Daily Chronicle 2023 Golfer of the Year: Sycamore’s Brianna Chamoun

SYCAMORE – Brianna Chamoun did what no other girls golfer in Sycamore history has ever done, qualifying for state for four straight years.

The key to her success, she said, was always expecting to win.

“Nothing else but to win and beat everyone I play against,” Chamoun said. “It’s high expectations, but I met it most of the time, which was great.”

Chamoun started the year with a tournament win at Plainfield North, shooting a 66. She ended the year with conference and regional crowns, a top-five sectional finish and a top-30 finish at state.

She was named the Daily Chronicle 2023 Golfer of the Year. She was the Girls Golfer of the Year in 2020 and an All-Area first-team selection in 2021 and 2022.

“There was some ups and downs,” Chamoun said. “I started out good with the season, shooting under par at my first invitational, won that. That was pretty nice. Then I did get stuck in the middle, cause I wasn’t shooting as well. Toward the end I got better, and I got through regional, sectional and qualified for state again.”

By the time the postseason rolled around, Chamoun was clicking on all cylinders. She won by six strokes at the Interstate 8 Conference Meet, then shot a 71 to win the Class 2A Sycamore Regional. She posted a 72 to finish in a third-place tie at the Burlington Central Sectional, then shot an 82-76 – 158 at state to finish in a tie for 30th.

“You could tell she continuously tried to be better,” Sycamore coach Christian Thurwanger said. “She was able to dissect parts of her swing, parts of her game, and know, ‘Here’s where I really can reduce my strokes, and here’s where I really can do better,’ and target those year after year.”

Chamoun qualified for state all four years. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IHSA only held the early rounds of the state series, but not a state championship. Chamoun would have qualified from her sectional.

The following two years she did qualify for state, taking 41st last year.

“It mainly just got easier every year, because my confidence was raised and I was able to play better every time I got the chance,” Chamoun said. “Every single time I went to sectionals and made it, I always just had a feeling of making it to state.

“Every time I play, I always try and win.”

Chamoun leaves Sycamore and heads to Southern Arkansas to continue her golf career. Thurwanger said Chamoun not only leaves behind a hole for the Sycamore-DeKalb girls golf co-op, but will add a lot to the Muleriders.

“She’s very dedicated, 100%,” Thurwanger said. “If she wasn’t on the course with us, she was practicing hitting balls, putting, all that good stuff. She was really dedicated to the sport, and I really think that’s going to help her as she goes into that next step into college.”

Chamoun said she was sold on Southern Arkansas when coach Neriah Brown showed her around campus personally instead of her having to go on a group tour. She said the school’s home course, Mystic Creek Golf Club, was really nice and reminded her of Pinecrest in Huntley.

And while she said she still wants to win every time out on the course, she’s going to try to shoot her best at each meet when she joins the Muleriders.

“The expectation for myself is to just keep working extremely hard,” Chamoun said. “It’s not just winning, it’s shooting as low as possible.”