Boys golf: Libertyville’s McConnell grinds out playoff win as Wildcats pull away for North Suburban Conference title
Libertyville's Parker McConnell surely thought that he was hitting his final tee shot of the North Suburban Conference championship as he entered his 18th hole at Thunderhawk golf course with a two-stroke lead.
Yet the Wildcats senior left the door ever-so-slightly open for a comeback, three-putting for bogey on Thunderhawk's 10th green after his approach shot spun back more than he expected. Lake Forest junior Sam Florjancic and McConnell's fellow Wildcats senior Austin Scott capitalized with birdies on their respective final holes to create a three-man deadlock at the top of the leaderboard on Wednesday afternoon, with each sitting at a one-under 71 through 18 holes.
“The dreaded three-putt, not the best," said a deadpan McConnell after the round.
McConnell, however, brushed off the blown lead like a veteran in the playoff, posting back-to-back pars to earn the individual title in a thrilling two-hole showdown.
He quickly vanquished any lingering demons from the three-putt, making a gutsy two-putt par from more than 25 feet out on the tough 18th green to tie Florjancic on the first playoff hole. Scott was unable to recover from a wayward tee shot that left him pinned behind a tree, leaving just Florjancic and McConnell competing for the individual NSC crown heading into the second playoff hole, which would be No. 1 at Thunderhawk.
McConnell and Florjancic both blasted their tee shots on the 414-yard par 4, leaving them both within 100 yards of the steep, downhill-sloping first green. Florjancic had the slightly worse lie, with his ball nestled no more than an inch into the left rough.
After McConnell hit a wedge to about 15 feet, Florjancic skied his approach off the back of the green, leaving the Libertyville senior another window to snag the individual victory. Florjancic narrowly missed an uphill 10-footer for par after a nice chip, and McConnell converted yet another clutch two-putt for the win.
“It’s kind of how golf is, you know?” said McConnell when asked to explain his mindset after blowing the lead on his 18th hole. “You should forget about the past, refocus and try and get that win.”
McConnell and Scott led Libertyville to the team title at 292, six shots ahead of Lake Forest and defending champion Stevenson. Matthew Schinler (74) and Finn Sullivan (76) rounded out the top four for the Wildcats.
“I’m just really proud of the guys for being super resilient out there, and it’s just awesome to see their hard work pay off,” said Libertyville coach Kevin Wall. “They’re a really tight group of kids, they’re all best friends. I think that chemistry makes my job a lot easier.”
Stevenson won the tiebreaker over Lake Forest for a team second-place finish. Junior Nathan Guo, who won the individual NSC championship in 2025, paced the Patriots with a 73 after a slew of back-nine bogeys derailed his title defense. Four Patriots tied for second on the team, as Ben Merdalo, Victor Jagasia, Cohen Ottaviano and Dylan Lee all carded a 75. Joe Matzek and Aden Xu finished right behind at 77, as all seven Stevenson golfers finished in the top 20.
“Certainly a good fight today. Everybody in the 70s, wonderful result from everybody,” said Stevenson coach John Watson. “They all had a chance to contribute to our top four scores today. So that’s really exciting.”
Warren surged past Mundelein late to finish fourth at 312, led by Jameson O’Neill (74), Donovan Kirk (76), Oliver Rojewski (79) and Evan Villarreal (83).
“I think today is right where we should be,” said Warren coach Dave Zaban. “In conference matches, I don’t think we did as well as we should have. So today is a really great validation to get fourth place.”
Mundelein came in fifth at 315. Ethan Mason paced the Mustangs with a 78. Aiden Pyke, Carson Koenigsknecht and Parker Koenigsknecht rounded out the top four with 79s.
“Warren clipped us a little bit,” said Mundelein coach Todd Parola, though he added that he was happy to have four golfers shoot under 80 given Thunderhawk’s difficulty.
Lake Zurich claimed sixth for the second consecutive year with a 326. Evan Kerr led the Bears with a 76, and Jack Munson (83), Tyler Marini (83) and Nick Wald (84) rounded out Lake Zurich’s top four.
“I thought the boys all competed well and played well as a group,” said Lake Zurich coach Mike Kolze. “We lose two valuable seniors, but we have a young group as well, so the future is bright.”