Messenger photo by Eric Pratt: Terry Cook of West Des Moines, the Fort Dodge Amateur senior champion in 2020 and ‘21, hits a tee shot on the 16th hole at the Fort Dodge Country Club last year.

For the first time in nearly a decade, over 150 golfers will be teeing off in the Fort Dodge Amateur golf tournament as the event celebrates its 75th anniversary at the Fort Dodge Country Club.

One of the oldest amateur competitions in Iowa is seeing a resurgence in interest, as the field size has nearly doubled from where it was a few years ago. The registration closed earlier this week with a full group of 156 total players vying for open, senior and super senior championships — thanks in large part to the collective efforts of area businesses and stakeholders, who have helped increase the prize money and payouts.

Defending senior champion Sean Davis of Council Bluffs and super senior winner Jim Madsen of Carroll are back to defend their titles. The open division will crown a new gold medalist, though, as Andrew Huseman of Ankeny — the champ in three of the last four FD Ams — will not participate due to a schedule conflict.

Navigating the weather may be a challenge. There is a 90 percent chance of precipitation on Saturday, with the best chances for rain in the morning to early-afternoon hours.

If the opening round of the 36-hole competition is a wash, the winners will be decided with an 18-hole, Sunday-only tourney. Otherwise, players will be re-paired based on their Saturday score for the Sunday action.

Freshly-minted Lakeside Am champ Niel Doak – the 2018 FD Am winner – is in the field, along with former gold medalists Kevin Ault (2010 and 2011) and Joe Urbanek (2017). Ault is an ex-Fort Dodge standout.

Terry Cook of West Des Moines – the 2020 and ’21 senior king – is entered, as is Lake City High School graduate Joel Yunek – the senior victor in 2012 and ’13 and super senior titleist in 2020.

Long-time area standouts Dave Sergeant (Fort Dodge), Lucas Peed (Fort Dodge), Tom Schill (Gowrie), Ned Palmer (Gowrie), Terry Miller (Fort Dodge), Bill Manske (Algona), Tony Malizia (Humboldt) and Randy Stults (Fort Dodge) will all be on the tee as well.

The Fort Dodge Country Club is a par 35-36-71 layout.

2023 FORT DODGE AMATEUR

(Saturday’s tee times, at the Fort Dodge Country Club)

7:30 a.m. – Tom Schill, Joel Yunek, Tony Malizia, John Brown

7:40 a.m. – Justin Jorgensen, Justin Davis, Tony Lawler, Randy Stults

7:50 a.m. – Terry Cook, Tyler Cook, Jeff Opheim, Brian Verduyn

8:00 a.m. – David Pratt, Kyle Raines, Shane Lee, Matthew Post

8:10 a.m. – Bob Hartzler, Dave Gaer, Willis Gaer

8:20 a.m. – Gianni Chiodo, Nick Chiodo, Alec Barber, Frank Chiodo

8:30 a.m. – Eric Boehlert, Nathan Boehlert, Dave Sergeant, Pat Ryan

8:40 a.m. – Terry Miller, Ned Palmer, David Hanson, Todd Smith

8:50 a.m. – Lucas Peed, Niel Doak, Kevin Ault, Matt Taylor

9 a.m. – Bennett Berger, Garrett Ham, Tom Buffington, Ryan Berkley

9:10 a.m. – Curt Burns, Charlie Taylor, John Kinsey, James Blackburn

9:20 a.m. – Jon Olson, Levi Slings, Ethan Mechling, Jeff Collett

9:30 a.m. – Matthew Christensen, Sean Davis, Doug Waffle, Rob Johnson

9:40 a.m. – KC Doland, Bruce Westemeier, Mike Lamb, Brian Persson

9:50 a.m. – Steve Eddie, Thomas James, Mark Henningsen, Gary Sherzan

10 a.m. – Edwin Evans, Tony Newkirk, Steve Jordan, Rick Gorbell

10:10 a.m. – Garrett Nelson, Landon Nokleby, Shane Carlson, Tyson Dirks

10:20 a.m. – Robert Hattery, Del Harken, Randy Studer, Fred Studer

10:30 a.m. – Tim McKnight, Tim Taylor, Jay Slings, Jim Madsen

10:40 a.m. – Jon Scharingson, Matt Scharingson, Joe Urbanek, Mark Urbanek

10:50 a.m. – Chad Hein Sr., Chad Hein Jr., Jake Weissenburger, Luke Galeazzi

11 a.m. – Mike Rundle, Ryan Horner, Brock Seiser, Andrew Roberts

11:10 a.m. – Kole Petersen, Dave Pritchard, Bob Brooks, Aaron Fleming

11:20 a.m. – Bill Tank, Bill Manske, Bill Sutton, Dan Trerotola

11:30 a.m. – Aaron Ahrendsen, Ben Nedved, Ben Skyles, Ben Christy

11:40 a.m. – Neil Bolstad, Robert Dickerman, Daryl Short, Jeff Berndt

11:50 a.m. – Cody Brandau, Drake Doering, Jacob Adams, Joey Ashley

Noon – Zach May, Hunter Johnson, Jimmy Siebert

12:10 p.m. – Joseph Van Sant, Brock Snyder, Camden Ganzeveld, Carson Gallup

12:20 p.m. – John Hanks, Justin Hanks, Kaden Miller, Ross Grekoff

12:30 p.m. – Chris Johnson, Easton Korell, Ethan Brumbaugh, Grant Smith

12:40 p.m. – Caleb Peters, Nick Pittman, Nate Juffer, Matthew Dominick

12:50 p.m. – Jack Wahman, Jack Winkel, James Howell, Jason Jones

1 p.m. – Jeff Panek, John O’Hair, Kevin Alert, Michael Erickson

1:10 p.m. – Logan Barnes, Manning Lane, Kyle Somers, Nate McCoy

1:20 p.m. – Travis Risetter, Trey Jacobson, Trevor White, Will Simpson

1:30 p.m. – Jay Hickman, Harold Hickman, Russell Johnson, Gary Aspenson

1:40 p.m. – Jai Mukraj, Michel Evertsen, Paul Rieks, Nico Booyens

1:50 p.m. – Zac Jenkins, Samuel Storey, Spencer Clatt, Thomas Pedersen