Iowans Gene Elliott, Mike McCoy continue amateur golf legacy with Concession Cup selection

Posted by Admin November 7, 2024 Golf

Golf has taken Gene Elliott and Mike McCoy around the country and beyond, forming a decades-long friendship that has elevated and extended both careers.

The two Iowans are part of the Team USA squad competing this week in the 2024 Concession Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event between the top Mid-Am and Senior amateur golf players in the U.S. and Europe. Elliott and McCoy are two of just six Team USA senior players on the men’s side.

The fifth edition of the Concession Cup got underway Wednesday at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, Georgia. The competition includes an Am-Am and four-ball, foursomes, and singles matches.

“I think it’s going to probably be the most competitive of the five Concession Cup matches that we’ve had,” Elliott said “Europe has got a really good team. I know all of the seniors on the team. It’s good camaraderie. It’s representing your country Just looking forward to it.”

This week’s event is the latest accomplishment in two decorated amateur golf careers.

Elliott, a 2012 Iowa Golf Association Hall of Fame inductee, has played in 39 USGA Championships, including eight U.S. Amateurs and 15 U.S. Mid-Amateurs. This year marks the West Des Moines resident’s fourth time making the Concession Cup and third time playing in it, after missing the 2022 event while hurt. He’s been named IGA Amateur of the Year and IGA Senior Player of the year four times each.

McCoy, meanwhile, is a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee while winning the IGA’s Amateur of the Year award 11 times in a 30-year frame (1983-2013). No one else has won that award more than three times. Other career highlights for the Des Moines native include a 2022 British Senior Amateur title, three IGA Senior Player of the Year awards and countless more accolades.

While their various golf excursions have pitted Elliott and McCoy against each other over the years, some of their fondest memories have come with the duo on the same squad as they are this week.

“We always laugh that we travel thousands of miles to play each other,” Elliott said. “We just love to compete. We just love amateur golf. We had an old (IGA) director, he moved to Iowa and said, ‘Who’s this Elliott/McCoy guy? He must be really good. I see his name all the time.’ He thought we were one person.

“We’re in our 60s now, both Mike and I, and we’ve had long careers. It’s been a lot of fun. Iowa has got a good crop of players. You wouldn’t think that in a small state like Iowa, but a lot of us have done some stuff to put Iowa on the map.”

Propelling Team USA to another Concession Cup title this week could do just that once again.

“We’re proud we’re from Iowa,” McCoy said. “We’ve both had a lot of success around the country, playing in national tournaments. So it’s been fun. We push each other. We’re good friends. We’ve been partners. We’ve been opponents. But I think we push each other to keep working and try to keep getting a little better.

“We still think our best golf is in front of us, no matter how old you get. We like to show people from some of these bigger states that there are a lot of good players in Iowa.”

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.