Illinois Open shootout looms at Flossmoor

Writing from Flossmoor, Illinois

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

A dartboard might be the best way to predict the winner of the 74th Illinois Open, which finishes Wednesday after a tumultuous second round at Flossmoor Golf Club on Tuesday.

The protagonists vying for the trophy and the $20,000 first prize are a mixture of players from near and far:

• Vince India, a Chicagoan on the Korn Ferry Tour who won the Illinois Open in 2018 and says he’s searching for his swing even after a 4-under 68 to share the lead at 6-under 138 through 36 holes;

• Luke Gannon, from downstate Monticello, who scored 67 for 138 on Tuesday, finished second to Tim “Tee-K” Kelly at Stonebridge Country Club two years ago, and whose stumble down the stretch last year still gnaws at him;

• Dylan Meyer, a Hoosier from Evansville who also stands at 138 and is threatening to win in his first appearance under the recent rule change allowing non-Illinoisans who went to an Illinois college to play;

• Mike Small, who coached Meyer at Illinois, the likely best 57-year-old golfer on the planet, whose 70 for 5-under 139 places him tied for fourth; 

• Quinn Clifford, an Illinois Wesleyan student who wasn’t recruited by Meyer, probably because he switched from basketball to golf after his sophomore year at Brother Rice, but has proven his worth after rounds of 69 and 70 to lead the amateur brigade;

• Kyle English of Bloomington, bidding to become the first club professional to capture the state championship of Illinois golf since Todd Tremaglio in 1990;

• and Anthony Albano Jr., an erstwhile Illinois Wesleyan grad who has finished eighth and tied for seventh the last two years while kicking around mini-tours, the last of the quartet at 139 thanks to one-putting the last seven holes.

Another seven players are within four strokes of India, Gannon and Meyer. That gaggle includes David Perkins of East Peoria, the defender at 2-under 142 after back-to-back 71s.

For all of the above, the goal is to win. For India, who’ll fly to the Korn Ferry tournament in Utah late on Wednesday, there’s more at stake.

“My golf swing’s in a pretty awful spot,” India said. “My confidence is fairly low. I feel I just need to keep playing in things. If I find something this week, that would be great. If that means I have to beat up on some local pros, that’s totally fine. Sometimes that’s what you have to do.”

India birdied three of the last four holes, including the par-5 18th, to climb into a share for the lead.

“I was in some pretty tricky situations (earlier) where I should have made a bogey and walked away with par,” India said. “I had some good looks coming in.”

Gannon’s trying to play conservatively where necessary and go for the flag when he can. So far, so good.

“I hit the driver better than yesterday,” Gannon said. “Trying to leave myself below the hole was also a key. Even in the bunker or rough in the right spot you can get up and down.

“Same strategy (tomorrow). Go out and make birdies. No one’s going to hand it to you.”

Meyer opened with a 50-foot eagle putt that featured about four feet of break, gave those strokes back – including a bogey at the 280-yard par-4 fourth, then played the back nine in 1-under including a birdie at the last. He hopes those book-ends are joined by more birdies on Wednesday.

“I didn’t trust my instinct of just hitting a 4-iron on the fourth and giving myself 70-80 yards to the pin,” Meyer said. “A bogey on a 280-yard hole doesn’t necessarily feel good. Put me in a funk for the majority of the day.”

The 28-year-old had a fine start to his pro career, including a win in a mini-tour start and a tie for 20th at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Then …

“Things on tour seemed pretty easy,” Meyer said. “I got my Korn Ferry status and I just didn’t play well. I took everything I had for granted and didn’t work as hard as I needed to. Professional golf at the highest level is totally different from the highest level of amateur golf.

“I had a nice self-talk with myself this past winter. I wanted to go play the minor-league golf tour in south Florida, get my game in shape and confidence back before doing Mondays (qualifiers). It went well there, so I figured I might as well keep going.”

His game is coming back. Meyer’s in a stretch of four tournaments in three weeks. He tied for fifth in the Waterloo Open, took seventh in the Cedar Rapids Open, and this weekend will play in the Iowa Open.

Meyer and Small went out to dinner Tuesday night, a case of protege and mentor conferring before competing. Small’s door is always open to his former players.

“I need to call him more than I have,” Meyer said.

Small will try to become the Illinois Open’s oldest winner by eight years on Wednesday. Gary Groh was 49 when he won in 1994, but Groh didn’t fiddle with his swing the way Small does.

“I use myself as a test dummy for my players,” Small said, adding he’s hit it better in the first two days than he has in years. He recovered from a double-bogey on his second hole and a bogey on the third hole, making seven birdies on his last 15 holes to come home in 2-under 70 for 139.

Clifford, three strokes ahead of fellow amateurs Tyler Isenhart and John Wild, went out on the back nine in 4-under 32, and only a pair of bogeys coming in kept him out of the lead.

“I stuck with my game plan,” the 20-year-old Chicagoan and regular at Beverly Country Club said. “Aim at the middle of the green. I had a lot of 20-footers. I aimed at one pin, on No. 4,  and made bogey.”

English said he wasn’t surprised a club pro hasn’t won in 33 years, given the quality of the tour pros in the field, and was pleased to be a stroke off the lead.

“I was fighting it today, but I’ve played here a half-dozen times,” English said of his comfort level.

Albano’s putter caught fire down the stretch, lifting him to a 3-under 69 to slide in as the fourth 139. He’s eager to make happen what he hasn’t been able to yet.

“This is right where I want to be and kind of where I expect to be out here,” Albano said. “If you start thinking ahead you might get a little tight, and you have to be loose out here because the greens and these shots are tough. I plan on using the experiences from the last two years tomorrow. I’ve also been playing on the Dakotas Tour and I’ve been playing well there. I’ve been in the final groups a handful of times out there as well so I been getting experience in this position.” 

Around Flossmoor

Fifteen players are under par and another seven are at even-par 144. The cut fell at 4-over 148 and includes 52 players, with 2021 winner Tim “Tee-K” Kelly and two-time winner Roy Biancalana, 63, making it on the number. … The field averaged 75.77 strokes on the 7,010-yard setup. The par-4 fourth, set up to be drivable at 280 yards, averaged 3.96 strokes with five double-bogeys and a pair of scores above that.

– Tim Cronin