PAEGLOW GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE TO WIN THE 2020 ILLINOIS SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
 

St. Charles, Ill. – September 29, 2020 – Illinois PGA Professional David Paeglow (Kishwaukee Country Club) won the 2020 Illinois Senior Open Championship at Royal Fox Country Club on Tuesday, September 29. Paeglow finished the Championship at 4-under-par 138 to fend off Mike Small (University of Illinois) and win the Illinois Senior Open by one stroke. 

The final pairing in round two of the Illinois Senior Open Championship featured Small who won the 2020 Illinois Senior PGA Professional Championship, Michael Troy (Zigfield Troy Golf Club), the 2020 Illinois PGA Senior Match Play Champion and Paeglow. Paeglow had previously gone head-to-head against Small and Troy at the Illinois Senior PGA Professional Championship and Illinois PGA Senior Match Play respectively. Despite coming up short in the prior two events against these two, Paeglow prevailed at Royal Fox Country Club clinging to the one-stroke lead he built in the first round.

“It was a very satisfying win,” said Paeglow. “I’ve been runner-up a number of times in a lot of tournaments and it was great to finally finish and close out a tournament. My goal is to try and win these tournaments not just do well. So, today was so satisfying to finally win something and take home to my kids.”   

Paeglow entered the final round with a one-stroke lead on the field. In round one, Paeglow tallied four birdies and an eagle to shoot 3-under-par 68. He got off to a hot start in the final round with birdies on holes four and six, getting him to 5-under-par for the tournament and increasing his lead to three strokes. Paeglow dropped a stroke with a bogey on the par-4 seventh hole, but got it back on the ninth hole to get back to 5-under-par for the Championship and make the turn with a three-stroke lead.

Despite a slower back nine performance, Paeglow held onto his lead. He made back-to-back bogeys on holes 11 and 12, and picked up a third bogey on the back nine at 16. Meanwhile, a birdie on the 16th for Small gave him a share of the lead. Both players parred the par-3 17th hole and moved to the par-5 18th hole tied. Paeglow left himself just 180 yards from the pin after his drive and stuck his approach shot to about 20 feet for eagle. Small was forced to layup and left himself 15 feet below the hole for birdie. Paeglow sank the putt for eagle and secured his first career Illinois PGA Major Championship victory.

“I felt pretty good coming into this tournament,” said Paeglow. “I’ve played this course a number of times, so I had some confidence coming in. Today was a calming round for me. I played comfortable and relaxed. It’s hard to play against those guys and match them shot for shot, but I just kept my patience. Especially on the back nine when I started making a few bogeys. I gave up the lead on 16, but I just stayed calm. My putting was really good in both rounds and I felt confident that I could make putts. I knew that last pin was on a bit of a side hill, so I knew the putt was going to be fast. I played a lot of break and just laid it up there and it trickled down right into the cup. It was a very satisfying win.”

Small would go onto make his birdie putt on 18 and finished the day at 1-under-par 70 for a tournament total 3-under-par 139, and a solo second place finish in his first career Illinois Senior Open Championship.

E.A. Tischler (Olympia Fields, Ill.) recorded the low round of the tournament on Tuesday, carding a 4-under-par 67 in the final round. He recorded a 5-over-par 76 in round one to finish with a tournament total 1-over-par 143 and a T3 finish.

Rick Stewart (a) (Park Ridge, Ill.) won the 2020 Illinois Senior Open Low Amateur award, finishing T3. He carded rounds of 3-over-par 74 and 2-under-par 69 for a tournament total of 1-over-par 143.

Illinois PGA Professionals Roy Biancalana (Blackberry Oaks Golf Club) and John Varner (Beverly Country Club) also finished T3 with two-day totals of 1-over-par 143.

2019 Illinois Senior Open Champion, Mike Henry (a) (Bloomington, Ill.) finished T17 with a tournament total 6-over-par 148.

The Illinois Senior Open Championship marked the final regular season Senior event for Illinois PGA Professionals. The Illinois PGA Senior Players Championship marks the final Senior event of the year and will be played at Twin Orchard Country Club on October 12-13. This event will feature the top 33 players on the 2020 Errie Ball Senior Player of the Year Points list.

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.ipga.com and join us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

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CONTACT:
Kevin Quinn
Illinois PGA Communications
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kbquinn@pgahq.com