Author: lenz

WESTERN AMATEUR: Williams completes an historic sweep

The Western Golf Assn. went to its present format for its Western Amateur Championship in 1956,. Calling for 72 holes of stroke play qualifying and then four rounds of match play, the 110-year old tourney is one of the most grueling in golf and few players handled that immense challenge as well as Chris Williams did at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park.

Williams became only the 10th player to finish the 72 holes as solo medalist and then go on to become the tournament champion on Saturday. Among his predecessors in accomplishing that extraordinary feat were pro stars Ben Crenshaw (1973), Curtis Strange (1974), Scott Verplank (985) and Phil Mickelson (1991).

“It’s a lot of golf,’’ admitted Williams, following his 1-up victory over Jordan Russell in Saturday’s championship match. “I’m exhausted. I’m not going to touch a club for a week.’’

Williams, a senior at the University of Washington, has the equally prestigious U.S. Amateur coming up in two weeks, but he wasn’t thinking about that after Saturday’s rain-delayed match concluded at 6:07 p.m. Williams hit his first shot of the day at 7:30 a.m. and had to go 19 holes in his morning semifinals against Abraham Ancer to reach the final.

During the three-day stroke play portion, which ended on Thursday, Williams posted a tournament-record 17-under par. That bettered by one stroke the record he had set in 2011 at North Shore, in Glencoe.

“Last year I was just the medalist. This is surreal,’’ said Williams. “I played well in stroke play. There was no reason to doubt myself.’’

Ancer, though, took him to the limit in the morning. That semifinal swung Williams’ way when Ancer his hit tee shot out of bounds on the first hole of sudden death. And Russell had Williams 2-down early in the final. Then a birdie by Willams at No. 11 and a double bogey at No. 12 and bogey at No. 14 by Russell changed the momentum.

“That was unexpected. I thought he’d make some birdies, but that’s how match play goes,’’ said Williams.

Even with the letdown early in the back nine Russell had a chance to extend the match. He rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt at the 17th to get to one-down with one to play and he had an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th that lipped out, ending the day-long drama provided by the four college stars who made it to the final day of the championship that started with 156 players.. Russell just graduated from Texas A&M, Ancer attends Oklahoma and Peter Williamson is a student at Dartmouth.

Russell needed a five-foot birdie putt on the second hole of sudden death to win his semifinal against Williamson before succumbing to Williams in the afternoon.

“Overall I’m very pleased with the week,’’ said Russell. “Chris was obviously on top of his game, but I made him earn it so I can’t be too disappointed.’’

WESTERN AMATEUR: Williams betters his own record in stroke play

Chris Williams set the Western Amateur scoring record for 72 holes when he went 16-under-par last year at North Shore Country Club, in Glenview. This year, with the 110-year-old tourney moving to Exmoor, in Highland Park, he did even better.

The University of Washington senior buzzed around Exmoor in 66-67 in Thursday’s 36-hole session to finish stroke play at 17-under-par 271. That earned him medalist honors by two strokes over his playing partner, 18-year old Laurens Chan from Honolulu, Hawaii. Chan will be a freshman at UCLA this fall,

“I played well last year and I apparently played better this year,’’ said Williams. “The courses were similar – short courses, tight, with long rough and soft greens. They played right into my hands.’’

Williams’ job is far from done, though. The Western Amateur calls for 72 holes of stroke play qualifying just to advance 16 players into the match play portion of the championship. So now Williams faces two days of matches if he’s to win the prestigious title. Last year he made it to match play at North Shore but lost to eventual runner-up Patrick Cantlay in the first round.

“Last year I ran into a buzzsaw, which was unfortunate,’’ said Williams. “But I’ve been working hard all year, and I’m happy that it paid off in a big tournament like this. It was all about attitude. I had very high expectations, like I’ve always had, but this week I was able to relax and have a good time.’’

Chan, in his first year playing a summer of big-time amateur tournaments, was impressed.

“Today was a good day. I played well, and I got a front-row ticket to watch one of the best amateurs in the world,’’ said Chan. “Now I see the difference between the best amateurs and me. He was firing at pins and his putting was so simple. It was fun to watch.’’

Williams is No. 5 in the world amateur rankings, and the highest on that list to qualify for the Western’s Sweet 16. No. 1 Bobby Wyatt and No. 3 Patrick Rodgers didn’t survive the first cut of stroke play.

Theo Lederhausen, a Harvard University junior from Hinsdale, was best of the Chicago players. He tied for 41st at 286 and didn’t qualify for match play, but the Western will be a good tuneup for him. He’s in the field at next week’s Illinois State Amateur at The Links at Kokopelli in downstate Marion.

Rodgers wants to add Western Amateur to his WGA titles

Four of the world’s top six amateurs will be battling for the title in the 110th Western Amateur at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park this week. Among them is Patrick Rodgers, who won the Western Golf Association’s Junior tournament in 2011.

“The Western Am and the U.S. Amateur are the two biggest in amateur golf. This is when we want to be peaking,’’ said Rodgers, who is coming off a dazzling freshman year at Stanford. He was on the U.S. teams in the Walker and Palmer Cup competitions and also won the individual title at last fall’s Fighting Illini-Olympia Fields Invitational.

With previous champions including Chick Evans, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, the Western Am may be the most grueling test in golf. The 156-man field began play Tuesday with the first of two days of stroke play competition. The field will be cut to the low 44 and ties after today’s round, and the survivors will play 36 holes on Thursday to decide the Sweet 16 who compete in match play on Friday and Saturday to determine the champion.

“Now more than ever golfers are athletes, and the tournaments are totally separate,’’ said Rodgers of the stroke and match play aspects of the Western. “You’ve got to make sure your game is sharp in all areas or you’ll get exposed as the week goes on. If I were to win the Western Amateur, it’d be my biggest victory.’’

To do it he’ll have to beat a star-studded field that includes Alabama junior Bobby Wyatt, the world’s No. 1 amateur; Washington senior Chris Williams, last year’s Western Am medalist; and Alabama sophomore Justin Thomas, winner of the Haskins Award as top college golfer as well as the Nicklaus Award for Division I player-of-the-year and the Mickelson Award for top collegiate freshman. Rodgers is No. 3 in the world amateur rankings with Williams No. 5 and Thomas No. 6.

Exmoor is the fourth Chicago club in a row to host the tournament, following Conway Farms, in Lake Forest; Skokie, in Glencoe; and North Shore, in Glenview. Exmoor previously hosted the Western Am in 1904 and 1952 and it was the site of Western Junior championships in 1917 and 1998.

The Medinah Six

Though the site of September’s Ryder Cup matches Medinah Country Club hasn’t had many players contend in the area’s bigger tournaments the past few years. That all will change at next week’s Illinois State Amateur at The Links at Kokopelli in downstate Marion.

Medinah will have six players in the 138-man field that begins play on Tuesday (AUG 7) – Dan Stringfellow, Andrew Hulett, Jimmy Slovitt, Bradley Klune, John Callahan and John Madden. That’s the most of any club represented. All six either survived the 10 state-wide qualifying rounds or were otherwise exempt.

Stringfellow, a junior at Auburn who lives in Roselle, appears the best bet to contend. The 2008 Illinois Junior champion, he tied for third at last year’s State Am and finished sixth at the recent Illinois Open.

Here and there

Last weekend was huge for two Illinois tour players. Gary Hallberg, who grew up in Barrington, finished second to Fred Couples in the British Senior Open and recent University of Illinois graduate Luke Guthrie continued his spectacular start as a pro, finishing second in the Buy.com’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio. He lost the title in a playoff. In three starts on the PGA Tour plus the one Buy.com Tour outing Guthrie has earned $371,072.

The first two of the four regional finals in the Ryder Cup Youth Skills Challenge will be held Saturday at Oak Brook and Pine Meadow, in Mundelein.

Stevenson High School senior Stephanie Miller and Northwestern sophomore Nicole Zhang are among the qualifiers for next week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur. It starts Monday (AUG 6) at The Country Club in Cleveland.

The eight Chicago area facilities managed by Billy Casper Golf will host the World’s Largest Golf Outing and Wounded Warrior Project on Aug. 13. Courses participating are Chick Evans, in Morton Grove; George Dunne, Oak Forest; Highland Woods, Hoffman Estates; Indian Boundary, Chicago; Orchard Valley, Aurora; River Oaks, Calumet City; Water’s Edge, Worth; and Whisper Creek, Huntley.

ILLINOIS WOMEN’S OPEN: First three-way playoff goes to Tulane’s Troyanovich

The men’s Illinois Open is limited to in-state residents, the women’s version isn’t. The impact of that was clearly evident in Friday’s final round of the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open at Mistwood in Romeoville.

For the first time in the tourney’s 18 stagings the title was decided in a playoff with Michigan amateur Samantha Troyanovich claiming the title with a birdie on the first hole.. Her victims in sudden death were Lauren Mielbrecht, the low pro from Gulf Stream, FL., and amateur Samantha Postillion, who grew up in Burr Ridge but is now living in Arizona. Only Flossmoor’s Ashley Armstrong cracked the top five among present Chicago players.

Postillion’s mother Kerry is the IWO’s only three-time champion, and Samantha contended for the first time after finished back in the pack for several years.

“I knew I was right there. I was going right at the pins the last five holes,’’ said Postillion, who will transfer from Scottdale Community College in Arizona to Illinois in the fall. “My mom’s name is on the trophy three times; that’s always been in the back of my mind when I’ve played here. I’ve always wanted a chance to win.’’

She had it this time, and joined Troyanovich in posting the low rounds of the 54-hole tournament. Both shot 3-under-par 69s en route to their 1-under 215 totals in regulation play.

Troyanovich and Mielbrecht were playing the IWO for the first time, and Mielbrecht picked up $5,000 for being low pro from a tourney-record purse of $25,000. Mielbrecht, who made four birdies in the first seven holes to take the outright lead, lipped out an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th green that would have given her the title.

In sudden death, played on Mistwood’s re-designed 506-yard par-5 third hole, it was all Troyanovich. She not only hit the longest drive, she wound up with a beneficial lie. Though her ball was in the rough, her stance necessitated her standing on a sprinkler head. She was given a free drop that put her ball on the fairway.

From there she hit a hybrid to 25 yards of the green, chipped to 3 ½ feet and holed the birdie putt for her first-ever tournament victory. Mielbrecht and Postillion made pars.

The victory ended Troyanovich’s season. Though she’s used up her collegiate eligibility at Tulane, she will return to that school to complete work on her Master’s degree before making a decision on whether or not to enter the pro golf ranks.

Troyanovich’s playing partner in the final round, Notre Dame sophomore Armstrong, had five birdies in a front-nine 32. She joined Symetra Tour player Brittany Johnston in finishing one stroke out of the playoff.

ILLINOIS WOMEN’S OPEN: Miller could become first high school champion

In its 17 previous stagings the Illinois Women’s Open has never had a high school champion. That could change today when Stevenson’s Stephanie Miller enters the final round as the co-leader.

Miller, 17, also has a great pairing for the shootout at Mistwood, in Romeoville. She’ll play with the other co-leader, Chicago amateur Nora Lucas. Lucas, who just graduated from Illinois, helped recruit Miller to Champaign. She verbally committed to the Illini three weeks ago and said Lucas was a big reason for her quick decision.

“I met her on my visit, and she was so nice,’’ said Miller, a senior-to-be at Stevenson who is playing in the IWO for the first time. The Illinois prep champion as a sophomore, she has sought tougher competition this year and recently qualified for next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur in Cleveland by shooting par golf over 36 holes at Blackberry Oaks, in Bristol.

Two professionals – Brittany Johnston and Colleen Cashman-McSween – are one stroke behind the IWO co-leaders. Johnston plays on the LPGA’s Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour and Cashman-McSween is assistant coach at Michigan. Miller has no fears about competing against older, more experienced players.

“I get to pick their brains and see what I can do to follow in their footsteps,’’ said Miller, whose father will be her caddie. A commercial pilot, he flew in from Paris on Wednesday to be on her bag.

Lucas won the Illinois Women’s Amateur in 2011 and highlighted her collegiate career by going a school-record 11-under-par en route to winning Wisconsin’s tournament as a senior. The IWO will conclude her summer season, and she will enter law school rather than turn pro.

`I’ll just play for fun. I’m excited to move ahead, just like (Miller) is excited (to look ahead to college),’’ said Lucas. “She should be. I had a great time at Illinois.’’

Miller had a chip-in in each of the first two rounds. She holed out from 61 yards for eagle at No. 10 on Wednesday and chipped for birdie at No. 7 on Thursday, when she carded a 73. Lucas highlighted her second round 72 with birdies at Nos. 12 (a 30-foot putt) and 15. Those two are the only players under par for 36 holes. Both are at 1-under 143 on the recently-renovated course.

Forty-one of the 91 starters survived the 36-hole cut. They’ll begin play at 7 a.m. today with the leaders going off at 10 a.m.

Pearson goes for third title on more challenging course in Illinois Women’s Open

Wheaton’s Jenna Pearson can become only the second player to win the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open three times when the 18th annual tournament begins today at Mistwood in Romeoville.

“I’m definitely hoping to be in that category,’’ said Pearson, who plays on the LPGA’s Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour. She captured the IWO as an amateur in 2006 and as a professional last year. Only Burr Ridge’s Kerry Postillion, who is also in this week’s field, has three IWO victories. Postillion won the title in 1996, 1997 and 1999.

Pearson is one of four players to win the tourney twice, the others being Emily Gilley, Nicole Jeray and Aimee Neff. Gilley and Neff join Postillion as the only back-to-back champions. Pearson missed her first chance at that when she lost an epic 10-hole playoff to Libertyville amateur Nicole Schachner in 2007.

That playoff — longest in an Illinois golf tournament — was conducted entirely on a par-5 third hole, which was radically re-designed by Michigan architect Ray Hearn since last year’s IWO.

“I liked the original hole. I had a lot of practice on it,’’ quipped Pearson, “but I wasn’t sad to see it leave.’’

Hearn’s re-design – the renovated course re-opened two months ago – was most notable for its 19 new sod-wall bunkers that give the course a European flavor. Pearson, who played the new layout for the first time last week, applauded the changes.

“I like what was done,’’ she said. “The changes made on the course have improved it. Some of the bunkers will make players think more, and the course will be more challenging.’’

Pearson went to the finals of the LPGA qualifying school last fall but couldn’t qualify for the big tour. Since then she’s struggled after making some swing changes, but she’ll have a steadying influence at the IWO. Her mother Laura, who carried her bag for both her IWO victories, will again be Pearson’s caddie.

This year’s 80-player field will compete over 54 holes, with a cut after 36. The champion will receive $15,000 from a professionals’ purse of about $15,000.

Small ready to compete again

Illinois coach Mike Small will compete in the Colorado Open this week as will Eric Meierdierks, loser to Max Scodro in last week’s Illinois Open playoff. For Small getting back in action as a player is essential.

“I haven’t played much, and I need reps,’’ said Small, who has the PGA Championship at South Carolina’s Kiawah course coming up next month. “The Illinois Open was only my second multi-day event since last year. I’ve always been a coach first and a player second, and with (the NCAA) tournament, recruiting and camps I haven’t had time to play that much. I need to play before the PGA.’’

Small, a four-time Illinois Open champion, is coming off his worst showing in that event – a tie for 26th. He’s made one previous appearance in Colorado’s Open, losing the title in a playoff in 2008.

This year’s PGA will mark Small’s 12th appearance in a major championship and his ninth in the PGA. He qualified by finishing fourth in June’s Professional Players National Championship.

Here and there

The 156 players competing the 110th Western Amateur get their final practice rounds on Monday at Exmoor, in Highland Park. After two days of stroke play qualifying the top 16 will decide the prestigious title in three days of match play competition….Last week’s big national amateur event, New York’s Porter Cup, ended with Georgia Tech’s Rusty Werensky dethroning Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers, and both will be in the field at Exmoor Rodgers finished third in the Porter Cup. The Western Am has drawn four of the top six players in the world rankings.….Mike Natale won the 108th Chicago City Amateur at Jackson Park last week….The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct qualifiers for the U.S. Amateur on Thursday at Crestwicke, in Bloomington, and next Monday at both Bull Valley, in Woodstock, and Edgewood Valley, in LaGrange….The Illinois PGA will honor veteran professionals Jim Sobb of Ivanhoe and Doug Bauman of Biltmore at its Senior Masters tournament Monday at Onwentsia, in Lake Forest.

Quad Cities should be considered as a golf destination spot

MOLINE, IL. – For years now I’ve told my golf-media buddies from the Quad Cities that they reside in “the golf capitol of Illinois.’’

They think I’m kidding but, after four decades of covering the PGA Tour stop in that community, I’m not so sure. In fact, I can now say that the area encompassing Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa could be a golf destination – and I’m NOT kidding.

The clubhouse at TPC Deere Run.

Golf in the Quad Cites is relatively inexpensive. That’s a big plus. Nothing is very far away, either. More than anything, though, I like the diversity of the area’s golf options.

You can play a PGA Tour site. TPC Deere Run has been the home of the John Deere Classic since 2000. Golf’s premier circuit has come to the Quad Cities every year since 1971, a clear indication the PGA Tour respects the passion in one of its smallest markets.

TPC Deere Run, a D.A. Weibring design, is plenty challenging but hardly the brutal test that some of the other tour layouts are. A serious recreational play can have a good time at Deere Run without feeling beat up afterwards. The par-17th hole (shown here) exemplifies the beauty of this layout.

OK, so there’s a tour course. What else?

If you want tradition there’s the Rock Island Arsenal military facility, which has a sporty layout – now called Arsenal Island — that dates back to 1897. Through 2011 it was a private club. Now the public can play this interesting 6,254-yard layout, which borders on the Mississippi River.

If you want upscale public without paying much for it there’s Glynns Creek, in Long Grove on the Iowa side of the Mississippi, and Byron Hills, in Port Byron on the Illinois side. Glynns Creek is excellent, the site of an American Junior Golf Association event in 2012. Byron Hills is noted for its greens, which some say are the best in the Quad Cities.

A key here is price. Two of us played both Glynns Creek and Byron Hills on a weekday with cart for $56 – that’s total, not per person.

Those are the most notable public offerings. If you’re fortunate enough to get a round on one of the area’s private clubs there’s three of them – Crow Valley, in Davenport; Davenport Country Club, also in Iowa; and Oakwood, in Coal Valley, IL. – which have been sites of PGA Tour events in the past.

There’s more to a golf getaway than the courses you can play. You have to have lodging, and the Quad Cities has most all of the chain hotels and motels. But, if you want someplace special there’s Hotel Blackhawk in Davenport. It dates back to 1915 and was renovated in 2009. Charming is the best way to describe it.

You also have to eat, and we found some good ones. The well-established Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse, in the heart of the Moline business district, is my favorite. It’s fairly-priced, with good food and pleasant atmosphere.

Duck City, located near the Blackhawk, seems to be the in hot-spot, but it’s not very big and difficult to get a table many times. Granite City Food & Brewery has one of its locations in Davenport and is much bigger with a varied menu, good food and a energizing atmosphere.

For a getaway from your golf getaway there’s Faithful Pilot, Cafe in LeClaire, Ia. This is a most interesting waterfront place in a quaint little town with shops offering all sorts of antiques.

If you don’t mind spending big-time, there’s the Red Crow Grille in Bettendorf. I don’t have this place figured out completely. It has a disarming location in a small shopping mall and an exotic menu. Our dinner there was a pleasant one, even after the check arrived.

Biggest bargain on the culinary side was at Ryan’s, on John Deere Road in Moline. You may not be aware of it – we weren’t, either – but Ryan’s is no longer a chain of steak places. This chain is now specializing in buffet spreads and the two of us had a dazzling Sunday breakfast there for $16 – again that’s the total for both of us.

The problem with going to the Quad Cities for the expressed purpose of playing golf is that there aren’t golf packages. You have to book your tee times, lodging and meal reservations separately. Cost-wise, though, we found it well worth it.

ILLINOIS OPEN: New pro Scodro is thriving on state Opens

Wednesday’s final round of the 63rd Illinois Open didn’t have the spectacular shots that were so abundant in Round 2, but it certainly had more drama.

Recent Notre Dame graduate Max Scodro and Eric Meierdierks, the tourney’s 2010 champion, waged a two-man duel all day long at The Glen Club in Glenview before Skodro took the title on the fifth hole of a playoff. It was the longest playoff in the tourney since Marty Schiene outlasted Gary Groh over six holes at Royal Fox in St. Charles 20 years ago.

Scodro was surprised to learn the playoff format called for three holes first, the winner to be decided by aggregate score, but it didn’t faze him after he had drilled a 12-foot birdie putt to pull even with Meierdierks at 10-under-par 206 for the regulation 54 holes.

Moments before Scodro made the big putt Meierdierks uncorked a 6-iron from 180 yards into the wind that stopped six feet from the cup. But he couldn’t convert for birdie, and that gave Skodro a chance to stay alive.

“I willed that one in,’’ said Scodro. “I couldn’t believe it went in, but I had a good feeling going into the playoff.’’

That feeling wasn’t so good on the first hole of sudden death, when Meierdierks’ 15-footer for the win hit the back of the cup.

“It was such a good putt. The majority of the ball was in the hole. I thought it was over,’’ said Scodro. So did Meierdierks.

“It looked like a fist-pumper,’’ admitted Meierdierks, who had to cut his celebration short. “It didn’t go. That’s golf.’’

The end came on their third playoff trip down No. 18. Meierdierks hit his drive in the left weeds for the third straight time couldn’t scramble for par. After Meierdierks settled for bogey Skodro needed two putts from 10 feet for his par and the win. He had no problem negotiating that.

Scodro, 22, turned pro after his college graduation last month and won the Arizona Open in his first start. State Opens seem to be his thing, and the Iowa Open is on his schedule for August.

Wednesday’s win was worth $17,000 to Scodro, who spent three years at Chicago’s Francis Parker Academy prior to attending Notre Dame. He’s been playing out of Olympia Fields Country Club, and that’s where the trophy he won on Wednesday is likely to go first.

“I had never met Max or heard of him,’’ said Meierdierks, a mini-tour veteran who will make his next start at the Colorado Open. “He’s got a lot of talent, and I enjoyed playing with him. I made a friend in him.’’

ILLINOIS OPEN: Back-to-back eagles, 263-yard hole-out ignite Round 2

Wilmette’s Eric Meierdierks shot 68s in both the first and second rounds of the 63rd Illinois Open at The Glen Club in Glenview. His second 18, on Tuesday, was the more notable on a day in which the weather was so hot players were allowed to wear shorts for only the fourth time in the history of the championship.

Meierdierks was the hottest, pulling off the extremely rare feat of posting back-to-back eagles. And he would have had three eagles in a five-hole stretch had a 12-foot putt dropped at The Glen’s 18th.

Starting his second round at the tenth hole, Meierdierks had his two-hole hot streak on No. 14 – a 534-yard par-5 – and No. 15 — a 358-yard par-4. Meierdierks put a 7-iron second shot to within 20 feet at the 14th and drove the green at the 15th before converting from 20 feet again.

“I’ve had two eagles in a round before, but this is the first time I’ve ever had them back-to-back,’’ said Meierdierks, who has been playing on the Gateway Tour in Arizona.

As good as he was, the shot of the day was the 263-yard 3-wood that amateur Shane Smith of Godfrey, IL., holed out for double eagle at No. 1 a few hours after Meierdierks finished.

The 68s put Meierdierks at 8-under-par 136 for 36 holes, good enough for a one-stroke lead over first-round leader Travis Johns and recent Notre Dame graduate Max Scodro entering today’s final 18.

Meierdierks and Johns, a teaching pro at both Glencoe and the Twin Lakes facility in Palatine, hope to regain their form from the 2010 season. That year Meierdierks won the Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods and Johns won five tournaments en route to becoming the Illinois PGA player-of-the-year. Last year Johns won only twice and Meierdierks missed the cut in his Illinois Open title defense.

“I like where my game’s at,’’ said Meierdierks, who overcame a one-stroke deficit after two rounds to win in 2010. “ We’ll see what happens’’

Meierdierks had a comfortable pairing his first two rounds when he played with Phil Arouca, the 2011 Illinois Open champion. Arouca, a Glen Club member, and Meierdierks are both 27-year old New Trier High School graduates.

Arouca enters the final round five strokes behind Meierdierks. He’s tied with, among others, Illinos coach Mike Small who is seeking a record-tying fifth Illinois Open title. Gary Pinns won the tournament five times, the last in 1990.

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: Johnson steals the thunder from Stricker this time

SILVIS, IL. – Steve Stricker’s bid for an historic four-peat at the John Deere Classic fizzled on Sunday, but the end result was almost as good for an emotionally-drained gallery at TPC Deere Run.

Zach Johnson, almost as popular as Stricker in the Quad Cities, got the win in one of the strangest playoffs in PGA Tour history. Johnson, considered the tourney’s hometown favorite since he grew up in Cedar Rapids, Ia., and has long been on the JDC’s board of directors, put both his drives on the two playoff holes in the same fairway bunker.

The first time he scrambled to make double bogey, but that wasn’t so bad because his opponent Troy Matteson did the same. Both players hit their approaches into a green-side pond, an indication neither was ready to win.

Johnson, winner of the 2007 Masters, changed that mindset the second time around when he put his second bunker shot – a 6-iron from 193 yards – to within six inches of the cup. Matteson missed a birdie try from 43 feet, then Johnson tapped in for birdie and his ninth win on the PGA Tour – but his first in 12 JDC appearances. He had a second and a tie for third in the last three years when Stricker was winning his three titles.

“I was shocked that I got into a playoff,’’ said Matteson, the solo leader three the first three rounds and 14 holes into the fourth. Then he made double bogey at the 15th to fall out of the lead before rolling in a 60-foot eagle putt at the 17th to set the stage for the playoff.

“All in all, you go into a playoff and lose to a shot like that after Zach put it in the bunker twice…..My hat’s off to Zach,’’ said Matteson.

“It just feels awesome. I can’t put it into words,’’ said Johnson, who won earlier this year at the Colonial National Invitation tourney in Texas and also finished second twice. This win came without his regular caddie. Damon Green, who had been on Johnson’s bag for 173 straight tournaments. Green spent the week in Michigan where he finished tied for 17th at the U.S. Senior Open.

Mike Bender, Johnson’s swing coach since 2000, carried in Green’s place but Green, thanks to a ride on Tom Watson’s plane, arrived in Moline in time to join Johnson on the direct flight to next week’s British Open. Matteson also made that charter flight, as his runner-up finish gave him the final exemption to the year’s third major championship.

Matteson, who had tried to qualify for the British nine previous times, will make his first appearance across the pond. Stricker will be there, too, undaunted that his bid to join golf legends Tom Morris Jr., Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Tiger Woods as the champion of a major professional tournament four years in a row came up short. He finished in a tie for fifth with Luke Guthrie, the University of Illinois product who finished with the day’s best round – a 64 – to conclude his second tournament as a pro.

“It was a lot of fun trying to do it,’’ said Stricker. “I don’t know if I was tired, but it just didn’t feel like something good was going to happen. It was weird. I never got any momentum.’’

But he was within one shot of then-leader Matteson, his playing partner in the final twosome, after 11 holes of the final round. Hooked drives at Nos. 14 and 15 led to bogeys that brought Stricker’s dreams of a four-peat to an end.