MEDINAH, Ill. – The Illinois Junior Golf Association hosted its annual Medinah Country Shrine Junior Invitational at Medinah Country Club on Monday, May 15. In the Boys Division, Brendan O’Reilly (2017) of Hinsdale, Ill., took champion honors. In the Girls Division, Haeri Lee (2018) of Buffalo Grove, Ill., took home her second IJGA victory of the 2017 season.
The Medinah Country Shrine Junior Invitational is a one day, 36 hole, invite-only tournament contested at Medinah Country Club. The Boys Division played the par 72, Course 3, which has hosted events such as the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship, from 6,904 yards. The Girls Division played Course 1 from 5,622 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.
O’Reilly carded an even-par 72 during the first round, putting him in a great position going into the final round. His final round included four birdies and 12 pars, finishing with a 2-under-par 70, moving his tournament total to a 1-under-par 142. O’Reilly, who is a University of Illinois commit, has played in this event a total of four times and, including this year’s win, has finished atop the leaderboard three times, the previous coming in 2015 and 2014.
In a tie for second place, with a tournament total of 1-under-par 143, were Garrett Tighe (2019) of Algonquin, Ill., and Aidan Lafferty (2019) of Downers Grove, Ill. Lafferty carded the low final round score of 5-under-par 67 to climb the leaderboard, while Tighe tied the low first round score of 1-under-par 71.
In fourth place was Tommy Kuhl (2018) of Morton, Ill., with a tournament total of even-par 144. In fifth place was Devin Johnson (2017) of Geneva, Ill., who carded a tournament total of 2-over-par 146. In the first round, Johnson tied the low first round of 1-under-par 71. In a tie for sixth was Matthew Wingren (2017) of Hinsdale, Ill., and Nick Tenuta (2017) of Mt. Prospect, Ill, at 4-over-par 148 tournament total. In eight place was Mac McClear (2019) of Hinsdale, Ill., with a 5-over-par 149 tournament total. Rounding out the top ten were Ethan Farnam (2017) of Crystal Lake, Ill, and William Nummy (2018) of Winnetka, Ill., with a 36 hole total of 6-over-par 150.
In the Girls Division, Lee finished the tournament with a 5-over-par 149 tournament total. Her final round score of even-par 72 was enough to give her a three-stroke lead over the runners-up and to tie the low final round. Lee carded five birdies over the course of the two rounds. This is Lee’s second appearance at the Medinah Country Shrine Junior Invitational, her first was in 2014 when she finished T9.
Lee, who came into the event off a win at the Players Challenge #1 @ Countryside earlier in the month, said, “Coming into this event with one win already this year definitely helped boost my confidence. Today, my driver was really consistent; it allowed me to hit a lot of fairways.”
Coming in tied for second place were Grace Curran (2019) of New Lenox, Ill., and Penelope Tir (2019) of Winnetka, Ill., with a tournament total of 8-over-par 152. Curran carded the low first round, coming in with a 2-under-par 70. In fourth was Emma Carpenter (2019) of Dekalb, Ill., with a 9-over-par 153 tournament total. Carpenter’s final round even-par 72, tied the low final round. Rounding out the top 5 were Caroline Smith (2020) of Inverness, Ill., and Kait Natividad (2020) of Yorkville, Ill., who finished the tournament with an 11-over-pver 155 tournament total.
The proceeds from this event, along with the generous donations given by players, were donated to the Shriners Hospital. The IJGA would like to thank everyone who participated in this event, those who donated gift cards 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.
