SUGAR GROVE, Ill.— Players from the IJGA’s Playing Member Division competed in the Player of the Year tournament at Rich Harvest Farms on August 11. Robert Politza (75) of Lemont won the Boys 16-18 division, Mayan Covarrubias (79) of North Riverside took first for the Girls 16-18 division, Glen Ellyn’s Owen Coniaris (73) won the Boys 14-15 division, and Taylor Miller  (79) of Bolingbrook won the Girls 14-15 division.

 

POINTS CHAMPIONS:

  • At the conclusion of the tournament, Robert Politza, Mayan Covarrubias, Tyler Samaan, and Campbell Ray were named the 2024 Players of the Year based on total points. Points are earned at each tournament a player plays in throughout the entirety of the season and accumulate.

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The PM Player of the Year tournament at Rich Harvest Farms is an 18-hole stroke play event. The contest is for juniors ages 14-18. 
  • Par for the course was 72. For the boys, the course played 6,732 yards. For the girls, the course played 5,980 yards.

 

THE BOYS 16-18 LEADERBOARD:

  • Politza won by three strokes with a score of three over par. He made 12 pars and two birdies.
  • Finley Tyrrell (78) of LaGrange won the scorecard playoff for second place with a score of six over par. He made a birdie and 10 pars.
  • Charlie Gilligan (78) won the scorecard playoff for third, also shooting six over par. The Wheaton resident parred 13 of the 18 holes.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Brendan Handoko led the field with three birdies made.
  • Politza made par or better on 14 of the 18 holes. Gilligan made par or better on 13 holes and Brandon Burggraf and Anderson Palm made par or better on 12 holes.
  • Kurtz was the only player with back-to-back birdies. He birdied holes two and three.
  • Burggraf went six straight holes bogey-free.

 

THE GIRLS 16-18 LEADERBOARD:

  • Covarrubias won by two strokes, shooting seven over par. She made three birdies and eight pars.
  • Nicole McGuire (81) of Bloomingdale was the runner-up with a score of nine over par. Her score included seven pars and two birdies.
  • Lily Zicarelli (83) of Inverness rounded out the top three with a final score of 11 over par. She made nine pars and a birdie.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Covarrubias led the field in birdies made with three.
  • Zicarelli parred nine of the 18 holes.
  • Covarrubias went four straight holes bogey-free. Sarah Arsich, McGuire, and Zicarelli each had a three holes bogeyless streak. 

 

THE BOYS 14-15 LEADERBOARD:

  • Coniaris won by five strokes with a score of one over par. He made three birdies and 11 pars.
  • Ryan Murray (78) of Arlington Heights was the second place finisher after shooting six under par. He made 11 pars and closed out with a birdie.
  • Lincoln Schultz (79) of Naperville took third place with a score of seven over par. He made 10 pars and a birdie.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Coniaris and Noah Kettlewell each made three birdies. 
  • Coniaris, Murray, and Samaan each made 11 pars.
  • Murray went eight straight holes bogey-free

 

THE GIRLS 14-15 LEADERBOARD:

  • Miller won by five strokes with a score of seven over par. She made 10 pars and two birdies.
  • Campbell Ray (84) of Long Grove was the runner-up with a score of 12 over par. She made six pars and two birdies.
  • Lily Wang (90) rounded out the podium with a score of 18 over par. She made four pars and a birdie.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Chen, Kenzie Christie, Miller, and Ray each made two birdies.
  • Miller led the field in pars made with ten.
  • Miller went seven straight holes without a bogey from holes 10 through 16.