Arouca Hits a Home Run in Illinois Open Golf Tournament

Philip Arouca of Wilmette wasn’t too happy when he was cut from the New Trier High School baseball team a decade ago.

“I definitely knew I didn’t have a future in baseball,” he admitted. “I couldn’t throw very hard, but I loved the game. I loved pitching. I loved the pressure.”

After shooting a 4-under-par 67 in the PGA’s Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods Country Club Tuesday to go 10 strokes under par for the tournament, Arouca, now 26, isn’t too upset anymore about the decision that led him to focus on golf. ()

“I would have played baseball my junior and senior years,” he said. “I’d be two years behind where I am now.” Where he is now is well out in front of the best golfers in Illinois. Arouca will take a four-stroke lead into Wednesday’s final round of the tournament.

“I’m extremely pleased with it,” he said of his performance in the tournament so far. “To go around this golf course with one bogey [in 36 holes] is very, very good.” Arouca has been very consistent, routinely hitting fairways and greens.

“Even when I’ve missed fairways, it hasn’t been by too much, maybe a couple feet,” he noted. “My iron shots yesterday were fantastic. I really controlled the ball well. I kept it pin high most of the time. Today was a little bit of a struggle with that, but I’m hitting it real solid.” Arouca recorded five birdies Tuesday, including one on the 236-yard, par-3 15th hole, when he put his tee shot with a 4-iron within five feet of the pin.

“There was a straight down breeze and we had the same distance yesterday to the pin as it was to the front [of the green] today, so I knew if I just flew it on the front, maybe a couple steps on, it was going to bounce on up there,” he said. “I just absolutely hit it perfect, rode the wind in there, and ended up about five, six feet away.”

Arouca won a pair of tournaments on the National Pro Golf Tour’s Chicago circuit last month, and he hopes to put the experience he gained playing with the lead on the final day in those tournaments to good use Wednesday.

“I kind of have a good idea of what I have to do,” he said. “It would obviously be the biggest tournament I’ve ever won.” Chasing Arouca will be Bennett Blakeman of Burr Ridge. The 24-year-old fired a 4-under-par 67 Tuesday to go six under for the tournament.

“I need to go on the attack tomorrow like I did today,” Blakeman said. “I’ll definitely be on the aggressive side to start.” That doesn’t seem likely to rattle Arouca. “For some reason, I’m very calm out there. I’m not nervous,” he said. “A lot of tournaments, I’ve taken it under par and got a little nervous.”

Arouca was born in Philadelphia and also spent most of his childhood in the city. His family moved to Wilmette when he was 14, where he pursued his love of baseball until that fateful day when Trevians head coach Mike Napoleon cut him from the team. In retrospect, Arouca is thankful for that fateful decision.

“If I hadn't been cut … there is very little chance I would have been playing professional golf today,” he said.

If Arouca wins the tournament, it will be the second straight year a Wilmette golfer has won the title. Eric Meierdierks of Wilmette is the defending champion, but he was unable to overcome a slow start in this year’s tournament and missed the cut. He shot a 73 Tuesday after a 5-over-par 76 Monday to finish at 149, missing the cut by two strokes.