MEDINAH, Ill. – The 2019 Medinah Country Shrine Jr Invitational concluded Monday after 36-holes of competitive golf. Sean Curran (2021) of New Lenox, Ill., held onto his first round lead to finish atop the leaderboard in the Boys Division. In the Girls Division, Ella Greenberg (2023) of Rockford, Ill., took home top honors.
The Medinah Country Shrine Jr Invitational is a one-day, 36-hole, invitational only tournament contested at Medinah Country Club. The Boys Division played the par 71 Course 1 from 6,894 yards. The Girls Division played Course 2 as a par 72 from 5,870 yards.
The Illinois Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing playing opportunities for its members ages 8-18, conducting educational clinics and events, and serving as a junior golf informational clearinghouse.
Curran carded four birdies during the final round for a 2-under-par 69, which gave him a 2-under-par 140 tournament total. This was Curran’s second appearance at the event, his first was in 2017 when the Boys Division played Course 3.
Finishing in second was Danny Fisher (2019) of Lake Forest, Ill., with a 1-over-par 143 tournament total. In third place was Max Farley (2020) of Orland Park, Ill., who carded a 2-over-par 144 total. Tied for fourth, after each carding a 5-over-par 147 total and each carding a 2-under-par 69 during the final round, were Mac McClear (2019) of Hinsdale, Ill., and Josh Lundmark (2019) of Hinsdale, Ill. Lundmark also carded a hole-in-one on the par 3, No. 7 during the final round.
Tied for sixth were Daniel Tanaka (2020) of Wilmette, Ill., and Jacob Fritz (2020) of Naperville, Ill., who each finished the tournament with a 8-over-par 150 tournament total. Rounding out the top ten were Bradley Goldstein (2019) of Highland Park, Ill., Truman Keppy (2020) of Lakemoor, Ill., and Jack Paeglow (2020) of DeKalb, Ill., who each carded a 9-over-par 151 total.
In the Girls Division, Greenberg carded an even-par tournament total, which included a 2-under-par 70 during the final round. Her final round included five birdies and 10 pars. This was Greenberg’s first appearance at this event, as this is the first year she was old enough to play.
When asked about her round, Greenberg had this to say: “I feel amazing about my win today, coming into this I didn’t even think I would make it into the top five because the field was stacked.”
Coming in runner-up was Grace Curran (2019) of New Lenox, Ill., who finished the tournament with a 2-over-par 146 total. Tied for third, each carding a 3-over-par 147 tournament total, were Penelope Tir (2019) of Winnetka, Ill., and Sarah Arnold (2019) of St. Charles, Ill. Rounding out the top five was Emma Carpenter (2019) of DeKalb, Ill., who finished with a tournament total of 4-over-par 148.
The proceeds from this event, along with the generous donations given by players, were donated to the Shriners Hospital. In 2019, the IJGA donated $20,000 to the Shriners Hospital, bringing the total to date close to $200,000. The IJGA would like to thank everyone who participated in this event, those who donated gift cards that will be used by hospital staff to buy toys for the children at the hospital and those who came out to help, as well as the entire Medinah CC staff and membership for allowing us to take over two courses for an entire day.
