Day Three: Thursday, July 18, 2024
Twenty-five feet between him and a second eagle of the round, Smith found the bottom of the cup once again at the par-5 11th to take the lead by one. It pushed him to -7 on the round at the time.
Smith crossed over Stone Creek Boulevard one last time to card yet another birdie at No. 14 to reach 8-under par for the final round and 10 under on the Championship. His lone bogey of the final 18 came at No. 17 to send him to the scoring table to await his fate at -9 overall.
“I kept myself pretty well informed with how he was playing,” Grieve said of Smith’s charge with a chuckle. “It’s tough to see that ahead of you and know you have to match it. Especially seeing your lead slip away as you’re still making birdies, it’s a tough pill to swallow, but I knew there was a lot of golf left … Those last few are pretty treacherous.”
With the two both in at 9-under par, the Illinois State Amateur Championship turned to a three-hole aggregate playoff for the first time since 2021.
Keeping with the script, Grieve didn’t falter watching Smith gain a one-shot lead with a lengthy birdie make at the first playoff hole, Atkins’ par-4 seventh. Two more pars at Nos. 8 and 9 bested Smith, as the latter ran out of steam and carded two double bogeys coming in.
Finally, he got it done.
With the win, Grieve earned a trip to the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship, Aug. 12-18, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota – a state he’s much looking forward to returning to.
“I’m thrilled,” he said of his upcoming trip to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. “Everyone on my dad’s side lives up there, he grew up there and my grandparents are from there, so this is one I wanted to make it to. I told all of my buddies, ‘This is the week where I’m going to get it done,’ and I’m just thrilled to make that happen.”
Calling his shot, he has now etched his name next to a bevy of worthy champions.
Joining Grieve and Smith in the top five and ties were T.J. Barger (Bloomington) and Jake Wiktor (River Forest), both T3 at 2 under, and Bradley Goldstein (Highland Park), Justin Schwab (Beach Park) and Parker Wisdom (Bloomington), who closed in a tie for fifth at 1-under par.
While Grieve is off competing in a national championship, the CDGA will turn to the 9th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship, Aug. 12-14, at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club in Rockford.
Day Two: Wednesday, July 17, 2024
None of them were Pierce Grieve (Lake Forest). Nonetheless, it’s the lanky lefty who holds a one-shot lead at 4-under through 36 holes of the 72-hole championship, as a second-straight 70 put him one stroke clear of a five-deep chasing pack.
Related Links: (Scoring) / (Photo Gallery) / (Round 3 Tee Times) / (Round 4 Tee Times) / (Pierce Grieve Interview) / (Sizzle Reel)Starting on the back nine, a birdie on the par-5 11th was immediately negated by back-to-back bogeys, leaving the West Virginia University rising senior to turn at 37. However, the brute who defines his game as “hit it as hard as I can go find it,” didn’t let the middling stretch derail his gameplan.
“It was tough out there,” Grieve admitted. “The wind kind of switches every hole, which is definitely a little tricky. You just have to stay patient and I think I did a good job of that today. I stayed out of trouble.”
Three straight birdies on Nos. 3-5 vaulted Grieve up the leaderboard. He drove the green on the 350-yard third and two-putted to kickstart the torrid stretch before “throwing a dart” to short-range on the 175-yard par-3 fourth. Another three on the brawny 450-yard fifth hole concluded the surge.
Grieve had “pretty much zero” experience with the Atkins layout before arriving for his first round on Tuesday, but he likes what he has seen and continues to fine-tune his approach.
“I think it fits my game great,” Grieve said. “It’s pretty wide open and long.
“[Tuesday] was my first day seeing [the course], so I feel like I played a lot more conservative,” he added. “After playing it, I was able to get a little more aggressive [today] at a lot of targets.”
Conversely, T.J. Barger (Bloomington), last year’s State Am runner up, considers Atkins “one of [his] home tracks.” Barger, who played one season at Illinois before transferring to Illinois State University, estimates he has played “25-40” rounds at Atkins. He utilized that familiarity - and a change in putter - to bounce back from an opening round 71 with five birdies through his first six holes on Wednesday to attain the -6 landmark.
“I think I had like two one-putts [Tuesday],” Barger lamented about his first round. “I hit a lot of greens, hit the ball really well, and just couldn’t make any putts inside 8-10 feet. The putter I put in the bag today, I’ve used in the past, so I’m comfortable with it.”
A double on the par-4 eighth derailed Barger’s momentum. However, a birdie at the last cemented his 2-under 70 and a spot in the final pairing for Thursday’s last two rounds, during which he hopes to rely on his familiarity to one-up last year’s second-place finish.
“I think I still have the advantage even though all of these guys have seen it already,” Barger said. “[Thursday], I have to come in with the gameplan I had today - just fire at pins.”
Tied with Barger at -3 entering Thursday’s finale are Ben Sluzas (Lockport), Quinn Clifford (Chicago), Marcus Smith (Rockford) and Mason Lewis (Edwardsville). One shot further back is Carter Stevenson (Marquette Heights), who followed up his opening-round 67 with a 3-over 75 on Wednesday. First-round leader Jason Gordon (Northbrook) sits at even-par after a 6-over 78 negated his 66 from Tuesday.
In total, 36 players made the cut, which came at +4.
The final pairing of Grieve and Barger will tee off at 8:21 a.m., with their second round set to commence at 12:51 p.m.
QUOTES OF NOTE:Pierce Grieve (Lake Forest) on how the course played differently Tuesday to Wednesday…
“We’re definitely getting a little bit more roll out in the fairways and the greens were a bit quicker, especially downhill. I think it made it a little bit shorter, but definitely trickier on the surfaces.”
TJ Barger (Bloomington) on his 18th-hole birdie…
“Coming off 17, making a bogey, I hit a pretty unfortunate shot into the left bunker and gave myself a hard bunker shot. Going into 18, I hit a great shot off the tee that led me to a nice, easy wedge. I’m always comfortable having a wedge in my hand, and I hit one inside almost gimme range. That felt great.”
Ben Sluzas (Lockport) on combining with playing partner Barger to card nine birdies on the front nine…
“We were definitely feeding off each other. I’ve known him for a long time. It’s fun to be playing good golf with him and keep the energy going.”
Mason Lewis (Edwardsville) on how the back nine played differently than the front…
“With the wind today, you had some holes on the front nine, like No. 1, which is still a short par 5 even though it was into the wind, and then six is gettable. Three is gettable. There are just a lot of birdie holes on the front. It seemed like the way the wind was, there weren’t as many on the back. It seemed like on the back, you have to think your way through it a little better, not just driver on every hole.”
Mike Milligan (Bloomington) on playing in the State Am 50 years following his 1974 triumph…
“This will be my last State Amateur. Fifty years since I’ve won it, so they said, ‘Well why don’t you play in your 50th anniversary?’ So, I’m here. It’s tough…these kids hit 100-125 yards past me, or more. I just love the game. It’s just a great game and I enjoy playing.”
NOTABLES
Day One: Tuesday, July 16, 2024
“I see a red door and I want it painted black.”
Following the first round of the 93rd Illinois State Amateur Championship at Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois, Jason Gordon (Northbrook) may be humming a slightly different variation.
"I see an Illini orange door and I want it painted Maize."
The rising sophomore at the University of Michigan certainly walked to the beat of his own drum Tuesday amidst windy and moist course conditions, carding a bogey-free 6-under 66 to hold the lead. He sits a stroke ahead of Carter Stevenson (Marquette Heights), two in front of Marcus Smith (Rockford) and three clear of John Ramsey (Glenview).
Related Links: (Scoring) / (Photo Gallery) / (Round 2 Tee Times) / (Gordon Interview) / (Stevenson Interview)The 19-year-old began his round as part of the afternoon wave with a quality tee shot on Atkins’ opener. He then ripped a 270-yard 3-wood pin high and two-putted for birdie. More red figures followed on the par-4 third and par-3 fourth holes. And like he did on the opener, Gordon birdied the par-5 sixth. With a four-under-through-six-hole start, he had put the field on notice in his State Amateur debut. Internally, however, he maintained a calm and centered mindset.
“It was weird,” remarked Gordon. “It was so windy to start the round, that I was just trying to take it one shot at a time and I was so focused on the next shot, that I didn’t really think about it [the start] until the wind kind of died down on No. 14, 15. At that point, I was trying to keep my foot down.”
Those aforementioned windy conditions, with steady 20-mile-an-hour-plus gusts throughout the morning and early afternoon, made the lengthy layout play even more challenging. Pair that with a drenching of rain overnight, and Gordon’s start seemed all the more impressive.
Prior to the wind dying down, Gordon pierced a 4-iron through the breeze on the par-3 ninth to 20 feet and sank the putt. He again took advantage of a par 5, with yet another four on No. 11. While the start was all anyone could have asked for, Gordon was more focused on the finish, as he has recently struggled to culminate rounds.
“Recently, I’ve kind of had trouble finishing off rounds,” admitted Gordon. “[I’m] proud of myself that I was able to stick with it and continue to make birdies and keep my foot down.”
Nos. 17 and 18 really tested that mental fortitude, as he found what he called “terrible positions” on his approaches. Recalling hours of practice on the chipping and putting green at his home course, The Glen Club, Gordon was able to save par on both to finish off the bogey-free 6-under round.
“That was definitely in the back of my mind,” said Gordon of a potential rocky finish. “The lies are so tight out here, and it’s a little wet, which makes it more difficult. Like I said, keep going through my routine and sticking to my process and letting the result happen instead of forcing it. The bad swings are going to come.”
As Gordon sits atop the leaderboard, a host of players lurk, looking to find some of that good play during Wednesday’s second round. Stevenson, a rising sophomore at Bradley University, etched four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn to catapult himself into the clubhouse lead following the morning wave at 5 under. Following his T-4 finish last year at Bloomington Country Club, Smith, a rising senior at Howard University, utilized five birdies to finish at 4 under. Representing the mid-amateurs, Ramsey carded a 3-under 69 with four birdies to just one bogey.
Following Tuesday’s action, 14 players sit in red figures, including 2023 event runner-up T.J. Barger (Bloomington), who fired a 2-under 70. The entire field will return to Atkins on Wednesday for the second round before a cut is made to the low 35 and ties. The remaining players will compete in Thursday’s 36-hole finale. Tee times commence at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.Jason Gordon (Northbrook) on how junior and college golf prepared him for a tournament like the State Am … “I played some pretty tough golf in junior golf and that’s prepared me, along with college events that I’ve played in. The last college event I played in, I played really well. That was at a course kind of like this.”
Carter Stevenson (Marquette Heights) on his somewhat mundane start to the day … “This round was a little weird. I got here and was like “whatever.” I didn’t feel great, I’ve been battling hip injuries for a while and I was just trying to control that. I was just trying to get through the round as best as I could. Minimize the strokes so I could save myself a little bit of damage. Other than that, I just tried to play golf – didn’t pay attention to the score and just kept going.”
Marcus Smith (Rockford) on playing alongside 71-year-old Mike Milligan, who captured the 1974 State Am title … “I thought it was cool. I felt like I was playing with my grandfather. I used to play with him because he’s the one who got me started. It was cool vibes all day. He was always in a good mood.”
John Ramsey (Glenview) on Atkins’ layout … “It sets up really well for my ball flight and distance. There’s fairway bunkers that I can carry it over, or if they’re out there, these college kids are driving it into them and I’m short of them.”
NOTABLES:
The 111th season of amateur golf championships conducted by the CDGA slate heads back downstate for the 93rd Illinois State Amateur Championship, July 16-18, at Atkins Golf Club at the University of Illinois in Urbana. The week is set to consist of 72 holes of stroke play, 36 of which will be played on Thursday, July 18 after the field is cut to the low 35 and ties. New for 2024, the champion of the Illinois State Amateur will automatically qualify for this year's U.S. Amateur Championship, slated for Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, Aug. 12-18.
Schedule
Tuesday, July 16
The entire field will play 18 holes of stroke play.
Wednesday, July 17
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 18
The low 35 and ties will play 36 holes of stroke play to determine the winner of the Louis L. Emmerson Trophy.
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Related Links: (Full Preview) / (Round 1 Tee Times) / (Round 2 Tee Times) / (Field) / (Chicago District Golfer Preview) / (2023 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. Hinsdale native and University of Iowa golfer Mac McClear captured his second-consecutive State Am crown in 2023 at Bloomington Country Club.
New in 2024, the Illinois State Amateur champion will automatically qualify for this year's U.S. Amateur Championship.
Qualifying
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