Mike Small, the University of Illinois coach who has won 14 Illinois PGA titles, was bidding for a recording tying fifth Illinois Open crown on Friday. He had an uncharacteristically bad day at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer and didn’t get it, but the day wasn’t a complete downer.
In July one of Small’s former Illini players, Brian Campbell, won the John Deere Classic – Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event. Then, on Wednesday, another Small pupil – Michael Feagles – captured the 76th Illinois Open, the state’s biggest event for Illinois golfers.
Feagles, who lives in Arizona, took advantage of a recent rule change by the Illinois PGA that allowed non-residents of the state to play in the Illinois Open as long as they had some connection to the state. Feagles, thanks to going to college in Champaign, was the first non-Illinois resident to win the tournament.
“It was a little surreal,’’ he said. “The way I played this week I didn’t think I would win. I struggled the whole week, but now it’s great to be on the list of champions with the legendary Mike Small.’’
Feagles was paired with Dylan Meyer, a former Illini teammate from Indiana, and they teed off in the twosome immediately behind Small.
“I came to Illinois when I was an 18-year old wide-eyed kid,’’ said Feagles. “The coach has been a role model to me, like a second father. After I finished my round he told me to `get it done’ if I was in a playoff. And he did it in a very coach-like fashion.’’
A three-hole playoff for the title was a definite possibility after Feagles finished with a 69 for a 54-hole score of 1-under-par 215 and Butler National head professional Andy Svoboda, Medinah teaching pro Travis Johns and 36-hole leader Brian Ohr were still on the course with a chance to win.
“The worst thing was not being able to control anything,’’ said Feagles. “Golfers are all control freaks.’’
Svoboda finished at even par to finish solo second and was the low pro for the second straight year. Ohr came in with bogeys at Nos. 14, 17 and 18 to lose the lead and wound up in a tie for third with Tommy Kuhl, another Illinois alum who shot a 66 – the day’s low round. Glen Ellyn’s Grant Roscich, in a tie for fifth with Johns, was low amateur.
Pierce Grieve, who won last year’s Illinois State Amateur and this year’s Chicago District Amateur, also made a run at the title by shooting a 67. Preparing for the U.S. Amateur, Grieve climbed into a tie for 10th in his first Illinois Open appearances.
Feagles’ Illini background created a comfort zone for him. He won and then lost his playing privileges on the Korn Ferry Tour after his Illini days were over. He also didn’t survive a session of PGA qualifying school and spent the last two years grabbing tournaments where he could.
“Last year I won a lot. I learned how to win, and that’s huge,’’ he said. Among his wins were the Arizona and Nevada state opens.
“I have no (tour) status, as I’ve had in the past,’’ he said. “I learned how to win in college, but you have to also learn how to win at the next level. Now I’ll continue to go to Q-School and hope to keep my head on straight, catch lightning in a bottle and get to the PGA Tour.’’
Getting paired with Meyer was a big help in Wednesday’s pressure-packed situation.
“Playing with Dylan reminded me of college golf, where pars were very valuable,’’ said Feagles. “Pro golf has become so birdie-crazy. Dylan and I had a blast. We were teammates for two years and played together on great teams at Illinois.’’
Meyer, who lost an Illinois Open title to Vince India in in a playoff two years ago, tied for 13th this time. At one point in the tournament there was an Illinois alum in five consecutive pairings.
