Scheduling conflicts have been a problem for Chicago’s tournament organizers for years. This week marks the first big conflict of this season, and the two tournaments involved are very big ones.
The 93rd Illinois State Amateur and the 124th Women’s Western Amateur both teed of on Tuesday. The State Am concludes on Thursday and the Women’s Western wraps ups up with a 7:30 a.m. championship match on Saturday.
This conflict isn’t as problematic as some in the past because only the Women’s Western is played on a Chicago area course. Onwentsia, in Lake Forest, which hosted the first two championships in 1901 and 1902, is the host site for the fifth time.
Rarely has the Chicago District Golf Association taken the State Am outside of the Chicago area, but this time it’s being played at Atkins Golf Club, in Urbana. The choice of Atkins is significant because it’s the home of the University of Illinois men’s teams, which have consistently been a collegiate powerhouse under coach Mike Small.
Atkins has recently been renovated to benefit the Illini program. It had been known as Stone Creek, and the tournament was played there in 2004 when T.C. Ford won the title. This year the tourney will have a field weakened by the absence of Hinsdale’s Mike McClear, who won the last two years. He turned professional after a great collegiate career at Iowa.
Three of last year’s top five are back, however. T.J. Barger, of Bloomington, was second and Pekin’s Mason Merkel and Rockford’s Marcus Smith tied for fourth. The tourney drew 565 entrants, and it was whittled to 138 starters at Atkins through eight state-wide qualifying rounds.
The starters range from 15-year old Michael Hahn to 71-year old former champion Mike Milligan. Low players in the qualifying sessions were Pierce Greve and Nick Fernberg. Both posted 6-under-par 66s, Greve at Lake Bluff in the first elimination and Fernberg at Sanctuary at New Lenox in the last one.
The field has two 18-hole rounds before the field will be cut to the low 35 and ties on Wednesday. The survivors will go 36 more holes to determine the champion on Thursday. In an upgrade from previous tourneys, this year’s winner will also get an invitation to next month’s U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine, in Minnesota.
The Women’s Western may be the most prestigious in women’s amateur golf. It’s been played for an uninterrupted 123 years. One of Chicago’s very first stars, Bessie Anthony, won the first two years. Later winners include LPGA mainstays Nancy Lopez, Cristie Kerr, Grace Park, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn. Past competitors have won 135 major titles and 60 have played in the Solheim Cup.
This year’s event has 120 starters, all with handicaps of 5.4 or less. The last seven Women’s Western Amateurs have been held at Chicago courses with Californian Jasmine Koo taking the title last year at White Eagle in Naperville.
Two rounds of stroke play qualifying start this year’s tournament. The second is today and the low 32 will advance to three days of match play to decide the champion. The first round and Round of 16 will be played on Thursday, the Round of eight and semifinals are Friday to determine the two finalists.
The Chicago area has five of its stars in the field headed by two-time Illinois State Amateur winner Sarah Arnold of Geneva. She won the state title in 2019 and 2023 and was the runner-up this year. Other locals competing at Onwentsia are Emily Krall of Lake Forest, Samatha Postillion, Burr Ridge; Caroline Smith, Inverness; and Mara Janess, Barrington.
There are far more contenders from out of the area with players from 28 states and 17 countries competing this week. The best of those may be college players – Caitlyn Macnab, Missississpi; Anna Morgan, Furman; Sadie Englemann and Annabelle Pancake, Stanford; Farah O’Keefe, Texas; and Kelly Xu, Clemson.