Crestwicke welcomes State Am for fourth time
This article appeared in the July 2026 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
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Crestwicke Country Club
Travel the farm-dotted roads of rural Illinois, and a phrase quickly comes to mind: wide-open. That appellation might also be applied to this year’s Illinois State Amateur. Without 2025 winner Jordan Less or runner-up Connor Hamm, it could be anyone’s title to win when the field gathers, July 14–16, at Crestwicke Country Club on the south edge of Bloomington – planted nearly 60 years ago on what had been farmland – for the 95th edition of the State Am.
This year’s field is still loaded with talent. Seven players return from those finishing among the top eight and ties, including Nicolas Simon of Elk Grove Village, who was tied for second with Less with two holes left at Stonebridge last year, a stroke behind Hamm, and finished third. Hamm made two pars. Simon went bogey-birdie. Less went birdie-birdie to win.
For some, that might leave scar tissue. Not Simon.
“I don’t think I took it as a bad thing that I didn’t win,” Simon said recently. “I try to go into a tournament with no expectations. I go in and play against the golf course.”
Entering his junior year at Michigan in the fall, Simon, who won an IHSA title a few miles away at The Den at Fox Creek as a senior at Conant, figures to be in the mix.
“I haven’t played Crestwicke, but central Illinois has been good to me,” Simon said. “It was cool to be the best player at the state (high school) finals. I’m sure it would be great to win the State Amateur.”
Coming off an injury that kept him out of the Wolverines’ lineup this spring, Simon will face largely familiar company. Among those in the field are the Creamean brothers, Alexander and John, who tied for fifth and 17th last year, respectively. Robert Dolemyer of Loves Park and Brien Davis of Peoria, who also tied for fifth, are also registered. Myles Cunningham of Winnetka, whose 8-under final two rounds lifted him to a joint eighth-place finish, also can’t be counted out.
“Some players are older, and I’m not super familiar with them,” Simon said. “But a lot of the guys, I’ve been competing with since I was 6 years old. It’s cool to play them.”
The aforementioned and the rest of the field will tackle a course lovingly cared for by a family whose visionary scion, Ed Hurley, bought it from a Dallas-based company led by Illinois State legend D.A. Weibring and financed by Japanese interests 30 years ago.
That long-distance management combination was unwieldy, but Hurley, who owned Minne Monesse in Kankakee County, had the proper formula. Daughter Mary and son-in-law Mark run the club. Ed’s grandson, Kyle, is the head professional. The result: Thirty years of family ownership and a cadre of happy members who enjoy a fun course designed by Larry Packard that can be made to bare its teeth.
This year’s Illinois State Amateur will see them bared. Reprising the host role for the fourth time, Crestwicke will offer a fair but difficult test, and if the three previous playings are an indication, produce an outstanding champion.
Gary Hallberg and David Ogrin were the first two Illinois State Amateur champions crowned at Crestwicke, and back-to-back in 1979 and 1980, the only time in the last 60 years the CDGA returned with the championship in consecutive years. Brad Marek, less heralded but no less accomplished, won the 2005 edition at Crestwicke after making it to the Semifinals of the CDGA Amateur.
When he bought Crestwicke in 1996, Hurley said, “We’re going to place more emphasis on everybody having a good time.” This year’s field should have one, regardless of the outcome.
Tim Cronin is the author of 13 books on golf.