PHOTOS BY BUZZ ORR/CDGA Rob Grube lived up to his credentials, blowing away the field at the State Amateur Championship in record-setting fashion.

By Greg Stewart ILLINOIS STATE AMATEUR EDGEWOOD VALLEY C.C., LAGRANGE • AUG. 15-17 • PAR 71 • 6,753 YARDS POS. PLAYER HOMETOWN 1 2 3 4 TOTAL is amateur résumé already 1 Rob Grube Hinsdale 71 67 69 67 274 2 Todd Mitchell Bloomington 69 74 71 71 285 reads like one of a future PGA 3 Brad Benjamin Rockford 72 74 70 70 286 4 Anthony Imburgia Effingham 73 75 71 70 289 5 Matt Miller Bloomington 69 73 72 76 290 Tour player. Matt Bova Bloomington 72 74 75 69 290 Pacific-10 Conference freshman ments and college golf on the West 7 Steven Taylor Canton 69 74 75 73 291 of the year in 2005. Pac-10 co-player Coast,” said Grube, now a junior at 8 Larry Blatt Orland Park 77 72 71 72 292 of the year in 2006. Winner of the Stanford. “I’ve spent a lot of time in 9 Josh Esler Wauconda 72 73 73 75 293 NCAA West Regional in 2005 and , but Illinois is still my 10 John Wright Elmhurst 74 70 73 77 294 the U.S. Intercollegiate and Western home state. I’ve always wanted to 11 Nick Bova Bloomington 75 72 72 76 295 Intercollegiate last spring on the way win our Amateur Championship John Ehrgott Peoria 78 70 76 71 295 to being selected the 2006 athlete of since I was very little. It’s very fulfill- Steve Sawtell Northfield 75 75 73 72 295 the year at Stanford University. ing and I feel very proud to be from 14 Martin Bozek Hickory Hills 73 73 70 80 296 And those are just accolades Illinois and to win my home cham- 15 Charlie Waddell Wilmette 75 72 77 73 297 accumulated in the last 15 months. pionship.” Tim Lynch Lake Forest 72 74 75 76 297 Back up six years, and Hinsdale Grube’s final round of 67, four Joe Cermak 73 73 75 76 297 native Rob Grube (pronounced under par, was his third straight 18 Zach Barlow Percy 73 74 75 76 298 GREW-be) was a rising star in the round in the red and gave him a win- Chip Travis Hinsdale 73 77 76 72 298 Illinois Junior Golf Association. ning total of 10-under 274. He was 20 Keith Jungen Freeport 70 77 75 77 299 Then he went to prep school the only player to finish under par Greg Bauman Crystal Lake 72 78 80 69 299 in California, where he won the and ended a phenomenal 11 shots Kyle Hosick Carmi 74 75 81 69 299 2004 NorCal State Championship better than runner-up Todd Mitchell 23 Brian Carroll Crystal Lake 77 70 78 75 300 and achieved All-American status (285) of Bloomington. 24 Josh Borchardt Thomasboro 68 79 84 71 302 with the American Junior Golf “I won a couple of junior tour- 25 Derek Meinhart Mattoon 77 71 84 71 303 Association. naments by this many, but this is 26 Dave Ryan Springfield 77 71 75 81 304 So how could Grube (who fin- different,” said Grube, who fin- Justin Fetcho Eldorado 75 75 78 76 304 ished second to T.C. Ford in 2004) ished his sophomore season No. Bob Christensen Aurora 80 70 76 78 304 be omitted from a short list of players 10 in the Golfweek/Sagarin college 29 Tim Hoss Champaign 73 76 79 77 305 to watch at the 2006 Illinois State golf rankings. “This is the most 30 Scott Dessing Long Grove 74 76 80 76 306 Amateur Championship, and leave complete tournament I’ve ever 31 Torrey Welsch Freeburg 76 74 80 77 307 others in the field asking, “Who’s played. The level at which I played Timothy Harrigan Oak Lawn 74 75 77 81 307 that guy?” even after he posted one was consistently very high. That 33 Justin Collins Chicago 76 73 77 82 308 of the most decisive wins since the was gratifying.” 34 Matt Tuchband Chicago 74 75 82 80 311 format went to medal play in 1963? His victory wasn’t official until 35 Jordan Lewis West Frankfort 77 72 80 83 312 “I’ve played all my high school Grube brushed in a 4-footer for par 36 Kyle Shay Peoria 77 72 83 84 316 golf and most of my national tourna- on Edgewood Valley Country Club’s Note: Top 15 finishers and ties earn exemptions to the 2007 State Amateur

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 27 Recap Borchardt -3 Mitchell -2 ROUND 1 Miller -2 Playing in the last Taylor -2 group and his first State Amateur, Josh Borchardt scorches the back nine with six birdies for a 6-under 30 and the outright lead at 3-under 68.

Grube -4 Miller E ROUND 2 Mitchell +1 With smooth greens Taylor +1 Bloomington’s Todd Mitchell (right) matched par with a 71-71 on the last day, and though that awaiting his 7:30 helped him into second place, he and the others in the field were still a long way from catch- starting time, Rob ing or challenging Grube. Grube, State Am runner-up in 2004, rolls in seven birdies for a 4-under 67 and a four-shot lead after 36 holes. had made four birdies and stretched another level. He punctuated his win by his lead to eight. rolling in four more birdies on the back “Very impressive,” said Miller, who and left his veteran caddie, Lee Kocanda, Grube -6 finished tied for fifth. “He struck it as searching for superlatives. Mitchell +1 well as I’ve ever seen anybody strike it. “I’ve caddied at Butler (National) for ROUND 3 Miller +1 Very solid. He has all the shots.” for , Ian Baker-Finch, Robert Grube makes four birdies Benjamin +3 Following completion of the third Gamez, Luke Donald and other top play- in his first eight holes to round, Grube shared a lunch table with ers,” he said. “Truthfully, I’d put Robbie get to eight under and essentially seal Miller and Mitchell, maybe the only two right up with any of them. Especially his the victory after 45 holes. For the sec- players with an outside shot of chasing approach shots. They were just dead on. ond straight round the low score him down. The carved turkey breast tast- If he wanted to hit a little cut in there, he belongs to Grube. ed good with a seven-shot lead on the hit a little cut. If he wanted a little draw, side, but Grube wasn’t ready for his he hit a little draw. That’s what I found dessert just yet. very impressive.” Grube -10 “There is a danger of getting too com- Grube’s father, John, followed his son Mitchell +1 placent,” he said of holding the largest all four rounds and produced the follow- ROUND 4 Benjamin +2 54-hole lead at the State Amateur since ing statistics: 61 percent of fairways hit Grube closes with four Imburgia +5 birdies during a back- Rich Dukelow turned a six-shot cushion (34 of 56), 76.4 percent of greens in reg- 1 side 32, giving him one into a nine-shot victory in 2001. “But I ulation (55 of 72), and 122 putts, or 30 ⁄2 of the largest margins of recognize that danger. I’m very focused per round. Grube had a scoring average victory since the State Amateur went and committed to the task at hand. It’s of 68.5 in a tournament with only 16 to stroke play in 1963. not over.” other rounds under par. He consistently Sure it was. Eighteen holes just hit his 3-wood off the tee nearly 280 wasn’t enough to make up seven strokes yards and his driver more than 300. on a player of Grube’s caliber, even if “I hit a lot of shots exactly where I was 72nd hole shortly after 5 p.m. on Aug. his pursuers were the two-time State looking and that was fun,” Grube said. “I 17. In reality, he won the tournament Am champ Mitchell and the highly controlled my ball very well. It’s not an nearly eight hours earlier. decorated Miller. overly long course, but it demanded Grube started the third round with Grube, who works with Gary Pinns accuracy. Fortunately this week, I was a four-shot lead over Matt Miller, a sen- (the 1977 State Am champ) at Oak hitting it very straight.” ior at Illinois State who this summer Brook Golf Club and nationally Straight to the top. qualified for the U.S. Amateur Public renowned teacher Jim McLean in Links and the U.S. Amateur. Eight Florida, made the turn at even-par 35 in Greg Stewart covers golf for the Peoria holes into the morning round, Grube his final round, then took his game to yet Journal Star.

28 WWW.CDGA.ORG Attention for the Attire

Steven Taylor turned heads on the final day of the State Amateur. Even though his play over the final 36 holes (75-73, to finish Steven Taylor’s selection seventh) slipped after a first-round 69, the 20-year-old from of colors for the final round was in tribute to a Canton got noticed for his wardrobe. good friend. “I just typed in outrageous pants or something like that,” Taylor said of a Google search that directed him to www.loudmouthgolf.com. The Web site sells vintage golf clothing and some not-so-vintage stuff that even Ian Poulter might be hesitant to wear. But it was another Ian, not the flashy Englishman on the PGA Tour, who inspired Taylor’s trousers. “One of my best friends at school, he got into buying retro pants off the Western Open and the John Deere Classic. None made it to the big stage Internet,” Taylor said. “When I showed him these, he was (Anthony missed by one at the John Deere qualifier), but each was grateful pretty impressed.” Taylor’s friend and teammate at Brevard (Fla.) for the opportunity. “It could have been a life-changing event for one of us,” Community College, Ian Morrell, was killed in a car accident in April. said Anthony Imburgia, at 22—one year older than his twin brothers.

“I wear these for him,” Taylor said of the pants with vertical stripes in Turning pro: One of Illinois’ top young talents planned to turn profes- black, cream, khaki and gold. “It’s my final-round sort of thing.” sional after the State Amateur. Crystal Lake’s Brian Carroll, who won the

Shooting for the big time: The summer of 2006 has been one to 2005 CDGA Amateur title on his way to the ’05 CDGA Player of the Year remember for the Imburgia brothers. Anthony, Matt and Mike Imburgia all award, figured he’d be a pro before the State Amateur concluded. decided to elevate their tournament schedule by playing in a series of “I’m turning pro right after I miss the cut,” Carroll said after a first-round Monday qualifiers for PGA Tour events. 77. A second-round 70, however, kept Carroll in the championship and an With moral and financial support from their father, Dominic, the brothers amateur for two more rounds. He eventually finished 23rd. from Effingham entered qualifiers for the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the Cialis —Greg Stewart

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 29