Nikitas races to Illinois Open lead

Writing from North Barrington, Illinois

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

The term clubhouse leader goes back to the old days of golf, before on-course scoring was accurate or up-to-the-minute.

It applied Tuesday to a degree at Wynstone thanks to a 3 hour 15 minute severe weather delay, which shove back tee times and ensured much of the afternoon wave in the 77th Illinois Open would not finish.

The overall leader, however, is not yet in this posh club’s posh clubhouse. That would be Charlie Nikitas, who stands 16 under through 34 holes, and is threatening to make a mockery of the competition. The Illinois Open’s record for low 36 holes compared to par is 14 under.

The 2024 champion and PGA Tour Americas regular is four strokes ahead of a trio, including clubhouse leader Pablo Castro, an Illinois Wesleyan junior out of Palatine, whose 7-under 64 places him at 12-under 132. He was the leader before Nikitas teed off and went on a birdie binge – eight in 16 holes, along with a bogey before the hooter blew at 7:47 p.m., nine minutes before sunset. Amateur Dukuan Snyman of Champaign and Pierce Grieve of Lake Forest are 12-under with two and nine holes left, respectively.

The long wait to tee off was no big deal to Nikitas. 

“I feel it’s pretty normal, to be honest,” Nikitas said. “We’ve had a lot of delays on PGA Tour Americas this year and last year. There’s a lot of stop and starting. You kind of have to be prepared for whatever happens.

“I tried to keep the foot on the pedal a little bit. I had a lot of god (yardage) numbers yesterday, and you kind of have to be prepared to be extra patient in the following round. I went at it with that attitude, tried to keep doing what I was doing: Picking small targets, having a god attitude. It worked.”

To the tune of five birdies on the front nine, including Nos. 5 through 8, and then Nos. 10, 13 and 14 on the back, with a bogey on the par-5 12th.

Commencing at 8:30 a.m., those left to finish will do so, and then the course will be reset. Te Illinois PGA’s Brad Slocum, a devotee of tough tests, is expected to give the survivors of the cut a challenging examination.

“I like the way Brad sets up golf courses,” Nikitas said. “Just enjoy it and keep moving.”

Said clubhouse leaders who moseyed in before play was suspended ran the gamut of golf. Castro represents the young set. Then there’s PGA Tour veteran Nick Lindheim, a 41-year-old California native who grew up a skateboarder and never played college golf.

He’s lived in Illinois for 14 months and included his seventh career hole-in-one in the course of his 4-under 68. He stands at 5-under 139 through 36 holes.

Like Nikitas, Castro’s card featured eight birdies, as against a solitary bogey. He’s not a long hitter but is getting the job done with precision.

“These wet conditions are not my friend,” Castro said. "When you have 6-irons into some of these par 4s, you have to trust it, commit to it. Trust the starting line and the shot shape, the work I’ve put into my swing these weeks and months.”

It worked. Castro, already 5-under, hit a 8-iron into the par-4 15th from the rough after just clearing the water and birdied it from four feet.

“That was a great way to keep the momentum going,” Castro said.

Lindheim’s ace, accomplished with a 7-iron on the 171-yard seventh hole, acted as a similar tonic.

“I had 8-iron in my hands,” said Lindheim, who had daughter Shyla as his caddie. “But my playing partners switched clubs, and one hits 8-iron harder than me. So I tried to hit a little 7-iron and the rest is history.

“I hope I’m within shouting distance. My game’s been off and on, good shot, bad shot.”

He’s played three times on the PGA Tour this season, making the cut only at the John Deere Classic, where he tied for 74th.

Lindheim has yet to birdie a par 5 in eight chances, parring each time.

“I burned the edge on the two par-5s on the back nine,” Lindheim said.

Nikitas is burning up the course.

Around Wynstone

The golf course and community escaped the brunt of the squall line that roared though the Chicago area just before noon. Only .19 inches of rain fell and the wind never gusted over 13 mph despite the threatening skies. In contrast, south suburban courses were hit hard, notably Flossmoor Golf Club and Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor, where a tornado was reported and gust of 127.5 mph was recorded on radar in the vicinity of Ravisloe Country Club. … Because of the soft conditions, players had ball-in-hand again Tuesday, and likely will again Wednesday. … The cut is to the low 50 and ties, but won’t be determined until Wednesday morning. … Wynstone head pro Joe Strahl followed up Monday’s 97 with a 104, including four quads, and will be high among the 153 finishers. … At the point play was suspended, the second round field scoring average was 74.13 strokes, about the same as Monday’s 74.09.

– Tim Cronin

Records smashed in Illinois Open at Wynstone

Writing from North Barrington, Illinois

Monday, August 10, 2026

Move over, Jack.

The Golden Bear might have designed the golf course at The Club at Wynstone, but his old course record of 6-under 66, set on opening day in 1989, is now a distant fourth statistically.

Jack Nicklaus’s mark fell in 2007, a member whose name can’t be deciphered on his scorecard posting a 65. That was matched Monday morning in the first round of the 77th Illinois Open by Timmy Crawford of Arlington Heights, who was finishing on the 18th green about the time Illinois sophomore Dujuan Snyman, South African-born and Australian-bred, put the finishing touch to his course-record 8-under 64 on the ninth green.

Snyman’s feat was eye-popping, but wait, there’s more. Snyman’s record lasted about 20 minutes, until 2024 champion Charlie Nikitas of Glenview crashed the party with a 9-under 63.

By the end of lunch hour, Nikitas’ achievement had been matched by Michael Davan of Zionsville, Ind., whose collegiate stint at Parkland College in Champaign qualifies him to play in the Illinois Open. By the end of the morning wave, the duo of Nikitas and Davan led a trio at 8-under, Crawford at 7-under and a quartet at 5-under.

The reason for the low scores: the weather. Extreme heat a few weeks ago just as Wynstone was holding its member-guest and pushing the agronomic envelope stressed the greens, and while they were coming back, 2.21 inches of rain over the weekend both softened the course and put the greens at risk again if they were sped up. So Illinois PGA and Wynstone officials agreed to a less pernicious setup than is usually the case for the Illinois Open.

The combination of easier pin positions, slower dartboard-like greens and the soaked layout triggering lift-clean-and-place options for the players brought forth the record scores and a wholesale assault on par. In the morning wave alone, 34 of 78 players were under the par of 72 and another 10 were at par.

“You just have to hit it in the fairway, especially with the rough up, the greens soft and the ball in your hand,” said Nikitas. “Just a solid round. I was comfortable. I’m sleeping in my own bed. Both my parents were out here, my coach, my cousins, even my grandma.”

Nikitas has three top 10s on the PGA Tour Americas circuit, pro golf’s version of single A baseball, and has seven scores of 63, 64 or 65 on it this season. The trick is to having multiple solid rounds the same week. That’s happening. In his most recent outing, he had a pair of 65s in the Osprey Valley Open, and managed a pair of 64s a fortnight ago.

“It’s getting comfortable,” Nikitas reiterated. “I birdied the first three holes today. In the past, maybe I would have gripped it a little tighter, but maybe I’m getting used to doing it a little more often."

While Nikitas, 27, chases his professional dream, Davan, having given that a go, is grounded in club work, teaching at Plum Creek Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. A month ago, his bid for the Indiana Open title came up short in a sudden-death playoff at Brickyard Crossing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his second straight runner-up placing in the Hoosier state’s championship.

“I got some putts to fall early and rode that wave,” Davan said after his 10-birdie, 1-bogey round, the best of the former a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 15. “Ball in hand makes it a little easier, but I can see where this golf course could show its teeth if it was firm and fast.”

No club-based professional has won the Illinois Open since 1988, when Todd Tremaglio, an assistant at Chicago Golf Club, outlasted D.A. Points in a playoff.

“We’ve still got a lot of golf left, but it’s good to get off to that start you always dream of,” Davan said.

Snyman, who authored a 65 on Olympia Fields’ U.S. Open-tough North Course last fall, was feeling pretty good about his 64, especially his near-ace on the par-3 14th.

“I don’t know how it didn’t go in,” Snyman said of his deuce on the 132-yard hole, negotiated with a gap wedge. “Landed just past the flag and spun back.” It moved him to 4-under through five holes.

“The greens were soft but balls weren’t spinning off the greens,” Snyman said. “I don’t think I have a course record anywhere, so this is a first for me.”

Or it was until Nikitas and Davan barged in. At the least, Snyman is within striking distance with 36 holes left, and eight strokes ahead of his coach, Mike Small, who went around in even par 72.

Perennial contender Luke Gannon of downstate Monticello – 6-under on par 5s thanks to a pair of eagles –  and Morton native Tommy Kuhl also crafted 64s, while Crawford scattered eight birdies across his card, blighted by only one bogey.

“You’ll definitely have to keep making birdies,” Crawford said. “There’s not much wind in the forecast.”

Around Wynstone

The field averaged 74.09, or 2.09 strokes over par, on the 7,020-yard test. All four par-5s were among the six holes playing under par. … Nikitas co-leads the field and paces the dozen former champions on hand, with Tim “Tee-K” Kelly, David Perkins and Curtis Malm grouped at 5-under 67, among those tied for seventh. … Wynstone head professional Joe Strahl managed one birdie but had an untidy 97, 25 over for his home course, including two triple-bogey and two quads, and was last in the field of 156.

– Tim Cronin

Leng conquers Beverly, wins Western Am

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Jay Leng felt at ease when he stepped on Beverly Country Club’s first tee a few minutes before noon on Sunday. His opponent in the Western Amateur’s 124th championship match was someone he’s been playing golf with and against in the San Diego area since he was 7 years old.

Michael Riebe, a Vanderbilt incoming freshman, had beaten Stanford junior Leng in a friendly game last week. That might have cost Leng a fiver or thereabouts, but he got his pal back, and good, scoring a 5 and 4 victory to win the title and thus lift the George Thorne Trophy to the sky.

Leng may have been playing an old acquaintance in “a friendly match,” as he called it, but did so with spunk, a carryover from his semifinal victory over medalist Miles Russell in the morning.

“On the range it started raining and the wind was kinda weird,” Leng said of his final warmup session. “I looked at it as a good thing because I think I play better in high wind. It was a different direction (from the north) so I had to think about it.”

A birdie 4 earned Leng a 1-up lead over Riebe on the second hole, he extended it to 3 up with a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 event after Riebe made a hash of the sixth hole, and lost only one hole, when he failed to get up and down on the par-4 eighth and took bogey to Riebe’s par. Leng led 2 up at the turn.

“I told myself I was never going to take my foot off the gas,” Lang said. “I know how many birdies he can make.”

It didn’t take long for Leng to press the advantage after a stroll through the tunnel under 87th Street. Leng won the par-3 10th with two putts when Riebe missed the green and couldn’t save par, went 4 up with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 11th, and went dormie 5 by winning the par-4 13th by two-putting for par from 10 feet.

When Riebe settled for par on the par-4 14th and Leng matched, hats came off and hands were shaken. Leng had not only won, but matched the third-widest margin of victory since the final went to 18 holes in 1961.

“I tried not to think (of the stakes) on the golf course, just stay calm and play my game,” Leng said. “But my jaw does hurt from smiling a lot for all the pictures. When I picked the ball out of the hole on 14, there were a lot of thoughts going through my head – all the tournaments I’ve played that have led up to this. It’s a very happy moment.”

Leng’s 3 and 1 victory over Russell, an old U.S. Junior foe, in the semifinals raced to conclusion as well. Leng sank a 20-foot uphill birdie putt to go 2 up on 13, lost the 14th, won the 15th with a 2-putt par and closed the world’s top-ranked junior out on No. 17, when Russell pounded his tee shot to the back of the treacherously sloping green and then chipped to the front fringe.

Meanwhile, Riebe annexed his place in the title match with a 1 up victory over Virginian Logan Reilly. But he was erratic in the afternoon, hitting only four of 10 fairways to Leng’s seven.

“I guess I just didn’t show up the same way I did in the morning,” Riebe said. “I just wasn’t quiet as clinical – didn’t make the putts, my short game wasn’t as good, and I kinda relied on that all week. But Jay’s a tough competitor. We play all the time at home. He’s a great player – super gritty, a great putter, plays his own game, hits it straight. He’s always going to match you.”

In match play, that’s a recipe for success. 

Semifinals

Jay Leng d. Miles Russell 3 & 1

Michael Riebe d. Logan Reilly 1 up

Championship

Leng d. Riebe 5 & 4 

Around Beverly

Leng is the fifth Stanford student to win the Western Amateur, following Tiger Woods (1994), Joel Kribel (1996), David Chung (2010) and Michael Thorbjornsen (2021). Of that quartet, Woods also won the U.S. Amateur, which is economics major Leng’s next assignment a fortnight hence at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. “It shows how our program can mold players,” Leng said. “It shows I can play with anyone. I’m excited for the U.S. Am and excited to play Merion.” … The gallery of about 250 people was the largest for a championship match in several years. They walked a course that had been drenched by more than 5 inches of rain across the week, enough on Saturday to move the schedule back a day, yet there was only one spot with ground under repair and rarely any mud in the rough. … Next year’s Western Amateur is at Knollwood Club in Lake Forest.

– Tim Cronin

Russell weathers the storm

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Friday, July 31, 2026 

The beatings go on.

Unflappable top seed Miles Russell won both his matches Friday in the 124th Western Amateur, extending his quest to become the second-youngest winner of this grueling championship.

Russell will be a senior in high school in a few weeks. He’ll go to Florida State next fall. NIL money is headed his way or already in his pocket. He’ll be a pro soon enough. For now, he plays with the poise of a pro, not a 17-year-old who is too young to vote, have a beer or rent a car. And perhaps hasn’t shaved either.

He made two bogeys in 33 holes across his Sweet Sixteen and quarterfinal matches, both of them on the front nine in the morning, when he eventually defeated Boston Bracken of St. George, Utah, 3 and 2. He erred not at all in the afternoon quarterfinal against fellow left-hander Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala., when a rain-soaked gallery that grew to over 150 watched the soon-to-be Walker Cup teammates commit no errors until Watts’ bogey on the par-3 17th – a failed up and down from the left bunker – settled the issue, 3 and 1.

Russell made an eagle – conceded, but a 3 nonetheless at the par-5 second – and three birdies, including a clincher at the 16th hole, in vanquishing Bracken, then five birdies against Watts, who was 3-under for his first 16 holes himself. Then came the pulled tee shot on the 17th even as a baby cried. Watts and his caddie said they never heard the young’n yelp.

“Playing another great player puts your game to the test,” Russell said. “When I got in trouble I was able to get out of trouble, and was able to scrape in around towards the end when the weather came in.”

Come in it did. The last two holes of his match against Watts were played in a Scottish gale complete with sideways rain from the southwest.

So Russell, fifth in the world amateur rankings, moseys into Saturday morning’s semifinal against Jay Leng of San Diego, who scored a 1-up win over Dean Greyserman of Boca Raton, Fla., and took down Kayun Mudadana of Sydney, Australia., 4 and 3.

“I’ll just go home and get a lot of rest, then try to do it again tomorrow,” Russell said.

He took a 2-up lead on Watts via birdies on the fourth and seventh holes, lost the par-3 10th to a Watts birdie, won the 11th with a birdie of his own, lost the 12th to another bird, then won the 13th to go 2 up, where he stayed until the 17th. Watts made a great par save out of a greenside bunker on the 16th to keep the match alive, but at dormie 2, needed to win the 17th and 18th to force extra holes, and could not.

In the morning, while the lower seed won each of the eight matches, the last Sweet Sixteen match to finish was the best, Australia’s Kayud Mudadana outlasting 14th-seeded Will Hartman of North Carolina in 20 holes. Mudadana made a par on the par-5 second to get the job done. He fell in the quarterfinals, as did Jaden Dumdumaya, denying reporters the opportunity to tout a potential Dumdumaya-Mudadana title match.

Sweet Sixteen Results

1 Miles Russell, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., d. 16 Boston Bracken, St. George, Utah, 3 & 2

8 Tyler Watts, Huntsville, Ala., d. 9 Carson Bertagnole, Pinehurst, N.C., 5 & 4

4 Jaden Dumdumaya, Benicia, Calif., d. 13 Max Herendeen, Champaign, Ill., 5 & 4

5 Jay Leng, San Diego, Calif., d. 12 Dean Greyserman, Boca Raton, Fla., 1 up

2 Josiah Gilbert, Millbrook, Ala., d. 15 Baylor Larrabee, Ferndale, Wash., 1 up

7 Logan Reilly, Lovettsville, Va., d. 10 Daniel Bennett, Pretoria, South Africa, 1 up

3 Kayun Mududana, Sydney, Australia, d. 14 Will Hartman, Marvin, N.C., 20 holes

6 Michael Riebe, Encinitas, Calif., d. Zackary Stanwick, Napier, New Zealand, 2 & 1

Quarterfinal Results

Russell d. Watts, 3 & 1

Leng d. Dumdumya, 5 & 3

Reilly d. Gilbert, 4 & 3

Riebe d. Mududana, 4 & 3

Around Beverly

Galleries were strong even after the rain hit. The forecast is for showers Saturday as well. … Saturday’s semifinals start at 8 and 8:12 a.m., respectively, with the championship match set for 1 p.m. … ESPN+ coverage begins at 9 a.m. and resumes with the full championship match.

– Tim Cronin

Miles ahead, this Russell kid

Writing from Chicago / Evergreen Park, Illinois

Thursday, July 30, 2026

The final day of stroke-play qualifying in the Western Amateur presents three options for players, depending on where they stand as the 36-hole grind begins.

Those at the top can chase the honor of medalist and see their name engraved on the Cameron Eddy Trophy.

Those in 17th place and beyond can try to claw their way into the Sweet Sixteen and the match play portion of the grind, which commences Friday morning.

Those from about 10th place to 16th can, depending on their position of the moment, and their latest birdie or bogey, can pursue the Eddy from a distance or fight to stay within that select 16.

The double round makes for not only a long day physically, but mentally, especially for those in danger of elimination.

For Miles Russell, the mental strain was minimal. The 17-year-old high schooler from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., demolished Beverly Country Club’s course on Thursday, scoring 7-under 64 in the morning and 6-under 65 in the afternoon. His 72-hole total of 21-under 263 was merely a stroke ahead of runner-up Josiah Gilbert, an Australian who goes to Auburn, and surpassed the 14-under 270 posted by medalist Doug Ghim in 2014, the last time the Western Am played through Beverly, by seven strokes.

Those numbers indicate two things. First, elite golfers are more elite than ever, and there are more of them. The four-for-three playoff for the last three spots in the Sweet Sixteen was at 272. The odd man out turned out to be Luke Poulter, son of pro tourist Ian Poulter. 

Russell, runner-up in last week’s U.S. Junior Amateur, didn’t have to worry about that. The second-youngest medalist in Western Am history could put his feet up for a bit after the celebratory dinner.

“There was a lot of good out there and not too much bad,” Russell said after signing for the last of his 13 birdies on the day. “Still got a lot of golf left. Last week was a really long week, so I’ve got a feel of what this will be like by the end of it.”

Russell, should he advance to Saturday afternoon’s final, has 72 holes, more or less, to look forward to. As does Gilbert, now the leader of the Auburn squad with Jackson Koivun on and winning on the PGA Tour.

“Stroke play is something we take pride in, and now (in match play) we’ll try to ride that momentum,” Gilbert said. “You just play good golf, the rest takes care of itself."

Sweet Sixteen Pairings

8 a.m. – 1 Miles Russell vs. 14 Boston Bracken

8:12 a.m. – 8 Tyler Watts vs. 9 Carson Bertsgnole

8:24 a.m. – 4 Jaden Dumdumaya vs. 13 Max Herendeen

8:32 a.m. – 5 Jay Leng vs. 12 Dean Greyserman

8:48 a.m. – 2 Josiah Gilbert vs. 15 Baylor Larabee

9 a.m. – 7 Logan Reilly vs. 10 Daniel Bennett

9:12 a.m. – 3 Kayun Mudadana vs. 14 Will Hartman

9:24 a.m. – 6 Michael Riebe vs. 11 Zackary Stanwick

Around Beverly

Illinois standout Max Herendeen played himself into the Sweet Sixteen with a final round 65 for 271. … Only C.T. Pan, the medalist in 1999, was younger than Russell, and then only by three days. ... The scoring average on the par 71 test was well under par each day. With lift-clean-and place in fact for the first 36 holes, the average was 70.92 for the first round and 70.74 for the second. Thursday, with the ball played down but only 45 players remaining from the original 156, the average plummeted to 68.96 in the morning, which was duplicated in the afternoon. … The Milt Woodard Trophy, incorrectly referenced in Wednesday’s story, goes to the winner of the Western Junior.

– Tim Cronin