BARRINGTON, Ill. – The 48th Illinois State Junior Amateur concluded Thursday after several rain delays and 54 holes of competitive golf. The Illinois Junior Golf Association awarded the 2017 ISJA champion honors to Brendan O’Reilly (2017) of Hinsdale, Ill.
The Illinois State Junior Amateur (ISJA) is a 54-hole, stroke play event with a cut to the low 50 and ties after 36 holes. The field, which is made up of 156 male junior golfers from Illinois ages 12-18, played the par 71 course from 6,902 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.
O’Reilly made history today, becoming the only person to win ISJA three times. He also holds the record as the only person to win ISJA back-to-back, which happened in 2013 and 2014. When asked about how making history felt, O’Reilly said:
“It’s awesome, this is a great event and it’s always a tough field. Knowing that I outlasted everyone for the three times I’ve played here and being able to take home a win the three times I played here, there is nothing better than that.”
O’Reilly finished the tournament with an even-par 213. His final round of 1-over-par 72 included back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 & 16. This is O’Reilly’s last season with the IJGA as he heads to University of Illinois this fall.
“I am most excited for the golf team at U of I,” said O’Reilly. “I’ve put in a lot of work with my coaches and I have had so many great people in my corner helping me get to where I am. Now I have an opportunity to play for Coach Small and that’s going to be really exciting and I’m going to try to get a lot better when I get there.”
O’Reilly looked back fondly on his time playing junior golf with the IJGA, “I think my favorite part about the IJGA is the people you get to play with. I have known some of these guys since I started playing in the IJGA when I was seven or eight, and now they are really good friends and they will stay good friends. There is such great competition in Illinois which makes every tournament a battle. And I think that’s the best part.”
Coming in runner-up was Tyler Isenhart (2019) of Geneva, Ill., who carded a 4-over-par 217 tournament total. Isenhart was one of two players, the other being Rob Wuethrich (2017) of Bloomington, Ill., to card a final round score under-par.
In third place was Ben Tyrrell (2018) of Edwardsville, Ill., who carded a 5-over-par 218 tournament total. Matthew Wingren (2017) of Hinsdale, Ill., Tommy Kuhl (2018) of Morton, Ill., and Wuethrich, all finished the three days at 6-over-par 219.
Laurence Ting (2018) of Westmont, Ill., Ethan Farnam (2017) of Crystal Lake, Ill., and Mac McClear (2019) of Hinsdale, Ill., finished T7 with a tournament total of 9-over-par 222. Rounding out the top 10 were Jack Crawshaw (2019) of Winnetka, Ill., and Luke Armbrust (2018) of Wheaton, Ill., each carding an 11-over-par 224 tournament total.
The next Major Championship for IJGA will be the Chick Evans Junior Amateur at Itasca CC on July 24-28, 2017. Qualifiers run from July 9 to July 19, registration closes on Monday, July 3rd.