Hinsdale's Mac McClear claimed his second-consecutive Illinois State Amateur Championship,Day Three: Thursday, July 20, 2023
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Roller coasters aren't for everyone. Count Mac McClear (Hinsdale) among those who aren't big fans.
That's what made his second-straight Illinois State Amateur Championship so enjoyable.
The University of Iowa rising senior surged to the lead with a blistering start to his fourth round Thursday afternoon at Bloomington Country Club and went on cruise control from there, turning a one-shot deficit into a five-stroke win in the 92nd iteration of the state's preeminent amateur event. McClear carded a bogey-free 7-under 63, the low round of the tournament, to finish five shots clear of home club hopeful T.J. Barger (Bloomington) at 11-under overall.
Related Links: (Scoring) / (Photo Gallery) / (All Event Photos)
This was in stark contrast to McClear's triumph last year at Westmoreland Country Club in which he nearly lost a five-shot final-round lead thanks to a 77.
"This one was much less stressful," McClear said with a chuckle. "Last year was a total roller coaster, which was fun but also not fun at the same time.
"This year, I felt really comfortable throughout the whole day and cruised there through the end."
McClear entered the tournament saddled with the expectation that comes with the status of defending champion, which admittedly made the event's early stages uncomfortable. McClear's play was steady, but unspectacular, as he opened with rounds of 69 and 68 in comparison to his competitors' 64s and 65s.
He entered Thursday's 36-hole finale four strokes behind leader (and former high school teammate at Hinsdale Central) Joshua Kirkham. Halfway into Thursday's marathon, the deficit had been trimmed to one, except McClear was now chasing Barger following his blistering 64.
McClear remained in second for all of two holes of the final round, as he carded birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 to leapfrog Barger. Finally grasping the consistency with his driver and approach shots that had been eluding him for three rounds, McClear blitzed Bloomington's front nine, notching five birdies and noting that it "could have been eight," maligning three near misses on the greens.
"I went in with the same gameplan that I had the rest of the rounds, but I was finally able to execute the shots," McClear said.
"It could've been a really special start, but I was still happy with the 5-under through eight, and then I just cruised in."
Barger couldn't recapture the magic of his third-round 64, turning at 1-under for the round and three shots back of McClear.
"Mac played pretty well," Barger said. "I was following the leaderboard going to the back nine, so I knew I had to make birdies, but nothing was falling."
As Barger shot an even-par 35 coming in, McClear managed the course, and his lead, to perfection. He simultaneously played smart and aggressively, attacking the sub-400-yard 17th and 18th holes en route to punctuating birdies on both.
"No matter what you're doing, you have to stick to your gameplan," McClear said. "If you're playing the first round, your strategy should be the same as the last hole, no matter if you're winning by one, two or three."
Set to embark on his final season at Iowa this fall, it's a strong possibility that the two-time Big Ten champ turns professional rather than going for the first three-peat in event history. If this is the case, Thursday marks a triumphant conclusion to a State Am career that began in 2017 when McClear was just 16.
"When I was younger, I always aspired to win this tournament," McClear said. "All the good players of Illinois have won this tournament. Back then, I knew my game wasn't good enough to win then, but I knew if I put in the work and kept doing what I was doing, I would be able to do it in the future."
McClear's future continues to be one that looks to go nowhere but up. A steady climb. No sudden dips. Just how McClear prefers it.
McClear and Barger were two of just five players to finish in red numbers for the Championship. Tyler Isenhart (Geneva) came in solo third at 3-under, while Mason Minkel (Pekin) and Marcus Smith (Rockford) tied for fourth at 1 under.
The top 20 and ties all earned exemptions into the 93rd Illinois State Amateur Championship, slated to be contested at Urbana's Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois in 2024. Up next on the CDGA's slate of championships is the 8th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship, Aug. 7-9 at Glen Flora Country Club in Waukegan.
Quotes of Note
T.J. Barger (Bloomington) on his mindset down the stretch..."I saw [Mac] was up four, so I knew I had to play a little more aggressive going into the back nine. But, you have to stay below the hole on this course, or else you're going to leave yourself with a possible three putt. I didn't give myself many birdies opportunities inside 20 feet. I was just lagging the ball really well, making my pars."
Tyler Isenhart (Geneva) on Bloomington playing more difficult in the afternoon as the wind picked up..."It played much tougher. No. 9 for example...the tees were pushed back and it was into the wind. I'd say at least a couple shots harder this afternoon."
Mason Minkel (Pekin) on what keyed his T-4 finish..."Positioning off the tee and getting it to the right part of the green. I didn't make many putts this week, but I can't complain with how I hit it.
Marcus Smith (Rockford) on his T-4 finish in his first State Am appearance..."I feel like I gave it all I got, so I am pleased with that. My little brother came to caddie for the 36-hole day, so I really appreciate that. Overall, it was good. It's a really nice course, the greens were really nice."
Mike Henry (Bloomington), 55 on the final day playing in his home town and finishing T7..."I was pretty patient all day. My swing was a little tired, to be honest with you. I scrambled pretty well. I kind of got it back together. My caddie pumped me up a little bit.
It was great to play in front of the hometown fans. They're all very cordial. The club has always been tremendous to me, even though I'm not a member. It's nice to play well in front of them just like I did in 2018. I didn't quite get the T-4 finish [as in 2014], but a top-10 nonetheless is pretty solid."
Timmy Crawford (Arlington Heights) on his final-round 66, which moved him up to a tie for 11th after making the cut on the number..."It seems like I've been playing good golf recently when I'm frustrated, and I played poorly again this morning. I was trying to turn in a good score and finish the golf tournament. I felt pretty good going into this morning, and I didn't execute well, so this afternoon, I put a lot of pressure on myself to play good golf."
Parker Wisdom (Bloomington) on playing in the State Am at his home club..."I'm so grateful and overwhelmed with joy with all of the people that came out, supported and gave away their time to come watch us play. The CDGA does a great job setting it up here and the course was in great shape. It's cool walking down the fairways, just growing up here and playing in this event, it's all coming around."
Day Two: Wednesday, July 19, 2023
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Golf is typically known to be a tough challenge mentally, as many of the best who have ever played the game attribute some of their strongest play to staying mentally composed. That adage proved to remain true for Joshua Kirkham (Hinsdale) Wednesday at Bloomington Country Club in the second round of the 92nd Illinois State Amateur Championship.
Kirkham, who carded an opening-round 68 and entered day two four shots behind the leader, fired a second-round 65 to obtain a three-shot lead ahead of Thursday's 36-hole finale. The strength of his game currently? Staying mentally tough and in the moment. A process the fifth-year senior at Northern Illinois University admits doesn't always come easily.
Related Links: (Scoring) / (Photo Gallery) / (Round 3 Tee Times) / (Round 4 Tee Times)
"Yeah, I mean, it's so easy to get result oriented, if you will," said Kirkham, "but something that my coach and I really worked on is just being process oriented and staying in the moment. It's what I preach. I think it's the most important part of the game and it's definitely my weakness. If I can make it a strength, it's usually when the best skills come out."
His best skills were surely on display Wednesday.
The 22-year-old began his second round in the morning wave on Bloomington's par-4 10th hole. Four pars to begin his round steadied the ship before everything started to click, as Kirkham eagled the par-5 14th to reach 4-under on the tournament.
"If you get it down the left side into that first cut…I wasn't necessarily trying to do it, but you can get it into that first cut and on a flat spot," said Kirkham of the eagle. "If you're anywhere else it's kind of on a side slope, and I got lucky enough that I got into that first cut and then I had a jumper. I was able to hit pitching wedge, I had like 161, hit it to like 15 feet and knocked it in."
A birdie to follow at No. 15 before three-consecutive pars turned Kirkham at 32, matching his first-round score on Bloomington's back nine.
His lone blemish of the day occurred at No. 1, a hole he has now bogeyed in each round. A triad of birdies at Nos. 4, 6 and 8 brought Kirkham into the clubhouse at 65, the lowest round of the day.
Following Kirkham on the leaderboard are Thomas Baker (Rockford) at 4-under and a quintet others at -3.
Baker, whose second-round scorecard wasn't necessarily as par-filled as Kirkham's, fired a second-straight 68 Wednesday. Three birdies, three pars and three bogeys on the front nine resulted in an opening 35 for the rising-senior at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. An eagle on No. 14 and a pair of birdies and bogeys after the turn brought Baker home at 2-under.
"It was a great day," said Baker after his round. "I couldn't have asked for better conditions today. It was a little up-and-down for me; I made a few birdies where I wanted to, but also made a lot of bogeys on top of that. But, it was a great day. We had a good group, had a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Also looking forward to tomorrow is defending champion Mac McClear (Hinsdale) who, admittedly without his best stuff and even with some of the "worst shots" he's maybe hit all year, finds himself back within the top-5 as one of the five tied for third at -3; a position that Kirkham, a high school teammate of McClear at Hinsdale Central, anticipated before the championship began.
"It's always good if you beat Mac," Kirkham said. "To start the week, I texted my dad and said, 'If I beat Mac this week, I win,' so he's always a tough opponent. And, yeah, I mean winning your State Amateur is kind of everything you dream of growing up playing golf and playing against these kids every day and, yeah, it'd be awesome."
Kirkham is halfway from turning a life-long dream into reality.
Joining McClear in a tie for third and rounding out the top 5 are 55-year-old Mike Henry (Bloomington), Charlie Kulwin (Chicago), Mason Minkel (Pekin) and Justin Schwab (Beach Park).
Kirkham and the 35 others who made the cut at +3 or better have 36 holes to play on Thursday before a champion is crowned at Bloomington. Players are set to begin play at 7 a.m. off both the front and back nines. The final pairing of Kirkham and Baker are scheduled to tee off at 8:21 a.m. in the morning and 12:51 p.m. in the afternoon.
Quotes of Note
Joshua Kirkham (Hinsdale) on transferring from Bradley to Northern Illinois ... "Actually Jeff came out today, Jeff Roche, my head coach at Bradley, so it was great having his support and he was more of a best friend than he was a coach to me for four years. It was tough moving on, but, you know, getting to play at Northern [Illinois], playing Rich Harvest Farms, a top-40 schedule and show me what it's like taking that next step into professional golf, it's kind of what I needed for my fifth year."
Thomas Baker (Rockford) on playing Nos. 14 and 15 at 5-under through two rounds, including an eagle on the par-5 14th Wednesday ... "I mean, right there is honestly where you should score. Especially that par 5, if you hit it in the fairway it's a little mid-iron or long-iron in there, so if you can attack that and get that on the green, you're pretty much good to go."
Defending champion Mac McClear (Hinsdale) on his mindset going into Thursday four shots back ... "It's 36 holes tomorrow, it's a lot of golf. I've been in the position before, obviously, so I know what it feels like and four shots over 36 holes is not very many shots. I'm just going to stick to my gameplan and see if I can execute a little better tomorrow and hopefully it'll work out."
Mike Henry (Bloomington) on competing in the State Am as a 55-year-old ... "The last five years or so I've still been trying some U.S. Am qualifiers and State Ams, so it's not like I haven't played with these guys in 20 years; I play with them all the time. If I have four more clubs than them into a green, it doesn't mean they're going to beat me on the hole."
Justin Schwab (Beach Park) on how the course played different in Round 2 vs. Round 1 ... "[The course] definitely dried out. The fairways were running out a little bit more, it wasn't just hitting and sitting. You definitely had to figure out exactly where you wanted to hit it, because it's rolling another 10-15 yards compared to yesterday."
Charlie Kulwin (Chicago) on his 3-under 67 in Round 2 ... "Obviously whenever you shoot 67, you're playing solid. The State Am's always a big deal, being a rookie in it, playing this well, I'm proud of myself and I feel like I've had a good tournament regardless of tomorrow."
Will Troy (Naperville) on playing in State Ams ... "I just think my confidence at this point in the summer is really good. I've had the whole summer to work on my game and get it as good as I possibly can. I'm always super excited for this event being the home-state Amateur Championship, it's always exciting to play in, so I just always look forward to this one."
Timmy Crawford (Arlington Heights) on closing his round with four birdies to make the cut ... "I looked at the scoreboard and I knew I had to make probably three, maybe four birdies coming in. I had good looks on Nos. 2 through 5 and then made a short putt on No. 6. I just told myself, 'You gotta birdie the last three,' and luckily I made three really nice mid-range putts. I hadn't made any all day, so it was really nice to see those go in. I was happy with how it finished."
Notables
Day One: Tuesday, July 18, 2023
"None."
Despite the admitted inexperience, the 20-year-old utilized a scintillating flat stick and momentum on the back nine to card a 6-under 64 in the opening round. He holds a one-shot lead over Josh Anderson (Saint Joseph) and is two ahead of Justin Schwab (Beach Park), with a formidable field close behind.
Related Links: (Scoring) / (Photo Gallery) / (Round 2 Tee Times)
"I played in the [High School] State Championship at Weibring [Golf Club, in nearby Normal] twice, but other than that, I haven't been down here to play golf," stated Stewart, a rising junior at Western Kentucky University. "I like it. I typically like playing on tree-lined courses."
Competing in his first State Am, Stewart began his round like most newcomers - with a bit of nerves. Fighting a bit of waywardness off the tee early, he picked up his first red figure in the form of a birdie on par-4 second. The good mojo was counterbalanced just two holes later with a bogey on the par-4 fourth. Welcome to the Illinois State Amateur.
Stewart righted the ship, however, with a birdie on the uphill par-3 eighth, one of 12 to be carded on the hole by day's end. He turned at 1-under, still firmly amongst the obscurity of a packed leaderboard early on in a premier tournament. By the end of his back nine, though, that field was put on notice.
"Then I just started rolling some putts in," said Stewart. "I putted really well today. I love the greens. I was hitting good putts all day. I was just trying to keep it around the cup."
That strategy paid dividends, and then some. The slender Stewart fired birdies on Nos. 11 and 12. Then came the big move - an eagle on the 481-yard par-5 14th. With the help of "three really solid golf shots," Stewart carded one of just six eagles on the hole on Tuesday. He maintained that momentum gained, with two more birdies on Nos. 15 and 16. Despite a bogey on the last, he entered the clubhouse with an early lead that withstood the afternoon wave.
"I just started hitting it closer," said Stewart of his back-nine charge. "I started to play a little bit better. No. 14 was probably a highlight...just tried to keep it going. Keep the nerves out of it and just play."
Sitting just one back of Stewart, the aforementioned Anderson's start in the afternoon was fast and furious, as his approach shot on the 389-yard par-4 second jarred the cup for an eagle, leaving some cleanup in its wake. The 39-year-old St. Bonaventure Athletics Hall of Fame inductee had just one hiccup on his way in, a bogey on No. 14, to position himself within reach to chase Stewart.
"I did not look at a leaderboard all day long - just keep hitting greens, you're putting really well and you're going to score well," said Anderson of his thought process. "Go one shot at a time is what I try to do and I'll see where we end up at the end of the day."
Following the completion of the first round, 17 players sit in red figures, including defending champion Mac McClear (Hinsdale), who carded a 1-under 69. The entire field will return to Bloomington for Wednesday's second round. A cut will then be made to the low 35 and ties, with those players returning for Thursday's 36-hole finale. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Quotes of Note
Josh Anderson (Saint Joseph) on his eagle on No. 2..."I'd be lying if I said I was going at that flag. I had 135 yards out of the first cut on the left side there and I aimed at a window in the building behind the green and tugged it, caught a flier, and it dunked the pin."
Mac McClear (Hinsdale) on his opening round 69.."It wasn't my best stuff today. I made a couple of unnecessary bogeys out there, but for the most part I hit it pretty good, rolled in a couple putts. It could have been worse, so I'll take it."
Justin Schwab (Beach Park) on his stretch of seven-consecutive birdies..."Honestly, I hit a really bad tee shot on No. 9 and then put it to, like, six feet and made the birdie and that kind of jump started the round for the back. I knew there was a ton of birdies on the back that I could get after, so if I just kept staying mentally positive and just rolling it, giving myself putts, who knows what would've happened? I had no idea I was going to have seven in a row, but the more opportunities I could give myself, the putter is bound to get hot eventually."Thomas Baker (Rockford) on his final-hole birdie to cement a 2-under 68..."That was great. I was walking up and telling my dad, 'It would be great to end on a good note.' I had just made a couple bogeys coming in and it felt good to roll in a putt on the last."
Dylan Drogemuller (Frankfort) on his ace on the 170-yard par-3 eighth..."It was the eighth hole and it was uphill, probably three or four yards, into the wind a little. I just took a little cut-7-iron and it just one-hopped in...The ballmark was right in front of the hole and I went up there and it was in. It was my first one, too, so it was awesome."
Mason Minkel (Pekin) on carrying on his father's (Curtis Minkel, 2002 Illinois State Mid-Amateur winner) legacy.."It's amazing, honestly. He was actually here today watching, he's just kind of a little bit jealous that he wasn't playing, but he enjoys it too."
T.J. Barger (Bloomington) on playing on his home course..."It's great that I know my way around the course and it was also great having a lot of my friends come out to support me. I know everybody at this club, so the support out here is pretty nice."
Mike Milligan (Bloomington) on his 79 at 70 years old, 49 years after winning the State Am in 1974..."They moved No. 9 up to a par 4 and I needed a par, I haven't parred that all year from those tees. I needed that to shoot my 79, which was beyond a dream goal for me from these tees, with these kids, you know, after my cancer when I didn't even know if I would play again, and I was able to get out here. I've been working all year to try to gain some length. I'm 100 yards behind these kids, but it was a treat to play with these youngsters and for me to shoot 79, which I needed that five-footer on the last hole, was just...I just think of myself in that chemo bed, and to come to here was so rewarding and I'm just so blessed."
Marcus Smith (Rockford) on his mindset heading into Round 2..."I'll take that there's going to be opportunities out there, just stay below the hole because if you even hit an uphill putt too hard and have a downhill slider, it's lowkey scary, so just have to stay below the hole as much as I can."
Notables
Preview
The 110th season of amateur golf championships conducted by the CDGA heads back downstate this July for the 92nd Illinois State Amateur Championship, July 18-20, at Bloomington Country Club in Bloomington. The week is set to consist of 72 holes of stroke play, 36 of which will be played Thursday, July 20 after the field is cut to the low 35 and ties.
Schedule
Tuesday, July 18
The entire field will play 18 holes of stroke play.
Wednesday, July 19
The entire field will play 18 holes of stroke play, with a cut to the low 35 and ties occurring after Round 2 is complete.
Thursday, July 20
The low 35 and ties will play 36 holes of stroke play.
CLICK HERE or the image to the right for a full preview and notes package.
Related Links: (Full Preview) / (2023 Field) / (Round 1 Tee Times) / (Round 2 Tee Times) / (2022 Recap) / (Chicago District Golfer Preview) / (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. Hinsdale native and University of Iowa golfer Mac McClear captured his first State Am crown in 2022.
Qualifying
Chicago District Golf Association
11855 Archer Avenue
Lemont, IL 60439
Copyright © 2024 The Chicago District Golf Association. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
