PEORIA — The 100th Peoria City Men’s Golf Championship reached its century milestone Sunday with a champion for whom winning the prestigious tournament was a long time coming.
“All my life,” Britt Bothast said. “Since I was a little boy following my dad (Brian) around in this tournament, and later playing in it as a high school kid. This is the tournament I always wanted to win. I’ve won all the others, but this is the one I could never get. It’s very emotional for me.”
Bothast, the No. 13 seed, won the 2026 Men’s City in a match that came down to the 36th hole Sunday, a 1-up decision over No. 3 seed and former pro Steve Taylor.
Bothast accepted the crystal cup in a room filled with family. His parents, and his nephew, 1-year-old Ben, turned noisy for a moment as Bothast was about to tee off on No. 13 in a tie match. “Ben!” Bothast said, laughing, then re-addressing for his tee shot.
And there was the grandmother he missed desperately, Donna Cox, who died on July 2.
“Growing up, she would caddy for me on Mondays,” said Bothast, eyes welling. “I was so close to her. She would come out and ride around with me. Last night, we had a talk, my mom (Karla) and I, about how she is always looking down at me. That’s why this was so emotional for me at the end. I could feel her presence with me today.”
On 18, Bothast’s tee shot sailed wide right and settled alongside a creek and partially blocked by a tree. He stepped up and delivered a second shot from 134 yards out over the tree and dropped it onto the green, 50 feet from the pin. His putt rolled right up to the pin before stopping short for a gimme.
Taylor’s tee shot landed on the other side of the fairway, wide left. His second shot was terrific, landing on the green about 10-12 feet from the pin. But he couldn’t finish, missing a pair of putts. Instead of a looming playoff, Bothast went home a first-time winner.
“The shot around the tree, I give credit to my dad, he made us practice hitting out of trees when we were young,” said Bothast, 35. “The way it ended … You always expect the other guy to make it, especially when the other guy is Steve Taylor, he’s just a fantastic player.
“I was just trying to hang in there at the end. But this is literally a dream come true for me.”
How they got to Sunday
The 100th Peoria City Men’s Golf Championship produced a watershed moment for both the prestigious event and its two first-time championship match competitors on a rain-soaked Saturday at Kellogg Golf Course.
Bothast and Taylor reached the title match for the first time in their careers, while the tournament reached the century mark and saw the championship match postponed by rain for the first time in at least 26 years.
They made it through 22 holes of a scheduled 36-hole title match before Peoria Park District organizers postponed the battle on the course after a second rain delay.
Bothast and Taylor were tied after 22 holes. They were resumed the championship match on hole No. 5, with a 6:30 a.m. start on Sunday.
“I’m not going back out there, not today,” Taylor said during the second rain delay Saturday.
They were on No. 4, sizing up putts, when standing water appeared on the green. The second rain delay was triggered, and the players and officials agreed to concede the hole as a tie.
That left the pair in a match tie after 22 holes.
A Knight’s time to shine?
Bothast was the No. 13 seed in the tournament. The pivotal match along this run to the title round was a 1-up win over No. 4 seed Rick Lehew, who is one of four players to win the Peoria Men’s City title three straight years.
Bothast played at Richwoods High School and went on to play at ICC and Monmouth (2011-12, 2012-13). He finished at Monmouth with the lowest career scoring average (77.44) in program history.
Bothast was a high school junior when he entered the Men’s City for the first time.
“I’ve made the Final Four three times in this tournament,” Bothast said. “The key to getting here this time? Not having to play (three-time defending champion) Scott Phegley.”
Phegley, the No. 1 seed and defending champion, was ousted in an upset by Quinn Cox, who is Bothast’s cousin. Bothast in turn knocked Cox out of the tournament on Friday.
“I remember when I was a kid, coming out here and watching my dad play in this tournament,” Bothast said. “It’s such a special tournament. I’ve come close to getting to this (title) round a few times, and I’ve learned to stay in the present, stay in the moment and not worry about what’s going on in the match.”
Bothast, a Peoria native now living in West Peoria, is a RiverCup Foundation board member, a project manager for Renewal by Anderson in Peoria, and in 2023 won a car with a hole-in-one at the Tee It Up For The Troops charity golf outing.
From Korn Ferry to Kellogg
Taylor is a Canton native who now lives in Mapleton. He played at Canton High School, set a Canton Country Club course record of 10-under 61, and once shot a 29 there in a prep dual meet.
He headed off to play at Brevard Community College in Cocoa Beach, Florida. From there, he played one year at Florida Gulf Coast University, left school early and pursued a pro career.
He went through PGA Qualifying School in 2008, landed on the Nationwide Tour in 2009 – that’s the PGA pro developmental circuit now known as the Korn Ferry Tour – and made five cuts in 14 tournaments, all a little more than a year out of his single college season.
His amateur status has since been restored, and he reigns as Coyote Creek Country Club’s champion. Outside of golf, he works as a professional painter.
“I love playing in this tournament, playing in Peoria. I moved to this side of the river to play in the RiverCup and in the Men’s City, with the best players in the area.”
Battling Mother Nature
The A Flight championship match made it to the finish line Saturday morning, with No. 6 seed Eric Roof clinching the title over No. 8 Jack Westerberg, 4 & 3.
The main event was the Championship Flight, though, with Bothast against Taylor.
On Saturday, Bothast won three of the first six holes and had a three-hole lead early on.
“I had a couple bogeys and Steve got right back in it,” Bothast said.
Taylor was up by a hole at the turn, and then on No. 15 hit the green on one shot. He was up two holes after the first 18 holes were completed Saturday, and a rain delay ensued.
They went back out on the course and played their 19th hole, with Taylor dropping into a one-hole lead before another rain delay stopped action.
They went back out again, and Bothast tied the match on the 20th hole. On No. 3, the 21st hole of the match, Taylor hit a great shot off a little ledge above a bunker, the ball rolling all the way to the pin. Both players accepted conceded putts to stay tied.
On No. 4, the 22nd hole, they were on the green preparing for putts when rain intensified and puddles appeared on the surface.
They conceded each other’s putts and called it a day, setting up a tie match for Sunday.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star senior writer and sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: ‘Emotional for me’: Peoria City Men’s Golf Championship crowns first-time winner
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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By Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
