Hinsdale's Mac McClear went wire-to-wire to capture the 91st Illinois State Amateur Championship Thursday at Westmoreland Country Club.Day Three: Thursday, July 21, 2022
The 21-year-old rising senior at the University of Iowa, who earlier in the week called the state’s preeminent amateur competition one he’s “wanted to win for a long time, since growing up,” entered the 2022 iteration with battle scars. He missed the cut in his debut in 2017 as a 16-year-old and lost in a playoff in 2021 at Mistwood Golf Club.
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Rather than let these trials and tribulations define his State Am legacy, McClear used them to become stronger mentally and physically. This transformation ultimately led to him hoisting the Louis L. Emmerson Trophy on Thursday.
“It’s certainly special,” McClear said after finishing the 72-hole tournament -5 overall, three shots clear of runner up Tommy Kuhl (Morton). “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, so to finally get it done is a pretty good feeling.”
Had it not been for the lessons gained from his self-proclaimed “long journey,” McClear may have come up short again. His triumph was as tenuous as a wire-to-wire victory can be, with his enhanced fortitude required at multiple stages during Thursday’s 36-hole finale.
All was well following the first 18 holes, as McClear felt “in full control” following a third-round 68. The score matched Kuhl’s as the best in the morning and extended his four-shot second-round lead to five heading to the final 18.
Nine holes later, he was tied with Kuhl and only two shots ahead of Parker Wisdom (Bloomington) with nine holes remaining. McClear went out in 40, carding four bogeys on a stretch of holes that challenged him all week, while Kuhl turned in 35 to erase the deficit.
“Things got off the rails a little there,” McClear admitted.
Where an inexperienced or less confident player may have wilted, McClear thrived. Buoyed by his tournament mantra of “focus on what’s in front of you,” McClear responded with a stretch of holes he called “the best golf I played all tournament.” Birdies on Nos. 11, 14 and 15, combined with Kuhl bogeys on Nos. 10, 12 and 13, extended McClear’s lead to six strokes heading to the 16th tee.
Of course, no lifelong dream is worth attaining if it’s easy. Back in the driver’s seat, a perfect storm befell McClear on the 418-yard par-4 16th. A thinned drive into one of Westmoreland’s vexing fairway bunkers. A second shot that hit the lip and came back to his feet. A pulled approach. A chunked wedge. When all was said and done, it was a triple-bogey seven for McClear on a hole that Kuhl birdied, trimming the seemingly insurmountable advantage to two with two holes to play.
Perhaps the 16-year-old or 2021 versions of McClear would have viewed yet another setback as a sign that this particular enduring quest wasn’t meant to be. Not the forged-by-failure model, though.
“I could’ve been really rattled by that triple,” McClear admitted. “No. 17 is probably the toughest hole (it played as the third hardest for the week). That was definitely one where I needed to have my full attention and my full focus, which is what I was able to do.”
An up-and-down for par on No. 17 kept the lead at two. From the 18th tee box, McClear saw Kuhl double bogey the finisher, making for a comfortable walk up the finisher.
“At that point I knew – as long as I didn’t make another triple or something – that I was probably going to get it done,” McClear quipped. “No. 18 was a pretty nice walk there knowing that I had a little bit to work with.”
"I hung in there at the end,” said Kuhl, who ultimately finished three shots back of McClear at -2 overall. “I gave myself a chance at the last. Tried to get aggressive, but came up a little short. I did my best.”
The second-place finish is a career best for the rising fifth-year senior at Illinois, who has now placed in the top 20 all four times he has played in the State Am.
“I wanted this tournament,” said an emotional Kuhl. “It was one of my goals, but I got beat by the better player this week.”
McClear and Kuhl were the only players to finish in red numbers for the Championship, as gusty winds and vexing greens challenged the elite field all week. The quintet of Timmy Crawford (Arlington Heights), William Marshall (Elburn), Benjamin Sluzas (Lockport), Nick Tenuta (Mt. Prospect) and Wisdom finished tied for third at even par.
The top-20 and ties all earned exemptions into the 92nd Illinois State Amateur Championship, slated to be contested at Bloomington Country Club in 2023. Up next on the CDGA’s slate of championships is the 7th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship, Aug. 8-10 at Ridgemoor Country Club in Chicago.
Quotes of Note
Mac McClear on dueling Big Ten counterpart Tommy Kuhl…“Tommy is a great guy, good player too. Always enjoy playing against him or playing with him. I know how good he is, so to beat guys like that always means a lot.”
Tommy Kuhl on his third-round 68, which tied McClear for the lowest 18 Thursday morning…“I played really good in the morning. Just really solid, hit a lot of good golf shots. Made some good putts. A lot of good putts to keep me in the round. Just played really solid. Happy to put myself in position going into the second round, but that’s all I can do.”
Parker Wisdom on his takeaways from his T-3 finish…“A lot of positives, a lot of positives. I know I can hang with anyone, just have to keep the momentum going through the round because, just looking at the scores, I was 4-under after my first nine and the winner finished at 5, so, it was just that, I was so close. I’m a little disappointed by my finish. I hung in there, battled, but it was hard.”
Timmy Crawford on what made Westmoreland challenging throughout the event…“The wind was making it hard to hit fairways, so, when you’re coming into the greens from the rough, it’s pretty difficult to control the ball on the green here because they’re small and have a lot of slope on them. Being from the fairway was extremely a big advantage and that gets tougher when it gets windy.”
Ben Sluzas on what went right for him en route to a T-3 placing…“This week I was playing really good golf. I made a lot of birdies and had two eagles that were just crazy, but sadly I just had a lot more mistakes than I should have compared to the field and that let me finish where I was at. Honestly, it was a great week for me. I played great, the putter was good, I just, a couple more mistakes than I would’ve liked and I would’ve been a little closer to the top, but, overall, a great week.”
William Marshall on preparing for his appearance in the upcoming U.S. Amateur…“Yeah, that’s kind of what I focused on. Every shot I was just kind of like, this is just prep for the U.S. Am and it just helped me in knowing that I was going to play with the top amateurs in the world. It zoned me in for this event.”
Nick Tenuta on his mindset following his final amateur event…“The more competition you play in, the better, whether amateur or professional. That’s what fuels your desire to keep going, competition and that feeling you get. I just think I had a great week this week and I’m really excited to play in the Kentucky Open and the Illinois Open in the future.”
Jake Erickson on his State Am consistency…“I think it shows, for me, I’m proud that my game travels and I feel like I can play most setups and be in the hunt. I’m slightly disappointed, I obviously wanted to come out and contend a little bit more, but didn’t get off to that hot of a start with the putter and then, you know, Mac played well and didn’t really give back much until later in the day, so he made it tough on everybody. Good showing overall. I finished with a 71 in the wind there in the afternoon, so overall I’m happy with it.”
Jack Mortell on his dad (Mike) winning the State Am in 1990…“Leading up to this event he reminded me of it multiple times and just told me, ‘you gotta get your name on the trophy, you gotta get your name on the trophy.’ So, yeah, obviously I really want to do that and I’m going to remain an amateur, so I’m going to try as much as I can for however long I can compete out here. I’d love to do it and have another Mortell on there.”Notables
Day Two: Wednesday, July 20, 2022
“It was for sure good,” said McClear of his Wednesday round. “The greens are fast and firm, which makes it really hard when it starts to blow. I think putts were getting affected a little bit, which was certainly challenging. I hit a couple of real bad putts, you know, either the wind got them or I didn’t play enough wind. So that was kind of frustrating, but even par definitely felt pretty good out there today.”
Opening his day with a pair of bogeys on Nos. 2 and 7, McClear began to steer the ship and fired off birdies at Nos. 8, 11 and 14 to reach a tournament-low score of 7 under. One last bogey at the par-3 17th, which played as Westmoreland’s most difficult hole Wednesday, brought McClear down the home stretch at even par on the day, while sporting the 6-under par score he slept on.
His approach into the closing hole left the rising senior at the University of Iowa with a slippery downhill birdie bid. A cozy lag putt down next to the cup before placing his mark and cleaning up for par brought the 21-year-old into the clubhouse with a four-shot advantage over Parker Wisdom (Bloomington).
“I bogeyed No. 17,” said McClear following his round. “I actually had to two-putt from distance there, as well - I made like a six-footer for bogey - and then No. 18, that green there is pretty severe, so to two-putt from above the hole there was pretty nice.”
Wisdom, who faced the blustery conditions in both Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, faced more of a rollercoaster round featuring an eagle, five birdies and seven bogeys. Matching McClear’s 72 positioned the rising senior at Illinois State University into the final group, a place he has become familiar with, at 2 under overall.
“You know, I was so young and I didn’t actually know what was going on really,” said Wisdom of playing in the final group of the State Am at Cantigny Golf in 2019. “I just wanted to play well because I hadn’t even gotten to college yet.
“So, I think it just taught me that it’s anyone’s game and that I can win no matter what, and that you’re always in it.”
Tommy Kuhl (Morton) sits in solo third at 1-under overall. Timmy Crawford (Arlington Heights), Jake Erickson (Chatham) and Benjamin Sluzas (Lockport) round out the top 5 at even par halfway home.
Wednesday’s difficult day yielded just three under-par scores. Maxwell Scodro’s (Lake Forest) 1-under 71 was joined by the two most recent CDGA Amateur champions, Charlie Waddell (Chicago), who carded a 3-under 69, and Nick Tenuta (Mt. Prospect), who notched a 2-under 70, as the trio did everything they could to work their ways back to the top of the leaderboard. Tenuta enters Thursday’s final 36 holes T7 overall, while Waddell is T14.
Though under par, it was far from simple for the triumvirate.
“We’ll see what happens in the afternoon,” said Waddell after his bogey-free round in the morning. “It’s got to be gusting in the mid-30s right now and, where some of the [flag sticks] are, I mean, you could have a two-footer that you’re playing two-to-three balls outside of the hole just because it’s breaking that way and the wind’s going that way.”
“Rest, recovery and a lot of ice baths,” said Tenuta of his post-round plans. “A lot of time spent indoors. It’s a long grind and 36 holes tomorrow (Thursday) is a lot of golf in one day.”
In total, exactly 35 players made the 36-hole cut come Wednesday afternoon. Those finishing 7-under par or better will return after a night of rest and relaxation for what is set to be another 36 holes on Thursday, beginning at 7 a.m. McClear and Wisdom will begin their final day at 8:20 a.m. off Westmoreland’s first tee.
Quotes of Note
Tommy Kuhl on how tiring his Wednesday round was… “Exhausted, very exhausted. With the wind up, it was playing hard out there. The greens are fast, you know, and you really had to think your way around this place. If you weren’t on top of your game it was going to beat you up, and it did to me a couple times today, but I hung in there for the most part.”
Mac McClear on playing with Wisdom in the final group… “We’ve played a couple of times before, not a bunch, but I definitely know him, so I think we’ll have a good time tomorrow.”
Nick Tenuta on his approach in Wednesday’s second round… “It’s four rounds, I’ve got time, so I took a little bit more aggressive approach off the tee – hit a lot more drivers. I knew that with more drivers comes more birdies and more bogeys, but I made the birdies that I needed to.”
Andrew Thornton on his 15-shot difference between rounds one and two… “I only hit three fairways today. If I was missing the fairway, it was only two or three yards off, but it’s just so thick around here that it’s hard to judge if it’s going to fly the same as it usually does, so I struggled with that. I was grinding it through and then, the last four holes, just stupid, stupid mistakes.”
Charlie Waddell on his second-round 69… “Today was just solid. Drove it super well, was hitting the middle of the clubface on everything and made some good putts – just played really smart to the big side of the hole always. Happy to get in in red numbers for sure.”
Parker Wisdom on how he felt following his even-par round… “I felt good. I felt like the putts could drop. I just kept trying to hit the fairway and then just hit the green because it’s so windy that if you miss the green or the fairway it’s so hard to make a par.”
Notables
Day One: Tuesday, July 19, 2022
That, compounded with the disappointment of letting the Louis L. Emmerson Trophy just barely slip from your grasp, is plenty of pressure prior to what is considered the state’s premier test of amateur golf. McClear, however, chose to utilize the belief in his game gained from last year's performance to his advantage, carding a 6-under 66 in the opening round Tuesday at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette. He holds a one-shot lead over Andrew Thornton (Carbondale), a native Scot who competes collegiately for Southern Illinois.
Related Links: (Scoring) / (Photo Gallery) / (Round 2 Tee Times)“Maybe a little pressure [coming in], but also confidence knowing I have the game to compete in this tournament,” said the 21-year-old McClear, a rising senior at the University of Iowa. “Couldn’t really ask for anything better. Last year, I started with 7 under and I kind of wanted to match that, but 6 under will do just fine.”
Beginning his trek on Westmoreland’s back nine, McClear got off to “about the best start you could ask for” with an eagle on the downwind 528-yard par-5 11th, using just a 9-iron for his approach. A dropped shot on No. 12 was regained, and then some, with birdies on Nos. 15, 17 and 18 to turn in 32. The 2021 Big Ten Individual men’s golf champion then began a colorful back nine. Birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 were juxtaposed by bogeys on Nos. 3, 5 and 7. Throughout the ups and downs, McClear tried to maintain focus on what may lie ahead, not errors that had already happened.
“I really just tried to think next shot,” said McClear, who recently qualified for the 2022 U.S. Amateur. “That was something I wanted to work on this tournament, actually. I think I’ve been getting a little too caught up in score and what I had done on the previous hole. I was really just thinking about the next hole and doing the best I could from there.”
McClear will once again sleep on the opening-round lead, as he was tied with Farnam following play on Day One at Mistwood last summer. Still, 54 holes remain this week, an eternity in amateur golf time-keeping. That mindset of moving forward, not back, will surely be applied as the week progresses.
“Hopefully, we can do one better this year [than last],” he said. “That kind of hurt last year. [A] lot of golf left, so we’ll see what we can do.”
The entire field will return to Westmoreland for another 18-hole round on Wednesday. The field will then be cut to the low 35 and ties, who will advance to Thursday’s 36-hole finale.
Quotes of Note
Mac McClear on his familiarity with the original William Watson-designed Westmoreland…
“Played it on Sunday for the first time. I don’t really know much. I got a good practice round in, took a lot of notes, so I felt pretty comfortable out there still.”
Notables
Preview
When one thinks of the Illinois State Amateur Championship, widely considered the premier amateur golf event in the state, the legendary names who have graced the Louis L. Emmerson Trophy and the historic venues that have played host to it immediately come to mind. With all of that pondered, it may come as a shock that the championship has never before been contested on the North Shore, a notable hotbed for golf in the Chicago District.
That changes this year, as the 91st edition heads to Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, July 19-21. A strong field of elite amateurs will compete in the famed event, as they look to join the likes of Jim Frisina, Sr., Joel Hirsch and D.A. Points in Illinois golf glory.
FORMAT
The Illinois State Amateur is a three-day, 72-hole stroke-play event that will truly test the mind and body of every competitor. The entire field will play 18-hole rounds on Tuesday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 20, before a cut will be made to the low 35 and ties. The reward for advancing? 36 more holes on Thursday, July 21 to crown a champion.
ABOUT THE FIELD
This year's Championship field of 136 emerged from an initial pool of 577 registrants, the most since 2016. Sign up for any of the eight qualifiers held across the state in June was open to any Illinois resident with a Handicap Index® of 7.4 or below. In total, 114 players advanced to the Championship from those qualifiers, with 22 spots going to players who earned exemptions from past performances in the State Am and other CDGA-administered tournaments.
Related Links: (Full Preview) / (2022 Field) / (Round 1 Tee Times) / (Round 2 Tee Times) / (Chicago District Golfer Preview) / ("By the Numbers" Infographic) / (2021 Recap) / (Event History)
Championship Information
The Illinois State Amateur Championship, conducted annually by the Chicago District Golf Association, was first played in 1931 at Quincy Country Club. Initially conducted as match play until 1963, the event is now a 72-hole stroke play competition contested over three days. It is widely considered the premier amateur golf event in the state. Since the Championship was first conducted at stroke play, 46 different golfers have hoisted the Louis L. Emmerson trophy, several of which are current or former members of the PGA Tour. Crystal Lake native and Saint Mary’s College golfer Ethan Farnam has captured back-to-back State Am crowns in 2019 and 2021, as the 2020 playing of the event was canceled due to COVID-19.
Qualifying
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