The prep golf season tees off with all six of our area schools competing in the yearly Vern McGonagle City Championship. Benet Academy looks strong to start the 2026 campaign, holding off competitors like Naperville North and Waubonsee to secure first place with a 296. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The yearly boys golf Vern McGonagle is back at Naperville Country Club, featuring all six of our area teams. Teams like defending McGonagle champs Naperville North and three-time defending regional champs Benet Academy are in pursuit of taking the top spot while the rest of the teams look to find their swings.
Players get into the swing of things early
Colin Mills gets it started for North as he sends a laser of a tee shot onto the hole-three par-three putting green. Mills pars and shoots a 77 to crack the top 15 individual scores.
Naperville Central’s Logan Greene lines up for a long birdie putt that he makes look too easy as it drops into the cup.
Over to hole six, where Metea’s Evan Loo shoots the Mustangs lowest score at 84, and his lag putt helps his case. Teammate Brayden Morton is second for Metea with an 88.
Staying on number six with Neuqua’s Brady Chung. He makes his fourth shot count for par and golfs a 78.
On the ninth green, Anish Kamdar from Waubonsie Valley hits a short par to help him to a round of 74. Teammates Avi Khanduka and Arnav Nanda finish right behind him with matching scores of 75.
Neuqua golfer Connor Rodebaugh is in line for a long-distance birdie. The putt looks promising, but the roll comes up just short of the pin. He pars and shoots a 77, the top score for the Wildcats.
Naperville North veterans with strong showing
Naperville North veteran Henry Haumesser tries out the chip that nearly gets to the rough, but it takes a good curve and stays on the green. A favorable chip for Haumesser results in a birdie on his next attempt.
Haumesser gets a birdie, and so will his teammate Lincoln Schultz after draining a putt from long range.
Another Huskie, Trevor Schmidt, hopes to even out on this green. He keeps his cool, and the par is on the money for Schmidt, who leads the team with a 74. Zach Zafar also plays well for the blue and gold with a 76.
The Redwings get cooking on Hole nine as Jack Quil gets back on course from the rough, onto the green, and close to the pin. Quil completes the tough task with a birdie and shoots the lowest score in the tournament at 73.
Teammate Rory Neill may be on a last-second beach vacation, but he gets back to work quickly with a flop shot that stops near the cup. Neill pars the hole.
Over to 18, where fellow Christian Hay from Naperville Central gets out of the sand and onto the putting green. Hay golfs a 76. Logan Shapiro also plays well for the Redhawks with a 78.
Benet puts on a dominating performance to win the McGonagle
Back to Neill, who continues his strong day, so he finishes this green with a birdie. His round of 74 is tied for the second-best score on the afternoon. Will Mathieson helps the Benet team cause with a 76 while Jack Plummer shoots a 79.
The Redwings get more help from Will Comiskey, who doesn’t let the sand bother him. He gets his ball close to its home, so he takes the par, and that helps Benet Academy capture the McGonagle City Championship thanks to a fantastic team round of 296. Every Redwing golfer finished with a score under 80. Naperville North finishes in second at 302, with Waubonsie in third with a 307.
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