Three co-lead Illinois Open; four a stroke back

Writing from Naperville, Illinois

Monday, August 1, 2022

Two words from David Perkins summed up what playing in the first round of the 73rd Illinois Open was like for the 156 contestants: “A grind.”

And Perkins was under par, his 1-under 71 at White Eagle Golf Club a stroke off the lead shared by Jimmy Morton of Sugar Grove, Drew Shepherd of Chicago and amateur Marcus Smith Jr. of Rockford after one round of the 54-hole test. Plus, Perkins played in the morning, when the wind was a mere zephyr on his first nine holes. Then it came up, and so did the scores.

“The pins were insanely tough all day,” Perkins said. “You had to make as many pars as you could. The tough set-up eliminates a lot of the field. There are no stupid pins, but if you hit it on the wrong side of the green on a par-4, you’re going to make a five.”

Perkins, who recently turned professional, tied for third in the 2018 Illinois Open, and won the CDGA Championship that year in a match that went five extra holes. Now, as a fledgling professional, he faces the grind of tour life as well – or more accurately, the grind of trying to get on a tour.

In that, he has company in the field. The majority of the leaders and lurkers, Morton and Shepherd included, are chasing the dream.

Morton, who starred at Illinois Wesleyan and at Marmion before that, birdied two of the three par-5s while playing smart golf en route to his co-leading 2-under 70.

“You had to pick and choose what holes to be aggressive on,” Morton said.

Shepherd, 4-under at one point (as was Michael Schachner before fading back to even-par 72) scattered six birdies across his card but also had four bogeys.

“I definitely putted it well,” Shepherd said. “I gave myself a lot of looks.”

His best birdie came via a splendid approach from the fairway bunker on the par-4 ninth hole, an uphill second shot to a green with the cup cut nine paces from the front edge. More shots like that over the next 36 holes and he could be holding a trophy on Wednesday afternoon.

Among the leaders, Smith and Roy Biancalana, who birdied three of his last six holes for 1-under 71, were the only players to play in the afternoon, when the westerly wind blew a bit more than the advertised 14 mph.

“It was a tough day,” said Smith, who finished fifth in the recent APGA tournament at TPC Deere Run. “Tomorrow morning, that’ll be a little nicer.”

Smith played an all-world up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 17th, chipping to kick-in range from a spot others would have made bogey. That got him to 3-under, but a 45-foot three-putt at the last brought him back with Morton and Shepherd.

Smith spent his first two college years at Eastern Michigan, but is transferring to Howard University in Washington, D.C. in the fall.

Ethan Farnam, who recently turned pro, is another of the 1-under quartet, scrambling to his 71 with five birdies, four bogeys, and a pair of 15-foot par-saving comeback putts.

Farnam, a back-to-back Illinois Amateur winner, counted the par-5 sixth as his best hole, with a driver, 2-iron to within 50 yards of the green, and then a pitch to gimme range for birdie. But not everything was a cakewalk.

“The pins were hard in a way,” Farnam said. “And if you curve your tee shots, you had to deal with the wind.”

Then there was Scott Ten Broeck, a 42-year-old career amateur who plays out of Beverly Country Club. He played station-to-station golf to stitch together his 71.

“If was definitely a day to lay back, keep it in play, get it on the green, and I was able to do that,” said Ten Broeck, the last alternate into the field.

“I got the call (Sunday), so I was kinda freewheeling it,” Ten Broeck said.

Around White Eagle

Bryce Emory, who won at White Eagle in 2020, is tied for 55th after a 4-over 76. … The cut after Tuesday’s second round will be to the low 50 players and ties. … Billy Gneiser chipped in on the par-4 ninth for a birdie (and 8-over 80), then waved to the fans and the TV camera covering the hole for the NCTV17 production, which is available at www.ipga.com/event-information/ from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday and beginning at noon on Wednesday.

– Tim Cronin