Max Scodro, the Illinois State Mid-Amateur runner up in 2023, emerged victorious at Inverness Golf Club following a final-round 3-under 69.
33rd Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship August 18-19 • Inverness Golf Club (Inverness)
Day Two: Tuesday, August 19
SCODRO WRITES DIFFERENT STORY, CAPTURES 33RD ILLINOIS STATE MID-AM
INVERNESS, Ill. - Two years ago at Biltmore Country Club, Max Scodro (Lake Forest) held the Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship lead by one stroke heading into the final 18 of the 54-hole event. A 1-over 72 round ultimately set him back, narrowly missing a playoff with eventual winner Will Hickey (Burr Ridge) by one shot.
This year, in the event’s 33rd iteration at Inverness Golf Club, Scodro was one shot behind the leaders heading into Tuesday afternoon’s 18-hole finale. Aided by past experiences, and a little bit of family luck, he authored a different outcome this time, carding a 3-under 69 en route to a one-shot victory over Jack Watson (Lincolnshire) and Dan Stringfellow (Roselle) at 5-under par.
“It feels good, especially because I thought I might have given it back again on the back nine here, early on,” said the 35-year-old Scodro following the victory. “To come so close, and I kind of gave it away [two years ago], so now to have a different story this time, it felt really good.”
Before his title triumph, Scodro finished the rain-delayed, Tuesday morning-resumed second round with a 1-under 71. A contingent of players, including Adam Turner (Galesburg), Lyle Burns (Champaign), Michael Mounce (El Paso) and Watson sat at 3-under par, with Scodro and Stringfellow tied for fifth at 2-under par. Scodro’s afternoon kicked off with birdies on Nos. 2 and 5, sandwiched around a bogey-5 on No. 3. He approached the intricate par-5 eighth with an “aggressive mindset,” going for the green in two and landing his approach pin high. A two-putt birdie, followed by a lengthy birdie putt on No. 9, surged him to the top of the leaderboard.
“That felt really good because I took a bit of a gamble and it paid off,” said Scodro of his second into the par-5 eighth. “And then on nine, I sank a good putt, which I was not expecting. That really felt like I had some momentum going to the back nine.”
That push, however, quickly dwindled in the form of bogeys on Nos. 10 and 12. Elsewhere on the course, the strong mid-amateur field applied pressure, with the likes of Sluzky and Watson lurking close behind. As he played Inverness’ back-to-back par 5s, Nos. 16 and 17, Scodro was joined by a welcome audience - his wife and two boys - who helped reset the Notre Dame graduate’s perspective. Despite admittedly not playing the holes well all week, Scodro was afforded the opportunity to go for the green in two on both holes yet again. A delicate short game, and two birdies, successfully righted the ship.
“I had no idea they were coming,” said Scodro of his family. “It helped because I kind of needed a reset. I hadn’t had anything going on the back nine. It just lightened the mood, and seeing them was really fun and really special.”
During that same stretch, Watson, playing in the group behind, embarked on a run of his own. A chip-in birdie on the par-3 15th, followed by a world-class up-and-down after a pulled approach on the par-5 16th, tied the former Wisconsin Badger for the lead. With a par on No. 17, all eyes watched as he played the 18th. Following a wayward fairway wood into the right rough and an approach that came up short of the green, Watson was unable to get up and down to force a three-hole aggregate playoff.
Scodro, the 2012 Illinois Open victor, has been a staple of the CDGA-administered event circuit for years. And his appearances were typically a Scodro family affair, much like it was on Tuesday. Lorraine Scodro, Max’s grandmother, became a CDGA Blue Coat in 1995 and was a frequent first-tee starter at CDGA events. Lorraine’s death in the spring of 2023 preceded Max’s failed title hopes at Biltmore. Despite her not being here for his first CDGA-administered victory, Max surely felt her presence throughout the week.
“It still feels weird coming to these events without her being a starter,” said Scodro. “I thought about her at every first tee this week. She was there for every single event and pretty much all of the Blue Coats out here were like ‘Hey - I know your grandma would be proud.’ It feels good to win it, and I know she helped me out on a couple of lucky breaks today.”
Proud indeed.
Next up on the CDGA Championship calendar is another Illinois State event - the 39th Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship - slated for Bloomington Country Club, Sept. 15-17.
Day One: Monday, August 18
TURNER LEADS FOLLOWING RAIN-ABBREVIATED OPENING DAY OF 33RD ILLINOIS STATE MID-AM
INVERNESS, Ill. - The first day of the Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship has routinely featured 36 holes of golf for the field of the state’s top players age 25 and older for more than three decades. This year, Mother Nature had a schedule of her own for the event’s 33rd playing at Inverness Golf Club, as competitors were called off the course twice throughout the day. Thunderstorms eventually suspended play amid the second round just before 4:30 p.m. The championship is scheduled to continue Tuesday morning at 7:30.
A congested leaderboard following Monday morning’s opening round saw Michael Mounce (El Paso) and Adam Turner (Galesburg) leading the way at 3-under par. The latter began his second round 2 under through his first seven holes to claim the lead by one stroke.
Turner played his opening round in Inverness’ traditional routing and began par-birdie. The 48-year-old carded a double-bogey six at the par-4 third before birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 brought him back into red figures at 1 under at the turn. He continued to captain a steady ship to the likes of seven-straight pars to open his second nine ahead of back-to-back birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 to conclude his first-round 69. A quick turnaround back to the 10th tee after lunch, Turner bogeyed his opening hole to begin round two. A trio of birdies at Nos. 13, 15 and 16 ended his rain-shortened opening day with upward momentum and a one-shot lead.
Mounce, who finished tied for second last year at Park Ridge Country Club, began his tournament on the par-4 10th hole. He opened with six-consecutive pars before a trio of birdies through Nos. 16-18 vaulted the 28-year-old to the top of the talented leaderboard. A lone bogey at the par-4 first was nixed by a birdie two holes later, as Mounce coasted to the clubhouse with another run of six pars to close. Seven holes into his second round, Mounce posted three birdies and two bogeys to push himself one shot behind Turner.
Mid-amateur stalwarts Daniel Stringfellow (Roselle), Maxwell Scodro (Lake Forest) and Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park) round out the top five. Each of the three are 13 holes into their second rounds with Stringfellow leading the trio by one shot at 3-under par.
Lyle Burns (Champaign) and Jack Watson (Lincolnshire) round out the competitors in red figures at Monday’s close. The two sit at 1-under par. Burns will have 13 holes to complete in his second round to Watson’s four.
The second round is scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. The field will then be re-paired with the low 35 and ties set to compete for the title in the afternoon.
Preview
Next up on the 2025 slate of CDGA-administered championships is the 33rd Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship, Aug. 18-19 at Inverness Golf Club in Inverness. Three rounds of stroke play await a field featuring more than 80 of the Chicago District's top amateurs age 25 and up.
Schedule
Monday, August 18 The entire field will play 36 holes of stroke play to determine the low 35 and ties who will advance to the 18-hole finale.
Tuesday, August 19 The low 35 and ties from Monday will compete in 18 holes to determine a champion.
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The Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship, conducted annually by the Chicago District Golf Association, features the state’s best golfers 25 and older. It began in 1993 when it was won by Tom Studer. Currently, the championship is 54 holes, with the entire field playing 36 holes the first day and the low 35 and ties playing 18 holes on the final day. Lake Bluff native Andrew Price won the Championship last summer.
Max Scodro, the Illinois State Mid-Amateur runner up in 2023, emerged victorious at Inverness Golf Club following a final-round 3-under 69.
Preview
Championship Information
