Chaussard leads soaked Illinois PGA

By Tim Cronin

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

When the rain came for good, Garrett Chaussard, the teaching pro at Skokie Country Club, was in a good place – in the clubhouse at the Ivanhoe Club and atop the leader board.

Chaussard’s 2-under-par 70 for 3-under 141 earned him a one-stroke lead entering the final round of the 100th PGA Championship – presuming those who finish on Wednesday morning, in advance of Round 3, don’t change the standings.

Chaussard leads Tim Streng of Wildcat Golf Academy and Andy Mickelson of Mistwood Got Club by a stroke, while Mistwood’s Frank Hohenadel, the overnight leader, is two strokes back with three holes remaining. He was caught out by the big squall line that rolled through the north suburban course before nightfall just after hitting his tee shot on the 16th hole.

Chaussard, a two-time Illinois PGA Match Play winner, was just happy to be finished.

“It’s very tough out there,” Chaussard said. “I’m glad I got it done. The break was actually good. It slowed me down. I happened to birdie No. 16 coming in and scrape together a couple of pars.”

The break, while long, helped Chaussard. First, he was out of the heat, a 96-degree scorcher with a heat index of 103.

““It was very refreshing, especially because I was one of three people to wear pants today,” Chaussard said. “Plus those last three holes are pretty hard, so it was good to get them without wind.”

The quartet Chaussard heads features the only players under par. Matt Slowinski of Hinsdale Golf Club is even through 36 holes after a 2-under 70, while Champaign’s Kurt Rogers is at 2-over 146 after consecutive 73s, and Eric Ilic of Merit Club is 2-over with six holes remaining.

The first break for severe weather lasted from 4:25 to 6:25 p.m. When it ended, players were told to go straight to their spot on the course without a warmup, unusual considering the length of the delay, though not unprecedented. They played 31 more minutes before the hooter sounded again.

The quick restart in the heat after the long wait in air conditioning might have cost 13-time winner Mike Small. The Illinois men’s coach was 3-under, having gone birdie-eagle on the two holes immediately before the stop, including an eagle on the par-5 15th. But he came out and promptly double-bogeyed the 16th, bogeyed the par-3 17th and made a quadruple-bogey 8 on the watery final hole, a 7-over train wreck that added up to 77 and a tie for ninth at 4-over 148 at nightfall.

Small did everything not to be a human Mount Vesuvius after the round.

Conversely, Mickelson took the quick restart in stride, even though his game changed.

“It was the right move to get back on the golf course,” Mickelson said. “I really had a lot of momentum going, but once the weather came through, I wasn’t making great swings. I band-aided it at the last four holes we played after I played so good in the middle of the round and I made nothing.”

Four straight approaches to within six to 15 feet earned nothing but two-putt pars.

“I had a stretch where it could have been a pretty darn good round if I made a few putts,” Mickelson said. “I had more control of my golf ball today, and that’s the stupid thing about golf. I played a lot better today and shot the same score.”

Welcome to golf.

Around Ivanhoe

The field averaged 79.80 strokes before play was halted, nearly identical to the opening round’s 79.81 average. … Twenty-nine players will finish Round 2 on Wednesday morning before Round 3 commences, with the cut trimming the field to the top 60 and ties from the original 116.