IHSA state champion golfer tops U.S. Open qualifier field
Last week’s first of three Illinois local qualifiers for the U.S. Open hardly went according to form.
Evanston High School sophomore Lester Low, an amateur and the reigning Illinois High School Association state champion, posted the best score with a 7-under-par 65 at Stonewall Orchard in Gurnee. That was two strokes better than veteran pro tour player Andy Svoboda, the head professional at Butler National in Oak Brook.
Svoboda, who came to Butler in 2024, was the Illinois PGA’s Player of the Year the last two years. Now 46, Svoboda qualified for five U.S. Opens and won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Low, 16, shot 65-72 en route to winning last year’s prep title at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington. Evanston was the team runner-up the last two years and Lester’s brother Kieran was also part of the Evanston team. Kieran will be a freshman at Boston College in the fall. Both brothers were grant recipients from the U.S. Golf Association for its National Development Program.
The Stonewall Orchard local advanced four players to the final Open qualifying stage, and another amateur — Ben Patel of North Aurora — joined Low and Svoboda in advancing. The 36-hole final stage qualifiers will be held around the country between May 18 and June 8 to determine the 156 starters in the Open proper June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills in New York.
PGA Tour
Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim, partnered with Jeffrey Kang, tied for sixth in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans two-man team event. It was Ghim’s best finish of the season, produced his best payday of the year ($185,250) and boosted his FedEx Cup ranking 20 positions to No. 114.
Northbrook’s Nick Hardy paired with Davis Riley to finish in a tie for 20th. Hardy and Riley won the event in 2023. Hardy has spent this season on the Korn Ferry Tour where he made four cuts in six starts.
Senior PGA
Fifteen players advanced to the final qualifier for the U.S. Senior Open, to be played July 2-5 at Scioto in Ohio. Mike Carbray of Glen Ellyn, amateur Glenn Przybylski of Frankfort, Andy Walker and Bradley Lanning all shot 2-over-par 74 to tie for low score.
Roy Biancalana of St. Charles earned the last qualifying spot in the final qualifier by surviving a four-man playoff involving players who posted 77s.
Here and there
Both Illinois tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule — the Memorial Health Championship, June 25-28 at Panther Creek in Springfield, and the Evans Scholars Invitational, July 23-26 at The Glen Club in Glenview — will be part of the new four-event $100,000 bonus pool called Route 66 Cup. The player topping the point list after the four events will get $66,000 in addition to tournament prize money.
The Presidents Cup has, in partnership with the George and Cindy Rusu Family Foundation, contributed $150,000 to the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans. The Presidents Cup will be played Sept. 22-27 at Medinah Country Club. The donation is part of a commitment to invest in local communities and build a lasting legacy for the event.
The Western Golf Association has announced a one-year agreement with Inspire 11, establishing the business and technology consulting firm as the presenting sponsor of the 124th Western Amateur at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club from July 27 to Aug. 1.
Nominations are now being accepted for the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame induction class of 2027. Application forms are available on the Illinois PGA website.