Biancalana Wins Illinois PGA Errie Ball Senior Player of the Year Award

Feb 2, 2023

GOLF, Ill. – February 2, 2023 – Roy Biancalana (The Hawk Country Club) has won the 2022 Illinois PGA Errie Ball Senior Player of the Year Award. Biancalana has now won this honor in consecutive years and four out of the last five seasons (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022).

“I work extremely hard on my game and with so many really good senior players in the Illinois Section, winning the Senior Player of the Year is special and something I will always treasure,” said Biancalana.

Errie Ball Senior Player of the Year points are earned against other eligible players competing in the Senior Division at Illinois PGA Stroke Play events, the Illinois PGA Senior Match Play Championship, the Illinois PGA Senior Championship, the Senior Illinois PGA Players Championship, the Illinois Senior Open Championship, the Senior PGA Professional Championship and the Senior PGA Championship. Only Class-A members over the age of 50 are eligible for Errie Ball Senior Player of the Year points. Points are allocated to players based on their finish against the entire field. Points are weighted based on the strength and size of the field.

“We have a lot of great senior competitors in the Illinois Section,” said Carrie Williams, Executive Director of the Illinois PGA Section. “The Senior Player of the Year Award is difficult to win, and Roy showcased some great golf throughout the season, performing well at every event he participated in and having a shot to win both Player of the Year Award honors.”

Biancalana appeared in eight Illinois PGA Errie Ball point events in 2022 and participated in the Main Division nine times. He finished inside the top 10 in the Senior Division eight times and finished inside the top 10 in the Main Division four times this year. His 2022 season was highlighted by three Senior Division victories, including two Senior Major Championship titles. He won the Illinois PGA Senior Professional Championship at Bryn Mawr Country Club. This victory marked the first time Biancalana won the Championship in his career and his finish also qualified him for the 2022 Senior PGA Professional Championship that took place in October.

At the Senior PGA Professional Championship, Biancalana finished T26 and qualified for the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship for the third straight year. Biancalana will tee it up at PGA Frisco on May 24-28, 2023, in the first Major Championship to be played at PGA Frisco.

Biancalana also won the Illinois PGA Senior Match Play Championship at Shoreacres for the second straight season. His third victory of the year game at the Illinois PGA Senior Masters at Onwentsia. He shared this title with David Paeglow (Kishwaukee Country Club).

In addition to his wins, Biancalana also finished T7 at the Illinois Senior Players Championship and the Illinois Super Senior Open Championship.

Biancalana also recorded four top-10 finishes victories in the Main Division in 2022. His best finish came at the Nadler Golf Cars Illinois PGA Section Championship, where he finished 5th and qualified for the 2023 PGA Professional Championship. Biancalana finished T7 at the 73rd Illinois Open at White Eagle Golf Club. Biancalana held a two-stroke lead over the field during the second round of the Illinois Open. Biancalana finished second in the Illinois PGA Bernardi Player of the Year points race, which serves as the Main Division Player of the Year honor.

“Two things really stand out to me about this year,” said Biancalana. “The first is that I finished T7 in the Illinois Open at 62 years old. No other player in the top 15 was older than 31. The second thing is that I won two of the four senior major championships this year, and my win at the Senior Section Championship was the first time I’ve ever won that event.”

This award is named after Errie Ball. Ball served and contributed to the game of golf for over forty-four years as the Head PGA Professional at Oak Park Country Club. He was a tremendous player, qualifying for the U.S. Open 20 times, the PGA Championship eight times and winning the Illinois PGA Professional Championship three times (1949, 1955, 1965). He was also named the first Director of Golf at Butler National Golf Club in 1972 and was elected into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame in 1990.

About the Illinois PGA/Illinois PGA Foundation

The Illinois Section of the PGA of America is a professional organization serving the men and women golf professionals in northern and central Illinois who are the recognized experts in growing, teaching and managing the game of golf. The Illinois PGA is responsible for the administration of competitive golf tournaments, educational opportunities, support programs and growth of the game initiatives. With over 840 members and apprentices, the Illinois PGA is one of the 41 regional Sections that comprise the PGA of America. The Illinois PGA Foundation focuses its community efforts on promoting the goodwill and growth of the game with an emphasis on activities that benefit youth. Foundation initiatives include: GolfWorks Illinois, Youth-based Scholarship Funds and the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. For more information about the Illinois PGA and the Illinois PGA Foundation, please visit www.ipga.com and join us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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CONTACT:
Kevin Quinn
Illinois PGA Communications
708.336.1294 mobile
847.729.4102 office
kbquinn@pgahq.com