FightingIllini.com
The Official Home of University of Illinois Athletics
- Men's Sports
- MEN'S SPORTS
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cheerleading
- Football
- Golf
- WOMEN'S SPORTS
- Basketball
- Cheerleading
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Soccer
Mike Small finishes second at Illinois Open
  |
|
Illinois head coach Mike Small finished runner-up at the Illinois Open.
|
July 29, 2009
Hawtorn Woods, Ill. -
by Bill Ibrahim, Illinois PGA
Two competitors in the final round of the 60th Illinois Open Championship on Wednesday will be going on to participate in separate upcoming PGA Majors - coincidentally, they found each other in a playoff to determine the 2009 Illinois Open champion.
Amateur Brad Benjamin, 22, from Rockford, began his round in the second to last group, just two shots off the lead. He made birdies on the par-3 9th hole and three of the last five holes. The only blemish on Benjamin's card was a bogey on the par-5 13th hole.
"I made the worst swing all day," said Benjamin. "I had to take a drop after hitting my approach shot out of bounds. I was very fortunate to get it up and down because I had a pretty bad lie."
Benjamin posted a 3-under-par 68 for the round, making his 54-hole total 208 (-5). Then the waiting began; Benjamin watched as the final group approached the 18th green.
In that group was Mike Small, 43, the University of Illinois men's head golf coach, who started the championship round tied for the lead. Small stumbled early in his round, making bogey on two of his first five holes but regrouped and made birdie on the par-5 6th hole. Small strung together eight consecutive pars and made back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16. His birdie No.15 came by way of a chip in from a downhill lie.
"[The chip] was about 20 yards and the birdie putt on 16 was 12 feet, but then I 3-putt 17 coming in," said Small. "That cost me the tournament, really. Stuff like this is why I have a day job."
Small missed a birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole finishing with a 1-under-par 70, 208 for the tournament (-3), and the two-man playoff was set.
Benjamin and Small both made par on No. 16 and bogey on No. 17. Both players' tee shots found the center of the fairway on No. 18. After Benjamin's approach shot landed safely on the green, Small pulled a shot that settled on the rocks to the left of the green.
"That shot came after the worst 8-iron you ever saw, big ol' hook on it," Small said.
After much deliberation, Small decided to try his hand at a trick shot instead of deeming his ball unplayable. With his feet eight inches above the ball, Small played a ricochet off the face of the rock he was standing on. Incredibly, it came to rest 12 feet from the cup, giving him a great chance to save par.
Benjamin missed his birdie putt by inches and tapped in for a par. Small then rolled his offering in hopes of forcing sudden death, but he came up short, giving Benjamin the 2009 title.
"I dodged a bullet there," said Benjamin. "He hit about as good a shot as you can from [the rocks]. He's such a good player, I figured he'd make the putt."
Benjamin recently won the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship over the No. 1 seed Nick Taylor, of Canada, 7 and 6, in the 36-hole Championship match. Benjamin, who was the No. 6 seed, is a 2009 University of Memphis graduate. His victory earned him an exemption into the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship, August 24-30, at Southern Hills C.C. in Tulsa, Okla. and an invitation to play in the 2010 Masters in Augusta, Ga.
Small recently played in the PGA Professional National Championship (PPNC), where he outlasted 311 of the country's top PGA Professionals to capture his second PPNC title (2005). With the victory, Small earned a spot in the 91st PGA Championship, (his fifth appearance in the last six years), August 13-16, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Small currently holds four Illinois Open Championship titles (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), only one less than Gary Pinns' (1978 (a), 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990).
Guy Sciortino from Melrose Park, finished alone in third place after posting a final round 69 and a 54-hole total of 209 (-4). When Sciortino stepped up to the 18th hole, he was tied with Small for the lead at 5-under-par. Both Sciortino's drive and approach shots found bunkers, and his third shot ended up behind the hole in the rough. He didn't make his chip, but tapped in for bogey.
It was the fourth time in the 60-year history of the championship that a pair of amateurs have won back-to-back titles. The last duo to accomplish the feat was Adam Turner in 1999 and Curtis Malm in 2000. Joe Emerich from Palatine captured the title last year at Hawthorn Woods C.C.
Administered by the Illinois PGA since 1950, the Illinois Open has historical roots dating back to 1922. The "state championship of golf" is a 54-hole championship contested over three days to determine the finest player in the state of Illinois. The tournament is open to professionals and amateurs with a handicap of 10 or less who reside within the state of Illinois. Qualifying events conducted throughout the month of June finalize the championship field to the top 156 players.
