Wheaton Golfers Have a Good Start at Illinois Open

Wheaton is very well represented at this year’s Illinois Open PGA tournament, both on the amateur and pro sides, and several golfers got off to fast starts in the event Monday at Hawthorn Woods Country Club.

Rich Dukelow, a pro at Cantigny Golf, was 5-under-par after 15 holes of play, which put him in the lead at the time. Starting on the 10th tee, the 42-year-old from Orland Park birdied three straight holes early in his round and didn’t have a bogey until he three-putted hole No. 7.
His tee shot on No. 8 went well into the left rough, forcing him to shoot over some trees. He did so successfully, allowing him to save par on the hole. A short putt for par on No. 9 then rimmed out, but he showed no frustration about it during an interview a few minutes later.

“It was a good day,” he said after carding a 68. “I had a couple errant shots I got a break with, so it worked out pretty well, and I putted pretty well for the most part.”

With the exception of the two late bogeys, Dukelow said he was making everything under 8-10 feet.

“It was just kind of a fluid day,” he said. “The wind wasn’t blowing really hard. … It was a nice day to golf. I’m happy.”

Dukelow, who placed tenth earlier this year out of 109 golfers at the Bloomington Country Club Classic, said he didn’t really set any goals for this tournament.

“I’ve always thought I wanted to win this golf tournament,” he acknowledged, “but I didn’t really have a goal. I just wanted to go out and enjoy it and play as good as I possibly could.”

Kelly, Sanders tied for 24th

Kyle Sanders of Wheaton played about as good as he possibly could on much of the back nine.

After starting his day with a bogey on the 10th hole, he birdied the next four holes and six of the next seven to go 5-under-par after just eight holes. But the 25-year-old almost completely squandered that great start on the next two holes, ending up with a double bogey on each.

A bogey on No. 7 brought him back to even par, but he closed the day with a birdie on the 195-yard, par-3 ninth hole to finish with a score of 70.

Tee-k Kelly, who will be a senior this fall at Wheaton Warrenville South High School, also got off to a fast start on the back nine, with back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes. He remained 2-under-par for the next 12 holes, finally giving one stroke back to par with a bogey on No. 8.

After finishing with a score of 70, Kelly expressed satisfaction with his opening round.

“It went pretty good,” he said. “I was hitting the ball pretty solid. I hit a lot of greens and had a lot of two putts. I gave myself a lot of easy tap-in pars, so it was a pretty smooth round.”

Less than two weeks ago, Kelly won the Columbus Junior tournament at the Ohio State University Golf Club, besting 71 of the best junior golfers from 17 states, Canada, and Colombia. Last week, he placed second at an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournament in Spring Green, Wis.

“I feel like I’m just rolling into this tournament and hopefully looking for another good finish,” he said.
He said he was enjoying the opportunity to play with the pros.

“It’s good to see how they play, watch their games, and hopefully see what I can develop into,” Kelly said.

Under-par finish eludes other Wheaton golfers

Steve Skurla of Wheaton was tied for 39th after shooting a 1-over-par 72. The junior-to-be at Villanova recorded back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14.

Another Wheaton golfer, Danny Mulhearn, carded a 73. He birdied three holes, but stumbled on the par-5 sixth hole, ending up with a triple bogey.

Connie DeMattia, director of instruction at Cantigny Golf, finished with a 4-over-par 75. The 44-year-old from the village of Golf birdied a pair of holes on the back nine, but was hurt by a double bogey on No. 15.

This is the 62nd Illinois Open Championship. The defending champion, Eric Meierdierks of Wilmette, struggled to a 5-over-par 76, leaving him in danger of not making the cut.

Mike Small, head men’s golf coach at the University of Illinois, is seeking a record-tying fifth Illinois Open championship. He started his quest Monday with a 1-over-par 72.

Philip Arouca of Wilmette fired a six-under-par 65 Monday to lead the tournament.