BARRINGTON, Ill. – September 30, 2025 – Tim Streng, PGA (Wildcat Golf Academy) fired rounds of 68, 66 at the E-Z-GO Illinois PGA Players Championship to claim the final Regular Division Major Championship of the Illinois PGA’s 2025 season. In total, Streng recorded a two-day score of eight-under-par 134 to claim his first Illinois PGA Major Championship.
Monday’s first round opened under unseasonably warm temperatures for the Chicagoland area with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s. Kemper Lakes Golf Club Assistant Professional Kyle Irlbacker set the tone early as a member of the second group on the golf course with a 2-under-par outward nine. Irlbacker continued his stellar play throughout the remainder of the morning with a matching 2-under-par on his inward nine to take the early clubhouse lead with a bogey-free 67.
Andy Svoboda (Butler National Golf Club) began his round as a member of the 10:10am grouping which also featured Brian Carroll (The Hawk Country Club), the Illinois PGA Bernardi Player of the Year points leader heading into the final point-earning event of the season. Birding his first three holes of the day catapulted Svoboda to the top-three on the leaderboard early before adding on an additional birdie on the par-five sixth after his approach shot landed just feet from the hole. As Svoboda made the turn, he found himself in familiar territory atop the leaderboard tied with Irlbacker at 4-under-par. He eventually pushed the number to 6-under-par with birdies on 11 and 15, before closing his first round with a bogey on 18 to fire a 5-under-par 66.
Sandwiched right between Irlbacker and Svoboda on day one was Streng, who opened his tournament with an outward-nine 32 (3-under-par). Streng would go on to bogey the par-four 13th before bouncing right back with a birdie on 14 to finish his opening round with a three-under-par 68.
Similar weather conditions welcomed players on Tuesday for the final round of the E-Z-GO Illinois PGA Players Championship. Svoboda, who held the round one lead, got his second 18 started with a birdie on the drivable par-four second. Pars on holes three through six helped maintain his advantage over the field before a bogey on the par-three seventh brought Svoboda back to the field. A birdie on the par-four eighth pushed Streng ahead of Svoboda for the first time in the Championship, and an additional par on nine gave Streng the co-lead going into the back-nine.
Chicago Golf Club’s Kevin Nelson, who played in the group ahead of Streng, also made a run at the top of the leaderboard after an outward nine four-under-par found him in a tie for the Championship with Streng. However, a bogey on the par-four 10th and a subsequent birdie from Streng separated the two for the remainder of the day.
The beginning of Streng’s back-nine is best summed up as a ‘rollercoaster’. After opening with a birdie on 10, Streng bogeyed the sharp dog-leg right 11th after his approach shot came up short of the greenside bunker. He then followed up the bogey with a bounce-back birdie on the par-three 12th after sinking a long-range putt. However, the rollercoaster continued after his tee-shot on 13 hit an overhanging branch just 100-yards off of the tee. Streng played his second shot to the green on the par-four 17th. After taking free relief, Streng hit an approach shot onto the correct green and would eventually finish the 13th with a bogey. The final act of the rollercoaster came on the 14th, where Streng again took a unique route off of the tee in order to make birdie.
“Being able to stay positive and try to take my time and breathe was a major part of me bouncing back. Again, for me the big thing was being able to get those bounce back birdies after some sloppy bogeys. The putter was also crucial for me. I was able to make a lot of crucial putts for par” said Streng.
After the hiccups on the first-half of the back-nine opened the door for many in the field, Streng righted the ship with pars on 15-18. In that span, no other player in the field came within 2-strokes of the top of the leaderboard, which seemed to ease the nerves of Streng going into 18.
“I knew when I stepped up on 18-tee that I could probably get it close to 10 fairway to give myself a better angle in. Luckily it worked out in my favor. I was able to hit an 8-iron up there and make birdie with a 2-putt off the fringe” said Streng.
The closing birdie on 18 shut the door on the rest of the field and Streng walked off of 18-green as an Illinois PGA Major Champion.
“It feels really good. It’s been quite the rough season for me so to be able to keep fighting and keep working on my game, the hard work definitely paid off so it feels awesome” Streng noted.
Svoboda finished his round with an eagle on the last to fire an even-par 71 and finish in solo-third. Nelson, who also finished with a closing eagle, took home solo-second place honors.
In addition to crowning the final Regular Division Major Champion of the year, the Illinois PGA Bernardi Player of the Year was determined. Andy Svoboda officially secured his second consecutive Illinois PGA Bernardi Player of the Year honor in just his second year of being an Illinois PGA member. Even with three Illinois PGA Stroke Play titles under his belt this season, and a solo-second finish at the Illinois Open Championship; Svoboda still sat 80 points behind Brian Carroll in the Player of the Year race. Svoboda’s eagle on the last hole of the Players Championship today proved to be the deciding factor in the race with Carroll finishing just 4-strokes behind him.
“I definitely have a love for the game and I love to compete. I enjoy the adrenaline when you’re in the hunt because it gives me extra focus. You don’t feel like it’s fun in the moment, but it’s fun” said Svoboda. “Brian played really well yesterday so it all came down to today, which is crazy when you think about the span of the season coming down to one round. I was definitely trying to win the tournament, but the Player of the Year was in the back of my mind. I’m really happy I got it done”
The E-Z-GO Illinois PGA Players Championship also stood as the final event on the Illinois PGA Team Golf calendar. Throughout the season, six teams of six Illinois PGA Professionals competed in a best-ball format across all Illinois PGA Stroke Play events and the season-ending Players Championship. Taking home the title in 2025 was the team made up of Frank Hohenadel (Mistwood Golf Club), Andrew Godfrey (White Pines Golf Club), Mike Troy (Zigfield Troy Par-3 Golf Course), Ethan Hildebrandt (Biltmore Country Club), Brandon O’Kray (Onwentsia Club) and Dan Crane (Park Ridge Country Club). The team fired a six-event best-ball total of 139-under-par.
The E-Z-GO Illinois PGA Players Championship concluded the 2025 Illinois PGA Bernardi Player of the Year events. The Illinois PGA only has one point-earning event left in the 2025 season – the Illinois PGA Senior Match Play Championship at Ridge Country Club taking place October 13-15.
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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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