WATERLOO - In a year when 59-year-old Tom Watson found himself leading the British Open through 71 holes, 46-year-old Mike McCoy is making his mark on the nation's amateur circuit.

Playing a national schedule against competition less than half his age, the West Des Moines insurance executive has climbed to 19th in Golfweek's World Amateur Rankings. He boasts four top-five finishes, including a CB Macdonald Invitational title at the National Golf Links in Long Island, N.Y.

McCoy will be among the 165 players competing Monday in the 107th Iowa Amateur at Waterloo's Sunnyside Country Club. His son, Iowa State sophomore-to-be Nate McCoy, will also been in the field.

"I was going to play a tournament down in Tucson (Ariz.), but it's been a long summer, and I just didn't relish the thought of another week in the heat," McCoy told The Courier during a telephone interview from the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, N.Y.

"My son's playing in the State Amateur, and I thought it would be fun for the two of us to play in the same tournament."

Sunnyside will be hosting the Iowa Amateur for the first time since 1985 and serves as the first Waterloo golf course to host the event since Gates Park in 1997.

"The Iowa Am is our biggest event, so it kind of goes to the biggest and best clubs around the state," Iowa Golf Association Assistant Executive Director Chad Pitts said.

"The golf course (Sunnyside) is one of the best in the state, so we wanted to get it back there."

In addition to the McCoys, this year's field is one of the best in the tournament's recent history. Nineteen of the IGA's top 20 players will be competing.

Waterloo's own Nathan Leary is currently ranked first in the IGA Player of the Year ratings and will enter the tournament on the heels of a runner-up effort in the Waterloo Open.

Waterloo Open champion Kyle Bermel will also be back, along with his UNI teammates Troy Hoffman of Cedar Falls, Tyler Johnson, Jared Doerfler, Mason Linn and Matt Sargent. Defending Iowa Amateur champion and recent Alabama-Birmingham grad Mike Oimoen is also in the field.

Mike McCoy is a four-time Iowa Amateur champion, but hasn't won the tournament since 1998. He's currently in the midst of a summer in which he's hoping to secure his first Walker Cup berth. Amateur golf's version of the Ryder Cup pairs the top 10 non-professional players from the United States against the top 10 from Great Britain and Ireland. McCoy made the practice squad for the 2007 American team, which consisted of just one player older than 23.

"The younger college players are phenomenal talents and the quality of golf continues to get better each year," McCoy said. "The last team was an exceptional team, and many of the guys have gone on to win tour events already and have gotten off to very successful professional careers."

He added, "I think my chances (of making the team) are better this year. I'm very much on the bubble and I just need to play good golf here to end the summer."

With age, he's learned to make the necessary adjustments to compete with the best.

"It's a different kind of golf, smarter golf, maybe not as much power," McCoy said. "But certainly I'm managing my game well, and I think I have a good outlook and a good attitude. Those are pretty important components, as well."