Prior to Thursday morning at Stonebridge Country Club, there hadn’t been a hole-in-one carded in the Illinois State Amateur Championship since Dylan Drogemuller aced No. 8 in the first round at Bloomington Country Club in 2023.
Then, two happened within a span of 20 minutes.
First, Kyle Davies, a 34-year-old native of Chatham near Springfield, holed an 8-iron on the 175-yard par-3 eighth.
“It’s my third hole-in-one, first in competition,” Davies said. “It ranks at the top.”
Then, just two groups later, 15-year-old Clarendon Hills native Michael Jorski matched the feat. Jorski is a past Drive, Chip & Putt National Champion and won the Illinois State Junior Amateur Championship in June. He finished tied for 19th in his State Am debut.
“I expect to play as well as I can,” Jorski said. “Many of the people here are better than me, but I just focus on developing and getting better each time I go out there. I played well this week, but still feel like I left a few shots out there. I also gained a few with the hole-in-one.”
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Despite being an eight-time CDGA-event champion and the 2022 CDGA Player of the Year, Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park) hadn’t played in the State Am since 2016. The 48-year-old father has traditionally prioritized local and national mid-amateur and four-ball events. However, an injury to his longtime four-ball partner John Ramsey freed up Slutzky’s schedule for this year’s State Am. He was in contention throughout the week, ultimately placing fourth at -12 overall.
“The State Am is very different – you’re competing against college kids instead of mid-ams [age 25 and up],” Slutzky explained. “This is what they do for a living essentially – they play golf tournaments – so the competition is much higher and much tougher.”
He will seek to claim his fourth Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship crown at Inverness Golf Club Aug. 18–19.
Two brothers – Winnetka’s Alexander (pictured) and John Creamean – were among the 38 competitors who made the 36-hole cut. Needing a birdie on his final hole in the second round Wednesday to advance, John eagled the par-5 ninth to secure his spot alongside Alexander in Thursday’s 36-hole finale.
“I was able to put it on the green in two on the par-five ninth,” John said. “I drained a 50-foot putt for eagle, so that was awesome for both of us to make it.”
Both earned exemptions into next year’s event, with Alexander finishing T5 at -10 and John placing T17 at even par.
The age range of those who made the 36-hole cut was 40 years. Rick Stewart, a 55-year-old from Park Ridge, finished 33rd at +8 overall. Two 15-year-olds finished in the top-20 and earned exemptions into the 2026 iteration – Ben Patel of North Aurora (16th at -1) and Jorski.
The scoring average for the tournament was 74.75. Round three on Thursday morning marked the easiest round with an average of 71.81, while Tuesday’s first round was the hardest at 76.14.
The most difficult hole of the tournament was the 460-yard par-4 11th, with an average score of 4.43 over the course of four rounds. Only 35 birdies were recorded by the field with over 115 bogeys or worse carded.
The easiest hole for the field was the 540-yard par-5 ninth with an average score of 4.76. The hole surrendered 116 birdies, 12 eagles and one albatross (by eventual champion Jordan Less) during the tournament.
—Casey Richards and Simon Schuler
Photographs by Tim Merrick and Jacob Bomeli
