Aug. 10, 2010

Chicago, Ill. - Coming off his fourth Twin City Open title on Sunday, Illini senior Clayton Parkhill continued his momentum Tuesday in the opening round of the Illinois Amateur. The Champaign native fired an early four-under par 67 and sits third after the first round, two shots off the lead at Beverly Country Club in Chicago.

Parkhill has been fine tuning his swing over the summer, but on Tuesday he let his putter do the talking in his round that featured five birdies and just one bogey.

"The putts were falling today," Parkhill said. "I got on a roll early and most of the putts were good lag putts, which really has given me a lot of confidence."

Parkhill began on the 10th hole and birdied the par-five 11th and the par-three 12th then after making the turn at -2, made birdies on 1, 2 and 3 to reach a tournament best -5. His only blemish was a 4 on the par-three sixth.

Parkhill's strong play comes at an event the Illini players have thrived in recent years. Zach Barlow won the title in 2008 and Luke Guthrie claimed the championship in 2009. Guthrie, who hails from Quincy, shot a one-under 70, which is good for a tie for 11th. Illinois sophomore Ross Frankenberg from Barrington shot a three-over par 74 and is tied for 71st. Barlow turned pro following the NCAA Championship in June and is thus not participating this week.

"I've tried to work on tempo and having a smooth swing," Parkhill said. "I'm trying to swing more with my whole body which has avoided me hitting the ball far left or far right."

Winning his fourth Twin City at the age of 22 moves him into second on the all-time list for the event, just one off the record. Although he had solid ball striking over the last two weekends at the Twin City, he admits that his putter wasn't working like then like it was on Tuesday. Because of the prowess of his blade, Parkhill finds himself in unfamiliar territory in such a big event this week.

The field will be cut to the top 30 after Wednesday's round with those 30 playing the final 36 holes on Thursday. Parkhill, who had the benefit of an early tee time on a sweltering day, must play his second round in the heat of day Wednesday, teeing off at 12:10 pm. Frankenberg and Guthrie have similar scenarios, teeing off at 1 and 1:50 pm, respectively.

"I've found a nice rhythm and am more comfortable over the ball," Parkhill said. "It's nice to be in this position, but tomorrow is a new day. I can't think about the score. Hopefully I can get in the same kind of rhythm I had today."

Live scoring is available at cdga.org .

Pieters competing in British Boys Amateur
Incoming freshman Thomas Pieters from Belgium is competing in the British Boys Amateur this week. The tournament, which features 252 of the world's best golfers age 18 and under, is held at both Kilmarnock and Dundonald Links on the west coast of Scotland and has attracted players from 20 different countries.

Pieters shot even par 73 at Kilmarnock Tuesday, good for a tie for 27th, and will play the par 72 Dundonald course on Wednesday. Julien Brun from France shot a seven-under par 66 at Kilmarnock to take a three-shot lead. The top 64 players following Wednesday's second round will compete in match play over the following four days - from Aug. 11-15.

Live scoring is available at randa.org.

Three Illinois alumni set to compete at PGA Championship
The world's No. 4 ranked player, Steve Stricker, joins fellow Illinois alumni Mike Small and D.A. Points at the 92nd Annual PGA Championship this weekend at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis. Stricker, playing with Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Adam Scott from Australia tees off at 1:15 pm on Thursday from the first tee and 8 am Friday from the 10th tee. Small, the Fighting Illini head golf coach, is playing with Tom Lehman and Shaun Micheel and will tee off from No. 10 at 1:15 pm Thursday and from No. 1 at 8 am on Friday. Points, who got word late last week that he qualified, will play with Boo Weekley and Seung Yul Noh of South Korea and will tee off at 12:55 pm from No. 10 on Thursday and 7:40 am from No. 1 on Friday.

Live scoring can be found at pga.org .