Aug. 8, 2002
Evanston, Ill. - Northwestern senior Scott Harrington (Portland, Ore./Jesuit) finished second yesterday at the 72-hole Illinois Open. Harrington's runner-up finish comes just a week after he and teammate Tom Johnson (Fair Oaks, Calif./Del Campo) qualified for the main draw of the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Competing as an amateur, Harrington carded a 3-under-par 210 during the three-day event at the Glen Club in Glenview. He finished three strokes behind winner Brian Payne, a 1996 Northwestern graduate. Harrington and Payne were the only players in the tournament to shoot par or better all three rounds.
In sectional qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship July 29, Harrington shot 145 over 36 holes to earn one of five qualifying entries from the Bull Valley Golf Course in Woodstock, Ill. Johnson, a junior, qualified at El Macero Country Club in El Macero, Calif. He carded a 139, just one shot off of medalist honors.
Harrington and Johnson begin Amateur play August 19 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Oakland Hills, Mich. After two rounds of stroke play, the lowest 64 scores will advance to a single-elimination match-play round. Past Amateur champions include Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods.