Team Illinois Wins 17u PGA Jr. League National Championship

Over the past six months young golfers from Northern Illinois have twice earned national championships. In late May, 2025 the Northwestern University Wildcat Women’s Golf Team won its first ever NCAA national championship with a thrilling 3-2 win over number-one ranked Stanford University.

Just over five months later, junior golfers from the Cog Hill PGA Jr. Golf League representing Team Illinois won the 17-under PGA Jr. League national championship in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

The winning moment for Team Illinois! ? pic.twitter.com/009zO5ZY7u

— PGA Jr. League (@PGAJrLeague) October 27, 2025

Is it possible that there could be a link between these two championship victories and the color of their uniforms?

Bedecked in a shade of purple, with a close resemblance to the school color of Northwestern University, Team Illinois pulled off an astonishing playoff win over Team Texas in the finals of the 2025 PGA Jr. League national championship.

Twelve state championship teams of eight juniors each reached the PGA Jr. League national finals. All twelve teams competed in four rounds of 2-player scramble format to seed the four best teams for two semi-final contests. The results of the four-round scramble qualifier had Team Utah as the number- one seed at -90; Team Florida was seeded second at -80; Team Illinois earned the #3 seed also at -80, followed by Team Texas at -78.

Both semi-final matches (2v3; 1v4) ended in ties, but both lower seeds were victorious in the playoffs. The finals were thus set with Team Illinois facing Team Texas.

Continuing the drama and excitement for the ‘purple team’, the finals match ended in a tie, but Team Illinois prevailed in a “four-hole” playoff over Team Texas to become the 17u national champions.

In the head-to-head playoff between Team Illinois and Team Texas, all four pairings needed to play Hole No. 9 to determine the champion. It was Kennedy Gutierrez, 15, who drained a 16-foot putt for birdie to clinch the title for her team.

“Focus on each shot, commit to it and don’t over think it… Just hit the ball,” said Gutierrez about her thought process going into the playoff. “It’s a lot of fun playing with the team. Your whole mindset is different playing-wise. I love my team.”

Team Illinois Coach Kevin Weeks, PGA, who led his team to a fourth place finish in the 2024 17u PGA Jr. League Championship, took a pause before reflecting on the win.

“You know, rarely am I speechless,” said Weeks, the PGA of America Director of Instruction Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. “We have great kids, and they have great parents. They could have quit. I mean, we were Lazarus – we were dead after six holes. But we made birdie after birdie and then Kennedy just rolled it in.”

Coach Weeks will now prepare another group of juniors from Cog Hill as they get set the travel to PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West, Nov. 16-20, for the 2025 13u PGA Jr. League Championship, perhaps wishing to be assigned the purple jerseys.

(Photos and images – courtesy and credit – PGA Jr. League)