WEST CHICAGO, Ill.— 73 boys and 28 girls competed in the two-round Players Challenge at St. Andrews Golf Club on June 3-4. Clay Heilman (67-70–137) of South Elgin earned the top spot for the boys and Brooke Adams (72-75–147) of Orland Park took first place for the girls.

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The Players Challenge at St. Andrews Golf Club is a 36-hole stroke play event spanning two days. The contest is for juniors ages 14-18.
  • Par for the course was 71. The course played 6,781 yards for the boys and 5,608 yards for the girls.

 

THE BOYS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Heilman shot four under par in round one, taking a four stroke lead over the field. He finished out the tournament with a 70, or one below par, in round two to clinch a six stroke victory.
  • Peyton Kittivat (76-67–143) of Schaumburg took second place with a two-round score of 143, or one over par. He was five over par after round one before firing off a 67, or four below par, in round two to move into a leaderboard spot.
  • Hailing from Geneva, Brandon Burggraf (72-72–144) put up back-to-back scores of 72, or one over par, for a 36-hole score of two over par. He tied for third overall and won the scorecard playoff, taking the final podium spot.
  • Jake Guse (71-73–144) also tied for third with a two-round score of two above par. The Rockford native shot par in round one and two over par during round two.
  • Lemont resident Robert Politza (78-68–145) tied for fifth place after shooting three below par during the tournament’s final round. This combined with a plus six in round one for a total score of three over par.
  • Luke Walker of Downers Grove also tied for fifth with a two-round score of three over par. He shot par in round one and three over par in round two.
  • The full leaderboard can be found at https://ijga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/ijga24/event/ijga2418/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Burggraf was the only player to make two eagles during the tournament after eagling hole one, a par five, in back-to-back rounds.
  • Joey Luna, Ryan O’Rourke, and Walker each made an eagle on hole one.
  • Heilman led the field in total birdies, making 10 over the course of the tournament.
  • Politza made eight total birdies during the contest, six of which came in round two. Five of his round two birdies were on the back nine, boosting him into fifth place at the tournament’s close.
  • Kittivat made seven total birdies and Walker and Braden Chung each made six.
  • Charlie Forrest, Jake Forrest, Guse, and Luke Neville each made par on 24 of the 36 holes.
  • Politza made three back-to-back birdies on holes eight, nine, and ten of round two.
  • Guse went 14 straight holes bogey-free from holes four through 17 during round one.

 

THE GIRLS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Brooke Adams made 15 pars and a birdie in round one to take an early lead. Her scores of 72 and 75 helped her to defeat the rest of the field by five strokes with a two-round score of five over par.
  • Sarah Arsich (77-75–152) of Mokena took second place with a two-round score of 10 over par. She was six over par in round one and four over par in round two.
  • Keira Brazeau (77-76–153) shot six over par in round one and five over par in round two. The Palatine resident rounded out the leaderboard in third place with a two-round score of 11 over par.
  • Vernon Hills’ Anna Lee (80-76–156) took fourth with a 36-hole score of 14 over par. She shot nine over par in round one and brought her score down by four strokes in round two, shooting five over.
  • Angelica Kwak (77-81–158) of Homer Glen finished out the top five with a two-round score of 16 over par. She shot six over par in round one and 10 over par in round two.
  • The full leaderboard can be found at https://ijga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/ijga24/event/ijga2418/contest/17/leaderboard.htm

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Arsich led the field with four total birdies, three of which came in round one.
  • Kwak totaled three birdies through two rounds of play.
  • Adams made par on 27 out of 36 holes.
  • Lee made par on 24 holes and Gigi Zera made par on 23 holes.
  • Adams went 15 straight holes without making any bogies from hole eight of round one through hole four of round two.
  • Mina Shyam went nine straight holes bogey-free from hole 13 in round one through hole three in round two.

 

PHOTOS:
Click here to access photos from the event. Photos are sorted by assigned tee times from day one.

 

UP NEXT:
Players will compete at the Players Challenge at Highland Woods in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on June 6-7.