HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.— 66 boys and 31 girls competed in the two-round Players Challenge at Highland Woods Golf Course on June 6-7. Trenton Kurtz (72-71–143) of Kildeer topped the boys’ leaderboard and Gianna White (75-74–149) of Lockport finished in first for the girls.

 

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The Players Challenge at Highland Woods 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 6,755 yards for the boys and 5,830 yards for the girls.

 

 

THE BOYS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Kurtz shot par in round one before shooting a 71, or one below par in round two to advance into first place. His two-round score was one below par.
  • Anderson Palm (76-69–145) of Western Springs shot a 69, or three under par in round two to move into second place. This combined with a first round score of 76 for a two-round score of one over par.
  • Regan Konen (70-75–145) of Sugar Grove also tied for second with a two-round score of one over par. He shot two under par in round one and three over par in round two.
  • Hailing from Barrington, William Lange (77-69–146) took fourth with a two-round score of two over par. He was five over in round one and bounced back with a 69, or three under par, in round two.
  • Lake Geneva resident Tyler Short (70-77–147) rounded out the top five after shooting two under par in round one and five over par in round two. His two round score was three over par.
  • The full leaderboard can be found at https://ijga.bluegolf.com/bluegolfw/ijga24/event/ijga2419/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

 

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Short, Isaiah Thomas, and Sam Uutala each recorded an eagle during the tournament. For all three, it came on hole one, a par five.
  • Kurtz led the field with nine total birdies. Konen, Lucas Shin, and David Koziol each had seven total birdies.
  • Colton Presson and Dylan Trahan made pars on 26 of the 36 holes. Jake Goldberg and Antonio Gutierrez parred 25 holes.
  • Will Huber, Gavin Hultman, and Konen all birdied three straight holes.
  • Cori Lee went from hole six through hole 18 during round two without making a single bogey.

 

 

THE GIRLS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • White finished with a two-round score of five over par, winning the contest by two strokes. She was three over in round one and two over in round two.
  • Mayan Covarrubias (77-74–151) of North Riverside took second place with a two-round score of seven over par. She was five over par in round one and two over par in round two.
  • Lindsey Huang (76-76–152) shot four over par in each round. The Northbrook resident rounded out the top three with a two-round score of eight over par.
  • Palatine’s Keira Brazeau (80-75–155) took fourth with a 36-hole score of 11 over par. She shot eight over par in round one and bounced back with a score of three over par in round two.
  • Toral Bhatt (76-80–156) of Oak Brook finished in fifth with a two-round score of 12 over par. She shot four over par in round one and eight over par in round two.
  • The full leaderboard can be found at https://ijga.bluegolf.com/bluegolfw/ijga24/event/ijga2419/contest/9/leaderboard.htm

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Kaylee Dwyer eagled hole one of round one. She was the only girl to make an eagle.
  • Brazeau, Covarrubias, and Huang led the field with five total birdies. Victoria Shao, Mina Shyam, Lily Wang, and White each birdied four holes.
  • White made a par on 24 of the 36 holes.
  • Huang made three birdies back-to-back from holes 13 through 15 during round one.
  • Brazeau, Shao, and Amelia Gambla each made back-to-back birdies.
  • Huang went 11 straight holes bogey free from hole 10 in round one through hole two in round two.

 

PHOTOS:
Click here to access photos from the event. They are sorted by day two tee time.

 

UP NEXT:
Players will compete at the Players Challenge at Cog Hill in Lemont, Illinois, on July 1-2.