BELOIT—A pair of names on the 2024 Beloit City Men’s Golf Tournament tee times list stick out to almost anybody hoping to compete in the championship flight: Tim Johnson and Ryan Miller.
Johnson, who won three titles in a four-year span from 2019 to 2022, returns after missing last summer’s tourney due to prior obligations.
Miller is the golfer that broke up Johnson’s run in 2021, winning his first city title before missing the next two tournaments.
The battle for the crown just got a whole lot harder as both return this weekend when the three-day event kicks off on Friday morning at Krueger-Haskell Municipal Golf Course.
“I think my window to try and win in five decades is closing,” golfer Larry Stankewitz said with a laugh. He has won the championship flight in four different decades with his first coming in 1985 followed by victories in 1999, 2001 and, most recently, 2010.
“Another year of age on the old body and the field was a little bit softer last year,” Stankewitz, who placed second last year, continued. “Ryan Miller is real tough and he’s back in it. And we got Tim Johnson back in it, as well. He’s just real solid. It seems like he’s defying logic with Father Time a little bit.”
Spencer Waite, a two-time champion, is yet another golfer who missed last summer’s tournament and is back for another go.
And there are plenty of other competitors who competed last summer and have strong resumes heading into the weekend.
Reigning champion Griffin Oberneder, a 2022 Beloit Memorial graduate, is a threat to finish at the top again this tourney. He finished runner-up in 2022 before winning his first title last year.
Collin Brockwell placed third in 2023 and was two-shots behind Oberneder, and he has finished in the top four in four of the past five tournaments.
And Andy Hagen, a five-time champion, will look to win his first title since 2017.
“This is always one I’m looking forward to every year,” Hagen said. “I get to play with my brother-in-law (Zack Colby), so that should be cool. And Spencer I’ve been playing with for a long time.
“Sometimes I have a number in the back of my head going into it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I feel like if my game is good, I should give myself a chance because I know the courses so well. But then you got to go out there and do it.”
Hagen agreed that the field this summer is absolutely stacked, and he was complementary of those he will be competing against this weekend.
“I don’t think I’ve met Ryan, but I hear he is a very good player,” he said. “Tim is steady. Everybody knows him at this point. He just never seems to be in very much trouble. And when he does, he usually gets up and down for par more often than not. I’m sure he’ll be right in there. Larry also always seems to play pretty good Collin and Zack played pretty good at the SWANI. Griffin, I haven’t really gotten to know him, but he was right there at the SWANI.”
The tournament will take place at Krueger-Haskell on Friday and Saturday with the final round being held at Beloit Club on Sunday, a format that Stankewitz is a fan of.
“You’ve got to be a little sharper at the Beloit Club,” he said. “I’m not playing as much as I used to, so you can maybe get away with some flaws at Krueger and get a little more confidence. Then, your game gets a little better as you go on, hopefully.”
This summer in the Stateline has been particularly wet, and the frequent rain showers could make the greens softer than prior tournaments.
But Hagen, who had just finished up a round at the Beloit Club, added that the groundskeepers seem to be doing great work.
“The course here was in really good shape,” he continued. “Maybe a little bit soft, but that’s to be expected with the summer we’ve had weather wise. But otherwise, everything’s lush and the bunkers are really nice. And the green speeds were — you could definitely make them if you put them online.
“And then Krueger was quite a bit softer when I was out there, but it is a different type of grass, so it’s not exactly a totally even comparison.”
Numbers continue to stay steady and strong in the tournament with 84 golfers competing, up from last summer’s number of 80.
“I was looking through the championship division and I know most of the guys, but it seems like there’s at least a handful of names that I don’t know very well,” Hagen said. “Which is good that there’s still interest and guys wanting to come out and support it and compete in it.”
And Stankewitz added that having younger players like Brockwell, Oberneder and Alex Cortez fighting to win a championship flight title is a “good thing.”
“In fact, I’ve got two guys in my group that I really didn’t even recognize their names,” Stankewitz said. “I assume they’re younger guys. They’re the strong ones. Collin is not very big, but he hits that ball a long way.”
Hagen said that his key to having a chance to be atop of the leaderboard going into the final holes is hitting as many greens as he can.
“If I’m hitting a lot of greens in regulation, your scores aren’t going to be too bad from there,” he said. “Maybe you’ll have a few holes you might three putt, but you’re going to have plenty of chances for birdies and you’re going to have plenty of pars. Hopefully, I can get myself into play off the tee and then try to hit plenty of greens and see what happens from there.”
Stankewitz said it’s about playing your game.
“You’re going to have a bad hole, but you don’t need to be perfect to win this thing,” he added. “ You just gotta take the bad with the good and put the bad behind you and keep going. I’ve got low expectations, but I prefer it that way a little bit. You don’t put pressure on your game. I’ll be going in loose as opposed to coming in as a defending champion.”
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