Pekin native Drake Bushong is the champion of the 98th CDGA Amateur
98th CDGA Amateur Championship June 27-30 • Briar Ridge Country Club
Day 4: June 30, 2017
BUSHONG BRAVES ENDURANCE TEST TO WIN 98TH CDGA AMATEUR
SCHERERVILLE, Ind. -- Drake Bushong (Pekin / Lick Creek GC) survived a grueling week to upend Michael Fastert (Des Plaines / Sanctuary GC) with a 3-and-2 win in the 36-hole final match of the 98th CDGA Amateur Championship at Briar Ridge Country Club. Bushong, a rising junior at Bradley University, never trailed in the final match.
“It’s pretty cool to put it on your resume and say that you won it,” Bushong said of his victory. “It’s my first win in (the area), being a big tournament, so that was pretty cool."
13) Drake Bushong def. 6) Michael Fastert, 3 and 2 - Bushong never trailed in the 36-hole title tilt
Day 3: June 29, 2017
DRAMATIC SEMIFINALS SET STAGE FOR 98TH CDGA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
SCHERERVILLE, Ind. - Both semifinal matches of the 98th CDGA Amateur Championship required extra holes to determine a winner, with Drake Bushong (Pekin / Lick Creek GC) and Michael Fastert (Des Plaines / Sanctuary GC) emerging victorious Thursday at Briar Ridge Country Club.
Bushong and Fastert will square off in the 36-hole championship match on Friday beginning at 8 a.m.
In the first semifinal, Bushong ousted Kyle Slattery (Rockford / The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club) on the 19th hole. A bogey on 15 put Bushong 1 down with three holes to play, but the Bradley University rising junior evened the match with a par on 17. After two pars on 18, Bushong secured his spot in the title tilt by rolling in an 18-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole.
Fastert jumped out to an early advantage on Patrick Mudd (Crown Point, Ind. / Youche CC) in the other semifinal, leading 2 up at the turn. However, birdies on No. 10 and No. 15 by Mudd evened the contest and set the stage for a dramatic finish. After two 4s on the first playoff hole, Fastert advanced when Mudd conceded birdie on the 20th hole after his par putt slid past the hole.
The 37-year-old Fastert will look to become the second consecutive mid-amateur to win the event, which before Andrew Price’s victory last year had not happened since 2009. A Bushong victory would make the 20-year-old the youngest champion since Kyle English’s triumph in 2011.
13) Drake Bushong def. 9) Kyle Slattery, 19 holes - Bushong evened the match on 17 before winning with birdie on the first playoff hole
6) Michael Fastert def. 2) Patrick Mudd, 20 holes - Fastert birdied the second playoff hole to earn his spot in the championship match
Friday Match Play Schedule
13) Drake Bushong Pekin / Lick Creek GC - Rising junior at Bradley University - Two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection
8 a.m.
6) Michael Fastert Des Plaines / Sanctuary GC - Two-time Chicago City Amateur champion - 2015 Will County Amateur champion
Day 2: June 28, 2017
SEMIFINALS SET AT 98TH CDGA AMATEUR
SCHERERVILLE, Ind. – The twists and turns of match play whittled the 98th CDGA Amateur Championship field from 16 to four on Wednesday at Briar Ridge Country Club.
Cool, calm conditions greeted the competitors in the morning session, when medalist Trent Wallace (Joliet / Inwood GC) was toppled by Illinois State University teammate Zach Burry (Quincy / Weibring GC at ISU), 4 and 3. Burry had the hot hand from the get-go, tallying nine birdies in the 15 holes played. In other Round of 16 matches, 2016 semifinalist Kyle Slattery (Rockford / The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club) defeated Matthew Murlick (Winnetka / Winnetka GC) 4 and 3, while defending champion Andrew Price (Lake Bluff / Conway Farms GC) defeated Pete Kuhl (Morton / CC of Peoria) in 20 holes. The only Indiana native remaining in the field, second seed Patrick Mudd (Crown Point, Ind. / Youche CC), also advanced with a 4-and-3 win over Ethan Brue (Chandlerville / Lick Creek GC).
After a brief midday shower cleared, the wind kicked up, presenting the championship’s quarterfinalists with a vastly different course than they had encountered just hours before. Slattery marched out with two consecutive birdies, en route to winning the first three holes of his match, ultimately closing out Burry 2 and 1. In the second semifinal, Drake Bushong trailed Brett Tomfohrde 2 down through three holes, but squared the match at the 9th, then won the 14th, holding on for a 1-up victory. Mudd continued his stellar play, winning the first three holes of his match and never looking back, cruising to a 4-and-3 win over Daniel Gorman (Rockford / CDGA Member’s Club). Price was felled by Michael Fastert (Des Plaines / Sanctuary GC) 2 and 1 in the final quarterfinal of the day.
The semifinals tee off at 12 p.m. on Thursday, with Slattery facing Bushong. Mudd and Fastert face off at 12:10 p.m.
9) Kyle Slattery def. 16) Zach Burry, 2 and 1 - Slattery won the first three holes and never looked back in the wire-to-wire victory
13) Drake Bushong def. 12) Brett Tomfohrde, 1 up - After being 2 down through 7, Bushong rallied by winning holes 8, 9 and 10 to take the lead for good
2) Patrick Mudd def. 7) Daniel Gorman, 4 and 3 - Mudd jumped out to an early lead by taking holes 1-3 en route to his semifinal spot
6) Michael Fastert def. 14) Andrew Price, 2 and 1 - After being deadlocked through 14 holes, Fastert clinched the match by winning holes 15 and 17
Round of 16
16) Zach Burry def. 1) Trent Wallace, 4 and 3 - Burry tallied nine birdies in the match’s 15 holes, including five-straight from holes 9-13
9) Kyle Slattery def. 8) Matthew Murlick, 4 and 3 -
Slattery birdied three of the match’s final four holes to close out the victory
12) Brett Tomfohrde def. 5) Paul Schlimm Jr., 4 and 3 - Tomfohrde never trailed, clinching the match with birdies on 13 and 15
13) Drake Bushong def. 4) Drew Shepherd, 1 up - After being 3-down through 11, Bushong won holes 12-15 to grab a lead he wouldn’t relinquish
2) Patrick Mudd def. 15) Ethan Brue, 4 and 3 - Mudd was 4 up at the turn before eventually closing out Brue by winning holes 14 and 15
7) Daniel Gorman def. 10) Mike Cushing, 2 and 1 - With the match AS through 11, Gorman took the 12th and 13th holes to go ahead for good
6) Michael Fastert def. 11) Jordan Less, 1 up - Fastert won the 17th hole with par to break an AS deadlock
14) Andrew Price def. 3) Pete Kuhl, 20 holes - Price birdied the second playoff hole to earn his spot in the quarterfinals
Thursday Match Play Schedule
9) Kyle Slattery Rockford / The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club - Rising junior at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville - 2016 CDGA Amateur semifinalist
12 p.m.
13) Drake Bushong Pekin / Lick Creek GC - Rising junior at Bradley University - Two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection
2) Patrick Mudd Crown Point, Ind. / Youche CC - Played golf and tennis at Purdue Northwest - CoSIDA Academic All-American
12:10 p.m.
6) Michael Fastert Des Plaines / Sanctuary GC - Two-time Chicago City Amateur champion - 2015 Will County Amateur champion
Day 1: June 27, 2017
WALLACE ACES STROKE PLAY TEST AT 98TH CDGA AMATEUR
SCHERERVILLE, Ind. – Trent Wallace (Joliet / Inwood GC) earned medalist honors, as he and 15 others qualified for match play at the 98th CDGA Amateur Championship Tuesday at Briar Ridge Country Club.
Wallace finished the 36-hole stroke play qualifying portion of the event at 10-under overall. The rising junior at Illinois State University began the day with a 4-under 68 in Round 1 before carding a bogey-free 6-under 66 in Round 2, the best score posted by the 76-player field. Wallace won the Missouri Valley Conference title for the second-straight year and advanced as an individual to the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms earlier this season.
Awaiting the top-seeded Wallace in Wednesday morning’s Round of 16 matches will be ISU teammate Zach Burry (Quincy / Weibring GC at ISU), who survived a 3-for-1 playoff to earn a spot in match play. Burry birdied the second playoff hole to eliminate Thomas Brennan and Jackson Wetherbee.
Playing in his home state, Patrick Mudd (Crown Point, Ind. / Youche CC) earned the No. 2 seed with rounds of 70 and 67 to finish 7-under overall. Mudd, who recently completed his golfing career at Purdue Northwest, was the only one of three Indiana natives to advance to match play. The event is being contested in Indiana for the second time ever, and first since 1952.
Defending CDGA Amateur champion Andrew Price (Lake Bluff / Conway Farms GC) secured his match play spot with a birdie at his second-to-last hole to finish at 1-under overall, one shot clear of the playoff. The other two past CDGA Amateur winners playing in the event, Jordan Fahel (2014) and Steve Sawtell (2004 and 2009) did not advance out of stroke play.
Match play will begin Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. Both the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals will be contested Wednesday, with the Semifinals taking place Thursday. A champion will be decided on Friday with a 36-hole Championship match.
1) Trent Wallace Joliet / Inwood GC - Rising junior at Illinois State University - Two-time Missouri Valley Conference champion
8 a.m.
16) Zach Burry Quincy / Weibring GC at ISU - Rising senior at Illinois State University - All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 2016-17
8) Matthew Murlick Winnetka / Winnetka GC - Rising sophomore at Marquette University - All-Big East Second Team in 2016-17
8:10 a.m.
9) Kyle Slattery Rockford / The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club - Rising junior at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville - 2016 CDGA Amateur semifinalist
5) Paul Schlimm Jr. Shorewood / Mistwood GC - Rising junior at Northern Illinois University - Member of winning CDGA Amateur team at 2017 Radix Cup
8:20 a.m.
12) Brett Tomfohrde Chicago / Butterfield CC - 2014 CDGA Amateur semifinalist - Played collegiately at Miami University
4) Drew Shepherd Hinsdale / Ruth Lake CC - Rising sophomore at the University of Kansas - Member of two IHSA state champion teams at Hinsdale Central
8:30 a.m.
13) Drake Bushong Pekin / Lick Creek GC - Rising junior at Bradley University - Two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection
2) Patrick Mudd Crown Point, Ind. / Youche CC - Played golf and tennis at Purdue Northwest - CoSIDA Academic All-American
8:40 a.m.
15) Ethan Brue Chandlerville / Lick Creek GC - Rising senior at Bradley University - All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 2016-17
7) Daniel Gorman Rockford / CDGA Member's Club - Rising senior at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville - 2013 Illinois Class 2A state champion
8:50 a.m.
10) Mike Cushing Bloomington / Bloomington CC - 2017 Bloomington-Normal Match Play champion, including 2017 - Member of BNGA Hall of Fame
6) Michael Fastert Des Plaines / Sanctuary GC - Two-time Chicago City Amateur champion - 2015 Will County Amateur champion
9 a.m.
11) Jordan Less Elmhurst / Oak Brook GC - Rising sophomore at Northern Illinois University - Played in nine tournaments as a freshman, averaging 74.42
3) Pete Kuhl Morton / CC of Peoria - Rising sophomore at the University of Wisconsin - Averaged a 74.77 in 11 tournaments for the Badgers in 2016-17
9:10 a.m.
14) Andrew Price Lake Bluff / Conway Farms GC - 2016 CDGA Amateur champion - 2014 Illinois State Mid-Amateur champion
Preview
98TH CDGA AMATEUR CROSSES BORDER INTO INDIANA
LEMONT, Ill. - For the fifth time in history, the Association’s championship, the 98th CDGA Amateur, will be contested outside the state of Illinois, at Briar Ridge Country Club in Schererville, Ind. A field of 76 golfers will hop over the border to play 36 holes on Tuesday, June 27, with the low 16 advancing to a match play tournament beginning Wednesday and culminating with a 36-hole final match on Friday, June 30.
One of the oldest amateur competitions in the Midwest, the CDGA Amateur Championship was first played in 1914 at Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood. Golf great Charles “Chick” Evans, Jr. won the tournament that year. The Championship is open to any CDGA member with a Handicap Index of 5.4 or under. The entire field competes in a 36-hole one-day qualifier, with the top 16 advancing to match play. Andrew Price bested Todd Mitchell in the 2016 final match at Calumet Country Club.
Chicago District Golf Association 11855 Archer Avenue Lemont, IL 60439
Pekin native Drake Bushong is the champion of the 98th CDGA Amateur
SCHERERVILLE, Ind. – Trent Wallace (Joliet / Inwood GC) earned medalist honors, as he and 15 others qualified for match play at the 98th CDGA Amateur Championship Tuesday at Briar Ridge Country Club.
LEMONT, Ill. - For the fifth time in history, the Association’s championship, the 98th CDGA Amateur, will be contested outside the state of Illinois, at Briar Ridge Country Club in Schererville, Ind. A field of 76 golfers will hop over the border to play 36 holes on Tuesday, June 27, with the low 16 advancing to a match play tournament beginning Wednesday and culminating with a 36-hole final match on Friday, June 30.
