NADLER GOLF CARS ILLINOIS SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
LONG GROVE, Ill. – July 2, 2024 – Mike Small (University of Illinois) carded a final round 1-under-par 71 at The Grove Country Club on Tuesday, July 2 to win the 2024 Nadler Golf Cars Illinois Senior PGA Professional Championship by two strokes. This year’s victory marks the seventh career win at this event for Small. He will lead nine Illinois Section PGA Professionals at the Senior PGA Professional Championship at Sunriver Resort (Sunriver, Oregon) this September.
“It was fun to compete again,” said Small. “I haven’t done that a lot this year. I had flashes of really good play and flashes of not very good play. I think the door was left open for some guys, but fortunately for me, they didn’t take it. All in all, it was a good week, a productive week. I got some good work in, but I still need to sharpen some things up.”
In total, Small carded a 5-under-par 139 over the two-day tournament. He began his Championship run with a 4-under-par 68 on Monday. His round one performance left him with a two-shot lead heading into the final round.
Small moved steadily through his final round with the highlight of the day coming on the par-4 5th hole. Small, who had dropped a shot on his opening hole, stepped to the fifth hole with a one-stroke lead. The tee markers on the fifth hole were moved up and the hole was only playing 280 yards. Small drove the green, hitting his tee shot to about a foot. He tapped in for eagle moving to 5-under-par for the championship and opening up a three-stroke lead.
“I had a couple of highlights today,” said Small. “On number five I made a two on the par-4 where they moved the tees up, so that was a big moment for me.”
Small added one more birdie on his front nine of the final round, and made the turn at 5-under-par, holding a three-stroke lead over Roy Biancalana (The Hawk Country Club).
The final nine holes became more interesting as Small struggled to find it off the tee. He left his tee shot on the par-3 11th hole short and found the greenside bunker. He was able to get up and down and remain at 5-under-par. He then missed the green long and left from about 80 yards on the par-4 12th hole and was unable to get up and down giving one stroke back.
Small’s tee shot on the par-5 13th hole found the left trees. With no angle to safely carry the water that runs across the fairway, Small was forced to punch out to the end of the fairway. He was about 230 yards away from the green hitting his third shot. He made a great recovery shot, leaving himself about 25 feet for birdie. He two putted for his par to remain at 4-under-par, clinging to a two-stroke lead with five holes to play.
Another miss left off the par-4 15th tee forced Small to punch out again. His tee shot navigated through the left trees and landed square behind a tree leaving him no option but to punch out sideways. His punch shot did not make it to the fairway, but he was able to play his third shot to the back of the green and two putt for a bogey, falling to 3-under-par for the tournament. Trying to chase him down, Biancalana made par to close the gap to one stroke with four holes to play.
Both Small and Biancalana made birdies on the par-5 15th hole and Small remained in the lead by one stroke. Small then made an impressive par on the par-3 17th hole. The 17th hole was playing about 140 yards. Small hit the green with his tee shot but his ball spun back to the front of the green leaving him a long putt to the back left hole location. He hit his first putt up the hill onto the top shelf and had about three feet for his par. He moved to the 18th hole at 4-under-par and had a one-stroke lead over Biancalana.
“I really just grinded it out today,” said Small. “I missed a lot of greens today. I got it up and down and made some putts when I had to. The two putt on 17 was huge. I had about 90 feet and was able to two putt, so I got away with one there.”
In his classic way, Small finished the 2024 Nadler Golf Cars Illinois Senior PGA Professional Championship with an exclamation point on the 18th hole. With only about 115 yards into the green with his approach shot, Small made his ninth birdie of the tournament to claim his seventh victory in eight years.
“I love this event. This is our Association and our Championship,” said Small. “It’s fun to play and it’s fun to compete against these guys. We are fortunate to always be competing on great golf courses. The Grove (Country Club) was in great shape this week. The greens were superb, and we appreciate the membership letting us come out and play.”
2022 Champion, Biancalana finished in solo second place after a 3-under-par 141. He was one of only three players to finish his final round under par.
Kevin Healy (Sub 70 Golf) carded rounds of 72 and 71 for a tournament total of 1-under-par 143. He finished the tournament in solo third place.
Billy Rosinia (Flagg Creek Golf Course) and Travis Hall (White Deer Run Golf Course) tied for fourth place and rounded out the top five. Rosinia carded matching rounds of 73 for a tournament total of 2-over-par 146. Hall, who was in the final group on Tuesday, recorded rounds of 70 and 76 to tie Rosinia at 2-over-par 146.
David Paeglow (Kishwaukee Country Club) who was fresh off his XXIO Senior Open Championship victory and his U.S. Senior Open appearance, finished in solo sixth place. He was in a tie for third following a 1-under-par 71 in round one. He struggled in round two but finished the day birdieing three of his final four holes to finish at 3-over-par (147).
Mike Troy (Zigfield Field Troy Par-3 Golf Course), John Varner (Beverly Country Club), and Danny Mulhearn (Glen Oak Country Club) secured the final qualifying spots for the Illinois PGA with 4-over-par 148s and tied for seventh place.
Small, Biancalana, Healy, Rosinia, Hall, Paeglow, Troy, Varner, and Mulhearn will represent the Illinois PGA Section at the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon on September 24-29.
The Illinois PGA would like to thank long-time Illinois PGA Partner, Nadler Golf Cars for their support of the Section and the Illinois Senior PGA Professional Championship. This year marked the second consecutive year that Nadler Golf Cars supported the Illinois Senior PGA Professional Championship, in addition to supporting the Illinois PGA Professional Championship for decades.
The Illinois PGA circuit returns next week with the Illinois PGA Stroke Play #4 at Oak Park Country Club.
About the Illinois PGA/Illinois PGA Foundation
The Illinois Section of the PGA of America is a professional organization serving men and women golf professionals in northern and central Illinois who are 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 760 members and associates, 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, PGA HOPE (Helping our Patriots Everywhere), Illinois PGA Birdies for Charity, 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
kbquinn@pgahq.com