LEMONT, Ill. — 85 boys and 39 girls competed in the two-round Players Challenge at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club on July 1-2. Elias Weidemanis (66-70–136) of Kenilworth won the boys division and Lily Zicarelli (74-74–148) of Inverness took first place for the girls division.

 

THE TOURNAMENT:

  • The Players Challenge at Highland Woods 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 6,319 yards for the boys and 5,667 yards for the girls.

 

THE BOYS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Weidemanis put up an opening round of five under par to take a commanding lead and finished out with a round of one under par to finish in first place. His two-round score was six under par.
  • Luke Walker (70-67–137) of Bradenton, Florida, shot one under par in round one and finished out with a round of four under par. His two-round score of five under earned him second place.
  • Liam Kelly (70-69–139), a Winnetka resident, took third place with scores of one under and two under. His 36-hole score came to three under par.
  • Hailing from Lake in the Hills, Eric Brown (69-71–140) took fourth with a two-round score of two under par. He was two under in round one and even in round two.
  • Jake Guse (75-66–141), a Rockford native, won the scorecard playoff for fifth place by putting up a score of five under par in round two. This combined with a first round of four over for a two round score of one under par.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Liam Kelly made three eagles during the tournament. He eagled the par five hole 13 in both rounds and the par five hole six in round two. 
  • Joey Scott eagled holes number one and six, both par fives, in round two.
  • Tyler Samaan made 12 birdies through two rounds. Eight came in round two.
  • Charlie Forrest and Jacob Mikula each made a par on 25 of the 36 total holes.
  • Quin McElligott birdied four holes in a row, holes 12 through 15, in round two. 
  • Kelly went 21 holes in a row without any bogeys.

 

THE GIRLS’ LEADERBOARD:

  • Zicarelli was consistent, going three over in both rounds. She had two birdies on her final nine to finish at six over par for two days.
  • Sarah Arsich (77-72–149) of Mokena finished in second after lowering her score from six over in round one to just one over in round two. Her two-round score came to seven over.
  • Lily Wang (75-77–152) rounded out the top three with a score of 10 over for 36 holes. The Buffalo Grove resident went four over in round one and six over in round two.
  • Victoria Shao (77-76–153) of Vernon Hills finished in fourth with a two-round score of 11 over par. She shot six over par in round one and five over par in round two.
  • Frankfort’s Izabella Versetto (77-76–153) finished in fifth place. She shot six over par in round one and five over par in round two, combining for 11 over par.
  • The full leaderboard can be found here.

 

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Arsich had the most birdies, scoring below par six total times. Shao had five birdies and Teagan Carden and Addyson Ciganek each made four.
  • Zicarelli parred 26 of the 36 holes. Brianna Chamoun made a par on 23 holes.
  • Arsich and Zicarelli each made back-to-back birdies on the back nine during round two.
  • Chamoun went eight straight holes bogey-free from holes four through eleven during round one.

 

PHOTOS:
Click here to access photos from the event. Photos are sorted by player tee times.

UP NEXT:
Players will compete at the Players Challenge at Bartlett Hills in Bartlett, Illinois, on July 8-9.