Barker repeats in three-hole playoff

    By Tim Cronin

    “I can’t believe it! We tied!” Kelly Barker said when looking at her and Elizabeth Stalla’s scorecards Wednesday at Glenwoodie Golf Course in Glenwood. “Now what?”
    A sudden-death playoff, of course.
    Barker and Stalla posted 19-over-par 91s that took varying paths to the final number. They then embarked in an odyssey that was as dramatic and filled with more surprises and swings in momentum as any of the previous 15 playoffs in Challenge history since the championship’s inception in 1989.
    How’s this for a three-hole adventure over a pair of par 4s and a par 3: Barker, 5-6-8; Stalla, 5-6-9.
    This was scrappy rather than sloppy golf. When Barker tapped in on the 145-yard third hole for a quintuple-bogey 8 after dunking a pair of balls in the water of the par-3, she could claim the first repeat victory in the division awarding the Carol McCue Trophy since Angela Dehning won four in succession from 2003 to 2006.
    It was a wild way to all but conclude her junior career. The 18-year-old Palos Heights resident has graduated from Marist and will attend Benedictine University in Lisle in the fall.
    “I’m been trying to play as much as I can, but this is my first tournament of the summer,” Barker said after the 21-hole test.
    Her 6 on the par-5 18th hole forced extra holes when Stalla, going into her junior year at Evergreen Park, posted a double-bogey 7.
    Matching bogeys on the first playoff hole, Stalla two-putting from 15 feet and Barker matching her from 36 feet, moved the duo to the second, where a pond fronting the green makes approaches more than routine.
    Barker’s second from a perfect lie in the fairway landed in the grungy hazard and trickled back into the pond. Stalla hammered her approach from the left rough well over the back of the green.
    Since she didn’t clear the hazard, Barker had to hit her fourth across the pond, landing 25 feet past the cup. Stalla had a difficult third, a pitch to a green running away and with the pond behind it. And when she hit it, her heart was in her mouth.
    “It was a very tough shot; I couldn’t really see the green or anything,” Stalla said. “I was just praying that it didn’t go in the water. I’m just glad it stayed somewhere within play.”
    It stopped on the far fringe. From there, Stalla putted to within 18 inches, and after Barker two-putted for a double-bogey 6, looked to be able to wrap up the title with a tap-in for a 5.
    In a playoff, there are no easy tap-ins. Stalla’s putt horseshoed out. She, too, would make a 6.
    “It was not my best putt,” she deadpanned later. “I thought I had it. It was just my nerves getting to me. At least I knocked it in for the tie.”
    What followed was surreal. Both players splashed their tee shots into the pond on the forced-carry hole, and by a large margin. From the drop zone, Stalla airmailed an iron over the green and into the creek well behind it near the fourth tee.
    “My rangefinder kind of shot the tree behind instead of the actual pin,” Stalla said. “It read 115 instead of 67.”
    Advantage Barker? Only until she chunked her third into the pond again.
    “It might of been a combination of us being utterly exhausted, but we both wanted to keep pushing to see how far we could actually take it,” Barker said.
    What happened was Barker finally hitting dry land while Stalla was well short, and Barker eventually two-putting for a quintuple-bogey 8 from 20 feet. Stalla missed her tying putt and settled for a 9.
    “I was putting really, really well today,” Barker said. “I was happy with that.”
    And the victory. Stalla at least gets to try again next year.
    Danielle Collina of Palos Heights was third, firing a 107.

Steady Mikula wins Challenge Girls 13-15 bracket

    By Tim Cronin

    Jane Mikula will be an incoming freshman at Marist in the fall.
    She’ll be trying out for the RedHawks girls golf team with a trophy on her shelf.
    The 14-year-old Chicagoan grabbed the final trophy of Wednesday’s Illinois Golfer Challenge Junior Golf Championship, specifically the Virginia Van Wie Trophy, by scoring 35-over 107 to win the Girls 13-to-15 Division at Glenwoodie Golf Course in Glenwood.
    It wasn’t the lowest score for a Challenge winner, but it got the job done.
    To Mikula, the key was the start. Literally, the first swing in competition.
    “The first drive,” she said. “Starting off well helps.”
    With only two other competitors, she was able to keep tabs on Gianna Miritello and MacKenzie Zions, who also happen to be Marist-affiliated. Mikula beat Miritello by five strokes and Zions by seven.
    “Some of it was difficult,” Mikula said. “The back nine, I just had to stick with it.”
    She was able to negotiate Glenwoodie’s fabled finish after a quintuple-bogey 9 on the par-5 13th, three strokes ahead of Zions and four ahead of Miritello.
    Voila! A big trophy to signify her first win of the year following a camp for present and prospective Marist teammates and her regular Tuesday appearance in the Meadows of Blue Island Junior League.

IG Challenge Junior scoring

    27th Illinois Golfer Challenge Junior Golf Championship

    Glenwoodie Golf Course
    Glenwood, Illinois
    Wednesday, July 1, 2015

    Girls 13-to-15 Division
    5,378 yards, par 72

    Jane Mikula, Chicago            52-55–107
    Gianna Miritello, Chicago        53-57–110
    MacKenzie Zions, Chicago        55-57–112
    Emily Gillespie, Oak Park        WD
    Hannah Stubitsch, Chicago        WD

    Girls 16-to-18 Division
    5,378 yards, par 72

    Kelly Barker, Palos Heights        47-44–91
    Elizabeth Stalla, Evergreen Park    42-49–91
     Playoff: Barker 5-6-8, Stalla 5-6-9
    Danielle Collina, Palos Heights    52-55–107
    Anna Suppes, New Lenox        57-54–111
    Hanah Mastandrea, New Lenox    64-58–122
    Sara Sereda, Oak Forest        61-76–137

    Boys 13-to-15 Division
    6,023 yards, par 72

    Christian Snyder, New Lenox        38-38–76
    Jack Dykema, Oak Forest        37-41–78
    Kevin Healy, Evergreen Park        42-42–84
    Bryan Schied, Chicago        44-43–87
    Nathan Stieber, Lemont        45-43–88
    Reid Dahlkamp, Crown Point        44-46–90
    Hayden Henry, Homewood        47-43–90
    Michael Henze, Lemont        49-43–92
    T.J. Goetsch, Frankfort        43-49–92
    John Stillman, Oak Lawn        49-48–97
    Abdul Raoul, Chicago            52-49–101
    Nik Ginter, Crown Point        51-54–105
    Ryan Bonini, Orland Park        52-57–109
    Kyle Matre, Orland Park        54-60–114
    Jalen Carson, Matteson        57-57–114
    Connor Mason, Chicago Heights    62-54–116
    David Wolf, Chicago            64-54–118
    Brandon Beddigs, Park Forest    66-64–130
    Richard Scanland, Homewood    64-67–131
    Kevin Kampwirth, Tinley Park    74-77–151
    Keegan Adamson, Manteno        WD
    John Dillon, Tinley Park        WD

    Boys 16-to-18 Division
    6,023 yards, par 72

    Gehrig Hollatz, Lockport        37-34–71
    Michael Barber, Beecher        36-39–74
    Ryan Dahlkamp, Crown Point    39-39–78
    Ryan Wells, Dyer            40-41–81
    Nicholas Good, Dyer            38-44–82
    Brett Katalnic, Orland Park        40-42–82
    Shane Wright, Alsip            42-42–84
    Michael Stanton, Chicago        42-43–85
    Jake McFarland, Palos Park        43-43–86
    Jimmy Tomaszewski, Homer Glen    44-45–89
    Eric Niewinski, Oak Forest        42-47–89
    Thomas Rodriguez, Monee        47-43–90
    Justin Butler, Frankfort        47-43–90
    Dan Misheck, Oak Forest        47-45–92
    Kyle Kelly, Oak Forest        51-42–93
    Matt Casey, Oak Forest        43-53–96
    Matt Donley, Oak Forest        49-49–98
    Jason White, Mokena            45-53–98
    Travis Denton, Chicago        51-50–101
    David Kavalauskas, Oak Forest    52-51–103
    Michael Donald, Olympia Fields    57-54–111
    Tyler Copak, St. John            WD
    Jimmy Guldan, Tinley Park        WD

Billiter outlasts Brodell for match play title

Writing from Hawthorn Woods, Illinois

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Jim Billiter made a splash on his 29th birthday.

Then he won the 64th Illinois PGA Match Play Championship.

With a bogey.

In the final twist of a match with plenty of them, Billiter beat Brian Brodell for the title on the 21st hole – after hitting his tee shot on the par-3 third hole at Kemper Lakes Golf Club into the water.

He accomplished that with a bogey thanks to a saucy pitch shot to about seven feet from the cup, and courtesy of Brodell bouncing his 171-yard 7-iron tee shot over the green and then chunking his chip shot. That left him an even more treacherous par chip, which went 12 feet past the cup.

When Brodell failed to sink the bogey putt, Billiter stepped up and sank his.

Game over. Trophy presented. Winner delighted and dumbfounded.

“When I shanked it in the water, I thought it was over,” Billiter said of his full-out 8-iron. “But as soon as I saw him go long, I knew I had a chance. That’s a really delicate shot. I thought he’d hit it long and two-putt for a four.

“Then he gave me a little luck when he flubbed his first one. I figured we’d both make (four) and go to the next hole.”

Billiter’s 90-yard pitch from the drop area was sublime, and left him about seven feet. He drained it with brio.

“The whole day, I was nervous,” said Billiter, who closed out Prestwick’s Simon Allen 4 and 3 in the morning semifinal. “It’s emotionally taxing. Six rounds in three days, plus I played 36 on Monday (at two courses). It was exhausting.”

Billiter is an assistant at Merit Club in Libertyville. Brodell, 32, is in his first full year at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, after a stint as assistant men’s coach at Purdue following one at Wisconsin. He was sitting at the bar in the Kemper Lakes clubhouse after the match. There’s no truth to the rumor he ordered a boilermaker.

“That was a sad way to end it, and it would have been sad for him to end that way if he shanks it in the water and I (win),” Brodell said. “I had confidence in the chip, all of a sudden I flub-shank it, and the rest is history.”

It was a woulda, shoulda, coulda match – with the regulation 18 played in just 2 hours 40 minutes – from the start. Billiter was 2 up after two holes, but Brodell eagled the fourth hole and squared the match at the fifth.

Brodell led 1 up with a bogey at the eighth when Billiter doubled it – the reverse of the frantic finish – and then bogeyed the ninth, making the match square at the turn even though, with the usual concessions, Brodell had scored even par 36 to Billiter’s 3-over 39.

Brodell sank a 12-footer for birdie on the par-4 12th and remained 1-up until he bogeyed the par-4 16th. Billiter handed the lead back by plunking his tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th. Brodell smacked his tee ball to 15 feet and Billiter gave him the hole after hitting the back fringe with his third.

Billiter’s big tee shot at the last set up a 116-yard second, and he wedged it to eight feet above the hole.

“It was almost easier being down one, because I knew I could just swing hard, and the putt, I knew I could ram it in,” Billiter said.

After Brodell’s longer birdie putt missed, Billiter stepped up and sank his to force extra holes. Along the way, Billiter lipped out three putts that would have won holes. And Brodell was coming close from long range.

“They were all decent putts, so I was OK with that,” Billiter said of his close calls. “I had looks, but I was nervous and my putting was tentative all day.”

Routine pars on the first two holes brought them to the third tee, and the final surprise.

Brodell advanced to the title match with a 19-hole victory over the Glen View Club’s Kyle Bauer.

Billiter collected $4,000 for his effort. Brodell was awarded $2,000, as balm.

– Tim Cronin

Egan, McNair, Sobb elected to Illinois Golf Hall of Fame

Writing from Glenview, Illinois

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

A two-time U.S. Amateur champion, a lifetime professional dedicated to the charitable side of the game, and a seven-time winner of state major championships are the newest inductees to the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.

H. Chandler Egan, who won the U.S. Amateur in 1904 and 1905 along with a quartet of Western Amateurs, Leon McNair, whose devotion to golf charities and growing the game beginning at Fox Bend Golf Course, and Jim Sobb, a three-time winner of the Illinois PGA Championship and a four time Illinois Match Play champion, were elected as the 2015 class to the Hall of Fame at The Glen Club.

All three inductees easily surpassed the necessary two-thirds vote, 12 of 18, for induction. Egan led with 16 votes, McNair collected 14 votes, and Sobb won 13 votes.

Seven other candidates on the ballot failed to win induction. Their vote totals: Francis Peabody 10, Jerry Rich 10, Gary Hallberg 9, Harry Radix 7, Emil Esposito 3, Phil Kosin 3, William Langford 2. The 18 members of the committee cast 87 of a possible 90 votes. Members could vote for up to five of the 10 candidates on the final ballot,

Profiles of the inductees of the 16th Hall of Fame class, the 80th, 81st and 82nd individuals to be so honored:

H. Chandler Egan

Raised in Highland Park, H. Chandler Egan is the owner of one of the greatest amateur careers in American golf, Egan won the U.S. Amateur twice (1904-05), the Western Amateur four times (1902-04-05-07), as well as the Intercollegiate individual title in 1902. Runner-up in 1903 Western Amateur, 1904 Olympic Games at Glen Echo, 1909 U.S. Amateur. Jumped into course design after moving to Oregon, including a remodeling of Pebble Beach, improving 16 of the 18 holes in conjunction with Robert Hunter, in 1928, two years after he won the California Amateur on the course. Egan designed 18 courses, including Eugene Country Club. Five-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Amateur.

Leon McNair

A co-founder of the Illinois PGA Foundation, Leon McNair has been interested as much in the charitable side of the game as the playing side. He was head professional at Fox Bend, a course he helped build working for architect-builder Brent Wadsworth, from its opening in 1967 until his retirement in 2005. He’s a member of the board overseeing the First Tee of Aurora and Fox River Valley, and president of Wadsworth Golf Charities. He was Illinois PGA Section president in 1991-92. As a player, he was part of a Southern Illinois squad that won the 1964 NCAA College Division championship. Former member of the selection committee.

Jim Sobb

Jim Sobb, a Palatine native and two-time Division II All-America recipient at Western Illinois, has compiled one of the better playing records among current Illinois club professionals. He’s won three Illinois PGA Championships (1995-99-2000), and four Illinois Match Play titles (1990-93-95-2011). In the latter year, he also won the Illinois Senior Match Play, becoming the only player to sweep both match play crowns in the same year. Sobb won the player of the year title in 2000 and has won the senior player of the year title five times since 2007, including last year. He’s played in the Radix Cup 22 times, more than any other professional, and second only to Joel Hirsch’s 23 appearances, with a record of 13-5-4. A two-time winner of Illinois PGA professional of the year (1995-2000), he also collected the Bill Strausbaugh Award for service to his fellow pros in 2012.

This trio can best be described as a class of overachievers. Egan’s amateur playing record was outstanding, and his architectural resume has until now been largely unheralded. McNair has done it all in golf, from construction to running a first-class shop to innovating programs to bring people into the game and keep them there. And Sobb’s been the player you didn’t want to be up against for decades.

The induction ceremony is planned for October, the date yet to be selected.

– Tim Cronin