McNary tops Klinger by three shots to win KCC Men’s championship title
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By Mike Monahan
ARCOLA – The Kaskaskia Country Club Men’s Championship once again featured a battle between Mark Klinger and Bruce McNary. Klinger nipped McNary in the 2022 and 2023 championships, while McNary won it in 2024. Last year’s winner Clayton Miller, did not compete this year. Klinger was second.
Klinger led by two strokes entering the third round on Saturday. After the third round Klinger’s lead shrunk to one. On the final day, Sunday, one that was smoke filled from the Canadian forest fires, it was still close until No. 14 (a 326 yard par four). That is when Klinger “made a tougher number there,” said McNary, who added Klinger bogied 15 (122 yard par three) to give him a four stroke lead with three holes left to play.
McNary becomes the all-time winningest KCC Men’s Championship winner with 11 titles. He broke the previous record set by Jack Timmons of 10.
“It means a lot to have the most championships because there are some great names on the plaques out there and a long history of great names. Timmons and Steve Shrader are on there a lot. Now mine will be on there 11 times. McNary won it at 16, in his 20’s , 30’s 40’s and now 50’s which means a great deal to McNary.
Finishing third overall was Braden Kauffman, who moved from fifth with a 149 to a total of 144 this weekend to finish with a 299.
The top score on the final weekend was a 70 by McNary on July 18, which tied Klinger’s 70 on July 12.
“The key for the whole tournament was patience,” said McNary, a 1993 Arcola grad, “The golf course was in great shape and with the hot temperatures and strategic pin placements you really had to be patient because bridies were very hard to come by. Normally you can be pretty aggressive but this year it really challenged all of us.”
Winning the Senior title from start to finish was Rick Shonkwiler with a 300, which was 16 shots better than second place Randy Murray. Third place went to Bill Murray with a 321.
Winning A flight was Alex Kuhns with a 310,which was eight shots better than second place Billy Dees and Noah Kauffman, who both had 318s.
In flight B Arcola’s Tyler Drake improved his first 18 holes by an impressive 11 shots with a 164 July 18-19 to finish with a 339, four shots better than second place Jermone Schrock, while Reed Strader was third with a 349.
The Kaskaskia Country Club, which was established in 1944 and is 5,794 yards overall.
The tournament began July 11 and July 12 and halfway through Klinger, a 2008 Arcola High School grad, shot rounds of 75 and 70 for a 145, which is two strokes ahead of Dallas Sisk and Bruce McNary. Sisk, a 2020 Arcola grad, shot a 72 and a 75 for a 147, while McNary had rounds of 74 and 73. Klinger led all 37 golfers with his 70 Sunday. A total of 35 golfers finished and the average score was a 329.
“It was great to have my dad (Jack McNary) ride along with me for all 72 holes,” said Bruce McNary, who was seventh in the IHSA Class A state golf meet in 1992, which is the top finish by an Arcola golfer. He earned all-state honors for finishing in the top 25. “It has become a very special tradition that I’m forever grateful for. A big shoutout to my family; my wife Nicole and girls Iris and Cora. Playing two straight weekends in July is pretty tough. Big thanks to them for letting dad be gone on his annual “golf trip” to Arcola.”