Riordan aiming for 3-peat in IV Open

Carrie Riordan, Spring Valley

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There’s no question about it, Spring Valley’s Carrie Riordan will be the golfer to beat when the ladies tee up for the Illinois Valley Women’s Golf Open Hunter’s Ridge Golf Course Sunday in Princeton.

She’s taking aim on becoming the first to win three straight titles since 1973 and a fifth IV crown would be topped by only one other golfer in the 51-year history of the event.

Though she won’t have to battle former champions Penny Derick and Carol Balconi, who have split four titles between them from 2001-06 but opted out of this year’s tournament, Riordan will have to face the talents of rising standouts Gwen Holmes of Princeton and Jackie Leonard of Streator.

Riordan, who capped her career at Eastern Illinois as the Panthers’ first Ohio Valley Conference championship this spring, joked she feels like one of the old golfers now. She also admits to feeling the pressure facing the up and coming golfers.

“Jackie’s a college golfer, a D1 golfer. She knows how to play,” she said. “I haven’t seen Gwen play; my dad tells me she’s a player, too. (1994 champ) Krystal Pytel’s in there, too.”

A fifth title for Riordan would be a feat matched only by Kay Hines of Pine Hills and topped by the late June Anderson of Mendota, who won seven titles, including six of the first seven titles from 1958-1964.

Riordan, who earlier this summer set course records at both Spring Creek and Deer Park, has been scuffling of late with her short game. She tied for ninth in the Illinois Open in Romeoville in late July with rounds of 72, 74 and 74.

“I couldn’t make a birdie putt to save my life. I was giving myself every opportunity to get a birdie but wasn’t draining anything. That upset me,” she said.

Having worked on her long game with Spring Creek pro Nick Potthoff, Riordan turned to Todd Sones, one of the top instructors in the Chicago area, to work on her short game struggles that suddenly crept up on her.

Sones saw she was standing too upright and restricting her arms on her follow through. Now she’s bent over more and able to get a better pendulum swing.

“I’m disappointed I didn’t know all this before the Illinois Open, but at least I got it between tournaments,” she said.

Riordan hadn’t played the Princeton course this summer yet but planned playing Thursday with Spring Creek pro Mary Dagraedt and perhaps another round with her dad.

Much like Riordan, who burst onto the local women’s golf scene, first as a state qualifier for Hall High School and then as the IV champ in 2003, Leonard and Holmes are the next wave of young talent in the Illinois Valley circuit.

Holmes, the 2008 BCR Golfer of the Year, was state qualifier last fall as a senior at Princeton High School and will be playing for the golf team at Millikin University.

Leonard will be a sophomore member of the Illinois State Redbirds golf team. She finished seventh in the IHSA state ranks for Streator High School and was the NCIC medalist in 2006.

While Leonard returns for her second year of the IV Open, Holmes is looking forward to her first experience.

“I think it will be good practice before I go to college and play in college matches,” said Holmes, who will head to Decatur to compete for a lineup berth on the Millikin varsity beginning Aug. 17. “I’m not expected to do awesome or anything, but I’m excited to play with somebody that plays well.”

Holmes, who has been honing her game on vacation against her mom and dad, said she didn’t really know anything about the IV tournament until her mom read about it in the paper.

“She said, ‘Would you want to play in that?’ and here I am,” she said.

Tournament chairperson Nancy DeBord says the tournament is giving Hunter’s Ridge a chance to showcase its golf course. It is the first time the tournament has come to Princeton since 1992, the course then known as Bureau Valley Country Club.

“We are all excited about having the tournament at our club! We are also very pleased with the turn out,” DeBord said. “We have a very nice course and are happy to show it off. I might add that our members are very supportive and willing to help us in any phase of the tourney such as spotting, registration etc. 

DeBord noted the course is receiving a lot of extra play this summer because of the tournament, whose competitors were given opportunities for a practice round this week. She said the Hunter’s Ridge ladies have had a chance to “get up close and personal with a lot of the players.”

New this year will be a team title for low in addition to the traditional low gross championship, which has been swept by Edgewood since 2002. Kathy Potthoff of Spring Creek says having low net will allow more ladies to feel they are contributing to their team’s success by factoring in handicap scores.

There will be two new team champions — gross and net — as Edgewood will not be returning to defend their title.

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