Kelly brings it home

Writing from Aurora, Illinois

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

From the start on Wednesday, it was clear Tim “Tee-K” Kelly was playing with a purpose. This final round of the 72nd Illinois Open was anything but a casual round of golf for him. This was business.

He and brother-caddie Will talked about the line on every tee, every approach, every putt. Kelly’s game was sharp, undistracted by the many family members and friends from Medinah Country Club watching him. Draining a downhill 15-foot curler for birdie after hitting his approach into a shortside greenside bunker on the par-5 first hole was the first clue.

Put it this way. To beat him, Luke Gannon of Mahomet, who started the day in second, would have to score five strokes under whatever Kelly shot.

When Kelly went out in 4-under-par 32, Gannon understood that wasn’t going to happen. (Back in the pack, Daniel Hudson was matching the Stonebridge Country Club course record with a 10-under 62, about which more later.)

Even when Kelly pulled his tee shot on the par-5 14th out of bounds, and stumbled to a three-putt double-bogey 7, it wasn’t going to happen.

“I knew an eagle would be huge there, and made a bad par,” Gannon said, hoping for a four-shot swing.

Kelly, from Wheaton, birdied the next two holes anyway, sinking putts of 10 and 15 feet to erase the double and Gannon’s last hope for an upset.

Only scoring records were in question by then. Kelly cruised to a 4-under 68 and total of 17-under 199 to annex Illinois Open and add it to his two Illinois Amateur titles from the previous decade. In so doing, he collected a record $25,080 from the professional purse of $105,010, and became the 10th player to score the Open-Am career double.

“Winning golf tournaments is never easy, but it sure is a lot of fun when you pull it off,” said Kelly, who had three top-nine finishes in his previous four starts, including a tie for third last year. “I’ve never had too close of a call, but I feel I’ve put myself in contention a fair bit.”

His wire-to-wire lead this year made sure that only Gannon, and barely, had something of a close call this year. Kelly hit 12 of 14 fairways, as did Gannon, and 13 greens in regulation, and took 31 putts. Gannon, who birdied the first two holes, hit one more green and had 28 putts, but his second straight 67 for 14-under 202 didn’t get him the trophy. But the consolation prize of $14,765 will heal any mental wounds.

“I kinda figured I had to play pretty close to perfect,” Gannon said.

That category was already taken by Kelly.

Hudson fires a 62

Daniel Hudson is a 26-year-old Chicagoan who, like many others in the Illinois Open field, wants to make it to the PGA Tour sooner rather than later. The Lyons Township and Kansas grad displayed tourish skills Wednesday, equaling the Stonebridge course record with a 10-under 62.

He equaled Joe Jimenez’s score from the third round of the 1995 Ameritech Senior Open – when Jimenez was merely 69 – and the numbers Rosie Jones and Annika Sorenstam posted in the first round of the 2003 Kellogg-Keebler Classic.

Hudson did so from a greater distance – 6,932 yards – than any of the others. It vaulted him from mid-pack to solo third with a total of 10-under 206 and earned him $9,029.

“I had no idea about the course record, so that’s a bonus,” Hudson said. “I think the toughest thing is when you get to a certain point (under par), you want to keep going, but you don’t want to make decisions that would alter the progress of the round. So mentally that’s the toughest thing, when you get to 6-, 7-, or 8-under and you’ve got some holes left. But it was a great day.

“I set a goal at the start of the day to shoot the lowest round of the tournament, so I think I’ve got that.”

Hudson bogeyed the fourth and 11th holes, but eagled the par-5 ninth with a 230-yard hybrid and 30-foot putt, and birdied 10 others, including six of the last seven.

“I was able to get over the mental battle of commitment and conviction, just doing it, which was really good,” Hudson said. “I’ve struggled with that pretty much all summer."

If a 62 doesn’t brighten the attitude, nothing will.

Around Stonebridge

Mac McClear of Hinsdale and Iowa’s golf team was low amateur, finishing with a 2-under 70 for 7-under 209. … Kelly’s 17-under score to par across three days of near-windless conditions matched the mark set by Carlos Sainz at Royal Fox and Royal Hawk in 2016. His 199 aggregate matches second-best in Illinois Open history, tying David Cooke in 2015 and behind only Sainz’s 197 in 2016. … Kelly pulled the trigger on the $5,250 entry fee for Korn Ferry Tour qualifying last weekend, saying the money he won for tying for third on the Forme Tour stop at Purdue effectively covered it. … The field averaged 71.91 strokes, even with many cups tucked in locations than Stonebridge members have never aimed it. … Brandon Holtz eagled the par-4 second hole, a 346-yard test. He shot 4-under 68 and tied for 18th at 1-under 215. … Illinois Amateur champion Ethan Farnam posted two eagles in the final round and scored 5-under 67 to total 4-under 212 and tie for ninth. … 

– Tim Cronin

Kelly bursts into Illinois Open lead

Writing from Aurora, Illinois

Monday, August 2, 2021

In the career arc that pros chasing the PGA Tour dream ride, Tim “Tee-K” Kelly is still on the way up. The 27-year old proved that last week with a tie for third in a Forme Tour tournament at Purdue, and again on Monday when, hours after a twilight practice round, he scored 6-under-par 66 at Stonebridge Country Club to take the first-round lead in the 72nd Illinois Open.

Kelly, who grew up and practices at Medinah Country Club, birdied four of his last eight holes, including the last two, in crafting his bogey-free round. He credits the ability to play golf again with something on the line for his improved form.

“It was tough (last year),” Kelly said of the COVID-created halt to the stepping-stone tours. “When you’re trying to play golf for a living and you can’t, you don’t feel like you’re doing anything.”

So Kelly practiced, worked with teacher John Perna to hone his game, and has seen the effort pay off. This week’s opportunity could earn Kelly around $20,000 if he wins and if the purse equals recent payouts.

But the big goal remains making the big tour.

“Every year, I’ve gotten better and better,” Kelly said. “Until that shuts down and I’m not improving, I’ll keep playing.”

Others in the field have taken that ride, and several are on the verge of it. Adam Turner, the 1999 Illinois Open winner as an amateur, went through college, turned pro, and now, at 44, is in the process of regaining his amateur status.

“I played (mini-tours) for seven or eight years, was an assistant for three years, and then got out of golf,” said Turner, who calls Galesburg home, is married with three daughters, and is a financial advisor. “Golf took a back seat for a while.”

Monday, he turned back the clock with a 4-under 68, including four birdies in his last eight holes. He’s joined at 4-under by Britt Pavelonis of Carbondale, David Perkins of East Peoria, Garrett Chaussard of Park Ridge, Blake Olson of Wheeling, Luke Gannon of Mahomet and Zack Wax of Downers Grove.

Unless there’s a major upturn in his play, Daniel Stringfellow of Roselle will follow Turner and apply to regain his amateur standing at season’s end. His 1-under 71 proves he can still bring it, but the road gets weary.

“I’ve been interviewing for jobs,” said Stringfellow, 28, who won an IHSA title at St. Viator. “I’ve spent my whole life chasing the PGA Tour. It’s been tough, but I’ve met so many great people.

“It’s a grind. If it was easy, everyone would do it. If I can’t play, I might want to find something else to do.”

Perkins is, like Kelly, on the way up. At 23, the Illinois State grad has been a pro for less than two months, making his 68 the best he’s scored with cash on the line. He missed the cut last month at the John Deere Classic, where he got a sponsor’s exemption, but relished the experience mixing with tour pros.

“I learned a lot about myself,” Perkins said. “I learned about how they carry themselves. Everyone hits it good. It’s who makes putts in a week that wins.

“I’m in the ‘go get it’ stage, because (the odds) are the same for everybody. I’m two months in and it feels like I’ve done it for a year. But one week can change your life.”

Mike Small, who scored 3-under 69 Monday in quest of a record-tying fifth Illinois Open title and is tied for ninth, felt like that for a long time. The star at Danville High and Illinois made the Tour and kept his card for several years, until he lost it in 1998. Then his perspective changed.

“I was fighting my game,” Small said. “I wanted to get back on Tour, but then Illinois offered the coaching job, and I had two kids. If the coaching job hadn’t come around, I’d still be playing. My advice to those getting away from it is, find something you can do to distance yourself from golf.”

Small, 55, turned the Illinois program into a powerhouse, and has picked up 18 state majors along the way. He called Monday’s round “smoke and mirrors,” because he chipped in twice to save par.

Around Stonebridge

While Stonebridge played some four strokes over its par of 72, good scores were numerous: 23 players finished under par and another 19 were at par through 18 holes. … Chaussard birdied four of his last six holes, making some 70 feet of putts, including a 25-footer on No. 13 and a 20-footer at the last. … Rich Dukelow hit the equivalent of the wall in Turn 1, making a sextuple-bogey 11 on the first hole en route to an uncharacteristic 85. … Amateur Ben Sieg posted a quintuple-bogey 10 on the 14th hole, signed for an 81, and was disqualified.

– Tim Cronin

Ambitious Stonebridge hosts Illinois Open

Writing from Aurora, Illinois

Sunday, August 1, 2021

It’s been a curious couple of years for Bryce Emory, and by extension, many of his peers among professionals who seek the fortune, if not fame, of a place on the PGA Tour.

Emory won the Illinois Open last year at White Eagle Golf Club. Normally, a young pro will apportion some of his winnings – which totaled $19,928 in Emory’s case – to the hefty entry fee charged by the PGA Tour for its qualifying tournament, where the successful get membership on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Last year, thanks to COVID-19, there was no qualifying tournament. There barely was the usual collection of unaffiliated pro tournaments financed by small sponsors and large entry fees. Outlets including the Dakota Tour and the Waterloo Open, those fly-under-the-radar tournaments that offer purses allowing the most successful of semi-starving pros to move up from ramen noodles to beef stew.

Emory, an Aurora native, played in what he could, but without a chance at the KFT circuit, he was grounded like a teen with mad parents.

“Last year was very tough,” Emory said. “I didn’t leave the state to play until November, when I went to the Nevada Open. This year’s been a little better, and I hope it continues that way.”

Emory starts his Illinois Open title defense Monday, when the 72nd Illinois Open gets underway at Stonebridge Country Club. It’s a few miles from White Eagle, so Emory has something of a home game again, and will tee it up on a course recently lengthened by several hundred yards, the pride of a club getting back into the tournament scene.

In the early 1990s, Stonebridge, then new and with more fledgling trees than homes on the campus, hosted the Ameritech Senior Open for four years, the highlight of which was a pro-am round featuring Arnold Palmer and Michael Jordan playing before countless thousands of admirers. A decade later, the LPGA played through for three years with the Kellogg-Keebler Classic. Annika Sorenstam, whose victory in today’s U.S. Senior Women’s One proved she still has game, won two of the three and co-set the course record – for men or women – when she carded a 62, as did Rosie Jones.

The Illinois Open will be the biggest test at the club since then. Key members hope it’s the start of a return to the spotlight.

“We’re super happy to have this tournament at the club,” head pro Andrew Godfrey said. “We like the course firm and fast and I expect it to play that way.”

Among the holes that have been extended is the 18th, which now, thanks to a postage-stamp-sized tee, can play just over 600 yards. That tee isn’t even on the scorecard, but it’ll be in use this week.

“It should be a pure test,” Godfrey said.

Tom Fazio was the original designer, and gave his assent to bringing in Mike Benkusky, a Lake In The Hills-based architect, to add the length. The green complexes, however, are the originals, and will, if the speeds are accelerated, give the players fits.

Most of the usual Illinois notables are in the field, but it might be worth keeping an eye on 2008 Illinois Open winner Joe Emerich. He won as an amateur, played briefly as a pro, regained his amateur status, and today both runs his own business and is a Stonebridge member who happens to chair the greens committee. In a practice round last week, he birdied his first three holes and one-putted green after green.

– Tim Cronin

Thorbjornsen runs the Western Am table

Writing from Golf, Illinois

Saturday, July 31, 2021

Michael Thorbjornsen ran the table at the Glen View Club this week, doing everything but crashing the Saturday night wedding reception.

The 19-year-old will have to settle for setting the course record – 62 – winning the stroke-play medal and capturing the 119th Western Amateur through four difficult matches, the last a 4 and 3 victory over Gordon Sargent.

And what does a champion teen golfer do to celebrate? He and his caddie will trek downtown on Sunday to take in Lollapalooza.

The 27th medalist to win the title and first since co-medalist Cole Hammer in 2018, Thorbjornsen, from Wellesley, Mass., closed out Sargent with a 35-foot two-putt on the 15th green, but he really won the title by winning the 11th, 12th and 13th holes with birdies to forge a 4-up lead. He was 4-under across 15 holes, including the usual concessions.

“I was 3-up through eight; it’s always nice to have that cushion,” Thorbjornsen said. “Then he won nine and 10 and you can kind of feel the momentum switch. He’s starting to build some confidence, but I’ve got to remember I’m still leading.”

He ran down a 12-foot downhill putt for birdie on the par-3 11th to take the momentum back, then dropped his approach on the par-4 12th to two feet for another birdie, then sank a 8-footer for a birdie 4 on the 550-yard 13th. With that, the Stanford sophomore all but sealed the fate of Sargent, a two-time Alabama Amateur champ from Birmingham who enters Vanderbilt this fall.

“Gordon got a little unlucky with his tee shot (on No. 12),” Thorbjornsen said.

“I never had too much momentum,” Sargent said. “I kinda gave him some holes. He made a great birdie on 11 and I gave him 12; I tried to lay up and I hit a 5-iron 240. From there, I really struggled. And he played really well, so, not much I can do.”

Thorbjornsen came from 1 down with four holes to play to beat Austin Greaser 2 up in the morning semifinal, which was not only dramatic, but gave him momentum after lunch.

“Those last three holes against Austin were pretty heated,” Thorbjornsen said. “I guess that flowed over. I was pretty zoned in, focused, and tried to keep that same mentality in the afternoon.

“I hit some good drives when I needed to, good irons, good chips, and had some good lag putting.”

Sargent knocked off defending champion and world No. 2 Pierceson Coody 1 up in his morning semifinal. That and his appearance in the championship match might persuade the USGA to award Sargent one of the five remaining places in the U.S. Amateur, slated for a fortnight from now. He went into the Western Am 64th in the world amateur rankings. Thorbjornsen came in 71st.

“These’s nothing negative you’re going to take away from this week,” Sargent said. “There are only positives I can take. This is probably the best amateur field, and I still beat a lot of good players.”

Thorbjornsen collected a miniature of the George Thorne Trophy, the traditional gold medal, the medalist’s plate, and one more thing he might be too busy for. The Western Am winner also gets an exemption into the Evans Scholars Invitational on the Korn Ferry Tour. That’s usually on Memorial Day weekend, but Vanderbilt might be involved in NCAA Tournament play that week.

– Tim Cronin

Defender Coody, medalist Thorbjornsen into Western Amateur semis

Writing from Golf, Illinois

Friday, July 30, 2021

Champions don’t surrender easily. Pierceson Coody didn’t surrender at all on Friday.

Down two holes with six holes remaining in his Western Amateur quarterfinal match at the Glen View Club with Luke Potter, Coody, the defending champion, had to make something happen.

He did. Coody birdied the next two holes while Potter did not, briefly squaring the match, and while Potter took the lead with a par on the par-4 16th, Coody had made the point. He wasn’t going away.

Coody, the pride of Plano, Tex., and a Longhorn junior in the fall, would knock off Potter, an Arizona State freshman in the fall, in 20 holes to advance to the semifinals and an 8:12 a.m. match with Gordon Sargent of Birmingham, Ala.

The birdies on the 13th and 14th were important. The birdie on the 17th, a 24-foot downhill putt with what he estimated as eight feet of break, fell into the cup to keep him alive, as Potter subsequently matched with a 14-footer.

“That was a must-make,” Coody said on the driving range, to which he repaired after his match to straight out what he considered a flaw in his swing. “It was almost a 90-degree putt. It took the fall line and went right in the center with good pace.”

That forced the match to the last with Potter still 1-up, but he pulled his drive into the hazard to the left and couldn’t recover for better than a double-bogey, while Coody hit the fairway and green on the 450-yard par-4 in regulation. It was back to the first tee for sudden death, and after Coody and Potter halved the first hole, Coody hit the green on the par-3 second while Potter missed the putting surface. Potter couldn’t get up-and-down and Coody was through to the semis.

Coody won last year at Crooked Stick, and never went past the 18th hole, but was challenged in each match. He drew on that experience Friday.

“This was everything that I experienced last year,” Coody said. “That clutch factor, and a little bit of focus to close out these matches, is everything I drew in today.”

Coody would be the first defending champion to repeat since fellow Texas Longhorn Justin Leonard in 1992-93.

“That’s obviously the goal when you start the week, but it’s such a long, demanding week, you’re just trying to go one step at a time. As I said last week during the Sweet 16 dinner, every match and every day, things move so fast. Tomorrow’s going to go fast, but hopefully it’s because things are going my way.

“Stay in the moment and get to the back nine and see how it goes.”

Sargent beat David Ford of Peachtree Corners, Ga., 4 and 2 in that quarterfinal.

The other semifinal matches medalist Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Mass., against Austin Greaser of Vandalia, Ohio, at 8 a.m.

Thorbjornsen beat Maxwell Moldovan 2 and 1 in his morning Sweet 16 match, then took on Ricky Castillo, who had advanced to match play in the previous two Western Amateurs, and scored a 2 up victory against the plucky Californian.

Thorbjornsen, who won the Massachusetts Amateur 10 days ago, two-putted from 20 feet above the hole on the 18th green to clinch the win over Castillo, but the putt had to travel some 45 feet, curling to the right all the way, to end up near the cup.

“I’ve had two of those putts in the past three holes,” Thorbjornsen said. “It’s just picking out a spot and hitting it there.”

Castillo had a similar but longer putt, but sent it skittering by, which made Thorbjornsen’s putt that much easier to judge.

Greaser knocked off Brian Stark of Kingsburg, Calif., 2 and 1, to advance to the semis.

– Tim Cronin