Lake Bluff's Andrew Price secured his second Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship at Park Ridge Country Club.
32nd Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship August 26-27 • Park Ridge Country Club (Park Ridge)
Day Two: Tuesday, August 27
ON THE MONEY: PRICE VICTORIOUS IN STATE MID-AM AT PARK RIDGE
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - History repeated itself for Andrew Price (Lake Bluff) in the Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship Tuesday at Park Ridge Country Club.
On Aug. 27, 2014, the then-32-year-old closed out his first State Mid-Am triumph, winning by two strokes. On Aug. 27, 2024, Price hoisted the crystal hardware anew in the event’s 32nd iteration, two shots again the margin of victory. His 5-under 205 total for 54 holes bested Michael Mounce (El Paso) and Daniel Stringfellow (Roselle).
“It feels good. I’ve been close the last couple of years and didn’t get it done,” Price said, alluding to one-stroke runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2022. “It was nice to play well enough to win.”
Entering Tuesday’s 18-hole finale tied with Mounce atop the leaderboard and four others being within two strokes, Price quickly seized control. A wedge to tap-in distance at the first and accompanying circles on the par-5 third and par-4 sixth set the tone for Price’s ascension.
“I figured that guys were going to make a move,” Price said. “There’s definitely some birdies out there, so getting off to a good start was nice.”
MOUNCE, PRICE TIED ATOP 32ND ILLINOIS STATE MID-AMATEUR LEADERBOARD
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - The marathon opening day of the 32nd Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship at Park Ridge Country Club threw its fair share of tests Michael Mounce (El Paso) and Andrew Price’s (Lake Bluff) way. Thirty-six holes, 90-plus-degree temperatures, gusting winds, a quadruple bogey, a cracked driver. Seemingly nothing could slow the two down, as they each carded two-round totals of 137 to share the lead at 3-under par with 18 holes remaining on Tuesday.
Mounce, who had a functional big stick for just 27 of the 36 holes, posted an opening-round 67 in the morning to take the clubhouse lead at the day’s halfway point. A part of the final tee time off No. 10, Mounce began his day with a vengeance, birdieing Nos. 10 and 13 to race out of the gates early. A pair of bogeys coming in led to an even-par 34 on his opening nine before four-consecutive holes in red figures had the 27-year-old ahead of the 78-player field. He closed his opening round with four pars and a birdie to post a 3-under round.
Park Ridge’s opening four holes remained keen to Mounce’s eye, as he birdied three of the four to begin his afternoon and reach a tournament-best 6-under par.
“For some reason I was hitting them really tight on Nos. 1 and 2 and then on Nos. 3 and 4 I was putting for eagle every round,” he said at day’s end.
A pair of bogeys at the par-3 fifth and par-3 ninth cracked the door back open for the remainder of the field, bringing Mounce back to 4 under.
Driver no more after cracking it on the front, Mounce carded his final birdie of the day at the par-5 10th before a pair of bogeys and a plethora of pars awaited throughout his final nine holes of the day.
“The face kind of split and came apart,” he said, “so then I was stuck using 3 wood the rest of the day. I was just happy it lasted me a majority of the day, at least, until the back nine in the second round.”
Joining Mounce at -3 is the 2014 event champion in Price, who seemed unfazed by the morning heat en route to an opening-nine 32 on Park Ridge’s par-34 inward nine.
A bogey at No. 1 was quickly equalized by a birdie at the par-5 third, as Price turned to the front. Then, a potential disaster struck. Price pulled his tee shot at the par-5 fourth out-of-bounds, forcing the 42-year-old to re-tee. A quick galavant in and around the fairway, a trip to both sides of the green and two putts later, Price was in with a nine. He finished his round with five-straight pars to enter the clubhouse at 2-over 72.
“It’s been a while since I made a nine,” he said. “I knew I had been playing okay, had some birdies out here, so I just tried to stay patient.”
Patience was a virtue in the afternoon, as Price’s redeeming birdie at No. 4 was sandwiched by two others to get out to an impressive start early on. His lone bogey on the front came at the par-3 ninth to send him out in 34, six shots better than his first trip around.
The Championship’s best round thus far was capped off with four birdies and a bogey on the back nine, bringing Price in with the clubhouse lead via a 5-under 65.
“I had been hitting it okay, not really making any putts, but the second 18 I started to make a few more putts, gave myself more looks,” Price said. “But it played harder this afternoon with the wind kicking up, so I’m happy to play solid.”
Four other competitors finished the day under par, with David Keenan (Champaign) leading that group just one shot behind the leaders at -2. Daniel Stringfellow (Roselle), Nick Feinberg (Chicago) and Brien Davis (Peoria) are all in a tie for fourth at 1 under.
In total, 36 players made the cut, which came in at +7.
The message from both Mounce and Price was similar once the day came to a close; pedal to the metal with this ever-talented field chasing close behind.
“Just try and do the same thing,” Price said. “All of those guys are good and are probably going to play well, so it’ll probably take another solid one tomorrow, so you never know, we’ll see.”
“Somebody will go low,” Mounce added, “just have to make birdies and get up-and-down when you’re in trouble.”
Tuesday’s final round is set to begin at 7:30 a.m., with Mounce, Price and Keenan teeing off at 9:20.
Preview
The 111th season of amateur golf championships conducted by the CDGA slate continues with the 32nd Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship, Aug. 26-27, at Park Ridge Country Club in Park Ridge. Three rounds of stroke play await a field featuring 81 of the Chicago District's top amateurs age 25 and up.
Schedule
Monday, Aug. 26 The entire field will play 36 holes of stroke play to determine the low 35 and ties who will advance to the 18-hole finale.
Tuesday, Aug. 27 The low 35 and ties from Monday will compete in 18 holes to determine a champion.
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The Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship, conducted annually by the Chicago District Golf Association, features the state’s best golfers 25 and older. It began in 1993 when it was won by Tom Studer. Currently, the championship is 54 holes, with the entire field playing 36 holes the first day and the low 35 and ties playing 18 holes on the final day. Burr Ridge native Will Hickey won the Championship last summer.
Lake Bluff's Andrew Price secured his second Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship at Park Ridge Country Club.
Preview
Championship Information
