5 Daily Journal area golfers to watch this fall

Local golf courses will begin to fill up Thursday with high school teams as the IHSA season officially tees off with the first day of matches. Included in those golfers are 10 members of last year’s boys and girls Daily Journal All-Area team, with a handful of them primed for huge 2025 seasons.

Peyton Serafin, Beecher, sr.

Last year’s third-place finisher at the Class 1A State Finals, Serafin will look to trade in his bronze medal for a gold in his final season. During his remarkable junior campaign, Serafin earned a pair of medalist honors, finished in the top 10 four times, and boasted an 18-hole average of 77 for a Beecher team that will look to yet again make team state as well after doing so last year. The Bobcats have long been the cream of the local prep golf crop, with Serafin’s dad, David, serving as head coach.

Max LaMore, Bradley-Bourbonnais, sr.

As the Boilermakers have seen their boys’ golf program find an upswing in recent years, LaMore has been there almost every step of the way, helping the team to an All-City championship in each of his first three years. While his junior campaign ended in the Class 3A sectional round, the third-place 77 he fired off in the Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional was the best postseason score from a Boilers golfer in a decade.

Sam LaMore, Bradley-Bourbonnais, jr.

The other half of the dynamic duo of LaMores, Sam was the one who sank the clinching putt of last year’s All-City win over Kankakee/Herscher (Editor’s note: Kankakee and Herscher will each have their own programs this year). Sam LaMore was also the team’s top golfer a year ago, averaging a team-best 41.5 in nine-hole action. If the Boilers can take the next step in their recent progression, whether that be a fourth straight All-Area title and/or more team and individual success, Sam LaMore’s breakout junior year will wind up as a major factor.

Liv Contreras, Bradley-Bourbonnais, sr.

After transferring from Bishop McNamara, Contreras became one of the leaders for a re-tooled Bradley-Bourbonnais girls team. The individual All-City champion was the team’s leading finisher at the SouthWest Suburban Conference championship and in the postseason, finishing with a 49.8 nine-hole average. Contreras, Claire Steinacker and Beatrice White were the lone upperclassmen on last year’s Boilers roster, one that has all hands on deck as they look to reclaim the All-City title from the Fightin’ Irish.

Cheyenne Hayes, Grant Park, sr.

She may be best known for her softball prowess as a Wagner University (New York) NCAA Division I commit, but Hayes can hit a golf ball about as well as she can hit a softball. With a 49 nine-hole average, Hayes is the area’s top returner on the girls’ side after finishing second in the River Valley Conference and finishing as the top local golfer in last year’s Class 1A Dwight Regional (99, third place). Grant Park has graduated some of the best boys golfers in area history in the past handful of years, in Ryan Dulin and Trey Boecker, and now Hayes has a chance to do the same on the girls’ side.