Jordan Hahn set a tournament and course record on Wednesday
(CDGA Photo)
HOMEWOOD, IL (July 19, 2017) - The 87th Illinois State Amateur Championship at Calumet Country Club saw a 20-year old autograph his name in two record books, as
Jordan Hahn (Spring Grove) fired a 9-under par 61 in the second round on Wednesday. The 61 is the lowest round in Illinois State Amateur Championship history and bests the previous course record of 62 at Calumet, which opened in 1901.
“It’s one of those rounds where the pros talk about being in the zone,” Hahn, a rising junior at the University of Wisconsin, said of his historic day. “I just felt comfortable over the ball. I felt confident and just freed myself up and was happy with whatever the result was because I knew I was committed to the shot.”
Hahn’s round got off to a fast start with birdies at four of the first five holes, but officially shifted into overdrive at the par-3 sixth. His 7-iron off the tee at the 210-yard hole one-hopped into the hole for Hahn’s second career hole-in-one—both in competitive rounds.
“It was a little downwind, it landed 3 feet short of the hole, jumped up and looked from the tee like I jarred it,” Hahn noted. “I just threw my hands up—my first (hole-in-one), I didn’t see go in, so it was pretty cool to see this one go in.”
Hahn followed up the ace with a birdie at the seventh, making the turn at a 7-under 28.
On the back nine, Hahn poured in birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th to get to 10-under par and officially put the golfing world on “59 watch.” After making par at the 15th, Hahn’s 20-foot birdie putt at the 16th stopped one rotation shy of falling. Still at 10-under, Hahn’s first misstep of the day occurred on the 17th, when his tee shot sliced right, caught a tree and fell in a stream. After scrambling for bogey, his tee shot on the 18th sailed left and settled behind a tree. Hahn was able to collect himself, put his second shot over a pine tree and onto the back of the green, then two-putted to finish the record-breaking 61.
“I hit it well off the tee, I was aggressive all day long,” Hahn added. “I just hit driver everywhere. I was hitting it well, so it paid off. I was hitting wedges into the green.”
With Hahn leading at 11-under par 129 through 36 holes, he holds a four-shot lead over first round co-leader Patrick Flavin (Highwood) and Zach Burry (Quincy). Flavin shot an even-par 70 to back his 63 from Tuesday, while Burry shot a 2-under 68. Downstate mid-amateurs Derek Meinhart (Mattoon) and Mike Cushing (Bloomington) are tied for fourth, five shots back of the leader, while first round co-leader Trent Wallace (Joliet) slipped to sixth after a 72.
Quinlan Prchal (Glenview), the 2012 champ, is tied for seventh at 4-under, while two-time champion Todd Mitchell (Bloomington) is in a tie for 24th at 1-over par. 2014 winner Raymond Knoll (Naperville) made the cut on the number at 3-over 143, in a tie for 30th.
The low 35 and ties—40 golfers in all—made the cut, advancing to Thursday’s 36-hole final day. The third round of the Championship begins at 7 a.m., with the final round commencing at 11:30 a.m. The final pairing of Hahn and Flavin will begin their rounds at 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Calumet Country Club.
ROUND ONE RECAP
Like rush hour on the Tri-State Tollway, which whizzes past several of the Championship’s holes, the leaderboard of the 87th Illinois State Amateur Championship is a traffic jam, with a few speeding to the front. Patrick Flavin (Highwood) and Trent Wallace (Joliet), playing in back-to-back afternoon groups, posted matching 7-under par 63s to share the opening round lead.
Flavin, who has finished sixth in each of the last two Illinois State Amateurs, started his round with five consecutive birdies and kept on cruising, putting eight birdies against a single bogey at the 11th. Meanwhile, in the group behind Flavin, Wallace, who finished fifth last year and was playing his first round at Calumet Country Club, carded seven birdies, including four of the final six holes.
“I hit a bunch of good shots at the start, got comfortable fast and made a bunch of putts,” Flavin, who is entering his senior season at Miami University, said of his opening stretch. “I was giving myself lots of chances and fortunately I got them all to go in. It calmed the nerves real quick, it was great to get off to a good start.”
“I kept the ball in play all round, kept it below the hole—which you need to do out here—and just trusted the putter,” Wallace, a rising junior at Illinois State University, said. “When I got (to the course), my teammate had just come in at a 65, so I thought that was pretty low, and then I got out there and the greens were perfect, so I just tried to take it as low as possible.”
Two shots off the lead in third is Zach Burry (Quincy), who shot an opening round 65 on Tuesday morning, which like his collegiate teammate Wallace, included birdies at four of the final six holes.
“The weather is too good not to play well,” Burry, a rising senior at Illinois State University, said. “I think the scores are going to be lower like they were last year, probably not as low.”
Mid-amateurs Derek Meinhart (Mattoon) and Todd Mitchell (Bloomington) are lurking just three back of the leaders after carding 4-under 66s. Meinhart, who hit the first tee shot of the day off the first tee, planted his name at the top of the leaderboard throughout most of the morning, getting as low as 5-under through 13 holes before finishing at -4. Mitchell, a two-time Illinois State Amateur champ, stacked an eagle and three birdies against a single bogey at the par-5 13th to finish at -4.
Other past champions Quinlan Prchal (Glenview) and Raymond Knoll (Naperville) both shot 2-under 68, sitting in a group of nine players tied for seventh. A total of 34 golfers shot even par or better on the 6,619-yard course, which was reduced to a par-70 from the par-71 layout the southside Donald Ross design’s members typically play.
With so many within striking distance, the contenders know there will be no relaxing over the final 54 holes.
“You have to keep it going,” Flavin added. “Last year, I learned you have to keep the pedal to the metal because there’s a ton of really good players here. I’ve got to keep the pedal to the metal and focus on myself.”
The 87th Illinois State Amateur Championship continues Wednesday at Calumet Country Club, with the second round teeing off at 7:30 a.m. Flavin and Wallace will be in the morning wave on Wednesday, with Flavin off at 8 a.m. and Wallace in the group behind at 8:10 a.m., both off the 10th tee. After Wednesday’s second round, the field will be cut to the low 35 and ties for Thursday’s 36-hole final day.
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