Paul Broadhurst
Mark Calcavecchia
Alex Cejka
Russ Cochran
Brian Cooper
Fred Couples
Marco Dawson
Glen Day
Chris DiMarco
Ken Duke
Scott Dunlap
Joe Durant
David Duval
Ernie Els
Bob Estes
Steve Flesch
David Frost
Fred Funk
Jim Furyk
Brian Gay
Paul Goydos
Richard Green
Jay Haas
Mark Hensby
Tim Herron
John Huston
Thongchai Jaidee
Lee Janzen
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Robert Karlsson
Jerry Kelly
Rob Labritz
Bernhard Langer
Tom Lehman
Jeff Maggert
Billy Mayfair
Scott McCarron
David McKenzie
Rocco Mediate
Colin Montgomerie
Timothy O’Neal
Rod Pampling
Scott Parel
Tom Pernice Jr.
Kenny Perry
Tim Petrovic
Dicky Pride
Brett Quigley
Fran Quinn
John Senden
Wes Short Jr.
Vijay Singh
Jeff Sluman
Paul Stankowski
Steve Stricker
Kevin Sutherland
Ken Tanigawa
Mario Tiziani
Esteban Toledo
David Toms
Kirk Triplett
Scott Verplank
Duffy Waldorf
Mike Weir
Willie Wood
Y.E. Yang

Wakonda Club is a par-72 golf course that will play 6,851 yards this week. The first place prize is $300,000.

Jerry Kelly beats Kirk Triplett in a playoff at 2022 Principal Charity Classic on PGA Tour Champions

Jerry Kelly stayed composed through a weather delay and a playoff to win the 2022 Principal Charity Classic.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Jerry Kelly took advantage of a final round drop in standings by Steven Alker to win the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday, staying composed through an inclement weather delay and a playoff.

The last time the PCC went to a playoff was 2019, and Kevin Sutherland was the champion that year.

He finished with a birdie in the single playoff hole, while Kirk Triplett hit par, to claim the winner’s prize of $277,500. Both Kelly and Triplett finished at 18 under.

“It’s just a good old-fashioned afternoon,” Kelly said after accepting the championship trophy at the Wakonda Club. “It felt good all week, I just had to keep my patience in there, and that was what sent me through.”

That brings Kelly’s total Charles Schwab Cup winnings to $703,805. He was ranked 14th ahead of the PCC, with top-10 finishes in the Cologuard Classic, Chubb Classic and ClubCorp Classic. This was Kelly’s first win this season.

Kelly finished the second round on Saturday in a four-way tie for first. He shared the top spot with Kirk Triplett, Brett Quigley and Alker, all of whom shot 13-under 131 through the first two days of the PCC.

At the lightning delay Sunday, Kelly was tied for first with Triplett at 17 under through 15 holes. It was back-and-forth between the two frontrunners all Sunday, as Alker couldn’t continue his success from Saturday into Sunday’s competition and Bernhard Langer couldn’t find a way past the top two golfers.

Rain was expected Saturday and Sunday but didn’t hamper play during the second round. The final round didn’t go off as smoothly, and around 3:45 p.m. the horn was blown and play was suspended due to lightning.

Kelly said after the second round that weather often controlled the results of these tournaments more than anything else. But the weather ended up having little effect on the field.

Play resumed at 4:47 p.m. local time.

After returning from the delay, Kelly hit par on the 16th hole before recording a birdie on the 17th hole. He hit par on the final hole, which led to the playoff round. With the championship coming down to a playoff round, Kelly’s shot landed in better position compared to Triplett’s, and Kelly sank the birdie for the win.

Triplett’s lead after Friday’s opening round marked the seventh time he led or co-led the after the first round of a PGA Tour Champions event, but he had yet to win a tournament after posting the top score out of round one. That streak continued Sunday.

It was emotional moment following the win for Kelly, whose wife, Carol, has been dealing with the effects of kidney cancer.

“I had to miss Carol’s treatments that are going on right now for this tournament,” Kelly said. “I wanted to give her something to actually be happy about, and then she gave me the best present possible by having such clean scans on Friday afternoon.

“Big chills right now, great feelings. (Carol and my son are) the ones that make me stay strong out here even when I’m not strong. It’s everything.”

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