Jul. 19—URBANA — Playing 36 holes in one day was already going to be a grind, but it wasn’t enough to decide a winner.
After 72 holes in three days, Pierce Grieve and Marcus Smith Jr. were tied at 9 under par atop the leaderboard of the 93rd Illinois State Amateur Championship by late Thursday afternoon, bringing on a three-hole playoff at Atkins Golf Club.
“I just took it as another opportunity to compete,” Grieve said. “You only get to play so many tournaments in your life, especially amateur events, so another three holes wasn’t too bad. Might as well have been the cherry on the top.”
Starting the playoff on the seventh hole, Smith took a one-shot lead after sinking a 20-foot birdie putt. He gave it away on the next hole, driving his tee shot at No. 8 out of bounds and dropping two strokes.
Now, with just the par-3 ninth hole remaining, Grieve held the one-shot advantage, and he stuck his tee shot about 15 feet from the pin. Smith had to get aggressive, but his ball wound up short of the green in the bunker. After getting on the green, Smith three-putted to take all the pressure off of Grieve.
Two cautious putts later, Grieve could celebrate and call himself the Illinois State Amateur champion. He finally let out some emotion with a fist bump, a wave to the crowd and a hug with his parents.
Grieve was the man to beat all week long. The soon-to-be senior at West Virginia University was the most consistent golfer in the field, shooting a 2-under-par 70 in each of the first three rounds and doing one shot better in the final round.
“He’s been really solid and really consistent. That’s what you need out here,” Smith said of Grieve. “For that to happen, he probably had a solid mental space, which is really important. Kudos to him. He’s been playing some good golf.”
Smith, who recently finished his senior year at Howard University, gave Grieve just about all he could handle, though.
Grieve was one shot clear of second place going into Thursday’s final 36 holes, and it grew as the day progressed.
He shot his best round of the tournament in the final round, but Smith shot the single best round of the event at the same time. Smith’s 7-under 65 was the third-best score of his life. That’s the kind of round it took to track down the leader and force a playoff.
“I was saying back on 16 that I had a four-shot lead going into the second round (of the day), and I was pretty surprised that wasn’t enough,” Grieve said. “All the credit to Marcus. That was great playing. I was pretty nervous in the playoff, I’m not going to lie. Those 1-footers started to look like 6-7-foot snappers. I was just thrilled to be able to pull it off and stay steady the whole day.”
Smith put himself in third place after a first round of 4-under par and followed that with back-to-back 1-over rounds. His final round included four birdies, two eagles and only one bogey.
“That felt good,” Smith said. “When we took our break between rounds, I looked at the leaderboard and saw I was four back. I just said, ‘I’ve got to get moving if I want anything to happen.’ I made a birdie on the first hole and a nice one on the second and just kept it going.”
Smith was the 2018 Class 1A individual state champion when he played at Winnebago, and the Rockford native said this week felt more special because of how well he played.
Grieve also had some success at the high school state level, winning a 3A team championship with Lake Forest in 2019, adding that both experiences were special in their own ways.
“It was cool getting to rush the 18th green with my boys and hoist that trophy, but this one’s definitely very special,” Grieve said. “It’s definitely an honor to be the Illinois State Amateur champion.”
With the win, Grieve qualified for the United States Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., and he’ll have plenty of supporters there with him when he tees off for the tournament, which runs from August 12 through 18.
“My whole family on my dad’s side is from Minnesota, so I’m thrilled to be able to go up and compete in the U.S. Amateur there,” Grieve said. “It’s going to be special to see them and have a chance for them to watch me play. I’m excited about that. Getting to call myself an Illinois State Am champ is pretty neat, too.”
