BARRINGTON, Ill. – The 47th Illinois State Junior Amateur hosted by the Illinois Junior Golf Association at the Makray Memorial GC came to a close Thursday after a three hole, sudden death playoff to determine a champion. Connor Prassas (2017) of Winnetka, Ill., was named champion after defeating Chip Savarie (2018) of Winnetka in a sudden death playoff with a par on the last playoff hole.
The Illinois State Junior Amateur (ISJA) is a 54 hole, stroke play event, with a cut after 36 holes to the top 50 and ties. The field, made up of male junior golfers from Illinois ages 12-18, played the first round on the par 71 course from 6,587 yards.
The Illinois Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing playing opportunities for its members ages 8-18, conducting educational clinics and events, and serving as a junior golf informational clearinghouse.
Savarie was the low round for day, with a 1-under-par 70 in the tough winds. His birdie on No. 18 gave him solo lead in the clubhouse as the final groups played the last few holes. Prassas, who was the second round leader, finished his final round with a birdie to force a playoff with his high school teammate.
The sudden death playoff took place on No. 18 and repeats as many times as it takes until an outright winner is decided. Both players made pars on the first playoff hole and birdies on the second playoff hole. On the third playoff hole, Savarie’s second shot went astray landing him near the bushes between the No. 9 and 18 greens. Prassas pared the last hole to take home the title.
Prassas carded a tournament total of 5-over-par 218. Not only did Prassas win ISJA he was also the medalist at his qualifier at Broken Arrow at the beginning of June. This is the third year that he has qualified for ISJA, but the first year he made the cut.
“Knowing the golf course better, especially the greens really helped me this year. I felt really good coming into the final round as the leader but it was harder to sleep on it,” said Prassas. “I didn’t play that great in the final round but I hung in there and made a few birdies on the back nine, but the playoff was awesome. This isn’t the first time I have a playoff with Chip, we played-off against each other last year for the state championship so it made me less nervous and made it more fun.”
Savarie also carded a 5-over-par 218 tournament total to take home runner-up honors. Coming in third with a three-day total of 7-over-par 220 were Pete Kuhl (2016) of Morton, Ill., and Justin Choi (2017) of Northfield, Ill. In a three-way tie for fifth was Tommy Kuhl (2018) of Morton, Ill., David Perkins (2016) of East Peoria, Ill., and Luke Armbrust (2018) of Wheaton, Ill., who each carded a tournament total of 9-over-par 222.
In solo eighth was Tyler Isenhart (2019) of Geneva, Ill., who carded a three-day total of 11-over-par 224. Rounding out the top 10 were Cole Kempinski (2016) of Elmhurst, Ill., and Jordan Less (2016) of Elmhurst, Ill., who each carded a three-day total of 12-over-par 225.
The next IJGA major championship is the 36th Chick Evans Junior Amateur which will take place on July 25-29, 2016 at Itasca CC. Open to both boys and girls aged 12-18, the CEJA qualifiers are taking place July 10-20, 2016.
