Writing from Romeoville, Illinois
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Ten years and six days ago, Lauren Beaudreau won an American Junior Golf Association tournament at Mistwood Golf Club. After it, she posed with the Midwest Junior Players trophy with one of Mistwood’s iconic bridges in the background.
Tuesday, Beaudreau returned to the same spot, with a different trophy. She posed with the Phil Kosin Cup, emblematic of victory in the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open.
“This is definitely a trophy I wanted my name associated with,” Beaudreau said while clutching the cup.
Beaudreau, a Lemont native who won a state title at Benet Academy in 2018 and captured the NCAA East Regional for Notre Dame in May, triumphed in her fourth start as a professional, following tournaments in Normal, Ill., Michigan and Florida since turning pro following graduation. A final-hole birdie 4 gave her the title by a stroke over Nicole Jeray and amateurs Carolina Lopez-Chacarra of Madrid, Spain and Caroline Smith of Inverness.
Jeray also birdied the last, but Beaudreau, who went for the par-5 in two and saw her approach land just off the green, chipped to three feet and sank the winning putt.
“I’ve never gone for that green in two,” Beaurdeau said. “But I hit my drive 304 yards and I only had a 6-iron in. It felt a little silly to lay up. It seemed like a no-brainer.”
It proved to be the winning move, as Jeray played the hole conventionally, sinking a 10-footer for her birdie, finishing with a 1-under 71 for 2-under 142 compared to Beaudreau’s closing 71 for 3-under 141.
“I feel like Mistwood really sets up for my game,” said Beaudreau, who has played Mistwood often in the last decade. “The first day I got off to a really hot start – 4-under through seven holes. I didn’t have my best ball-striking today, but I grinded it out.”
And withstood the pressure.
“People say the more you’re in that position, the easier it gets, but I think it never feels the same,” Beaudreau said. “I could have been in the lead 50 times but every time you’re in that position, it feels different. I did feel some nerves today. Sometimes it’s on cruise control and somethings it’s a battle. Today I had to scrape it around.”
Birdies on the 17th and 18th on Monday brought her in at 2-under 70. But she was tied for fourth with five holes to play, behind Lopez-Chacarra, Smith and overnight leader Jessica Jolly. Beaudreau played the last five holes in 1-under, four pars followed by the birdie at the last, while both Lopez-Chacarra and Smith lost a stroke and Jolly lost three. Jeray had four birdies on the back nine, but bogeys on 14 and 15 from putts that slid past the cup doomed her.
Jeray plays more of her golf in senior tournaments these days, but a generation ago, she was in Beaudreau’s position, just graduated from Northern Illinois and trying to break into professional golf.
“She’s a lot better than I was,” Jeray said. “She hits it longer. And she plays against better competition. There are a lot more players now.”
Beaudreau tied for 16th in the Florida Women’s Open last week, tied for ninth in the Michigan PGA Women’s Open in late June, and opened her professional career with a tie for third in the Redbird Championship at the Weibring Golf Course at Illinois State in mid-June.
She earned $3,100 there. That and the $5,000 she picked up for winning at Mistwood will more than take care of her LPGA qualifying tournament fee next month.
Jolly, a Rockford native who’ll be entering Illinois State next month, added an untidy 77 to her opening 5-under 67 and finished solo fifth at even par 144.
– Tim Cronin