Down by two holes at the halfway point of the 36-hole Final Match in the 105th CDGA Amateur Championship at Briarwood Country Club on June 26, Lake Forest native Pierce Grieve felt “backed into a corner.”
His way out? Lunch.
“First of all, lunch was great,” Grieve said of his grilled chicken sandwich with avocado on grilled bread. “That definitely put a little bit more of a smile on my face.”
Belly full, Grieve asserted control of the title tilt against Winnetka’s Alexander Creamean by winning the first two holes of the second 18 and never looked back, surging to a historic 4-and-3 triumph. Grieve added the Joseph G. Davis Trophy to the Louis L. Emmerson Trophy he earned by winning last year’s Illinois State Amateur Championship. He becomes just the 12th person to win both events and the first since the legendary Joel Hirsch achieved the feat in 1988.
“It feels great,” the lanky lefty said. “I feel like this and the State Am are the two majors of Illinois golf. To get both of those trophies and put my name on both of them is super special. Not only that, to do it within 11 months is even cooler. I think it speaks on just where my game’s at.”
The 21-year-old West Virginia graduate turned his attention to the professional ranks shortly after his CDGA Amateur victory.
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It had been nearly a calendar year since Bridget Butler of Barrington last competed in a high-level amateur golf tournament when she teed it up in the 92nd Illinois State Women’s Amateur Championship at The Grove Country Club, June 16–18. For some, it might have taken a few events to get their feet back underneath them, to feel the pressure of championship play once again.
The 19-year-old Stetson University golfer proved that she didn’t need such a grace period by emerging victorious. Butler’s final-round 1-under 71, along with scores of 69 and 72 on Monday and Tuesday, positioned her atop the 54-hole event leaderboard at -4 overall. Rockford’s Kayla Sayyalinh, the leader following Tuesday’s second round, and Alexis Myers of Northbrook tied for second at -1.
“This is my first tournament in 11 months, since I redshirted at Nebraska [before transferring to Stetson],” said Butler of her recent time away. “So it means a lot, this win. I worked on my swing a lot, putting and chipping - my whole game. I really focused on my short game and wedges.”
Butler’s win earned her an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes Aug. 4-10. Additionally, Chicagoan Dasa Urbankova became the first Illinois State Women’s Mid-Amateur champion as the lowest competitor age 25 and up following 36 holes of competition. The 27-year-old UIC alum finished the championship in fifth place at +3 overall.
A trend is beginning to emerge, as both winners of the state’s premier junior events first became exposed to high-level competition in the Drive, Chip & Putt (DCP) National Finals.
Clarendon Hills native Michael Jorski claimed the 56th Illinois State Junior Amateur Championship June 24–26 at Makray Memorial Golf Club. The 15-year-old’s 54-hole total of 5-over topped defending champion Owen Coniaris by two strokes. In 2022, Jorski won the Boys 12–13 division of the DCP National Finals at Augusta National.
One year prior to Jorski’s Augusta triumph, Reese Wallace qualified for the National Finals in the Girls 10-11 division, finishing sixth out of 10 competitors. Now a 16-year-old, the South Barrington native finished atop the leaderboard in the 46th Illinois State Junior Girls Championship, June 23–25 at Aldeen Golf Club. Wallace surged to victory by carding a 2-under 70 in the final round, the only under-par score of the day.
In the professional ranks, Austin Smotherman notched a one-stroke victory in the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS June 26-29, the Korn Ferry Tour’s annual stop at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield. Additionally, Illinois men’s golf coach Mike Small continued his dominance of the Illinois Senior Open, winning by five strokes at Hawthorn Woods Country Club June 17–18. It was his third career win of the event. —Casey Richards