BARRINGTON, ILL – The first round of the Illinois State Junior Amateur (ISJA) Championship came to a close this evening after 156 junior golfers from across the state of Illinois competed in perfect conditions all day. Jordan Hahn (2015) of Spring Grove, Ill. and Daniel Cole (2016) of Northbrook, Ill., share the lead after day one. Both competitors recorded even par rounds of 71.
The 46th ISJA is hosted at MaKray Memorial Golf Club in Barrington, Ill. MaKray has been hosting the ISJA Championship since 2007. The winner of the ISJA attains the Slovitt Cup, named for former IJGA Governing Board Member, Bruce Slovitt. Bruce’s sons Phil and Michael remain the only brother combination to have won this event.
Hahn’s round was a roller coaster ride consisting of five birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. Cole’s day was a bit more consistent. He recorded 14 pars, two birdies and two bogeys. Rounding out the top-3 is Matt Murlick (2016) of Winnetka, Ill. Murlick is just two shots back from Cole and Hahn, after carding an impressive 4-under-par 32 on the back nine.
The ISJA format consists of 18-hole stroke play on Tuesday and Wednesday. A cut to the top-50 scores plus ties will determine the field for Thursday’s final round. There will be a new champion for 2015, as the 2013 and 2014 champion, Brendan O’Reilly (2017) of Hinsdale, Ill., is not competing in this year’s ISJA.
Round two of the ISJA Championship will begin tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. CST.