Last week’s first of three Illinois local qualifiers for the U.S. Open hardly went according to form.
Evanston amateur Lester Low, the reigning Illinois high school champion, posted the best score – a 7-under-par 65 at Stonewall Orchard, in Gurnee, and that was two strokes better than veteran tour player Andy Svoboda, the head professional at Butler National in Oak Brook.
Svoboda, who came to Butler in 2024, was the Illinois PGA’s Player of the Year the last two years. Now 46, Svoboda qualified for five U.S. Opens and won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Low, 16, shot 65-72 as a sophomore en route to winning last year’s prep title at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington. Evanston was the team runner-up the last two years and Lester’s brother Kieran was also part of the team. Kieran will be a freshman at Boston College in the fall. Both brothers were grant recipients from the U.S. Golf Association for its National Development Program.
The Stonewall Orchard local advanced four players to the final Open qualifying stage, and another amateur – Ben Patel, of North Aurora – joined Low and Svoboda in advancing. The 36-hole final stage qualifiers will be held around the country between May 18 and June 8 to determine the 156 starters in the Open proper June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills in New York.
PGA TOUR: Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim, partnered with Jeffrey Kang, tied for sixth in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. It was Ghim’s best finish of the season, produced his best payday of the year ($185,250) and boosted his FedEx Cup ranking 20 positions to No. 114.
Northbrook’s Nick Hardy paired with Davis Riley to finish in a tie for 20th. Hardy and Riley won the event in 2023. Hardy has spent this season on the Korn Ferry Tour where he made four cuts in six starts.
SENIOR PGA: Fifteen players advanced to the final qualifier for the U.S. Senior Open, to be played July 2-5 at Scioto in Ohio. Mike Carbray, of Glen Ellyn; amateur Glenn Przybylski, Frankfort; Andy Walker, Phoenix, Ariz; and Bradley Lanning, Horotonville, WI., all shot 2-over-par 74 – the low score in a local qualifier at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.
Roy Biancalana, of St. Charles, earned the last qualifying spot in the final qualifier at Kemper by surviving a four-man playoff involving players who posted 77s.
HERE AND THERE: Both Illinois tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule – the Memorial Health Championship, June 25-28 at Panther Creek in Springfield and the Evans Scholars Invitational July 23-26 at The Glen Club in Glenview — will be part of the new four-event $100,000 bonus pool called Route 66 Cup. The player topping the point list after the four events will get $66,000.
The Presidents Cup has, in partnership with the George and Cindy Rusu Family Foundation, contributed $150,000 to the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans. The Presidents Cup will be played Sept. 22-27 at Medinah Country Club, and the donation is part of a commitment to invest in local communities and build a lasting legacy for the event.
The Western Golf Association has announced a one-year agreement with Inspire 11, establishing the business and technology consulting firm as the presenting sponsor of the 124th Western Amateur at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club from July 27 to Aug. 1.
Nominations are now being accepted for the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame induction class of 2027. Application forms are available on the Illinois PGA website.