Andy Svoboda had the reputation of being a very good player when he took the head professional’s job at Butler National in Oak Brook in 2024, and the former PGA Tour player continues to prove it.
Svoboda earned the Illinois PGA Bernardi Player of the Year honor in his first year on the job, and now he’s two-for-two. An eagle on the last hole of the last of the section’s last of four major championships wasn’t good enough for Svoboda to win the IPGA Players Championship at Biltmore, in Barrington. He finished third, behind champion Tim Streng, of the Wildcat Golf Academy, and Brian Carroll, of The Hawk in St. Charles.
The third-place finish, though, gave Svoboda enough points to edge Carroll for Player of the Year. Even with three stroke play wins and a solo second finish in the Illinois Open Svoboda needed the strong finish to overhaul Carroll in the season-long point race.
“I love to compete. I enjoy the adrenaline when you’re in the hunt because it gives me extra focus,’’ said Svoboda. “Brian played really well, and it’s crazy when you think about the span of the season coming down to one round. I was definitely trying to win the tournament, but Player of the Year was in the back of my mind. I’m really happy I got it done.’’
PGA TOUR – Two of Chicago’s members in golf’s premier circuit – Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman and Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim – were in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi. It was the first of the fall tournaments that wrap up the season.
Streelman, who missed six months of the season after having knee surgery in March, tied for 48th and Ghim, who struggled in with a 78 in the final round, fell to a tie for 55th.
KORN FERRY TOUR – Adrien Dumont de Chassart had a fast start as a professional after starring at Illinois. He promptly earned playing privileges on the PGA’s Korn Ferry circuit, then won his first tournament and was runner-up in a playoff loss in the second. That burst led to him moving up to the PGA Tour but he lasted for just a season.
Dumont de Chassart was back on the Korn Ferry circuit this year but he can still go low. He had a sizzling 61-61 start in the Compliance Solutions Championship in Oklahoma last week and won the circuit’s last regular season tournament by seven shots on Sunday. He’ll bid for a return to the PGA Tour at this week’s Korn Ferry Finals in French Lick, Ind
LPGA – Winnetka’s Elizabeth Szokol, the only Chicago area player on the women’s circuit, tied for 35th in last week’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii. That boosted her to No. 89 in the Race to the CME Globe. The top 60 in the LPGA’s season-long point race qualify for the season-ending $11 million championship Nov. 20-23 in Florida.
Szokol has six tournaments left — and one on her home course at The Pelican in Florida – to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.