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Aug. 14, 2008

Wheaton, Ill. - "I always felt I was a good putter, I just needed the confidence to prove to myself I could do it," said Illinois junior Zach Barlow as he embarked on a six-hour ride back to his hometown of Percy, Ill.

Indeed, Barlow had the blade working over the past three days as he claimed the Illinois State Amateur title by three shots at Cantigny Golf Course in Wheaton, Ill.. The tournament concluded Thursday with the final 36 holes for the 30 players who made the cut. Barlow shot rounds of 71 and 71 to finish at seven-under par 281 on the 7,055, par-72 course, three strokes ahead of Philip Arouca of Wilmette.

"I feel good about the mental side of my game," Barlow said. "I'm ready to get back to school and help the University of Illinois play for a national championship."

Barlow is the first University of Illinois player to win the Louis L. Emmerson trophy since Pekin native D.A. Points won the title in 1999. Two other Illini, sophomore Clayton Parkhill from Champaign and freshman Mason Jacobs from Metropolis, also made the cut and finished 19th and 24th, respectively.

At -5, Barlow entered the day with a two-stroke lead, but double bogeyed the second hole. He needed both his putter and his mental fortitude to overcome that early blip. He birdied the par-three third, but eventually lost the lead for the first time as his score dipped to -3 through six holes.

Barlow birdied the par-five seventh, but sights a par save on nine as the turning point to his round. He hit his tee shot in the fairway bunker and needed two more shots to reach the green. But Barlow proceeded to sink a 20-foot putt from above the hole to save par.

"I put a star by the hole as I look back on my day," Barlow said. "So many of my crucial putts were to save par. Those were the differences in my rounds."

Barlow played the back nine at two-under par to move to -6 and took a three-shot lead into the final round in the afternoon. He birdied the first and fourth hole and saw his lead balloon to six shots after a birdie on the eighth. Enter Arouca, who started the final 18 holes at two-over, but put the pressure on Barlow with a final round six-under par 66, which included five birdies in his first 11 holes.

"My approach never changed no matter whether the lead was six or four or two," Barlow said. "I just wanted to play the course, stay aggressive and keep to my game."

As he approached 17, the 71st hole of the tournament, Barlow's lead had diminished to just two strokes over Arouca. He used a six-iron from 180 yards out to get to within four feet of the cup and tapped in for birdie and a three-stroke advantage heading into the home hole.

"That's why you practice putting yourself in tough situations, so that when it happens in a tournament, you know how to overcome them," Barlow said.

"I'm really proud for Zach," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "He's worked really hard to steady his game. This was a great win for him. He's earned the right to always be called a state champion from this year."

Although Barlow admits the tournament victory was his most notable to date in his career, he calls it a stepping stone for bigger things to come that he can share with his teammates. He does say he takes that long ride to the depths of Illinois to his hometown of less than 500 people with at least one piece of satisfaction. "It's nice to take the trophy home to the southern part of the state."

Guthrie in the hunt at the Junior PGA

It's been a pretty strong week for Illinois golfers. Incoming freshman Luke Guthrie is in position to make a run at the 33rd Junior PGA title in suburban Cincinnati. Guthrie, a 2008 graduate of Quincy (Ill.) High School, shot a six-under par 66 in the second round of one of the top junior tournaments in the nation.

Guthrie, who has been ranked as high as eighth in the Golfweek Junior rankings, played bogey free golf in moving into fourth place at eight-under par halfway through the 72-hole event. He trails the co-leaders by two strokes.

Hoffman places tenth at Canadian Amateur

Illinois junior Matt Hoffman completed a tenth-place finish Thursday in the 2008 Canadian Amateur Championship in Lethbridge, Alberta. Hoffman entered the day in 11th and moved up a spot with a round of two-over par 73. The native of Thornhill, Ontario, finished the tournament at -1 283. Cam Burke of New Hamburg, Ontario, won the tournament at -10.

"I wasn't as good on the par-fives today as I have been, but I can't complain with a tenth-place finish in a national championship," Hoffman said. "Overall, it was a great week. I'm building for the college season and I can't wait to get back to school."