| Midwest Golf House | Contact: Casey Richards |
| 11855 Archer Avenue | (630) 685-2324 |
| Lemont, IL 60439 | crichards@cdga.org |
| Contact: Tim Merrick | |
| (630) 685-2302 | |
| tmerrick@cdga.org | |
| Contact: Jacob Bomeli | |
| (630) 685-2345 | |
| jbomeli@cdga.org |
| For Immediate Release | July 16, 2026 |
|---|---|
| KULWIN ERASES SIX-SHOT DEFICIT, SURGES TO UNLIKELY STATE AMATEUR TRIUMPH | |
| Thursday, July 16, 2026 - BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Charlie Kulwin’s (Chicago) final day of the 95th Illinois State Amateur Championship at Crestwicke Country Club Thursday featured not one, but two rallies.
The first came around 9:30 a.m. With his ball on the 11th green, Kulwin raced into the nearby clubhouse bathroom after suddenly feeling ill. “I woke up with a bad stomach,” Kulwin said. “I got to the golf course and felt fine through nine holes, but then my stomach started bothering me. “I don’t want to get too graphic, but some bad stuff happened.” After a brief respite and feeling “better than when [he] went in,” Kulwin returned to the course and finished out his par on 11. The second rally unfolded over the next five-plus hours and resulted in one of the most unlikely triumphs in recent State Am history. The 22-year-old Chicago Public School product and Loyola Chicago graduate carded rounds of 68 and 69 in the blistering Bloomington heat to erase a six-stroke deficit and vault past 21 fellow competitors to hoist the Louis L. Emmerson Trophy. “It's always been a dream to win a CDGA event and get my name on [a trophy], which is really cool,” Kulwin said. “I honestly didn't think I had much of a chance, being six shots back.” Expectations changed quickly, as Kulwin found himself in the thick of contention about halfway through the field’s third round. At one point, 12 competitors were within two shots of the lead during the morning 18, with hot weather and firm course conditions presenting Kulwin with an unexpected opportunity. He closed out a 3-under 68 to get to even-par overall and pull within one stroke of co-leaders TJ Barger (Bloomington) and Connor Gray (Winnetka). “I had no idea I was only one shot back while sitting at even par,” Kulwin admitted. “At the start of the week, I thought 7- or 8-under would win this tournament. The golf course got so much firmer. I've never seen greens go from lush during the practice round to rock-hard by the end of the week.” After a robust lunch - surprising, given the earlier circumstances - Kulwin struggled out of the gate in the afternoon round. After going out in 35, a bogey on the par-4 10th dropped him to 1-over for the round and two shots behind co-leaders Barger and Alex Eickhoff (Springfield). “I was shaking because I was nervous,” Kulwin confessed. A birdie on the par-5 11th and par on the daunting par-4 12th stemmed the tide and instilled the belief in Kulwin that he could emerge victorious. “I actually fist-pumped my tee shot on 12 because it was such a big tee shot,” Kulwin said. “After that, I thought, ‘You've got opportunities now.’” Kulwin capitalized on said opportunities, ripping off three birdies in a row on Nos. 13-15, the last of which was a 25-foot putt from the back fringe to move into first and get to -3 overall. After a “dumb bogey” where he failed to get up and down from an awkward stance by a bunker on the par-3 17th, Kulwin found a fairway bunker on the par-4, 460-yard finisher. With no other option, Kulwin laid up out of the sand and was left with a 125-yard approach. “My only thought was, ‘I'm okay losing this tournament, but I'm not going to finish bogey-bogey,’” Kulwin said. He didn’t. His wedge settled about 10 feet above the hole, leaving him a downhill left-to-right bid for par. He deftly played the right combination of speed and break before celebrating with a fist pump and exclamation of “I’m like that!” “When it went in, I couldn't believe it,” Kulwin said. “I knew getting to 2-under gave me a much better chance to win outright than staying at 1-under. That par was huge.” Then, the wait, with the final pairing of Barger and Ryan Andrews (Libertyville) having teed off 90 minutes after Kulwin. Barger presented the biggest threat, as the hometown hopeful was one shot back and in the midst of an even-par round, stepping to the 12th tee. However, the hole infamously dubbed “Hog Alley” - which played as the most difficult of the tournament - was Barger’s demise, as two shots into the lateral hazard resulted in an eight. He wound up carding a 3-over 74 and finished tied for fourth. “On this golf course, especially with how intimidating the back nine is, I knew anything could happen,” Kulwin said of his mindset during the wait. “Fortunately, it worked out for me.” With the victory, Kulwin earned an exemption into this year’s U.S. Amateur, Aug. 10-16 at Merion Golf Club outside of Philadelphia. Also earning USGA exemptions were Eickhoff and Crestwicke member Logan Stauffer (Bloomington), who finished in a tie for second at +1 overall. Kulwin, Eickhoff and Stauffer are exempt into Final Qualifying for the 2027 U.S. Am. Stauffer, the 2018 Illinois State Mid-Amateur champion, competed with a gallery of fellow members in tow throughout the week. His round climaxed with an up-and-down for par on 18 that was met with hearty cheers. “I saw about 10 signs on the course with my name on it,” Stauffer commented. “As the days went on, more and more people came out to watch me and it was just one big family out there. I grew up with the English family - Kyle and I were on the same golf team in high school. It’s just one big happy family here.” Kulwin, Stauffer, Eickhoff and the rest of the low 20 and ties all earned exemptions into next year’s event, slated to be contested July 13-15 at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville. The 2026 CDGA Championship season continues July 27-29 with the 11th CDGA Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Skokie Country Club. QUOTES OF NOTE: Charlie Kulwin (Chicago) on dealing with the conditions… “I spent a week in Austin, Texas before this and every day is 95 degrees with no wind, so that prepared me. I’ve always thought that when conditions get tough, you just have to suck it up for 15 seconds when standing over the ball and deal with the rest.” Kulwin on the difficulty of Hole No. 12… “I’ve never fist-pumped an iron shot before, but I did after the tee shot on 12 in Round 4. It’s not very wide and visually it slants to the right, so it’s difficult. You’ve really got to commit to your swing. It’s a super nervy tee shot. Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park) on his continued success as a Mid-Am… “It’s more of a grind at this point with my age (49). I just try to hang in there and keep grinding and see the putts drop. I’m one of the few guys in this field who has a full-time job.” Alex Eickhoff (Springfield) on his third-round 67 and T-2 finish… “I made the cut on the number and it freed me up going into today. I just played golf and made it as simple as possible to score. I definitely couldn’t imagine doing this well.” Logan Stauffer (Bloomington) on the pressure of performing in his backyard… “It’s amazing to have this opportunity. It puts a little more pressure on me to perform, but it’s great. It gave me something to play for. I was glad that I could go out and do the best I could.” Alexander Creamean (Winnetka) on competing against his brother… “I thought after the first two rounds we were going to get paired together. That has never happened before. We always want each other to play well, but hope that you just play a bit better.” Michael Springer (La Grange) on what made the course difficult… “The afternoon wave is what did it. Each day, you saw higher scores in the afternoon due to how hot it has been. The course firms up real good in the afternoon. We were joking today that it looked like Shinnecock in the U.S. Open.” Robert Dofflemyer (Loves Park) on having his wife caddie for him… “She’s been on the bag for every tournament that I’ve played in this year for the most part. It’s been really cool - she is a really good green reader and it’s just nice to have someone to talk to out there when it’s this hot.” NOTABLES:
| |
| Chicago District Golf Association The Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA) is authorized by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as the governing body for amateur golf in our region. The CDGA is a membership organization consisting of more than 119,000 individual golfers and 400 clubs in Illinois and parts of Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Golfers receive member offers, a Handicap Index® from the USGA® and competitive playing opportunities, while clubs receive Course Rating™ and Slope Rating™ measuring services, turfgrass diagnostics and educational seminars. The CDGA also creates opportunities for everyone to experience the benefits of the game through therapeutic and recreational Sunshine Programs, with an emphasis on serving individuals with disabilities, youth and veterans. For more information visit CDGA.org. | |
| ### | |
Chicago District Golf Association
11855 Archer Avenue
Lemont, IL 60439
Copyright © 2026 The Chicago District Golf Association. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
