Illinois state champ from Boylan returns to strengthen Rockford's amateur golf scene

Danny Gorman is back in town.

But the former state champion golfer from Boylan is not back on top. At least not yet.

Former Belvidere golfer Robert Dofflemyer III turned back his old friend and rival with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 35th hole to win the Crosstown Classic by a stroke Sunday.

Doffleymer shot an opening 69 at The Ledges and a 73 at Atwood for a 2-under-par 142 at an event that combines the old Atwood and Ledges tournaments. Gorman shot 71-72—143. Garrett Ralston (145) and Matt LaMarca (146) were the only other golfers below 150.

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Rockford's amateur roster is deep

With Gorman back in town, Rockford has one of its deepest crops of accomplished 20-something golfers. Current college golfers TJ Baker and Marcus Smith are both former high school state champions and are playing partial local schedules.

Gorman, 26, is all-conference player from Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. He lived in Phoenix the last four years pursing a pro golf career. And Dofflemyer, 27, is the youngest Men's City champion in history — a few months younger than Smith — winning at age 18 in 2013.

Dofflemyer, Smith and Baker have won the last three Men's City titles, since Jamie Hogan won the last of his record nine. And now Gorman will be added to the mix.

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"I can't say enough good things about Danny," said Dofflemyer, who now has 10 local tourney wins, tied with old-time legends Alex Welsh and Dick Jungen, who won a combined 12 Men's City titles in the 1940s and 1950s. "His game is solid. I've been playing with him since we were both kids in youth tournaments. He's such a nice guy. I love playing with him. And he's tough to play against, that's for sure.

"It's certainly going to get a lot more difficult playing in these tournaments. It's a good thing and a bad thing. More competition is good, but it also makes it tougher for everybody. If he doesn't win a tournament this year, I will be shocked."

Back to Rockford from Arizona

Gorman moved back to Rockford with his girlfriend in May and got a job in insurance after giving up on a four-year quest to make it as a pro golfer. He never advanced past lower minor-league tours in Arizona and the Dakotas and playing state opens in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota and his last two years in Phoenix mostly worked at a country club. He regained his amateur status two weeks ago.

"My playing career started to dwindle," Gorman said. "It just made sense to move back, play in the local stuff and enjoy the competitive aspect again, even though it's a little different than the pace I've had the last few years.

"It was good to feel those jitters again. There's definitely a lot of work to do. It's going to be different playing events when I am not practicing and playing every day. With this new job, I am going to have to find time to practice where it was a given in years previous. It will be a little more work, but it's all part of it. I am going to have a lot more fun with these competitions, probably more than I ever have."

Although Gorman, who led Boylan to the 2013 Class 2A state team title as well as winning the individual 2A title, didn't make it as a pro, he is glad he chased his dream.

"It just wasn't in my deck of cards, but I am happy and proud to give it a shot," he said. "Not everyone can say that they did. It was a great four years that I enjoyed. I don't regret it for a second. It can always be better, but that's OK.

"My good rounds, whether it was 5- or 6- under, no matter what the conditions were, somebody was shooting 7- or 8-under. So my good rounds weren't quite good enough and my bad rounds were sniffing around even or 1-over, which at those type of events with guys doing it for a living you get lapped.

"It's fun to see what it really takes. There are so many good golfers. it's very eye opening and humbling, but it was all worth it in my eyes."

Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at mtrowbridge@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @MattTrowbridge. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com.

2022 Golfer of the Year standings

After 3 events: Gold Medal Classic, MNTS Match Play and Crosstown Classic

Garrett Ralston, 22.5

Robert Dofflemyer III, 19.5

Marcus Smith, 13

Andrew Canfield, 10

Brian Silvers, 9

Danny Gorman, 9

Jason Wombacher, 8.5

Dennis Reedy, 7.5

Cody Rhymer, 7

Matt LaMarca, 7

Justin Christiansen, 6

Mike Lange, 5.5

Mike Morig, 5

Adam Tobias, 4.5

Grant Romine, 4.5

TJ Baker, 4.5

Owen Hultman, 4.5

Grant Romine, 4

Ron Reece, 3.5

Varun Menon, 3.5

Andrew Marcum, 3

Eric Arnold, 2

Raul Leon, 1.5

Peter Junor, 1

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford IL golf: Danny Gorman loses to Robert Dofflemyer in return