Waggoner finishes tied for 12th

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The 42nd Illinois State Junior Amateur Championship concluded Thursday with Buffalo Grove’s Doug Ghim taking home the Slovitt Cup and local golfers Luke Waggoner and Ryan Craig finishing strong.

Ghim finished at 2-over-par 215 through three rounds on the par-71 Makray Memorial course in Barrington. He shattered the course record Wednesday with a 65 to move to the top of the leaderboard.

Waggoner, a senior at Marian Central from Lakewood, finished tied for 12th – his second-best finish in three tries in the Illinois Junior Golf Association’s premier boys event of the summer. He finished eighth in 2009 and shot 76 on Thursday to finish at 228.

Craig, a junior at Huntley, finished 53rd with a 244 after shooting 85 on Thursday. It was Craig’s first State Junior Amateur appearance.

“I was happy to get three rounds in the 70s,” said Waggoner who shot 79 on Tuesday and 73 on Wednesday. “I had yet to do that in a tournament this year, so that was positive.

“The tournament was really well-run; the IJGA did a nice job as always, and it was a fun tournament to play in.”

Waggoner had two birdies, five bogeys and one double bogey Thursday. Craig’s card was similar, although he had triple bogeys on Nos. 4 and 11.

“It’s a tough tournament, probably one of the toughest courses I’ve played in a while,” Craig said. “It came down to me just not really having it [Thursday]. I would hit solid shots here and there, but my short game wasn’t very good, and I missed a lot of close putts. I didn’t feel confident when I was lining up shots the way I should. It just wasn’t the best feeling out there.”