BARRINGTON, Ill.— One hundred fifty-six of the best juniors in the state of Illinois competed in the 55th Illinois State Junior Amateur at Makray Memorial Golf Club on June 25-27. Owen Coniaris (70-68-74–212) of Glen Ellyn won the tournament by two strokes. The 2027 graduate, making his third tournament appearance, birdied four holes in each round to claim the coveted Slovitt Cup.

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The Illinois State Junior Amateur (ISJA), also known as the Slovitt Cup, is a 54 hole, Stroke Play event, with a cut after 36 holes to the low 50 and ties. The event is hosted at Makray Memorial Golf Club.
  • Fifty-two players made the cut this year at 12-over-par or better.
  • The field, made up of male junior golfers from Illinois ages 12-18, played the par 71 course from 6900 yards.

 

THE LEADERBOARD:

  • Coniaris went one under in round one before firing off a round of three below par on day two, moving into the lead. On day three, he went three over, making a birdie on 18 to secure his victory. His three-round score was one under par.
  • Mason Lewis (73-73-68–214) of Edwardsville, Ill. finished the tournament in second place with a score of one over par. He went two over in each of the first two rounds. On day three, he went three under par, going one over on the front nine and four under on the back. His final nine holes were highlighted by back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 and a chip-in eagle on hole 18.
  • Dominic Lucchesi (77-68-70–215) of Grayslake took third place with a 54-hole score of two over par. After starting at six over in round one, Lucchesi put up a score of three under in round two and one under in round three. He made nine total birdies and one eagle, which came on hole 12, a par four, during round three.
  • Connor McCall (73-76-69–218) of Vandalia earned fourth place with rounds of two over, five over, and two under, moving up 10 places on day three. He had 15 pars and two birdies in the final round to cap off a three-round score of five over.
  • Two-time defending champion Grant Roscich (67-80-72–219) finished in fifth place at six over par with rounds of four under, nine over, and one over. Roscich put up the lowest score of anyone in the tournament in round one, making four birdies and zero bogeys.
  • Click here to access the full leaderboard.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Patrick Raupp (Arlington Heights, Ill.) was the only player to make two eagles during the tournament. They came on the same hole, the par-five fifteenth, in rounds two and three.
  • Coniaris led the field in birdies, making 12 total. Roscich and Joey Scott (Lemont, Ill.) each had 11, and Huston O’Neil (Lake Forest, Ill.) made ten.
  • Lewis and Regan Konen (Sugar Grove, Ill.) each parred more than two-thirds of all holes, making 38 pars through 54 holes. Forrest Benson (Mahomet, Ill.) and Michael Johansen (Warrenville, Ill.) each parred 37 holes.
  • Coniaris, Clay Heilman (South Elgin, Ill.), Liam Lodding (Huntley, Ill.), Charles Davenport (Clarendon Hills, Ill.), and Coen Pennington (Effingham, Ill.) all had a stretch of three straight birdies.
  • Coniaris went 26 straight holes without a bogey.

 

PHOTOS:

  • Click here to access photos from the event. They are sorted by original day one tee time.