Two years ago at Biltmore Country Club, Max Scodro held the Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship lead by one stroke heading into the final 18 of the 54-hole event. A 1-over 72 round ultimately set him back, narrowly missing a playoff with eventual winner Will Hickey by one shot.
This year, in the event’s 33rd iteration at Inverness Golf Club on Aug. 18-19, Scodro was one shot behind the leaders heading into the 18-hole finale. Aided by past experiences, and a little bit of family fortune, he authored a different outcome this time, carding a 3-under 69 en route to a one-shot victory over Jack Watson of Lincolnshire and Roselle’s Dan Stringfellow at 5-under par.
“It feels good, especially because I thought I might have given it back again on the back nine here, early on,” said the 35-year-old Scodro following the victory, his first in more than a decade’s worth of competing in CDGA-administered events. “To come so close, and I kind of gave it away [two years ago], so now to have a different story this time, it felt really good.”
Scodro’s final round kicked into high gear with back-to-back birdies on the par-5 eighth and par-3 ninth holes, surging him to the top of the leaderboard. The back nine, however, showed its teeth, as he bogeyed two of the first three holes on the inward half. A strong mid-amateur field, including the likes of three-time victor Chadd Slutzky and Watson, lurked within striking distance. A reset, in the form of his wife and two sons’ arrival on the par-5 16th, shifted Scodro’s perspective for the better.
“I had no idea they were coming,” said Scodro of his family. “It helped because I kind of needed a reset. I hadn’t had anything going on the back nine. It just lightened the mood, and seeing them was really fun and really special.”
Finishing at 5-under par for the event, Scodro watched as Watson, playing in the group behind, was unable to get up and down to save par on No. 18 and force a three-hole aggregate playoff. The family affair at a CDGA-administered event wasn’t a new thing for Scodro. His grandmother, Lorraine, became a CDGA Blue Coat in 1995 and frequently served as a first-tee starter at events up until her death in the spring of 2023 - just before Max’s failed title attempt at Biltmore. Despite her absence for his first win, he surely felt her spirit.
“It still feels weird coming to these events without her being a starter,” he said. “I thought about her at every first tee this week. She was there for every single event and pretty much all of the Blue Coats out here were like ‘Hey - I know your grandma would be proud.’ It feels good to win it, and I know she helped me out on a couple of lucky breaks today.”
