RESULTS: 45th IWGA Girls’ Championship

ROCKFORD, Ill.— 51 of the best junior girls in the state of Illinois competed in the 45th IWGA Girls’ Championship at Aldeen Golf Club on July 30 – August 1. Alexis Myers (70-72-69–211) of Northbrook, Ill., won the tournament by seven strokes. The University of Illinois golf commit birdied four holes during the final round to claim the title.

THE TOURNAMENT:

• The IWGA Girls’ Championship is a 54-hole stroke play event. After 36 holes, a cut is made to the low 25 and ties. The event is hosted at Aldeen Golf Club.
• 25 players made the cut this year at 15 over par or better.
• The field, made up of female junior golfers from Illinois ages 12-18, played the par 72 course from 5,758 yards.

THE LEADERBOARD:

• Myers went two under par in round one, making four birdies, and even in round two with three birdies. She posted the low round of round three, shooting three under par to seal her victory by making four birdies and 13 pars.
• Alli Wiertel (73-69-76–218) of Oswego, Ill. finished the tournament in second place with a 54-hole score two over par. She went one over in round one, three under in round two, and four over during the final round. Wiertel tied for the low round of round two and had 12 birdies over the course of the tournament.
• Reese Wallace (72-74-73–219) of South Barrington, Ill., took third place with a 54-hole score of three over par, winning the scorecard playoff in a four-way tie. Wallace shot par in round one, two over par in round two, and one over par in round three. She made par or better on 44 of the 54 holes, including eight birdies.
• Kaylee Dwyer (69-74-76–219) of Mokena, Ill., also finished at three over par and took fourth place via the scorecard playoff. She had the low round of round one, shooting three under par with five birdies. She shot two over par during round two and four over par during round three. 
• Eva Greenberg (74-69-76–219) of Rockford, Ill., took fifth with the scorecard playoff. Greenberg went two over par in round one, three under par in round two, where she tied for the low round with six birdies, and four over par in round three.
• Grace Leber (71-70-78–219) of Wilmette, Ill., took sixth place, also finishing at three over par and beating the remainder of the field by six strokes.  Leber shot below par in each of the first two rounds, shooting one under and two under, and shot six over in round three. She totaled 13 birdies.
• Click here to access the full leaderboard.

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Sophia Joeng (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) was the only player to make an eagle during the tournament. She eagled the par five hole number 16 during round three.
• Leber made the most birdies of anyone in the field, going one under par on 13 holes through three rounds. Wiertel had 12 total birdies and Greenberg, Kacie Moon (Northbrook, Ill.) Myers, and Izabella Versetto (Frankfort, Ill.) each made 11 birdies.
• Myers parred 38 of the 54 holes. Maia Becker (Lake Villa, Ill.) made 37 total pars.
• Dwyer and Myers each went 17 holes in a row without making any bogeys. Dwyer’s streak was from hole 12 in round one through hole 10 during round two. Myers’s streak was from hole two through hole 18 during the final round.

PHOTOS:

Click here to access photos from the event.