40th Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship

East Peoria's Tim Sheppard hoisted the Earl R. Liff Trophy for a third time Wednesday at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club.

40th Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship
September 14-16 • The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club (Rockford)

Day Three: Wednesday, September 16

HEALTHY JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME, SHEPPARD CLAIMS THIRD STATE SENIOR TITLE
ROCKFORD, Ill. - The New Year is typically the time for those around the world to seek new beginnings, setting various resolutions and goals. Some stick with said goals, others go by the wayside before winter comes to a close.

For Tim Sheppard (East Peoria), this year’s start featured an extra set of challenges, including what is certainly the most terrifying day of his life.

“Boy, I’ve had some health problems,” an emotional Sheppard said. “I've been fighting a lot of different things, but I had a heart attack in January where, if I wasn't at the hospital, I probably wouldn't be here.”

Thankfully for us all, it was the right place at the right time for Sheppard and the 65-year-old lives to tell the story with a fresh perspective on life and his health at the forefront.

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Since then, Sheppard has lost 25 pounds and has fought to get his strength, and golf game, back in typical form. An ensuing neck issue kept him off the course during the week leading up to the 40th Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship. The time off the course proved to pay dividends, as he hoisted the Earl R. Liff Trophy for a third time Wednesday at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club in Rockford.

An opening-round 76 on Monday had Sheppard five shots behind the lead, as the field woke up to heavy rain necessitating a four-hour delay ahead of the second round. Carding a 1-under par 70, which included four birdies, cut his deficit to three and placed the eventual victor in the penultimate grouping for the final day of play.

“The first day, I just hadn't played much golf and I just felt a little off and hit a couple of drives that were behind trees and made bogeys, and no birdies the first day either,” Sheppard said.

Trending in the right direction, Sheppard topped his Tuesday score with a tournament-best 68 in the final round. The low score featured three-straight birdies at Nos. 3-6, not only giving Sheppard an abundance of confidence, but also putting the pressure on those he was chasing, including then-leader Mark Small (Frankfort) and two-time State Senior winner Scot Frankenreider (Peoria).

“It was like yesterday too,” Sheppard said of his start. “I was 3-under through six yesterday and I'm thinking, ‘Birdie No. 1’. Well, I didn't birdie No. 1. Then I hit a shot in there, landed four feet from the hole and came back about eight feet, and I missed it (on No. 2). But then I made a three-and-a-half-footer on No. 3, four-footer on No. 4 and about an eight-footer on No. 5, which really got me going.”

Then along came a stretch of holes Sheppard struggled with all week, as consecutive bogeys at the par-3 ninth and par-4 10th, a hole he bogeyed all three rounds, halted the momentum.

“I'm like, ‘Don't bogey No. 11,’ because I bogeyed No. 10 every day, and I bogeyed No. 11 the first two days. And so I'm like, ‘You gotta make par, and then make some putts,’” said Sheppard. “Lucky enough, I ran in about a 15-foot (birdie) on No. 12 to get a little momentum going again.”

An additional birdie at the 15th as the rain began to fall again was arguably outshone by a pair of clutch par saves it was sandwiched by. Sheppard worked out from behind the trees at No. 14 before making an eight-foot putt for par. He went on to secure his two-putt on the par-4 17th after leaving his birdie bid five feet short.

“The par saves are such momentum builders, without a doubt,” Sheppard said.

Trailing Small by three shots heading into his final hole of the day, Sheppard knew a closing birdie was likely necessary to give himself a chance at the title. As he poured in his lengthy putt for three at the par 4, Small bogeyed No. 17, turning his three-shot lead into one over Sheppard and a four-shot advantage over his cart-mate in Frankenreider was cut to two.

With Sheppard looking on from behind the 18th green, Small pulled his tee shot left and was forced to attempt to get up-and-down from nearly 150 yards out. After finding the right side of the green, Small was left with a sweeping right-to-left putt for birdie that slid four feet past the hole. Frankenreider just missing his uphill birdie effort to tie Sheppard led the way to a shocking three putt from Small to close out the tournament; Sheppard at +1 and Small and Frankenreider at +2.

“Mark's had an incredible summer, my gosh,” Sheppard said. “I mean, the run he made (to the Quarterfinals) at the U.S. Senior Am, just awesome. Obviously, Scot's a two-time champion. We've been friends since the '80s and we’ve played a ton of golf together. So I just tried to stay in my lane and tried to make birdies coming in. I was lucky enough to make that one on 18, and then lucky enough to be able to hoist a trophy.”

With the win, Sheppard not only captured his third event win, but also earned his 10th CDGA-administered senior title. The finish also gave him the Illinois State Super Senior Championship, making him the second to win both in the same year after Dave Ryan (Taylorville) did the same last September.

“This is my 10th senior title,” Sheppard said. “I really didn't think about that until maybe two or three years ago. And then, after the health scare and all that, I'm like, my goal, I really wanted to get to 10. So it's ultra special to get that 10th and to get another senior title just in general. I mean, we have so many good players in the state of Illinois. You just look at what they've done this summer, and they're all great guys.”

Goal secured and health in check, Sheppard will look to use this week’s win as a springboard to a next run of dominance on the senior circuit.

Day Two: Tuesday, September 15

SMALL ONE ROUND AWAY FROM ELUSIVE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE
ROCKFORD, Ill. - With his 2-under 69 in the second round of the 40th Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship Tuesday at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club, Mark Small (Frankfort) put himself in position to achieve a feat only one other person has before.

Related Links: (Scoring) / (Round 3 Tee Times) / (Photo Gallery)

Small, the 1996 Illinois State Amateur victor, will enter Wednesday’s final round of the 55-and-over event with a two-stroke lead. Should he triumph, Small would join legendary amateur Joel Hirsch as the only two individuals to win both the Illinois State and Illinois State Senior Amateur Championships.

Having narrowly missed this accomplishment in the past, notably finishing second in the 2021 iteration at The Preserve at Oak Meadows, the 62-year-old's mind will be elsewhere on Wednesday.

“I’m going to have to put that as far back in the brain as I can and focus on each shot like I was doing today,” Small said.

It’s understandable why Small is looking to repeat as much as possible from Tuesday, where he surged to the lead at +1 overall. He bounced back from “an absolute anomaly” of a 40 on the second nine in Monday’s opening 18 to card the best round of the tournament thus far. He hit 17 greens in regulation and 12 fairways, continuing a trend of strong ball striking this season.

“[Ball striking] is what’s been going well for a while right now, so it’s been a lot of fun,” Small said.

Small and the rest of the field were greeted by a four-hour weather delay necessitated by an early-morning deluge. Softer conditions allowed for a scoring average more than two strokes better. While nobody shot under par on Monday, Small, two-time event winner Tim Sheppard (East Peoria) and Greg Seelinger (Downers Grove) carded red numbers on Tuesday.

Seelinger is joined by Scot Frankenreider (Peoria), the 2022 and 2023 State Senior winner, in second at +3 overall. Sheppard is one additional shot back at +4, with three others at +5 rounding out the top five.

In total, 38 players made the 36-hole cut, which came at +15. Final-round action will begin at 8 a.m., with the final group of Small, Frankenreider and Seelinger slated to tee off at 10 a.m. In addition to an overall champion, a Low Super Senior (age 65 and up) will be crowned following play on Wednesday. Sheppard leads that competition by two shots.

Day One: Monday, September 14

THREE TIED AT THE TOP OF 40TH STATE SENIOR AM LEADERBOARD FOLLOWING FIRST ROUND AT THE-MAUH-NAH-TEE-SEE CLUB
Rockford, Ill. - The state’s top seniors age 55 and older ventured to Rockford, and The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club specifically, for the 40th playing of the Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship on Monday. Under seasonably comfortable conditions, a trio emerged as the only players to card an even-par round or better over the first 18 holes of the 54-hole event. Stephen Daly (Wheaton), 2019 event victor Jeff Ott (Dunlap) and Daren Lowery (East Peoria) all fired 71s to top the leaderboard by day’s end.

Related Links: (Scoring) / (Round 2 Tee Times)

Starting on the club’s back nine, Daly went out in even-par 35. A dropped shot on the par-4 2nd was recouped by birdies on Nos. 3 and 5. The 68-year-old would fall back to even with a birdie on the par-3 ninth. Meanwhile, Ott and Lowery both started on the front nine. Ott, whose 2019 triumph came at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, sandwiched a birdie on No. 4 with bookend bogeys on the Nos. 1 and 9. Despite a double bogey on No. 10, the 64-year-old notched birdies on three of the next five holes.

Lowery’s scorecard may be the most impressive, however, given his start. Three straight bogeys is a difficult mountain to climb on a day when the scoring average soared to 79.7. Despite a red figure on the par-3 seventh, the 57-year-old would drop two more shots in the form of bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11. He then righted the ship, and then some, in the form of four straight birdies on Nos. 14-17 to fight back to even par.

While the triumvirate lead the way, a slew of notable names linger just behind. Two-time State Senior Am winner Scot Frankenreider (Peoria) fired a 1-over 72 to sit in fourth. Just behind in a tie for fifth, 2021 champion David Feder (Chicago) notched a 2-over 73. And the 2025 CDGA Senior Am titleholder Mark Small (Frankfort), fresh off the heels of a run to the Quarterfinals in the U.S. Senior Amateur just a few weeks ago, carded a 3-over 74 to position himself in a tie for seventh.

All contestants will return on Tuesday for the second round, with tee times slated to commence at 8 a.m. The field will then be cut to the low 35 and ties, who will return for an 18-hole finale on Wednesday. In addition to the overall title, a Low Super Senior honor will be awarded to the lowest-scoring contestant age 65 and older. Daly currently holds a three-shot advantage over Tim Saurs (Pekin) in that race.

Preview

The 2026 CDGA Championship resumes next week, as the 40th Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship will be contested at The Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club in Rockford, Sept. 14-16. The championship will feature the state's top amateurs age 55 and older vying for the Earl R. Liff Trophy, as they compete across three rounds of stroke play.

Schedule

Monday, September 14
The entire field will play 18 holes of stroke play.

Tuesday, September 15
The entire field will return to play another 18 holes of stroke play. A cut to the low 35 and ties will be made, with those players advancing to Wednesday. All contestants age 65 and older will compete for the Low Super Senior Honor. The honor will go to the lowest eligible player after Round 2 if no Super Seniors advance to the final round.

Wednesday, September 16
The low 35 and ties from Tuesday will play the final 18 holes to determine the winner of the Earl R. Liff Trophy.

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Related Links: (Full Preview) / (Tee Times) / (Field) / (2025 Recap) / (Event History)

Championship Information

The Illinois State Senior Amateur Championship, conducted annually by the Chicago District Golf Association, was first held in 1987. The Championship is open to Illinois residents age 55 and older. It is a 54-hole event, with the entire field playing 36 holes over the course of two days and the low 35 and ties playing the final 18 on the third day. The winner of the Championship is the recipient of the Earl R. Liff Trophy, which was claimed by Dave Ryan for a record fifth time in 2025 at Bloomington Country Club.

Qualifying

Closed