YORKVILLE, Ill.— 65 boys and 28 girls competed in the two-round Players Challenge at Whitetail Ridge Golf Club on July 24-25. Eric Brown (69-69–138) of Lake in the Hills won the boys division and Nadia Vattana (75-79–154) of Oak Park finished in first for the girls.

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The Players Challenge at Whitetail Ridge 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 6,667 yards for the boys and 5,496 yards for the girls.

 

THE BOYS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Brown went two under par in both rounds, finishing with a 36-hole score of four under. He beat out the rest of the field by five strokes.
  • Tyler Samaan (71-72–143) of Elgin took second place with a two-round score of one over par. He was even in round one and one over in round two.
  • Matt Trimble (77-68–145) of Geneva won the scorecard playoff for third place after putting up rounds of six over and three under. His 36-hole score came to three over par.
  • Hailing from Arlington Heights, Ryan Kalaway (77-68–145) took fourth place. He also had a two-round score of three over with rounds of six over and three under.
  • Warrenville resident Michael Johansen (70-75–145) rounded out the top five, also putting up a 36-hole score of three over. He went one under in round one and four over in round two.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here. 

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Kalaway made two eagles in round two. The first was on hole number six, a par four, and the second was on hole number 16, a par five.
  • Clay Ellis-Escobar made 11 total birdies, leading the field by three.
  • Daniel Chang, Fitzpatrick Knight, Max Satterfield, and Samaan made pars on 26 of the 36 holes.
  • Henry Burlage made three straight birdies on holes six through eight during round two.
  • Tommy Niemiec went 16 holes in a row without a bogey.

 

THE GIRLS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Vattana went four over in round one and eight over in round two, finishing with an overall score of 12 over par. She won an on-course playoff to finish in first.
  • Sarah Arsich (80-74–154) of Mokena took second place with a two-round score of 12 over par. She was nine over par in round one and three over par in round two.
  • Naperville’s Lexi Fertig (78-78–156) took third with a 36-hole score of 14 over par. She shot seven over par in both rounds.
  • Nicole McGuire (77-79–156) went six over par in round one and eight over par in round two. The Bloomingdale resident finished the tournament at 14 over, taking fourth place.
  • Malar Anand (79-81–160) of Naperville finished in fifth with a two-round score of 17 over par. She shot seven over par in round one and 10 over par in round two.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Madeline Quirk made two eagles during round one. They were on holes two and 16, both par fives.
  • Alyssa Nenoff eagled hole number 12, a par four, during round one.
  • Arsich, Annie Halvorsen, and Vattana Each totaled four birdies.
  • McGuire made a par on 22 of the 36 holes.
  • Annie Carden made back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven during round one.
  • Arsich went nine holes in a row bogey-free.

 

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

 

UP NEXT:
Players will compete at the Players Challenge at Sycamore Golf Club in Sycamore, Illinois, on August 6-7.