BRISTOL, Ill.— 67 boys and 14 girls competed in this past weekend’s two-round Players Challenge at Blackberry Oaks Golf Course. Michael Johansen (71-71–142) of Warrenville was victorious for the boys and Gigi Zera (82-71–153) of Glenview took first place for the girls.

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The Players Challenge at Blackberry Oaks Golf Course is a 36-hole stroke play event spanning two days. The contest is for juniors ages 14-18. 
  • Par for the course was 72. The course played 6,403 yards for the boys and 5,624 yards for the girls.

 

THE BOYS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Johansen was consistent, shooting one under in both rounds to finish two under and edge out second place by a stroke. He made nine total birdies over two days
  • Charlie Gilligan (70-73–143) of Wheaton took second place by five strokes after shooting two under par in round one and one over in round two. He made 12 birdies in 36 holes.
  • Peoria native Nolan Eccles (73-75–148) placed third with scores of one above par and three above par to finish with a two-round score of four over par. He had seven total birdies and 22 pars.
  • Brandon Burggraf (77-73–150) took third after making eight birdies overall. The Geneva resident finished with a two-round score of six over par.
  • Brett Widlowski (75-77–152) of Channahon was eight over par with rounds of three over par and five over par. Widlowski had seven birdies.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Justin Goebel and Nicholas Lombardo were the only players to make an eagle. Both were on hole one, a 341 yard par four, during round two.
  • Gilligan led the field with 12 birdies, followed by Johansen with nine.
  • Eccles and Johansen each went 11 straight holes without a bogey. Gilligan, Ezra Primosch, and Luke Webber each completed 10 straight holes bogey-free.

 

THE GIRLS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Zera brought her score down by 11 strokes in the second round to finish nine over par and lead the girls’ field by two strokes. She had five total birdies.
  • Palatine native Keira Brazeau (82-73–155) took second with scores of 10 over par and one above par, ending up 11 over. She made five birdies and 20 pars.
  • Josephine Zangrilli (80-79–159) of Munster, Indiana earned third place with consistent rounds of eight over and seven over. She had 19 pars in 36 holes.
  • Kildeer’s Emma Fiocchi (81-86–167) took fourth place for the girls with a score of nine over par in round one and 14 over par in round two. Her final score was +23.
  • Sophia Thorne (85-81–166) of New Lenox and Sophia Klapper (81-85–166) of Chicago rounded out the top five, tying with a final score of 24 over par. 
  • The full leaderboard can be found here. 

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Brazeau and Zera led the field with five birdies. 
  • Fiocchi made four birdies overall.
  • Thorne made back to back birdies to close out the second round on holes 17 and 18.
  • Zera went 10 straight holes without a bogey.

 

UP NEXT:
Players will compete at the Players Challenge at St. Andrews in West Chicago, Illinois, on June 3-4.