ORLAND PARK, Ill. – October 1, 2019 – Chris French (Aldeen Golf Club) won the 2019 Illinois PGA Players Championship Tuesday at Crystal Tree Golf and Country Club. French held off Kyle English (Crestwicke Country Club) by one stroke to claim the victory.
French entered the final round of the Illinois PGA Players Championship with a two-stroke lead over English following a first round 4-under-par 68.
Two bogeys on the front nine by French, allowed English to cut into the lead heading to the back nine. French carded three birdies, including two-in-a-row on holes two and three, but also bogeyed Nos. one and six. French made the turn at 1-under-par 36, five-under-par for the tournament.
English’s birdie on the first hole cut French’s lead to one-stroke. English went on to card a bogey-free front nine with two birdies for a 2-under-par 35, and trailed French by one-stroke entering the final nine holes.
French responded with a bogey-free back nine and two birdies, playing his last six holes at 2-under-par. His two birdies came on the par-5 13th hole and the par-4 14th hole for a 3-under-par 69 final round, and a tournament total, 7-under-par 137 en route to his victory.
English’s solid final round continued on the back-nine as he kept his card bogey-free and knocked in two more birdies on holes 10 and 13 for a four-under-par 68. He played his final six holes at 1-under-par, but would come up one stroke shy of French, finishing with a tournament total 6-under-par 138.
Garett Chaussard (Skokie Country Club) and Steve Orrick (Country Club of Decatur) finished T3 following two-day totals of 2-under-par 142.
Brian Carroll (The Hawk Country Club), Rich Dukelow (Medinah Country Club) and Josh VanderBush (GolfTec) rounded out the top-five of the 2019 Illinois PGA Players Championship. All three players carded 1-over-par 145 tournament totals.
The 2019 Illinois PGA Players Championship marked the final major on the 2019 Illinois PGA schedule. The Illinois PGA Pro-Superintendent Championship and Fall Pro-Pro are the next events on the Illinois PGA schedule.
About the Illinois PGA/Illinois PGA Foundation
The Illinois Section of the PGA of America is a professional organization serving the men and women golf professionals in northern and central Illinois who are the recognized experts in growing, teaching and managing the game of golf. The Illinois PGA is responsible for the administration of competitive golf tournaments, educational opportunities, support programs and growth of the game initiatives. With over 840 members and apprentices, the Illinois PGA is one of the 41 regional Sections that comprise the PGA of America. The Illinois PGA Foundation focuses its community efforts on promoting the goodwill and growth of the game with an emphasis on activities that benefit youth. Foundation initiatives include: GolfWorks Illinois, Youth-based Scholarship Funds and the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. For more information about the Illinois PGA and the Illinois PGA Foundation, please visit www.www.ipga.com and join us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
CONTACT:
Kevin Quinn
Illinois PGA Communications
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