By Mark Gregory
@Hear_The_Beard
Stephanie Miller was near perfect last week as she claimed the title at the 22nd annual Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville.
The University of Illinois senior to be tallied 43 straight bogey free holes before collecting a bogey on No. 17 on the final day, wrapped up her first tournament win since 2013.
“I guess I couldn’t be perfect all day,” Miller joked. “But I did get away with a lot. On 13, I hit it way right into the high grass and found it, thankfully. Then popped it out in front of the green and made an up and down and got away with that, so I was happy with the par there. I just tried to play well coming in, but I got a little excited on the par-three, but that’s all right. I was just thinking about one shot at a time.”
The two-time IHSA Class AA champion while at Stevenson fired three rounds of 69 to finish with a 9-under par 207, three shots better than Indiana resident Kelly Grassel, who also ended her tournament with 38 bogey free holes.
“This week was a great experience,” Grassel said. “I was pretty consistent. This course has some tricky holes, but it’s not too long and the greens were holding, so it was very scorable this week. I’m definitely happy with the string of no bogeys. I missed a few greens but was able to get up and down, so I was happy about that.
“This was an encouraging week for my game. I started making a few improvements and was hitting it a little bit farther, so to see that out on the course was encouraging, however there was a time when I was hitting further than I usually did and I wasn’t sure which club to play.”
Miller also battled with her playing partner, Brooke Ferrell, who was tied for the lead after both the first and second round.
Ferrell was only one shot behind Miller heading into the stretch run, but a nine on No. 15 dashed her hopes of winning this year after finishing second last year.
“Brooke was a great partner and is so nice, and her game is awesome,” Miller said. “She hit some great shots, and at the beginning, we were neck and neck. She would make birdie and I’d make birdie, and we had one on hole five where she stuck it to six inches and I stuck it to 2 1/2 feet, and we were like, ‘We’re here to play.’ Playing with a good partner is good for your game since you take your game to the next level and hit some good shots.”
Miller hit some of her best shots during the three hole stretch from holes five to seven where she strung together three straight birdies.
The top low professional score was former University of Illinois golfer Ember Schuldt, who carded a 71 on the final day and finished in fifth place with a two-under par 214.
The lone Voyager Media area athlete to make the cut was Bolingbrook resident Jessica Yuen, who finished tied for 23rd with a 230.