Morreale not hurt by finish

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BARRINGTON – Andrew Morreale simply wanted to see steady progress in his game during three humid afternoons of golf this week at Makray Memorial Golf Club.

So when Morreale finished his last round of the Illinois State Junior Amateur in a tie for 40th place and a 20-over-par 233, the DeKalb senior was not disappointed.

“This was a good experience for me,” Morreale said. “I didn’t make the cut here last year, so it was good to play the championship round.”

Glenview’s Dex Reese won the Slovitt Cup, shooting a 217 to beat Kevin Carlson of Western Springs by one stroke.

The ISJA features some of the best male golfers in the Illinois Junior Golf Association, and the field was cut after Wednesday’s second round.

Morreale’s 156 through Wednesday qualified him for the final round on the par-71 course.

The third round started “streaky,” Morreale said. He bogeyed hole Nos. 2, 5 and 6 and double-bogeyed nine before finishing well.

Morreale birdied No. 10 and felt more confident the rest of the way.

“After three holes, I was one-over,” Morreale said. “I had trouble in the bunkers on nine again, but then I felt like the back nine was better. I started with birdie and finished strong.”

The heat did not dip below 90 degrees during any of the rounds, and by Thursday, a steady breeze that blew through Makray in the morning that helped cut the humidity was a welcome reprieve.

“I felt like it got a little shadier toward the end of the round,” Morreale said. “[Thursday] felt like it went by really fast.”

Morreale is planning to try to qualify for the 29th annual Chick Evans Junior Amateur Championship through a solid finish at the first Chick Evans qualifier held at Harborside International on July 7.

The Chick Evens Junior Amateur begins July 27.