What to watch for at this weekend’s 45th Berry Memorial

If growth is a sign of healthiness, the Richard J. Berry Memorial Championship men’s golf tournament – which will be contested this weekend at Ottawa’s Pine Hills and Streator’s Eastwood – is very healthy indeed for its 45th playing.

As of Wednesday afternoon’s release of official tee times, 119 area golfers are signed up and ready to play the venerable two-day, two-course event that opens at Pine Hills on Saturday and concludes Sunday at the Eastwood. Last year, the field was 99.

“We’ve been struggling to get to 100 some years, and this year we’ve got 119,” said Tony Muscato, the defending Senior Division champion, Championship Flight 1 competitor and tournament director. “And we’re just floored.

“We’re a little bit afraid it’s almost too much, but we’ll deal with it. It’ll be a good weekend.”

It’s been some two decades since the Berry Memorial – then known as The Times-Press City Championships and serving as a city championship event for the city of Streator alone – has boasted numbers approaching this year’s total. Among those 119 are two men who combined to win 10 of the past 11 Championship Flight 1 titles.

Baley Lehr returns as the defending champion after first catching up to and then pulling away from friend and rival Josh Gass for an eventual eight-stroke victory for the 2024 title. Baley Lehr and Josh Gass have each won five Championship Flight 1 titles – Lehr in 2024, 2022, 2018, 2017 and 2015; Gass in 2023, 2020, 2019, 2016 and 2014.

The only man who’s taken home the big trophy more is eight-time champ Rich Holloway.

Josh Gass, as always, will stand in the way of Baley Lehr’s hopes of a repeat, as will other notable Championship Flight 1 mainstays such as Brian Lehr (third place in 2024), Jeremy DeBernardi (fourth), Lane Barbier (sixth), Bryer Harris (eighth), Huston Gass (ninth, and fresh off setting a course record at nearby Deer Park Golf Course) and Rick Lehr (10th last year).

The Berry’s top flight includes several other talented linksmen, including Joe Cravatta, who moves up after winning Championship 2 Flight last summer. Catching Baley Lehr, however, could be a challenge with the summer the defending champion is having.

“He’s going to be really, really tough to beat, and everybody knows it,” Muscato said.

Beyond the main event of Championship Flight 1, the Berry Memorial features additional divisions, including Championship 2, A, B, C, D, and the forward-tee Legends Flight. There is also a Senior Division made up of the tournament’s elder statesmen, regardless of their primary flight designation, with Muscato defending his title against last year’s runner-up Al Retoff and some talented newcomers to the Senior Division ranks like Joe Cravatta and Rick Lehr.

As part of Sunday’s post-tournament festivities at the Eastwood, the late Mike “Pro” Sipula – already an Illinois Golf Hall of Fame member – will be inducted into the Richard J. Berry Memorial Golf Association Hall of Fame.

The forecast for the weekend looks uncertain, especially for Saturday’s round at Pine Hills, which includes the possibility of scattered showers throughout the day and into the evening. As dry as things have been, though, the courses should be able to absorb some precipitation and are in great shape, if a little dry in spots.

Follow the tournament on the BlueGolf website/app.