IL State Jr. Amateur

Eagle helps Shepherd’s cause

By DENNIS D. JACOBS - editorial@kcchronicle.com


BARRINGTON – Daniel Shepherd is well within striking distance at one of the state’s toughest junior tournaments.

Shepherd, who will be a junior at St. Charles North this fall, fired a 75 over 18 holes at Tuesday’s 42nd Illinois State Junior Amateur Championship at Makray Memorial Golf Club. That puts him four shots behind Ian Mankoff of Lake Forest, who was the only golfer who managed to avoid finishing over par.

“It’s a pretty tough course,” Shepherd said. “I was happy to get out of there with a 75.”

St. Charles North golfers Shepherd, John Carroll, and Raghav Cherala are among 156 of the state’s top young golfers competing in the Illinois Junior Golf Association event.

Shepherd was aided greatly by an eagle on the 431-yard, par-4 fifth hole. A fortuitous bounce off the cart path on his tee shot left him just 131 yards from the pin.

“I hit a pitching wedge in and it took a hop or two and then it just kind of rolled in,” he said of his second shot on the hole.

His fellow North Stars did not have as much luck with the course. Indicative of Cherala’s day was a 15-foot putt for birdie on No. 11 that went halfway down the hole and then popped out.

“I was striking it really well,” Cherala said of his round. “I just couldn’t find the hole. … I was just making not great decisions. I would hit a great shot and then I would hit a bad second, good putt, then miss the par.”

Cherala, who will be a sophomore this fall, finished with an 86. That still put him ahead of about a third of the field.

Carroll found more success. His 79 put him in a tie for 38th.

“I played a good back [nine], but I left a few [strokes] out there on the front,” the Elburn resident said.

Carroll, a senior at North, got off to a rough start, double-bogeying the first two holes. He finished with a 7-over par 42 on the front nine. He was much more consistent on the back nine, parring every hole except 12, which he bogeyed.

After struggling with his drives on the first nine holes, Carroll consistently found the fairway over the final nine. He thought he chipped and putted well throughout the day.

“It saved me today,” he said of his short game. “I was chipping good and making lots of good putts.”
Shepherd also putted well.

“I think if you can go out there and not have any three-putts, you’re doing something pretty well,” he said, “because the greens are pretty fast and pretty sloping.”

Shepherd is tied for 12th heading into today’s second round. He said his goal coming into the tournament was to make the cut to play in Thursday’s final round. But after his opening-round success, he said he’s revising his goal to finishing in the top 30, which would exempt him from having to qualify for next year’s championship.

“If I can do that, I’d be happy with my performance,” he said.

Geneva has a pair of golfers in the tournament, but Monday was not their best day. Andrew Cisco shot an 84 and John Stolte carded a 90.

A highlight of Cisco’s round was a birdie on the 540-yard, par-5 sixth hole.

Second Place finish at IJGA Regional

Nice article in the Kane County Chronicle about my second place finish at the IJGA Regional at the Highlands of Elgin, which included weather delays and a competitive field.

ELGIN – Doubtful that John Carroll will make repeat morning runs to McDonald’s a pre-round tradition, but on Monday, the unconventional itinerary worked out well for the Elburn teenager.

Carroll was scheduled to tee off at 7:30 a.m. as the first group out at an Illinois Junior Golf Association tournament at The Highlands of Elgin, but a two-hour weather delay created a ragged morning.

“I went to McDonald’s a couple times because we had two delays,” Carroll said. “I came back, thought I had to play, and then went back again.”

When it was finally go-time for real, the St. Charles North senior delivered a 3-over-par 75, which seemed like it might be enough to take the title for a chunk of the afternoon. A competitor in one of the last few groups in the 16-18 boys division, Ryan Craig, of Huntley, came in one stroke better at 74, so Carroll finished runner-up in the 39-player field.

While the delay was hardly ideal, the up-side to the wet morning were softer greens that allowed Carroll to take aim at the pins more boldly. Carroll hopes the quality round is a momentum-generator for a busy summer of tournaments ahead.

“I think they’re pretty important because I’m trying to play golf in college, and these help a lot, if you do well in them,” Carroll said.

Carroll was North’s No. 3 golfer for much of last season behind Stephen Gow and Nate Clark, both of whom will golf collegiately at Carthage in the fall. Gow was part of Monday’s field as well, and said he has detected improvements to Carroll’s swing and tempo.

“He’s picked up the pace,” Gow said. “We used to call him ‘slow-mo,’ because he used to be so slow, but he’s picked it up. It’s going to be fun watching to see how they do next year.”

Gow played in the group behind Carroll. He said he still was at home when he heard about the weather delays, so he went back to bed – twice – before shooting an 80, landing in 11th place.

“Highlands, I’m pretty familiar with the front nine, but back nine I’ve only played it once, and that was awhile ago, so there were a lot of blind shots,” Gow said. “But that’s just part of the game. ... You’ve got to be able to hit shots that you’re not really used to hitting.”

Among the field’s Tri-Cities area contingent, only Carroll and Geneva’s Sam McKinney finished ahead of Gow.

View the full article here:

Kane County Chronicle Coverage of IJGA Regional #9