Northwest Iowa National Invitational Collegiate Golf Championship

08/03/2026

The 8th Annual NWIA NIT welcomes back our Defending Champions in the Women's Division, Texas Wesleyan Women's Golf, Fort Worth TX, to The Ice Cream Capital of the World. In addition to winning the NIT, with a score of 853, one shot off the tournament record at -11, they won five more events, including the Sooner Athletic Conference title in 2026! The team had four 2nd place finishes. What can we say about Makena Junkin, Jr from Burleson TX. She's -17 in two years at Willow Creek, Champion in 2024 and T2 last year!! Wow!! She won four additional events last year, including the Sooner Athletic Conference and was the NAIA Women's Individual National Championship at Ypsilanti MI! She's a two time All-American and her family and grandparents have traveled to Le Mars every year to watch her play! Coach Kevin Millikan has an outstanding recruiting class, and three returning players had multiple top 10 finishes. Sofia Gorgees Baeta, Jr, Zaragoza, Spain had 6 Top 10 finishes and won the individual title in the Victoria tournament. The Lady Rams are four-time NWIA NIT Champions and played in all eight NIT tournaments, Thank You!

07/15/2026

The NWIA NIT welcomes another first-year team, the Hastings College Broncos from Hastings NE. This team earned their invitation to the NIT by finishing 3rd at NAIA Nationals at TPC Deere Run in May! This marks the highest finish by a GPAC team in the history of the league. The team was led by two Senior NAIA All-Americans who have since graduated. However, a good recruiting class by second year Coach Gabe Escalera and good performances by underclassmen Japan's Taiki Sagawara, who finished 2nd at the GPAC Conference Tournament and Jack Chapman, Cornwall, England, and Blake Eddy, Phoenix, all of whom had multiple top 10 finishes individually last season. Welcome Hastings College Broncos!! Come see these guys play golf, September 20-22, 2026 @ Le Mars Willow Creek Golf Course!!

07/12/2026

The NWIA NIT is fast approaching, September 20-22, 2026. Sponsorships, host homes, and volunteer opportunities are available on our website.

https://www.jrgolfnwiowa.org/college-amateur-golf-tournament-2023

We have a great field of 22 teams descending upon The Ice Cream Capital of the World! Making their initial appearance at the NIT, we want to welcome Coach Dave Myers and the Lady Owls of Oregon Tech University, Klamath Falls OR to this year's field. They finished the season ranked #23 in the NAIA and qualified for Nationals in Ypsilanti MI as an at-large team selection. Last year's team won two tournaments, The Run-In @ OIT and Simpson CA, they had four 2nd place finishes and two 3rd place efforts. Welcome Ladies!!

05/23/2026

Congratulations to Makena Junkin, NAIA Women's National Champion under very tough conditions in Yipsilanti MI! Makena was our NWIA NIT Champion in 2024 and T2 last year, behind former NAIA National Champion Hannah Ulibarri, The Masters CA. In six rounds at Willow Creek she's -17, averaging 69.2, par 72. We look forward to welcoming back Makena, soon to be a 3X All American, and her Texas Wesleyan teammates in the fall!!

05/18/2026

Congratulations to Coach Blake Trimble and the Oklahoma City University Men's Golf Team for earning your 12th NAIA National
Championship and to Christian Yanovitch for claiming the Individual National Medalist!! If they were still going to have a team this fall they'd be coming back to the NWIA NIT but the school's AD shelved the program last November. OCU was our Men's Champion in 2024 and they were 3rd last fall.

The 8th Annual NIT will be held September 20-22 @ Le Mars Willow Creek Golf Course. Included in the men's field are nine teams that finished in the Top 25 @ TPC Deere Run last week!

Friends KS #2, Marian IN T4, Mid America Nazarene #6, USAO #7, and Grand View, OUAZ, UBC (CN), Lewis Clark State ID, & Texas Wesleyan all in the Top 25 are returning to the Ice Cream Capital of the World!!

Oklahoma City captured its school-record 12th NAIA Men's Golf Championship with a solid finish from individual champion Christian Yanovitch on Friday.

05/12/2026

The Board of Directors of Junior Golf of Northwest Iowa Inc proudly announces that we have awarded $18,000 in college tuition scholarships to six 2026/2027 applicants for $3,000 each. All were a part of our OP36 Academy at Willow Creek or played on the NWIA Junior Tour, sponsored by Jr Golf NWIA. The vote was unanimous based on the quality of this year's applicant pool. The original announcement offered three $3,000 awards. Junior Golf of Northwest Iowa exists to foster and promote youth and amateur golf, including golf competitions in NW Iowa. We are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Founded in Le Mars, Iowa in 2019, Junior Golf of Northwest Iowa raises money through fundraisers, golf tournaments and donations, all of which help us get juniors on the golf course. This year's recipients' GPA as a group is 3.9!

Carson Arens - Le Mars Gehlen Catholic HS
Kellen Clausen - Holstein/River View HS
Jackson Keizer - Orange City/Boyden Hull HS
Vanessa Koelling - Kingsley/Siouxland Christian HS
Bella Michels - Sheldon/Sheldon HS
Jacob Wrather - Orange City/MOC-FV HS

All will be competing in Sectional Golf Tournaments in NWIA this week. Good Luck and continued success as you embark on your college journeys! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

04/17/2026

Very deserving honors for our NWIA NIT Women's Individual Champion from 2025, NAIA Individual National Champion and All-American Hannah Ulibarri from The Masters University was awarded the prestigious Dr Leroy Walker Champions of Character Award!! As a returning AA she disqualified herself at Nationals for a rules infraction no one else would have known about. We're proud to honor our students athletes of the NWIA NIT and look forward to providing a great experience for this year's teams! New teams coming to town this fall including UBC from Canada, September 20-22, 2026!! Sponsorships, volunteerism, host homes are available now!!

01/15/2026

Canadians like the Ice Cream Capital of the World 2!!! Kamloops British Columbia & North Battleford Saskatchewan!!! ⛳️🏆👍🏼💃🏻

01/03/2026

Happy New Year!! Thankful for our very generous Sponsors of Junior Golf or Northwest Iowa Inc, an IRS approved 501C3 NFP! Please support our many sponsors in the new year! The NWIA Junior Tour schedule is being finalized and the NWIA NIT Collegiate Golf Championship is a full field, even before the invitations are sent out! Looking forward to a new and exciting year for us all! Our mission is to promote golf education and competition to our youth in NWIA since 2019! Scholarship application forms for area HS Seniors for 2026 will be posted on our website shortly!! Stay tuned!!