WHEATON, IL – The 2006 Western Junior Championship to be held July 17-21 at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton, Illinois, will be hosting many of the area’s top young golfers.
"We look forward to hosting a group of very talented area players included in our field of 156 of the nation’s top junior golfers at one of Chicago’s finest golf courses, Cantigny Golf," said Gabe Ottolini, Western Junior associate tournament director. "The golf course’s reputation speaks for itself and will prove to be a challenge for these outstanding young players."
Mike Jones, head professional at Cantigny, says that some local players know the course well. "A couple of the area golfers play high school golf and get a chance to play the course a lot, but with the great talent that will be coming out for the tournament, they will not have too much of an advantage," Jones said.
Cantigny was named Best New Public Course in America by Golf Digest when it opened in 1989. Since then, Cantigny has earned numerous honors, including a place on Golf Magazine’s list of "Top 50 Courses You Can Play in America" in 2000. Cantigny has hosted several major tournament events, including the 2002 Illinois State Amateur Championship, the 2001 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying and the 2000 U.S. Open Local Qualifying.
The following Illinois golfers are committed to play in 2006 Western Junior.
Zach Barlow, Carbondale
Peter Besser, Chicago
Sammy Bettinardi, Kinsman
Wilson Bowen, Winnetka
Josh Butterfield, Oswego
Matthew Cermak, Chicago
Michael Cermak, Chicago
Matthew Denison, Northbrook
Daniel Dolan III, Lake Forest
Andrew Frame, Manteno
Thomas Greene, Roselle
Brad Hopfinger, Lake Forest
Joseph Janiczek, Orland Park
Joe Kinney, Antioch
Ryan Linton, Lake Forest
Clayton Parkhill, Champaign
Jason Pinns, Wheaton
Michael Slovitt, Winnetka
Kenny Wittenberg, Glen Ellyn
Andrew Wyatt, Lake Forest
Greg Bauman, Crystal Lake
This will be the 89th playing of the Western Junior, the oldest national junior championship. For more information about the Western Junior, contact the Western Golf Association at 1 Briar Road, Golf, IL 60029, call (847) 724-4600, or visit our Web site at www.westernjunior.com.
Contact:
Gary Holaway
(847) 724-4600
