NADLER GOLF CARS ILLINOIS PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD
ELGIN, Ill. – August 27, 2024 – Brian Carroll (The Hawk Country Club) carded the low round of the day on Tuesday, recording a 7-under-par 65 to take the outright lead at the 2024 Nadler Golf Cars Illinois PGA Professional Championship at Elgin Country Club. He currently holds a two-stroke lead with just 18 holes to play for the Championship.
Carroll got off to a nice start making birdies on his first two holes. He added a third birdie on the par-4 fifth hole. He had good looks on the third and fourth holes as well and could’ve really put himself ahead of the field, but he failed to convert. Then a bad swing on the sixth hole moved him in the wrong direction, dropping a stroke and leaving him at 6-under-par for the tournament.
Carroll’s round really took off on the ninth hole, which started a streak of five consecutive birdies. He hit a good tee shot on the par-3 ninth hole to about 12 feet and rolled in the downhill putt to get the streak going. He then got up-and-down from the front of the green on the 10th hole for birdie and tied the lead at 8-under-par. Carroll grabbed the lead on the 11th hole when he hit 3-wood over the green and was able to get up-and-down again, making a nice putt for birdie. The birdies continued to fall as Carroll hit his approach shot on 12 to about a foot and expanded his lead to two as he moved to 10-under-par. He then converted a nice 18-foot putt on the 13th hole. He was able to get a read on his putt from his playing partner Mike Small (University of Illinois), and moved to 11-under-par.
The birdie streak may have come to an end on the par-5 13th but only due to Carroll making an eagle. He pulled hybrid for his second shot and hit a high fade to about 15 feet. He had a slippery downhill putt for a three and was able to roll it in moving him to 13-under-par for the tournament. At the time he had a four-stroke lead on the field.
“I played well for most of the day. I got off to a nice start making birdies on one and two,” said Carroll.” Then I hit it to a foot and a half on five and was 3-under-par early. “It was great to see the putt go down on 14. I was just trying to cozy it next to the hole and ended up making it so that was a bonus. I gave a couple away down the stretch. 15 always gets me. Overall, I was really happy with the round. It was a great day.”
Carroll would give a few strokes back to the field as he bogeyed the par-4 15th hole and concluded his round with a bogey on his 36th hole of the tournament dropping back to 11-under-par for the tournament. Carroll, who won this event in 2021, is looking to become the 20th player to win this event multiple times in a career.
“It helps having been in this position before,” said Carroll. “I love this golf course. It’s in great shape. The greens are the perfect speed for me. A lot of the holes set up well to my eyes. I like to play a little fade. With how the scoring is, you know everyone is going to be making birdies. You just have to keep your foot on the gas and make as many as you can. Usually, in this event par is a good score, but that’s not the case right now.”
Trailing by two strokes, is the 2024 Bernardi Illinois PGA Player of the Year points leader, Andy Svoboda (Butler National Golf Club). Svoboda’s round got off to a sluggish start as he was not able to take advantage of the early scoring opportunities presented at Elgin Country Club. He turned at just 1-under-par for the day and trailed by two strokes.
His round jumpstarted on the back nine as he got up-and-down on the par-5 10th hole for birdie. He then eagled the par-4 11th hole for the second time this week, driving the green for a second consecutive day. He poured in a 40-footer from the center of the green and was 4-under-par for the day, and 8-under-par for the tournament. He added his final birdie of the day on the par-5 14th hole to get to 9-under-par. In total, Svoboda carded a 5-under-par 67 in round two. Despite this being his first Illinois PGA Professional Championship appearance, Svoboda has experience winning this type of event.
“I was lucky to win the Connecticut Section Championship a year ago,” said Svoboda. “The course was similar to this. If I drive it well tomorrow, play the par 5s well, and hit a few good wedges I should be able to post a good score.”
Andy Mickelson (Mistwood Golf Club) looked like he might have the round of the day after a bogey-free morning round of 7-under-par 65, which tied Carroll for the low round of the day. Mickelson was looking to take advantage of a front that he shot 5-under-par on the day before. He left himself plenty of looks and was able to convert on holes two, five, seven, and nine. His birdie on the fifth hole was a product of a 40-footer after his approach shot got away from him. Mickelson added three more birdies on the back nine to move up seven spots on the leaderboard. At the time, Mickelson was the leader in the clubhouse at 8-under-par as the afternoon wave was getting underway. He is currently tied for third and three strokes off the lead. Mickelson is also looking to capture his second career Illinois PGA Professional Championship.
“This course is good for me. I feel really good out here,” said Mickelson. “I think if I have the same feel and patience that I did today I should be in good shape. I had a lot of birdie looks today. The course fits my eye and fits my game. I just need to take one hole at a time and compound as many looks as I can. I’m putting good enough, probably better than anyone else out there. If I give myself enough looks in the right spots, I should shoot the score I need too.”
Also tied for third is Matthew Rion (Briarwood Country Club). Rion’s name shuffled on the leaderboard for the first part of his round. He came out with two consecutive birdies on his first two holes, but three bogeys followed his birdie, birdie start. He was able to get back to even-par for the day with a birdie on eight. Making the turn at 4-under-par, he was chasing Carroll who was four groups ahead of him going on his streak.
Like Carroll, Rion made his move on the back nine. Birdies on 10 and 12 got him back into the mix, and an eagle hole out from 120 yards on the par-4 13th hole vaulted Rion up the leaderboard.
“I started strong with two birdies and then backtracked quickly with three bogeys,” said Rion. “It just felt like the round got off to a quick start, maybe the heat got to me. Then I made nice birdies on 10 and 11. On 13 I hit a nice drive down the middle and hit a stock 50-degree wedge that ended up backing up into the hole for a two. That was probably the best shot I’ve hit in a while. I think for tomorrow, I have to keep being aggressive. This course is yielding a lot of birdies, so you have to take advantage of your opportunities.”
Rion was 8-under-par for the tournament after the 13th hole and wasn’t finished yet. He added another birdie on the par-5 14th hole to move to 9-under-par and tied with Svoboda for second place. Rion gave one shot back on his way into the clubhouse with a bogey on the 16th hole. He matched his round one score of 4-under-par on Tuesday and is 8-under-par for the tournament.
Carroll, Svoboda, Mickelson, and Rion have stationed themselves well ahead of the rest of the field. Steve Orrick (Bloomington Country Club), and Kevin Flack (Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Country Club) are T5 at 4-under-par. Chris French (Aldeen Golf Club) is in seventh place at 3-under-par.
Frank Hohenadel (Mistwood Golf Club) is in eighth place at 2-under-par. Hohenadel’s round was highlighted by an ace on the par-3 ninth hole.
Rounding out the top 10 is Jonathan Duppler (Elgin Country Club), Mike Small (University of Illinois), and Sean Gervais (Barrington Hills Country Club) who are all 1-under-par for the Championship.
The final round of the 2024 Nadler Golf Cars Illinois PGA Professional Championship takes place tomorrow at Elgin Country Club at 8:00 a.m. with the leaders teeing off at 9:36 a.m.
The top nine finishers at the 2024 Nadler Golf Cars Illinois PGA Professional Championship will qualify for the 2025 PGA Professional Championship. These spots do not include Jeff Kellen, Mike Small, or Andy Svoboda, who are already exempt into the 2025 PGA Professional Championship.
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