Miniature golf tournament in Round Lake Beach raises money for cancer charity

Maricarmen McLean has no delusions about her skill - or lack thereof - at miniature golf. Ask her if she's any good, her answer is simple.

"Not at all," the Waukegan woman says.

But that didn't keep McLean from joining about 20 people Saturday at Kristof's Entertainment Center and World of Fun in Round Lake Beach for a charity miniature golf tournament.

The event raised money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which is dedicated to childhood cancer research.

Kristof's has raised more than $50,000 for St. Baldrick's since 2011, but Saturday's tournament was the first of its kind there.

Tom Kristof, the owner and namesake of the center, said he was hoping the event would raise about $3,000.

"It's simple and it's fun," Kristof said.

Participants teed off in pairs around the 18-hole course. The players went through the course twice, and the best of the two rounds was their final score.

Cash prizes were to be awarded to the players with the lowest scores.

Gurnee resident Lisa Petrovic paired with McLean. After scoring a 1 under par on the third hole, Petrovic downplayed her putting abilities.

"I am an average mini-golf player," she said. "That's like, you play on vacation with your kids."

Former WLS-TV meteorologist Mike Caplan played, too. A Gurnee resident who grew up in that town, he worked as a DJ at Kristof's in the early 1980s and has fond memories of the place.

Still, Caplan had a little trouble with the fifth hole. A soft shot struck a brick obstacle, and his ball rolled back to the starting point.

"That did not go the way we expected the carom to go," he said.

Despite the difficulty on that hole, Caplan was thrilled to participate.

"(It's) wonderful - and I don't have to shave my head," Caplan joked, referring to a more common St. Baldrick's fundraising event.