SYCAMORE, Ill.— 59 boys and 22 girls competed in the two-round Players Challenge at Sycamore Golf Club on August 6-7. Luke Walker (64-74–138) of Bradenton, Florida, won the boys division and Nicole McGuire (74-72–146) of Bloomingdale finished in first for the girls.

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The Players Challenge at Sycamore is a 36-hole stroke play event spanning two days. The contest is for juniors ages 14-18. 
  • Par for the course was 71 for the boys and 70 for the girls. The course played 5,818 yards for the boys and 5,254 yards for the girls.

 

THE BOYS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Walker had a clean scorecard with five birdies and an eagle to go seven under in round one. He went three over in round two for a two-round score of four under par.
  • Jacob Mikula (72-69–141) of Darien took second place with a two-round score of one under par. He was one over in round one and two under in round two.
  • Henry Burlage (71-72–143) of Warrenville won third place with a 36-hole score of one over par. He shot par in round one and one over in round two.
  • Hailing from Winnetka, Seamus Purcell (78-66–144) took fourth place with a two-round score of two over par. He went seven over in round one before firing off a score of five under par with six birdies in round two.
  • Elgin resident Nicholas Lombardo (72-73–145) finished in fifth place with rounds of one over par and two over par. His two-round score was three over par.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here. 

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Logan Hong and Luke Walker each made two eagles during the tournament, one in each round.
  • Mikula and Purcell led the field with nine birdies made. Dietrich Bethge and Matthew Loos each made eight.
  • Henry Burlage parred 27 of the 36 holes.
  • Blaze Burt, Joey Luna, and Luke Walker each had a three-hole birdie streak.
  • Walker went 24 straight holes without a bogey.

 

THE GIRLS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • McGuire went four over in round one and two over in round two. Her two-round score came to six above par, five strokes ahead of the rest of the field.
  • Lily Zicarelli (76-75–151) of Inverness was the runner-up with a two-round score of 11 over par. She went six over in round one and five over in round two.
  • Naperville’s Lexi Fertig (79-77–156) rounded out the top three with a 36-hole score of 16 over par. She went nine over in round one and seven over in round two.
  • Emma Pierson (75-81–156) of Cherry Valley also finished the tournament at 16 over par. She took fourth with rounds of five over and 11 over.
  • Breanna Brown (78-83–161) finished in fifth after shooting eight over in round one and 13 over par in round two. The South Barrington resident’s two-round score was 21 over par.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here. 

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Fertig and Pierson each made four total birdies. Zicarelli made three birdies.
  • McGuire made 26 pars through two rounds of play.
  • Fertig had a three hole birdie streak to close out round two.
  • Sophia Klapper and McGuire each went seven straight holes without making a bogey.