CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLF ASSOCIATION

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.”

Price’s lead surged to as many as three strokes as he notched pars on Nos. 7-14. His ability to consistently find greens and two-putt in the midst of hot and dry conditions was deemed crucial.

“I was hitting it to the fat of the greens, so I had a lot of longer putts,” Price explained. “I feel like I had chances to make a lot of my lag putts; they were burning edges and I had the speed down pretty well today. Important, especially if you’re not hitting it close. I didn’t have a lot of pressure with my par putts, so that was nice.”

Price’s one slip-up came on the 454-yard par-4 15th, when his drive settled in the right rough and his approach shot ended up short of the green. A self-described “awful chip” led to bogey and his lead over Stringfellow being trimmed to one stroke with Park Ridge’s challenging final stretch awaiting.

The final three holes were no match for Price, however. On the 410-yard 16th, he deftly funneled his approach from the first cut of the fairway off of a greenside hill to within 15 feet. A two-putt par brought him to the 209-yard par-3 17th, where he got up and down for par from in front of the green. A booming drive on the par-4 434-yard 18th that circumvented the dogleg left set up a clear approach, shortly after Stringfellow bogeyed the finisher to push the lead back to two. Another iron into the middle of the green and routine two-putt secured the win for Price.

“Just stay patient and keep trying to hit fairways,” Price said of his mindset coming off the bogey at No. 15. “I knew that if I could do that I’d give myself some chances.”

Price’s relatively comfortable triumph was made all the more impressive by the position he put himself in during Monday’s first round. Sitting at 2-under through 12 holes after starting on the back, “one bad swing” on the par-5 fourth led to a quadruple bogey nine. However, Price was able to steady himself to get in with a 2-over 72 before a 5-under 65 in the afternoon and 2-under 68 Tuesday to secure the crown.

“I had been hitting it great all day, but I just made one bad swing and it became a mess after that,” Price said. “I just knew if I kept hitting it solid, I’d have some birdie opportunities. I kind of kept it around par and then I played good in the afternoon.”

With the win, Price becomes the eighth player to win the Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship more than once. His 10-year stint between victories is the longest.