2024 XXIO Illinois Senior Open Championship Leaderboard
HAWTHORN WOODS, Ill. – June 18, 2023 – David Paeglow (DeKalb, Ill.) won the 2024 XXIO Illinois Senior Open Championship on Tuesday, June 18 at Hawthorn Woods Country Club. Paeglow carded matching rounds of 1-under-par 71 for a tournament total of 2-under-par 142. Paeglow completed the tournament as the only player under par en route to his second Illinois Senior Open Championship in four years (2020, 2024).
“It was difficult out here. Both days were really tough,” said Paeglow. “The wind picked up in the afternoon today and the course got really firm. It was quite a challenge. I just kept hanging in there and tried to make par as much as possible and throw in a couple of birdies when I could. I just wanted to par in at the end and fortunately, it was enough to win.”
The XXIO Illinois Senior Open marked the first Illinois PGA Championship to be contested at Hawthorn Woods Country Club for the first time in nine years. Hawthorn Woods played host to the Illinois Open five times (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2015) with the last time serving as the sister course to Royal Melbourne. Hawthorn Woods proved to survive the test of time.
On the heels of the U.S. Open, the senior Illinois natives found themselves battling their own tough conditions at Hawthorn Woods which featured high winds, and temperatures reaching the mid-90s. It was John Varner (Frankfort, Ill.) who conquered the conditions on Monday. Varner recorded a 5-under-par 67 in round one and held a two-stroke lead over the field.
The likes of Robert Sullivan (Palatine, Ill.), Danny Mulhearn (Wheaton, Ill.), and Paeglow were the only other players to break par in the first round. Entering the final round, Sullivan was two strokes behind Varner, Mulhearn was three strokes behind, and Paeglow was four strokes out of the lead.
Patience was the key in the final round, as Paeglow did not grab the lead until the 12th hole on Tuesday afternoon, his 30th hole of the tournament. He made his move at the end of his front nine birdieing three of the final four holes to make the turn at 2-under-par for the Championship. Varner, who strung together a nice closing stretch to his front nine, was at 5-under-par and had a two-stroke lead over Paeglow and Sullivan.
A birdie on the par-4 10th hole closed the gap for Paeglow who then took advantage of some misfortunes happening behind him. Varner made bogey on the 10th hole to fall to 4-under-par, while Sullivan also made birdie to jump into a tie for second with Paeglow at 3-under-par.
Both Varner and Sullivan dropped shots on the par-3 11th hole with Varner making triple bogey after hitting his tee shot into the penalty area, falling back to 1-under-par for the Championship. Sullivan would three-putt the 11th green and make double bogey to fall back to 2-under-par, leaving Paeglow as the solo leader of the Championship with six holes to play.
Paeglow would maintain his consistent play once he took the lead making good pars on holes 11-13. The 14th hole was playing just over 330 yards and severely downwind making the green drivable. Paeglow took on the challenge to drive the green but missed to the right of the green. He was left with a short chip shot that featured a tight lie and had to carry the greenside bunker in order to get close to the flag. The daunting shot got the best of Paeglow who made bogey from that spot and fell to 2-under-par for the Championship.
He would not fall out of the lead however, as Varner and Sullivan had both fallen to even par for the tournament.
Despite the back nine troubles for the final pairing, Varner and Sullivan stuck around as they each pushed for the Championship. Varner took advantage as the short 14th hole, making birdie and drawing to one stroke behind Paeglow. He got aggressive with a chip shot from off the green on the par-3 15th hole and made bogey to fall back to even par. He then bogeyed the 16th hole and the 18th hole to finish the day at 7-over-par and tied for fourth place.
Sullivan got himself back into contention with a great tee shot on the par-3 15th hole. He converted the shot, making a 15-foot birdie moving back into second place and one shot off the lead. He then tied the lead on the par-5 17th hole. After hitting the fairway off the tee, Sullivan went for the green in two. He was disappointed that the shot came up short of the green, but he nearly holed his chip shot for eagle to take the lead. He tapped in for birdie and moved to the 72nd hole tied for the lead.
Up ahead, Paeglow had looks at birdie on 16 and 17 but was unable to convert. He played the 72nd hole of the Championship to perfection leaving himself about 30 feet for birdie. He two-putted the 18th green posting the score to beat at 2-under-par.
With the Championship on the line, Sullivan missed the fairway to right off the 18th tee. His drive ended up on the cart path. After taking relief from the cart path, Sullivan was left with a difficult lie that he hooked long and left. His approach carried the green and ended up in the penalty area. Sullivan was unable to chip in from his drop, and make double bogey, leaving Paeglow alone at the top of the leaderboard.
Paeglow has now won three Illinois PGA Majors in four years including the 2020 XXIO Illinois Senior Open, and the 2022 Illinois PGA Senior Players Championship.
“It feels great to get the win,” said Paeglow. “The first one was great and this one was even better. It validates the victory from a few years ago. I’m very happy with the win.”
Paeglow will now turn his attention to the 2024 U.S. Senior Open Championship taking place next week at Newport Country Club in Newport, RI.
“I’m looking forward to next week at the U.S. Senior Open,” said Paeglow. “I hope to do well there and make the cut. I’m proud to be representing Kishwaukee Country Club out there.”
Mark Small (a) (Frankfort, Ill.) finished T4 with a tournament total of 2-over-par 146 to win the Low Amateur award for the second consecutive year. Mark carded rounds of 75 and 71 to claim the Low Amateur Award.
“This is a tremendous golf course,” said Mark Small. “The conditions were very difficult, and I knew it was going to be a great test of golf. I did not play great yesterday. I didn’t make many birdies. I didn’t make many putts, but today I started making putts. I was 4-under-par through 11 holes. I didn’t look to see if I was close to the lead, but I think I might have been close. I stumbled coming in. It got difficult out here down the stretch. You had to hit really good golf shots to survive out here. Overall, I am happy with how I played.”
2021 Illinois Senior Open Champion, Britt Pavelonis (Carbondale, Ill.), Mark Small, Roy Biancalana (St. Charles, Ill.), 2022 and 2023 Illinois Senior Open Champion Mike Small (Champaign, Ill.), and Varner rounded out the top five of the Championship with tournament totals of 2-over-par 146.
Pavelonis carded the lowest round of the day on Tuesday with a 3-under-par 69. He climbed 21 spots to finish inside the top five. Paeglow and Mark Small were the only other players to record under-par rounds on Tuesday.
The Illinois PGA circuit returns on Monday, June 24 for the Illinois PGA Stroke Play #3 at Glen Flora Country Club. The Illinois PGA would like to thank Title Sponsor XXIO, and Supporting Sponsors Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and Illinois Bone and Joint Institute for their support of the Illinois Senior Open Championship.
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