I never thought this could happen. After his stirring win at the U.S. Open I figured Tiger Woods was a shooin for the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year award. Forget the fact that he’d miss the rest of the season because of knee surgery. Tiger was still the man.
Now, however, I don’t think he is – at least not where the Player of the Year award is concerned. It’s got to go to Padraig Harrington now. Though the FedEx Cup playoffs are still to be played, I can’t see anyone else challenging Harrington.
It’s not just the fact that Harrington won the British Open and PGA Championship in a month’s span. It’s HOW he won the year’s last two majors and the historical significance of his feat.
Harrington’s path to victory was dramatic in both – a charging 32 on the back nine on Sunday. The first ended an improbable run by 53-year-old Greg Norman. The second foiled Sergio Garcia’s latest bid to win his first major. Victories by either Norman or Garcia would have been popular ones – more popular, in fact, than Harrington’s triumphs. Nothing against Harrington, but Norman and Garcia have that certain charisma. Irishman Harrington’s been primarily a European Tour player, which limits his recognition in the U.S.
Harrington, though, earned plenty of recognition points with his PGA win at Oakland Hills – an always fearsome course that is more rugged than most setups for the year’s last major or, as the PGA of America calls it, “Glory’s Last Shot.”
Imagine a player shooting 66-66 during a 36-hole final day to get the victory. Imagine that same player taking only 11 putts on his last nine holes to charge to the last major.
I like the way Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion who shared second place with Garcia, put it. Curtis called Harrington’s performance “Tigerlike.”
That it was, and let’s not forget that Harrington is one of the PGA Tour’s few current Wilson players. He played the longtime Chicago sporting goods manufacturer’s clubs in all three of his major victories and the company was quick to point out that Harrington’s latest win was the 61st accomplished by a golfer using Wilson irons. That, of course, adds a nice local touch to his story.
Woods’ absence doesn’t detract from putting Harrington’s wins in historical perspective, either. He’s the first European to win the PGA in 78 years. The last to do it was Tommy Armour in 1930, and that was long before Armour arrived at Medinah as the Chicago’s club’s head pro. Harrington also becomes the first European golfer to win consecutive majors, and that encompasses lots of great players.
Harrington, who has won three of the last six majors, is also the third player to win the British Open and PGA in the same year. Woods did it twice, in 2000 and 2006. Nick Price accomplished that feat in 1994 and Walter Hagen in 1924.
Wait until Tiger comes back next spring. Then there could be a real rivalry in the works, and one with an international flavor to boot.
GOOD READING: Not all columnists in this publication are fans of the recent rash of historicallybased golf novels that have come on the market. Frankly, I find them fun reading and want to call your attention to my latest one – The Caddie Who Played With Hickory by John Coyne (Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press).
This isn’t as great a read as the best of these historicallybased golf novels, “Tommy’s Honor,”
But it has another attraction. It’s based in Chicago.
As a youth Coyne was a caddie at Midlothian, which was the site of Hagen’s first major victory in the 1914 U.S. Open. His novel deals with Hagen’s return to the club for a ceremonial event that involves Chick Evans, the Western Golf Association and a cast of other interesting characters. If you have more than a passing interest in Chicago golf history you’ll enjoy this one.
FEMALE APPROACH: The WGA has been in the throes of change lately, what with the folding of the Western Open, the creation of the BMW Championship and the decision to move the Western Amateur to Chicago. And the group, while planning for the retirement of longtime president and chief executive office Don Johnson in December of 2009, isn’t done yet. It’s also considering an expansion of its tournament offerings. The WGA has long conducted the PGA Tour stop as well as the Western Amateur and Western Junior. As chairman John Fix says, “We’re one of the best associations in the world in running a golf tournament.”
So, it only makes sense to run at least another one.
“Our first choice would be to look toward the ladies,” said Fix, who stressed that such a look is in only a preliminary stage. A survey of its membership suggested the WGA should expand its number of Evans Scholars from 825 to 1,000, however, and more visibility would help that effort. While gaining more financial help with the creation of the BMW Championship, the WGA lost some visibility with the loss of the Western Open.
“Our longrange view is to look at various ways on the tournament side that would be successful in bringing about visibility,” said Fix. “Expanding is certainly in the realm of possibility, but it can’t impact negatively the funds we’re raising for the Evans Scholars.”
Nor should it. But a joint project with the Women’s Western Golf Association, which has struggled with limited numbers to keep its rich tournament tradition going, would seem to be in the best interests of both organizations. Why not a revival of the Women’s Western Open, one of the LPGA’s majors before it was discontinued in 1967?
That certainly merits consideration.
Emerich can make history with State Amateur win
August, 2008
Next big state title on the line is the Illinois Amateur, and something historically significant could happen. Joe Emerich, who won the Illinois Open, will be the man in the spotlight. Here’s why:
The Illinois Open dates to 1950, and Emerich is only the eighth amateur to win it. The Illinois Amateur started in 1931. Since then only six players have won both titles, and only one did it in the same year. Emerich could be the second.
The pride of Waukegan, David Ogrin, who went on to a journeyman’s career on the PGA Tour and is now beginning on the Champions Tour, won the Illinois Amateur at Crestwicke in Bloomington and the Illinois Open at Bloomington Country Club in 1980.
Emerich, interestingly, is a student at Illinois State University, which is in BloomingtonNormal. If he matches Ogrin’s feat, however, he’ll have to do it in the more spread out confines of the Chicago area. Emerich, who lives in Palatine, won the Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods and will go after the Illinois Amateur at Cantigny from Aug. 1214.
Before Emerich tees off at Cantigny it might be interesting to note a few factoids about tournament golf in Illinois.
The six players who have won the Illinois Open and Illinois Amateur are Bill Hoffer, Gary Pinns, Gary Hallberg, Ogrin, Roy Biancalana and Mark Hensby. Hoffer later won the U.S. MidAmateur, but has remained a lifelong amateur. The other five were PGA Tour members at one time or another, and Hallberg, Ogrin and Hensby have won on the big circuit.
Emerich, who wants to be a teacher, is not talking about the pro tours just yet. Still, Hallberg, Pinns and Ogrin are among the other seven Illinois Open winners who were PGA Tour players and Curtis Malm, the last amateur to win in 2000, was on the Nationwide Tour last year.
DONALD’S DIVERSION: Luke Donald, battling a wrist injury suffered at the U.S. Open, has entered into a new business venture with Bill Terlato, a Lake Forest resident who has a major wine business based in Lake Bluff. Together they’ve started the Luke Donald Collection. It includes a Claretstyle red wine blend and a Chardonnay will be released next March.
Donald met Terlato at the Gleacher Center, Northwestern’s indoor practice facility. Now Donald is the latest athlete to get involved with the promotion of wine. It used to be that beer was an athlete’s preferred recreational drink, but no more.
“We’re getting more civilized,” said Donald.
“Actually,” said Terlato, a 5handicap golfer, “wine is part of a healthier lifestyle. For the first time last year it was picked as the beverage of choice over beer and spirits.”
He felt the connection with Donald was a natural.
“I’m a professional wine person and an amateur golfer,” said Terlato. “Luke is a professional golfer and amateur winetaster. We didn’t want to exploit Luke’s name. We wanted to put out a great product that reflected his personality.”
WIE REVISITED: Maybe it was just me, but I thought the disqualification of Michelle Wie at the LPGA’s State Farm Classic for not signing her scorecard in the scoring tent was excessive punishment. But I understand how important strict adherence to the rules is, and I was intrigued by Wie’s reaction when being questioned about the incident at the PGA Tour’s Reno Tahoe Open.
Said Wie: “I pretty much went from a really high to a really low in about two seconds flat. That was a record for me, but I think I learned a lesson at least while I was 18, not when I’m like 25, 26, 30, or near the end of my career. So I have a long way to go, and I’m sure a lot of other players have learning experiences like this.
“A lot of players called me up. Like Meg [Mallon] called me and Christina Kim called me and a lot of people called me, and they were talking about the bloopers that they have made, and people forget about them. People learn from them, and it was a good learning experience. Obviously I wish I hadn’t gone through it, but I’m always taking the good stuff from that week. I played really well. It’s been a long time since I shot that low of a score [a 67]. It’s been a long time since I went on the golf course and brought back a birdie on every single hole. I holedout on two holes, which was really good, but it was a good week, but I’m only going to focus on the good stuff.”
All right, that’s well and good. The player accepted the ruling without complaint, so there’s no reason for me to defend her. Why, though, couldn’t the matter have been resolved within an hour or so after she left the tent? Why was she allowed to tee off the next day? Something was wrong somewhere, and it wasn’t all Wie’s fault. Of that I’m certain.
WANT TO SEE MORE? Next time you’re checking out putters, have a look at the SeeMore models. Though the company is based in Nashville, it has a Chicago connection in coowner Jim Grundberg.
Grundberg began his career in sales and marketing for Chicago’s Wilson Sporting Goods, where he was involved in introducing and developing new products in golf and tennis around the world.
Following Wilson, he was instrumental in the successful launch and growth of the Odyssey putter brand, which became golf’s most dominant and revolutionary putter. After briefly leaving the golf industry he returned in 2006 in partnership with Jason Pouilot. They fulfilled their mutual passion to be back in the golf business with a unique offering and brand when they purchased the SeeMore Putter Company.
NOT SO BAD: A few weeks ago I visited the Wisconsin Dells in large part to see the damage that summer flooding had done to the area. I was stunned to see the disappearance of Lake Delton, an area landmark, but I can report that the devastation – so thoroughly reported in all segments of the media – didn’t carry over to the nearby golf courses.
Wisconsin’s newest, Wild Rock, is located across the street from what was Lake Delton. It survived just fine and be will recognized as one of Wisconsin’s very best layouts once a few more people play it. I also enjoyed a round at nearby Trappers Turn. Flooding did no damage there, either.
A JOB-CHANGER: Mike Jones, a longtime Chicago golf professional, departed Cantigny this year for the Hawaiian Resort, Kapalua. He arrived as that facility’s director of golf, but now he’s much more than that.
The struggling economy led to some staff cutbacks there, and Jones is now also directing Kapalua’s tennis facility and its junior academy. He’s also taking on bigger roles with the resort’s two pro tour stops – the Mercedes Championships and the LPGA tournament played there.
Len Ziehm has covered golf for the Chicago Sun-Times for over 38 years and has been a columnist for Chicagoland Golf since its first issue in 1989.
Unusual proximity of both state Opens is a positive
Mid-July, 2008
One of the few things to like about Chicago’s greatly reduced tournament schedule is the focus it puts on the premier local events. I especially like the new proximity between the Illinois Women’s Open and the Illinois Open, the men’s version of the state championship.
The women’s version, in its 14th staging, opens its 54hole run at Mistwood on July 24. There’ll be a day off after the IWO ends on July 26, then the 59th Illinois Open will start its 54hole championship at Hawthorn Woods. It’s a perfect time to celebrate Illinois’ rich golf tradition.
Unfortunately the compact scheduling happened somewhat by accident. The Illinois Open would have had a seventh straight staging at The Glen Club if that course would have agreed to the present dates. The Glen Club, though, had other commitments and the Illinois PGA didn’t want its usual dates a week later.
So, the Illinois Open moved closer to the IWO and changed venues (a switch that I, by the way, think will work out just fine).
“The new venue and dates for this year’s Illinois Open are changes we felt were in the best interest of the event,” Illinois PGA executive director Mike Miller said during the event’s first media day at Hawthorn Woods. “The earlier July dates allow us to avoid conflicts with USGA Amateur qualifying, the USGA MidAmateur qualifying and the 90th PGA Championship. Avoiding the conflicts with these major events helps to ensure that we have the strongest possible field.”
A year ago, you might recall, the Illinois Open had terrible dates. Its three days led right into the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla. Mike Small was faced with defending his Illinois Open title, then catching an overnight flight to Tulsa for the first round of the PGA the next day.
Small pulled it off, winning a rainshortened Illinois Open and then being the low club pro at Southern Hills. This year he won’t face that dilemma. He missed qualifying for the PGA, to be held Aug. 710 at Oakland Hills in Michigan. He’ll be around to chase his fifth Illinois Open title. If he’s successful he’ll tie Gary Pinns for the most wins in that championship.
As for keeping the state championships for women and men close together, that might not happen again.
“The 60th installment of the Illinois Open Championship is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 35, 2009,” the Illinois PGA said in a news release. That means it’ll revert back to the dates or previous years. As for the 2009 site Miller said a decision will be made based on the reactions to this year’s tournament.
FORGET ABOUT ANNIKA: There’s been concern in some quarters that Annika Sorenstam’s likely absence will hurt next summer’s Solheim Cup matches at Rich Harvest Farms.
Even the captains of the teams were at odds on whether Sorenstam will be a factor in the competition at Rich Harvest Farms.
Sorenstam has announced that she’s retiring from competitive golf after this year, but European captain Alison Nicholas could make Sorenstam one of her three captain’s picks.
“I could, but she’s made it very clear that she won’t be available to play for us,” said Nicholas. “Once she makes a decision she usually sticks to it. She’s a very determined lady. That’s her prerogative, and I wish her well. We can only thank her for all she’s done.”
U.S. captain Beth Daniel, though, asked Sorenstam if she’d consider playing the Solheim, to be held Aug. 17-23, 2009, shortly after she made her retirement announcement.
“She gave me a zipper-over-the-mouth look, and I thought she’d consider playing,” said Daniel. “A week later she said she wouldn’t, but I wouldn’t rule it out that Annika Sorenstam won’t be here.”
Frankly, I don’t think Sorenstam’s participation matters one way or the other. The Solheim can stand by itself as a worth golf attraction. The British Open was played without Tiger Woods. The Solheim will work out just fine with or without Sorenstam.
On the Solheim front, I’ve seen up close and personal what Rich Harvest owner Jerry Rich has done to prepare his facility for the big event and you can’t help but be impressed. Rich, recovered from two cancer surgeries during the winter, has his new lodge in tiptop shape for both the Solheim and for a membership push. He has 10 nationalinternational members and wants to eventually have 100. The completed version of his lodge, which consists of 10 cottages, an elaborate indoor practice facility and all sorts of other special features, will house all the competitors during the Solheim. Nicholas and Daniel were impressed every bit as much as I was upon viewing the facilities for the first time.
BIANCALANA DEPARTING: The Illinois Open will be the last tournament for Roy Biancalana, the Illinois PGA’s playeroftheyear four of the last five years. Recently married, Biancalana is moving to Florida for family reasons and to begin a new career. He’s gotten into Personal Coaching and is writing a book.
Though he’s played little this year, Biancalana wanted to bow out with the Illinois Open – a tournament he won in 1987 before earning a place on the PGA Tour and again in 2001 after leaving the ministry for a teaching job at St. Andrews. Biancalana qualified for the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields and made the cut at the 2005 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
STROKE OF GENIUS: Tournament director Clair Peterson’s decision to charter a jet from his John Deere Classic to the British Open did wonders for the PGA Tour stop held the week before the year’s third major. With the jet service, available some top players who wouldn’t have otherwise been there entered Illinois’ only PGA Tour event of 2008.
The tourney also got a publicity move from Peterson’s jet, which came at a cost of $325,000. He could have put that much money into the tournament purse and it would have had no effect on the quality of his field.
Kenny Perry’s victory also was a boost for the JDC and the PGA Tour. I applaud my playing partner in last summer’s proam preceding the BMW Championship for sticking to his plan of playing the JDC and U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee instead of going to the British. Perry wanted to assure himself a place in September’s Ryder Cup matches at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky. He certainly achieved that goal and wasn’t distracted by the criticism he received for missing the year’s first three major championships.
IT’S READY AGAIN: The reopening of Chicago’s Diversey Driving Range should have been given more attention. The Chicago Park District facility is one of the area’s golfing hotbeds. It had been closed for a muchneeded renovation.
Now Diversey, equipped with a new allweather surface and improved drainage system, is in operation again.
Len Ziehm has covered golf for the Chicago Sun-Times for over 38 years and has been a columnist for Chicagoland Golf since its first issue in 1989.
IPGA will give The General first championship test
July, 2008
It’ll finally happen. A major tournament is coming to The General, the showcase course at Galena’s Eagle Ridge Resort.
Erin Strieck, the 63-hole resort’s director of golf, revealed that the Illinois PGA’s fourth and final major tournament of the year – the Eagle Ridge Classic – will conclude on The General. The 36-hole event has been played on Eagle Ridge’s North and South courses in the past.
The General opened in 1997 to rave reviews thanks to its breathtaking elevation changes. The problem was, it’s – to put it mildly – a difficult walking course. Walking, whether required or not, has to be in the mix for any significant competition and walking wasn’t even allowed on The General during the course’s first six years.
The Chicago District Golf Association eventually considered holding an Illinois State Amateur on The General, and invited several of the top players to test the layout as a walking venue. After they tried hiking the hills that idea was scrapped. Strieck says things have changed since then.
“We’ve made it much more walker-friendly,” she said. “We’ve got about 10 of our members who play every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and walk all the time.”
Whether the Illinois PGA players opt to walk or ride is uncertain. They’ll conclude the tournament with a final round on The General in September.
“They ride typically, but we’ll see,” said Strieck. “I’m excited for them to play The General. It’s a great opportunity for them, and a great opportunity for us to see how The General fares in a tournament. It’s one of the toughest golf courses in the state.” Mike Evans, a pro from Timberline in Iowa, holds the record at The General with a 65, posted in a smaller competition. Strieck isn’t sure how low the scores could go when the Illinois PGA’s top players take on the course.
“When they’ve played our other two courses they don’t really light it up,” she said. “It all depends on whether or not they think they can be aggressive.”
NO LONGER SECONDARY: Olympia Fields’ South course had always been in the shadow of the North layout, which hosted most of the club’s big tournaments, including the 2003 U.S. Open.
Architect Steve Smyers’ recentlycompleted renovation, however, has changed that perception. I always preferred the South to the North, and I wasn’t alone. After playing the “new” layout, I’ve can assure you the South is even better than it had been. Mike Davis, the U.S. Golf Association director of competitions, apparently feels the same way. He told Olympia representatives that – if the club achieves its goal of landing a U.S. Amateur Championship – the 36-hole title match would be played on the South. He feels it’d be the better match play layout.
Olympia hopes to land the U.S. Amateur in 2015, when the club will celebrate its 100th anniversary. In the meantime, the renovated South layout will make its tournament debut at the Srixon Fighting Illini Invitational, an increasingly-prestigious collegiate event hosted by the University of Illinois beginning on Sept. 30. The 54-hole tourney had been conducted strictly on the North course in its first two stagings. Now the South will be used as well.
The club, in a long overdue move, also announced the selection of Carol Mann as an honorary member. The announcement coincided with the public unveiling of the renovated South layout. Mann, recovering from hip replacement surgery, could only chip and putt at the unveiling. She won Olympia’s club championship as a teenager in 1957 and represented the club on the LPGA Tour from 1961-66.
SMALL UPDATE: Illinois coach Mike Small didn’t qualify for the PGA Championship, and his next event is his title defense at the Illinois Open. Small, who has won the last three Illinois Opens and four of the last five, will defend at a new site – Hawthorn Woods Country Club. As of this printing he had visited only once, and didn’t play all the holes that time.
“It’ll play a lot different than The Glen Club,” said Small. “Hawthorn Woods is a great golf course with generous fairways, good terrain and elevation changes. The par-5s will do a lot to separate the field. It’ll be a good Illinois Open site, depending on the rough and speed of the greens.”
The 156-man starting field will have a special twist. Joe, Matt and Michael Cermak all advanced to the finals of the 59th annual championship. The Illinois PGA believes it’s the first time that three members of the same family qualified for the finals.
Joe Cermak, a non-PGA pro, was the youngestever Illinois Open qualifier when he reached the finals at age 14 in 1999. Last year he tied for second with Kevin Streelman, now a full-fledged PGA Tour player.
Joe’s runnerup finish made him exempt from this year’s qualifying round, which drew 415 entries with handicaps of 10 or less. Matt Cermak, 20, a sophomore at Missouri State, and brother Michael, 18, a St. Patrick High School graduate soon to begin college at Toledo, advanced through the qualifier at The Traditions at Chevy Chase.
The starters in the July 28-30 finals include 110 professionals, 46 amateurs. Eight past champions will compete.
SUPER SLUMAN: Jeff Sluman, the veteran touring pro from Burr Ridge, got off to a slow start after joining the Champions Tour following his 50th birthday last September. Sluman finished no better than a tie for 12th in his first five Champions Tour starts last year and managed only one top10 finish in his first six tournaments of 2008. Then things changed dramatically.
The 1988 PGA champion won his first Champions Tour event, the Bank of America Championship in Concord, Mass., and then tied for fourth the following week at the Commerce Bank Championship in East Meadow, N.Y.
Sluman’s win, overshadowed by developments involving Tiger Woods in the aftermath of the U.S. Open, provided a big career boost.
“When I turned 50 I said my game needed a lot of work. It was in tatters,” Sluman said. “It wasn’t going to be easy, but I felt I had enough game to win [on the Champions Tour].”
He reunited with veteran caddie Jim Walker in May. Walker was his bag-toter on the PGA Tour from 199497. The result was Sluman, winner of over $18 million and six tournaments in 25 PGA Tour seasons, getting his first victory since the 2002 Greater Milwaukee Open in his 18th Champions Tour start.
“We’re all pretty hungry to win. I don’t think it necessarily has to do with trying to improve your lifestyle financially,” said Sluman. “It’s the competition. It gets in your blood.”
Golf will find adjusting tough without Annika, Tiger
Mid-June-08
No Tiger Woods for the rest of 2008, at the least. No Annika Sorenstam once this year ends. The golf world isn’t going to be the same without those two.
Sorenstam, still at least close to the top of her game, announced her pending retirement just a few weeks before Woods called it a season to undergo knee surgery on the heels of his stirring victory at the U.S. Open.
These are huge – and most unexpected – developments in our sport. While Woods’ surgery announcement is fresher in our minds and more impactful than Sorenstam’s retirement declaration, it’s appropriate to address these events together in an attempt to bring perspective to it all.
The LPGA without Sorenstam won’t be as good. The PGA Tour without Woods? It’s hard to imagine what at least the next six, seven, eighth months will be like without him. The crowds at the tournaments will drop. So, probably, will the media attention. Sponsors, already reluctant to get involved when Woods’ connection isn’t a given, will be even more leery without him.
This fall’s Ryder Cup matches at Valhalla, in Louisville, Ky., could turn into a U.S. drubbing without Woods on the American side. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger was quick to address that issue within hours after Woods made his surgery announcement.
“I admire Tiger as a person, player and fan,” said Azinger. “This should not be about Tiger and the Ryder Cup now. This is about Tiger’s health and wellbeing, and his march into history.” Amen.
The appropriate way to assess all this is to wish Sorenstam the best in retirement and Woods the best in recuperation. There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be just as good when he returns as he has been. This last U.S. Open proved he can do most anything.
At the same time we should look for any positives we can. I’m a firm believer that an injury to one player provides opportunities for others. That’s a good thing, and it’s certainly the case now.
The LPGA has plenty of budding young stars to make up for Sorenstam’s loss. The PGA Tour may not be quite as prepared for life without Woods, but we’ll soon find out who is ready to step up his game and reach the next level. Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley – your time could be now.
The downside is that anything any other player accomplishes in the next few months will be tainted by the fact that Woods wasn’t there. That’s OK, though. It’ll only make for more intensity once Woods is ready to play again.
A final note on the Woods’ saga: You’ve got to admire the way he handled his misfortune. There was no dwelling on it during the U.S. Open in respect for the U.S. Golf Association and the hard work it puts into making the U.S. Open the championship it is. Woods’ injury could have been the overriding topic of the event had he chosen to make it that. Instead he wouldn’t given anything more than brief comments on it, even after he beat Rocco Mediate in the stirring Monday playoff. Only in the aftermath of the tournament did he tell us just how hard it was for him to win. Had he talked about it earlier it would have given him a readymade excuse for not succeeding and disparaged his fellow competitors as well. Tiger, as usual, did it the right way.
Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, who was tied for the lead after the first round of the U.S. Open, discusses a shot with his caddie and former Duke teammate, Matt Christensen. (Copyright USGA/Steve Gibbons)
NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN: Did you notice that Winfield’s Kevin Streelman was tied for the firstround lead and that Pekin’s D.A. Points made the cut in his first U.S. Open?
NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN, II: Jamie Fischer has given the Chicago area a rare finalist in the U.S. Women’s Open. She qualified at Skokie Country Club.
Fischer hasn’t made much of an impact on the local tournament seen since taking a teaching job at White Deer Run in 2000. She qualified for the last three LPGA Championships prior to making it to the U.S.Women’s Open, coming up June 2629 at Interlachen in Minnesota.
Fischer, who never entered the Illinois Women’s Open, is now a teaching pro at Conway Farms. She won’t be playing in her first U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen. She also made it 22 years ago when, as an 18 year old, she qualified for the finals when they were held at her home course – NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio.
NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN III: Brooke Beeler, just out of downstate Hillsboro High School and on her way to Texas Christian University, gave a great showing at the Illinois Women’s Amateur in Springfield. Not only that, she followed it up by qualifying for the match play portion of the U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills course. Unfortunately, she lost in the first round of match play, but something tells me we are going to be hearing lots more about Brooke Beeler.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Tiger Woods ranks only sixth, as far as times on Sports Illustrated covers is concerned. He was on for the 18th time en route to winning at Torrey Pines. Michael Jordan appeared 49 times, Muhammad Ali 37, Magic Johnson 23, Kareen JabdulJabbar and Jack Nicklaus 22.
• Pine Meadow will soon add a putting lab to its facilities in Mundelein. It’ll be part of the clubfitting building near the club’s practice range.
• The Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity Classic, once the biggest fundraising oneday golf event in Chicago with over 700 players, is going for celebrities again. At least one will be there at this year’s event at Cog Hill. Lee Trevino is honorary chairman and will give a clinic,
• Palatine’s new Golf Nation facility has opened Scoring Zone – an eightstation outdoor facility. All the stations are within 70 yards of the hole, providing a good setting for short game practice. Loyola University men’s team has declared the facility its practice site in cold weather months.
• Warwick Hills, in Grand Blanc, Mich., will celebrate a 50year relationship with the PGA Tour at this year’s Buick Open. No course has had a longer run with the PGA circuit.
• The CDGA Amateur is the oldest amateur tournament in the Midwest. It has roots to 1914, when Chick Evans won the title. • Vicky Hurst got the second sponsor’s exemption to the LPGA State Farm Classic at Panther Creek in Springfield.. (Michelle Wie got the first). Hurst, 17, won the Futures Tour stop in Decatur.
• My picks for winning the year’s last two majors are Justin Rose, in the British Open, and Phil Mickelson, in the PGA Championship.
Sectional opens door to U.S. Open for only one local
June, 2008
Without question Chicago had its strongest U.S. Open sectional field ever this year, and it easily could have been a banner showing for players with local ties.
Remember I said COULD have.
The 60-player field that featured former Masters and British Open champion Mark O’Meara produced one Illinois survivor. D.A. Points, a former Illinois Amateur champion and University of Illinois golfer who grew up in Pekin, was one of six qualifiers for the U.S. Open, to be played June 12-15 at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Calif.
With a few breaks, Points could have had some local company among those advancing through the elimination shootout June 2 at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest.
Editor’s note: Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman is also in the field at Torrey Pines. Streelman qualified at another site.
Mike Small, the Illinois coach, and Jess Daley, the former Northwestern star now playing on the Nationwide Tour with Points, were part of a fiveman playoff to decide the final qualifier for the competition at Torrey Pines.
Small came to his final hole in the 36hole elimination knowing he was close to qualifying.
“I thought I needed a birdie, but I made a bogey. I forgot about par,” said Small.
As it turned out Small didn’t need the birdie. A par would have gotten him in and negated the need for a playoff. Instead, he three-putted for bogey. That dropped him into the playoff, and he was eliminated on the first extra hole.
Small, though, could take consolation in the showing of his college team. His young Illini completed their improbable run to the NCAA championship just two days earlier, the climax to an encouraging season. Small’s NCAA squad consisted of two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior and he has two highprofile recruits coming in September. Needless to say, the Illini should be good for a long time.
Daley, meanwhile, was on some great teams at Northwestern and qualified for the PGA Tour in his first year as a pro. Unfortunately that didn’t work out, and Daley has been struggling on the Nationwide circuit ever since. A spot in the Open would have been a big boost for his career, but he was the second player knocked out of the playoff. Both he and Small covered the 36 holes of regulation play in 1underpar 141.
TIGER TALK: O’Meara, now 51, is somewhat of a local, too. He lived for a time in Wheaton and St. Charles and registered out of the latter when he won the U.S. Amateur before beginning his stellar pro career.
Now, in the midst of personal problems and a soso season on the Champions Tour, O’Meara shot 2underpar 140 for his 36 holes and was the feelgood story of the Chicago sectional.
He hasn’t played in the Open since 2003, when it was at Olympia Fields, and probably wouldn’t have tried to qualify this year if the finals were anywhere other than Torrey Pines. He’s lived in Southern California for many years, and has a long history at the course that will host the year’s second major championship.
“It’ll be very special for me,” said O’Meara. “I won the Buick tournament there in 1997 and made the cut there this year, though I shot 83 on Sunday. But I know it’ll be very different [for the Open].”
Because of his long friendship with Tiger Woods, O’Meara had plenty to say about the game’s No. 1 player and the health issues that might even keep him out of the Open.
O’Meara hopes the Open will mean at least a practice round with Woods, who is recovering from a third knee surgery. O’Meara wasn’t sure that Woods will play in this year’s Open.
“If he’s not 100 percent and not feeling good about playing or walking on it, then he’ll do something to get it right,” O’Meara said.
O’Meara watched Woods’ second knee surgery with Woods’ wife, Ellin, and is in frequent contact with the game’s top player. “The guys who did his [latest] surgery are buddies of mine. I know what’s going on, but it’s not for me to say,” O’Meara said.
“I would say [Woods] knows it’s a bit of an issue, but never underestimate Tiger Woods. I don’t know how it happened, when it happened or how much pain he’s in. Nobody is inside Tiger Woods’ mind, but he’s a tough cookie. I think he’ll be all right. We all need him playing.”
HE’S FINALLY IN: Points believes he reached the second stage of U.S. Open qualifying “upwards of 12 or 13 times.”
He was the first alternate once and second alternate twice before finally making it at Conway Farms with a 3underpar 139 showing that landed him in a threeway tie for second place behind low man Hunter Haas. Haas, a Nationwide Tour player, finished at 6under 136.
Points didn’t have it easy at this sectional.
“I was all over the map. It was a roller coaster, for sure,” he said. “I had been hitting it well for a really long time, but I started [at the sectional] hitting like garbage. Then, though, I was making some nice putts. On the second 18 I couldn’t make a putt, but I started hitting it better. In typical golf fashion, it was feast or famine.”
Speaking of fashion, Points sported a white belt buckle emblazoned with “LEGO” during the competition. It wasn’t part of an endorsement deal, though.
“It’s just for fun, but my wife hates it,” Points said. “She thinks it’s gaudy but, if I’m going to wear white shoes and white pants, I’d better have a white belt – and this is the only one I’ve got.”
MAY’S DAY: Not to take anything away from champion Kris Blanks, but the last day of the Bank of America Open was just as much about the charge made by Bob May as it was about Blanks’ victory.
May, you’ll recall, battled Woods tooth and nail for the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla. He hadn’t done much nationally before that, and he hasn’t done much since.
It’s been a tough road for May, who underwent back surgery and is still feeling the effects. His caddie at the Glen Club, in fact, was also his chiropractor.
“I’ve known him [Bob Hughes] for 20 years. I trust him with my body,” said May.
It’s a good thing for May that Hughes was there. His hip locked up after the first hole of Saturday’s round, and Hughes gave him oncourse treatment that kept him in the tournament.
May’s problems started when he was on the PGA Tour. He felt pain for the first time on the last hole of the Byron Nelson Classic years ago when he was en route to shooting a 64. He had surgery in April, 2004, and required 10 weeks of bed rest. “I don’t think I’ll ever be 100 percent,” said May. “The toughest thing is not knowing when you get out of bed in the morning if you’re going to feel sore or feel good.”
Knost: no regrets in decision to skip Masters, turn pro
Mid-May, 2008
Colt Knost showed how good he is last summer at Cantigny. Now he has the chance to do the same at The Glen Club.
Knost goes in as the featured player at the Nationwide Tour’s Bank of America Open, which begins its fourday run May 29 at the Glenview course. The downside of this event, known as the LaSalle Bank Open in its previous six years, is that it is Chicago’s only pro tour stop this summer. The PGA Tour’s BMW Championship will be played at Bellerive in St. Louis in September while the renovation of Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course is being completed.
Don’t downplay the Nationwide Tour, though. Its Chicago stop is a terrific golf buy (a weeklong pass is $10 and there’s free parking), viewing possibilities are better than they are with the bigger galleries that the PGA Tour draws and the Nationwide Tour players are barely a cut below those on the big circuit. For the most part, they’re the future stars of the game – and Knost is one of their poster boys.
Knost raised some eyebrows (not mine) when he turned down an invitation to this year’s Masters. He was eligible off his amateur record last summer, when he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links at Cantigny, then captured the U.S. Amateur and played on the winning U.S. Walker Cup team. Knost, though, had to remain an amateur to play at Augusta National. Most rising stars opt to delay the start of their pro careers to get the Masters experience. Knost – I expect in part because of financial necessity – opted to get his pro career started after the Walker Cup. I say, good for him. There will be plenty of Masters in his future.
“I don’t regret my decision,” Knost said for the umpteenth time, when he was asked about it at the Bank of America Open’s rainsoaked media day. “I made it for the future, not for one event. This [playing tournament golf] is what I want to do for a long time. It was the right thing for me.”
Knost didn’t make it to the PGA Tour in his first try, but has no regrets about playing on the secondary circuit. He gained his first pro victory at Fort Smith, Ark., a few weeks after enduring the elements with Chicago’s golf media. Long before his big summer of 2007 he shot a 64 in a PGA Tour event, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. He later tied for 38th in the Frys.com Open. A regular spot on the PGA Tour isn’t far off.
As far as Chicago golf goes, it’s nice to know that Knost feels it all started for him at Cantigny – the site of this years Illinois State Amateur in August. Knost was really impressive there.
“It really gave me confidence,” he said. “My goal was to make the Walker Cup team, and I knew if I won a USGA event my chances had to be really good.”
Knost didn’t just win the Publinx, he dominated it.
“Going in I had a lot of confidence, but I really struggled in stroke play,” he said. “I was about the 44th seed, but once I got into match play everything clicked. It was probably the best I played all summer. I never was over par in any match, and only one match went to 18. The others I closed out pretty early. I may have putted terrible in stroke play, but I had only seven bogeys in my six matches. It’s hard to lose when you do that – plus, I made quite a few birdies to go along with it.”
Knost won the U.S. Amateur after that. That made him just the third player, behind Bobby Jones (1930) and Jay Sigel (1983) to win in three USGA events in a season. He’s also one of just six players to win two USGA individual tournaments in a season, and he was the topranked U.S. amateur when he turned pro.
Now that amateur stuff is history, and its time for Knost to make his living as a tournament player. He doesn’t regret starting out playing for smaller purses on the Nationwide circuit rather than competing for the much bigger ones the PGA Tour has to offer.
“I’m better off out here, rather than on the PGA Tour,” he said. “I’m so young [he turns 23 on June 26]. I need to learn a lot before jumping into a bigtime situation. This place teaches you how to play professional golf. I’m just trying to learn what I need to do to get to the next level.”
While Knost is looking ahead, he can still look back at what he accomplished last summer and offer these thoughts on the Cantigny experience:
“It was great. The course was in perfect condition, and they had the rough up high. The course wasn’t that long (lengthwise). I hit a lot of 3-woods off the tees, and I’m not one of the longer players. The longer ones hit a lot of 2irons because drivers definitely weren’t necessary. But the greens were perfect. Everything was perfect.” That’s something for the finalists at the Illinois State Amateur to draw upon when they gather at Cantigny later this summer.
WHILE KNOST’S return to Chicago as a rookie pro will be the most notable feature for spectators at this year’s Nationwide Tour stop, Chicago’s golf fans should note that there are a few changes beyond the tourney’s name change.
There won’t be a Monday proam this year because that’s Memorial Day, and new sponsor Bank of America opted instead to put the focus on the new Red, White & Blue Clinic. It’ll begin at 11 a.m., with about 25 wounded veterans from the U.S. Armed Forces participating.
There will also be at least one amateur in the field. Tournament director Scott Cassin instituted an invitational tourney for amateurs this year. It drew about 30 players and Mike Natale of Darien came out the winner of one of Cassin’s sponsor exemptions into the field.
The absence of a PGA Tour event later will also make this version of the Nationwide event Chicago’s only game in town, as far as pro tour golf goes this summer.
“It’ll draw more attention to us, but I don’t think its positive for golf in Chicagoland,” said Cassin. “We coexisted with the BMW and the Western Open. John [Kaczkowski, tournament director of the Western Golf Association] and I became friends. We worked together on some operational things, and I loved going to the BMW and Western Open.”
Being the only game in town is part of Cassin’s tournament promotional efforts and it has increased corporate interest in the event.
“But it’s not like people are jumping ship from the WGA,” Cassin said. “We all know they’ll be back [for the 2009 BMW Championship at Cog Hill]. But there certainly has been more interest for us.”
Success of Small’s Illini may truncate his tourney play
May, 2008
Mike Small, the dominant player in the Illinois PGA ranks for most of the past decade, didn’t get his 2008 competitive season off to much of a start. He shot 74 in the IPGA’s first stroke play event, which gave him a tie for seventh place at Bloomington Country Club. By his own admission Small “played pretty bad.”
The coaching side of Small’s life, however, has gone quite well. His University of Illinois men’s team climbed from a ninthplace finish in the Big Ten Championships in 2007 to a thirdplace finish in April. “It was a hiccup – the lowest we had finished,” Small said of the 2007 finish. “It was just terrible.”
It wasn’t so terrible when the Illini went after the 2008 title at Michigan State’s course.
“We were leading after 36 holes, second after 54 and lost by nine shots to Michigan State on their home course,” Small said. Freshman Scott Langley finished fourth for the Illini in the individual competition.
Fielding a lineup with two sophomores and two freshmen, the Illini qualified for NCAA tournament play. As of this writing the Illini were hoping to survive regional qualifying and reach the NCAA Championships. If the Illini do that, it’ll be a mixed blessing for Small. He won’t be able to play in the Nationwide Tour’s Bank of America Open (an event known as the LaSalle Bank Open previously.)
The NCAA finals are opposite the Bank of America Open at The Glen Club.
“I hope we qualify for the NCAA,” said Small, but he admits playing in the Nationwide Tour stop again wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. Scott Cassin, the tournament director of the Bank of America Open, said Small “is always on our radar screen” if he’s able to play.
Small has dominated the recent Illinois Open and the Illinois PGA Championships and made a splash nationally in the PGA of America event for club pros. Last year he was the low club pro in the PGA Championship (being congratulated by champion Tiger Woods, photo above). He’s been an ongoing story on the competitive side. Last year he also qualified for the U.S. Open and he’s supplemented his coaching salary quite handsomely through his limited tournament play.
This year he plans to defend his title in the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship, beginning May 19 at Kemper Lakes. Then comes the Bank of America Open, which starts on May 29. Whether or not he plays in that remains to be seen, but Small’s coaching efforts have already made the year a success. His Illini won three tournaments – the D.A. Weibring Invitational, the Marshall Invitational and the Fighting Illini Spring Invite.
“Things are looking up,” he said. “Our indoor facility really helped a lot. We hit thousands of balls.”
Small needed fivesix years of offthecourse work before the $5 million facility was completed. It’s available to the nine men and nine women on the Illinois golf teams. Now that facility is starting to pay dividends on the competitive end.
As for his own tournament aspirations, Small said his play in the National Professionals Championship will dictate how that plays out.
“It sets up the year for me. If I play well, I’ll play a lot. It’s [his competitive schedule] the same as last year,” Small said. “My schedule revolves around my job.”
Small will try to qualify for the U.S. Open again and also defend his titles in the Illinois Open and Illinois PGA Championship. “It’s going to be a busy summer, because my kids are also in traveling baseball,” Small said.
Next fall will be interesting, too, as the Fighting Illini Olympia Fields Invitational takes another big step in its establishment as one of the premier college competitions. The 54hole tournament will use the renovated South course at Olympia Fields for the competition this year along with the North, which was the site of the 2003 U.S. Open. Srixon has also been added to the sponsorship list.
CHANGES AT CANTIGNY: Another big season is ahead at Cantigny, the Wheaton course that hosted last year’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. And this one will be directed by new leadership. Former director of golf Mike Jones has moved to a new job in Hawaii.
Pat Lynch, who had been an assistant under Jones, moved into the head job and Connie DeMattia, one of the Illinois PGA’s top players in recent years and a former assistant at Medinah, is now director of instruction. He gave lessons at Cantigny last year.
Cantigny continues its push as a tournament site. This year’s big event is the Illinois Amateur in August. The spiffy public facility has campaigned to land the U.S. Amateur or a U.S. Women’s Open.
MOVING ON: Bryan Luedke, longtime pro at Fox Bend and one of Chicago’s top players in the club pro ranks, has left the area to take the head job at the new Blue Top Ridge course in Iowa city. His former assistant, Kyle Rich, is now Fox Bend’s head man.
Marv Rezabek, long time pro at Bonnie Brook, retired and Tim Govern replaced him as head pro. Matt Lemcke, who had been in charge at Rich Harvest, is now the general manager at Black Sheep and exKnollwood assistant Steve Cross is now the head man at Glen Flora.
Wynstone has also undergone a change, with Andy Phelan now director of golf and Rick Walrath head professional. Phelan had been an assistant at Desert Highlands in Arizona and Walrath an assistant at Crystal Lake CC.
NATALE MOVES UP: Darien’s Mike Natale, a former pro who opted to regain his amateur status, won the new 33player allamateur invitational tournament conducted by the Bank of America Open to decide one of its sponsor exemptions. Natale shot a 69 at Oak Park Country Club, then won his berth in the Nationwide Tour stop on the first hole of a sudden death playoff against Chicago’s Brian Atkinson.
Masters not fun to watch – or play in – anymore
Mid-April, 2008
At first, I thought it was just me going through a funk, one probably caused by all that inclement spring weather that virtually – but not completely – kept me off Chicago courses. Usually by Masters time I've had a few 18-hole rounds in.
This time, nada.
That mindset seemed to translate to watching the Masters itself. I wasn't as excited about it as I usually am – and, believe me, it had nothing to do with Tiger Woods not seriously contending for the title and keeping alive my bold prediction in this space that he would achieve the Grand Slam this year. No, this was something else.
I figured it out in a conversation with a buddy who is every bit as avid about golf as I am. During our talk he referred to that just-completed first major championship at Augusta National as "a nothing Masters".
A nothing Masters. Somehow those two words are supposed to go together, but I knew what he meant.
Now, the Masters is still the Masters, but it's been lacking something the last two years. It has nothing to do with the champions. Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman were deserving. No, the problem is within Augusta National itself. I can only conclude that its membership made some mistakes in transforming the course. In an effort to make the storied layout more in touch with the increased skill levels of the top players and the improved equipment, Augusta National lost some of its rich flavor.
The course was been lengthened by 520 yards and hundreds of pine trees planted since 1998. The second cut of rough that was also added was criticized by former champions Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Watson, among others.
The course changes changed everything, as demonstrated by a telltale quote from no less than Woods himself.
"You don't really shoot low rounds [at Augusta] any more," said Woods days before he was beaten by Immelman.
"You've just got to plod along. It's playing more like a U.S. Open than it is a Masters."
The Masters shouldn't play like a U.S. Open. The Masters, year in and year out, had been the most exciting major because of its tradition of dramatic finishes. That drama is dissipating.
Traditionally, the U.S. Open is built on the tough setups of its courses. That's the flavor of the U.S. Open. It's not the flavor of the Masters, where Johnson's 1-over-par was good enough to win two years ago and Immelman went basically unchallenged down the stretch despite shooting a 75 in the final round.
My first Masters was in 1986, when Nicklaus put on one of greatest charges of his illustrious career to win his last title.
The Masters was known for "starting on the back nine on Sunday" in those days. The holes lended to that description. Nos. 13 and 15 were par-5s that offered eagle opportunities. They aren't really that way anymore. One of Nicklaus' most dramatic shots in '86 was his approach to the 17th green that set up the last birdie he needed to win. If he was faced with the same approach now, he couldn't pull it off. The angle he took to the green then is now blocked by some of those new pine trees.
The TV highlights shows following past Masters focused on the great shots. This year's focused on the putts Woods missed down the stretch. On Saturday, there were only seven rounds in the 60s, on Sunday just two. The last round took five hours, causing a shortening of the traditional green jacket presentation ceremony for television viewers.
That's not how it should be at the Masters. The Masters was fun, a place where the best players had to go for it to be rewarded. Well, the Masters isn't fun anymore.
Said Jim Furyk in Golf World: "It's a pretty good test of golf. It used to be a lot of fun to play. It's not fun anymore, but it definitely got a lot more difficult. I don't think we have [heard the roars from the gallery that used to be commonplace] for the last few years. It's obviously a decision they [tournament officials] made. It's their event, a different golf course, and there's a different way to approach it now."
I don't know if the Masters can ever got back to the way it was. That's just the way it is. But I prefer to remember some of the great duels of the past – the Nicklaus-Johnny Miller-Tom Weiskopf nailbiter in 1975, Fuzzy Zoeller's playoff win in 1979, Larry Mize's chip-in in the 1987 playoff with Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros, the misses by Scott Hoch and Ray Floyd that gave Nick Faldo back-to-back titles in playoffs in 1989 and 1990 and Phil Mickelson's putt on the 18th that thwarted Ernie Els in 2004.
These last two Masters with the tougher course? Well – for whatever reason – they just don't match up.
SOME FINAL thoughts:
• Tiger Woods' handling of his knee problem was exemplary. You know he had to hampered competitively when the surgery came so quickly after tournament. Woods, and no one else in his entourage, made any mention of his ailment until after the tournament was over.
• Gary Player's 51st Masters should be his last. He broke Arnold Palmer's record for longevity, and that's significant. To declare he'll be back just because he broke 80 in the second round, though, isn't enough. He's had a great career. He should join the other former winners in more of a ceremonial capacity.
• Most touching moment of the tournament was not Immelman's victory speech. It was Brandt Snedeker breaking down in tears after his final-round collapse. That, more than anything, will be remembered by the closest followers of this Masters. He's a good player now, but he'll be a great one.
• Lost in the usual hoopla was a fine performance by 1988 champion Sandy Lyle of Scotland – at least for two rounds. Lyle, a 50-year-old Champions Tour player, made the cut after round of 72-75.
• Finally, a question: Who's now the best player to have not won a major? It's either Stewart Cink or K.J. Choi. I'm not sure which one.
Telecast of Masters par-3 contest not to be missed
April, 2008
At least two new things will be part of this year’s Masters. I heartily approve of one. The other I’m not so sure about.
I’d advise all of you to make every effort to tune in ESPN from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday of Masters week. Then you can see, for the first time on the tube, the lovely par-3 course that adorns Augusta National Golf Club.
I’m a big fan of par-3 courses just because they’re a lot of fun to play. That’s one of the reasons I bought the home I live in. There’s a most-decent par-3 layout off my patio. It’s nothing like the one at Augusta National, however, but a spur-of-the-moment quick stroll around it is always enjoyable.
In my 10 years covering the Masters on-site, I always made an effort to get to the annual par-3 tournament. At least I tried to see it. The crowds are so packed in, it was extremely difficult. The general estimate is that 30,000 fans stand shoulder to shoulder around the 1,060-yard course trying to catch a glimpse of a shot here and there.
I’m not sure what compelled the powers that be at Augusta National to put the par-3 tournament on television. It’s basically a fun event, and not all the players in the Masters field participate. Jack Nicklaus, for instance, preferred to practice most of the time rather than stroll through the par-3. No longer a competitor, Nicklaus is scheduled to play in the par-3 this year. He’ll be one of quite a few celebrity types – officially they’re called “honorary invitees’’ – who will help fill out the field. One of those types, Jerry Pate, actually won it once. A former U.S. Open champion turned broadcaster, Pate hasn’t played in the Masters since 1982.
Two factoids that you should know about the Masters par-3 tournament:
For one, the course used has to be one of the first – if not the very first – par-3 at a major private club. This year marks its 50th anniversary, and the par-3 contest itself dates to 1960 when long-time tournament organizer Clifford Roberts came up with the idea. It is almost as rich in tradition as the Masters itself and very much helps create the flavor that will carry over for the next four days, when the tournament proper is played.
You should also know that the winner of the par-3 tournament has never gone on to win the Masters that same week. To win the par-3, in fact, is believed to be a curse.
Quite a few private clubs have followed Augusta National in adding a par-3 course to their facilities. The best par-3 I’ve seen, however, is at a public venue – Threetops, located at Michigan’s Treetops Resort. Augusta doesn’t have the challenging elevation changes that the Rick Smith-designed Threetops course has, but I digress.
The other change for this year’s Masters is one of policy. Children 8-16 will get in free during the tournament rounds if they’re accompanied by an “accredited patron.’’ In other words, the name on the badge must match the identification of the accompanying adult.
It’s pretty difficult to oppose free admission for kids at a big golf tournament. I can’t see how this will work, however. The crowds at the Masters are always huge. A Masters ticket is the toughest ticket in sports. Giving away additional tickets would seem to create viewing and possibly security issues.
On the historical side, this year’s Masters will be the 51st for 72-year-old Gary Player. When Player hits his first shot, he’ll break Arnold Palmer’s record for most Masters appearances. I admire Player’s longevity.
Expecting him to be competitive is another matter.
The tournament itself, of course, figures to be another Tiger Woods showcase. Let’s get it out of the way first: I predict – shocking as it may seem – that Woods will win the Green Jacket for the fifth time and talk about his winning the Grand Slam will begin in earnest.
There should be some suspense, though.
Here’s how I see the rest of this year’s Masters unfolding: FIRST ROUND LEADER – Vijay Singh always starts well, and he’s a former champion. Singh’s softening his image and playing well again. He’ll be in contention throughout.
FOREIGN FLAVOR – Non-Americans are making bigger and bigger impacts on golf every year, and this year Woods will have his hands full with K.J. Choi. I don’t expect Choi to win this year’s Masters but I do predict he’ll be the first Asian golfer to win a major – and it won’t be that far down the road.
SENTIMENTAL CHOICE: C’mon Steve Stricker! The former University of Illinois golfer made a big comeback two years ago and followed with an even bigger one last year. The comeback will be complete when he wins his first major.
OFFBEAT CONTENDER: Bubba Watson would be good. Woody Austin would be even better.
REALISTIC LONGSHOT: How about Henrik Stenson?
UNREALISTIC LONGSHOTS: Michael Thompson and Drew Weaver. Not only are they Masters rookies, they’re also amateurs.
IN HIS (TITLE) DEFENSE: Zach Johnson might make the cut – and I said might.
BIGGEST FLOP: It’ll be between Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. They won’t be Tiger’s main challengers this time. They may not even be close.
AND THE RUNNER-UP IS: David Toms.
ROUNDING OUT THE TOP 10: Retief Goosen, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy, Justin Rose, , Choi, Singh, Stenson and Rory Sabbatini. And not necessarily in that order.
FINALLY, THE SLAM: Yep, I think this is the year he’ll do it. Woods has proved himself over and over at Augusta National and the other sites for the majors – Torrey Pines (U.S. Open), Royal Birkdale (British Open) and Oakland Hills (PGA Championship) will be Tiger-friendly, too. It’s going to be a fun ride – for all of us.
Illinois Open, Illinois PGA moves will enhance events
March, 2008
It’s been a long, cold winter for all of us – but maybe moreso for me than most of the rest of you. Prostate cancer surgery in January slowed me down for awhile, but that made me all the more anxious for the arrival of spring and the resumption of my annual pursuit of Chicago’s multitude of great courses.
But, enough about me – and no more talk about how much quieter this year’s Chicago season will be as far as tournaments go.
Yes, it won’t be what it’s been in the past without a PGA Tour stop for the first time in 45 years, but the Nationwide Tour stop (formerly the LaSalle Bank Open, now the Bank of America Open) returns to The Glen Club on May 26 and the big local events are changing – to my mind much for the better. Tournament viewing won’t be so bad, there just won’t be as much of it.
I’M DELIGHTED by what the Illinois PGA has done in both its short-term and long-term tournament scheduling during the winter.
On the short-term side the IPGA moved its biggest event, the 59th Illinois Open, to Hawthorn Woods Country Club. It had been held at The Glen Club the previous six years. The switch was made because the IPGA didn’t want the Illinois Open bumping up with the PGA Championship again. That was a big problem last year for one player. Mike Small, the best player in the state, won the Illinois Open and had no day off before playing in the PGA in Tulsa, Okla.
Small did well in both, but that kind of scheduling isn’t ideal. Eventually it might have cost the Illinois Open some of the state’s top club pros who didn’t want to risk the heavy playing load that Small took on. So, IPGA executive director Mike Miller wanted the Illinois Open pushed back to July 28-30. This year’s PGA is Aug. 7-10 at Oakland Hills in suburban Detroit.
That proposed new date didn’t suit The Glen Club, so – for one year at least – private Hawthorn Woods will be the site of the Illinois Open.
Frankly, I see nothing wrong with the move to Hawthorn Woods, other than the fact that not many of the state’s best players have tested it. I’ve played the Arnold Palmer design several times. It’s a fun layout, much different than The Glen Club.
Hawthorn Woods will be well-received by the players, and the Illinois Open will benefit from the move because it’ll be the big show at Hawthorn Woods. It won’t be the second of the year’s big tournaments hosted by The Glen Club.
ON A MORE LONG-TERM basis, the IPGA made a major change in its oldest event. The 86th Illinois PGA Championship will move from public Stonewall Orchard in Gurnee to Medinah. Then it’ll have a staging at Olympia Fields the year after that.
This scenario sounds like a radical change, and it is – but it makes lots of sense.
Now the IPGA Championship, which had a 24-year run at Kemper Lakes before shorter runs at nearby north suburban courses Royal Melbourne and Stonewall, will be more accessible to players from clubs to the south. There’s going to be a rotation – this year in the West (Medinah), then back to the north (Stonewall), then way south (Olympia). Medinah is to host again in 2011 and Stonewall in 2012.
There’s more to the moves to historic Medinah and Olympia than might meet the eye, too.
The big national events that have been held at Medinah have almost always been on the famed No. 3 course, most recently the site of the 2006 PGA Championship. For the 2008 and 2011 IPGA, however, Medinah No. 1 will be used. Olympia’s main tournament layout has been its North course, most recently the site of the 2003 U.S. Open. When the IPGA visits the competition will be on the South course. Medinah No. 1 and Olympia Fields South have been unfairly overshadowed by their neighboring layouts. No. 1 is a great track at Medinah and South had been my favorite at Olympia. When the IPGA gets there it will be a showcase for the just-completed Steve Smyers’ renovation of the South.
FINALLY, winter developments require that we take a look at a huge national (actually world-wide) development in which Northbrook-based KemperSports played a major role.
Golf has been a sport based on traditions and history. The famous old courses would host the biggest tournaments.
That’s been slowly changing, but the U.S. Golf Association accelerated the change when Chambers Bay – a county-owned course near Seattle, Wash., that had been open only eight months, was awarded both the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open.
The Chambers Bay announcement came after the USGA awarded one of its 13 national championships to Wisconsin’s Erin Hills before that course had even opened. Erin Hills, which opened in 2006, will host the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship this year. It will also host the 2011 U.S. Amateur, according to the USGA’s most recent announcement.
The Chambers Bay selection was especially gratifying to KemperSports, which manages golf courses in 24 states and Latin America with Chambers Bay being one of them.
“We were given a mission,’’ said Steve Skinner, who replaced Steve Lesnik as chief executive officer of KemperSports this winter, “to bring championship golf to the Seattle area. A lot of courses dream of hosting the U.S. Open. Rather than be asked to host we reached out. We thought we had something special, and the course sold itself.’’
Still, getting both a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Open before hosting even a smaller tournament seems unfathomable.
“We were surprised it happened so quickly,’’ Skinner said. “It was a bold statement by the USGA. We talked to them before the facility opened. The setting is unique. Those who know shot design and shot quality see things the rest of us don’t see. They felt it was a great setting.’’
Tom Studer (CG photo)
Mike Jones leaves Cantigny for Maui; Tom Studer is senior player of year November, 2008
Once of the good guys in the Illinois PGA ranks is leaving town. Mike Jones,
who spent the last eight seasons at Cantigny, is headed for Hawaii.
Jones
will leave one of Chicago’s premier public courses, and the site of
last summer’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and the 2006
Western Junior to become director of golf operations at Kapalua Resort.
Kapalua has two courses, each of which will host a major tour event in
2008, and a third layout – Mauka – is expected to built in 2009. Tom
Fazio is the designer of that one, and it’ll be a private course.
Jones,
scheduled to start at Kapalua on Dec. 3, will have just a month to get
ready for the PGA Tour’s Mercedes Championship on Kapalua’s Plantation
course. Then, in October, the resort will host a new event – the LPGA
Kapalua Invitational – on its Bay course.
“[Hosting tour events]
wasn’t a major factor in my going there,” Jones said. “It’s just a huge
opportunity for me to keep advancing, to run one of the most recognized
golf resorts in the world.”
He was hired by another popular guy
from the Chicago golf world. Gary Planos, who grew up in Evanston, was
an Evans Scholar at the University of Illinois and is a member of the
board of directors of the Western Golf Association, is Kapalua’s senior
vice president of resort operations. Kapalua is spread over 23,000
acres, and its facilities include a pineapple plantation. The resort is
undergoing a $125 million transformation.
Among the perks to get Jones there was a Mercedes.
“This isn’t your typical golf job,” he said. “There could be some corporate entertaining involved. It’s going to be exciting.”
Jones
has been a big part of two golf facilities during his Chicago stay. He
was general manager at Thunderhawk during its first two seasons before
going to Cantigny. Cantigny is building a new learning center and has
had ongoing dialog with the U.S. Golf Association about hosting more of
its national championships following a successful staging of last
summer’s Publinx. Chicago golf won’t just lose one of its top pros,
either. Jones’ wife Laura will also be departing her job as the girls
golf coach at Waubonsie Valley High School.
TOM’S THE MAN:
Earning the CDGA Senior Player-of-the-Year award was just the latest in
golfing accomplishments for Joliet’s Tom Studer, but it does provide
the opportunity to underscore just how good this lifelong amateur has
been.
Studer has played in 30 Illinois Amateurs, with 10 top10
finishes and the other 20 in the top20. He has been Joliet Country
Club’s champion 20 times since becoming a member in 1979 and he needed
to play in only two tournaments to win the CDGA Senior
Player-of-the-Year award in his first year of eligibility. He won the
Illinois Senior Amateur and was fourth – as well as the low amateur for
the third time in five years – in the Illinois Senior Open. Players
have to be 55 to be eligible for the CDGA’s top senior award.
“I
spotted everybody the season and won it in two tournaments,” Studer
said. “I’m very proud of the longevity I’ve had, and I’m playing as
well now as I ever have.”
Studer is one of those few top amateurs who doesn’t regret giving professional golf a try.
“I
never had any delusions,” he said. “I know I’m not good enough, and
couldn’t take a cut in pay to do it. I was just good enough to be a
golf bum. I’m glad I did it this way.”
Studer has had to play well to keep up with this colleagues at Chicago’s National Financial Services, where he is a sales rep.
The National Financial staff has included Joel Hirsch, Mike Stone, Chip Beck and Gunnar Bennett at one time or another.
“At
one time we could field eight players with a combined handicap of
zero,” Studer said. “My role model is Joel Hirsch. My goal is to just
do all the things he’s been doing. He plays on a senior amateur tour.”
Studer
said he’s done with the Illinois Amateur, but then again he has an
exemption into next year’s finals and might want to give it one more
try. No player has swept the titles of the Illinois MidAmateur, CDGA
Amateur and Illinois Amateur, and Studer has won the first two.
“If
the place where it’s held is interesting I might go,” Studer said, “but
don’t think I could do it anymore. The [top] players in it are like
minitour players. I’m just trying to be the best senior I can be.”
Studer was the CDGA Player-of-the-Year in 2000. This year that award was won by Peoria’s John Ehrgott.
GOLF NATION IS COMING:
I’m not sure if Golf Nation, a 25,000square foot facility in Palatine,
will be a success – but it certainly is an interesting concept.
Indoor
golf facilities are nothing new, but Golf Nation claims to be
different. It will have practice facilities plus fitness options or
personal trainers.
Golf Nation is expected to open in midDecember.
It
will have six covered outdoor hitting areas with gas heaters and
golfers will hit 60 yards to a net. Indoors there’ll be a 1,600
squarefoot putting green, chipping, pitching and sand shot areas and
four golf simulators.
COMING ATTRACTION: Another
United States GA national championship is coming to the Chicago area.
Conway Farms, a private club in Lake Forest, has landed the U.S.
Mid-Amateur in 2012.
The tourney, first held in 1981, was held
at Knollwood in 1982 in its only previous Chicago staging. Elgin’s Bill
Hoffer was the champion that year and Jay Sigel was the medalist. Dave
Lind, who came out of Butler National to enjoy a brief career on the
PGA Tour, lost the 1987 final to Sigel in a 20-hole thriller and was
also the runnerup in 1992.
The tourney has grown a lot since
then. In 1982 the Mid-Am had 1,779 entries nationwide. It’s drawn
4,000plus every year since 1986. Players must be 25 years old and have
a handicap index not exceeding 3.4 to be eligible.
11-19-07
Amateur invitational offers slot in Nationwide event
October, 2007
Maybe next summer’s Chicago tournament schedule won’t be as lean as it has appeared. Already there’s one new event in the works that shows promise.
Nothing is official yet, but LaSalle Bank Open tournament director Scott Cassin is putting together an 18-hole invitational for amateurs with the winner getting a sponsor’s invitation into his Nationwide Tour stop at The Glen Club.
The tourney itself may have a different name by then, with LaSalle Bank in the process of being sold, but the golf tournament’s growth figures to continue.
Cassin will work with the Chicago District Golf Association on the one-day amateur event. Invitations will be sent to the top players on the CDGA player-of-the-year standings from 2007. Matching charitable donations will be made to the CDGA’s Sunshine Through Golf Foundation and the winner’s designated beneficiary as part of the competition.
“The idea came because the BMW Championship [the new PGA Tour event held at Cog Hill in September] was not allowed to give an exemption to the winner of the Western Amateur any more,” Cassin said. “The rich tradition of amateur golf is something we wanted to continue, especially since we’ll be the only PGA Toursanctioned tournament in Chicagoland next year.”
While the Western Golf Association conducts the BMW Championship, the event is an invitational open to only the top 70 on the FedEx Cup standings. There were no sponsor exemptions, as there were when the WGA conducted the now-defunct Western Open. Next year, the BMW Championship will be held at Bellerive in St. Louis, leaving Chicago without an event on the main PGA Tour for the first time since 1961.
HE’S GOT SENIORITY: Jeff Sluman didn’t have a great year on the PGA Tour. He didn’t even qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, but he’s not an unhappy camper. The Hinsdale resident now enthusiastically joined the Champions Tour immediately after he turned 50 in September.
“I was probably – except for Dana Quigley – probably the only guy to commit to the last five tournaments of this year last January,” Sluman said. “Dana is probably committed through 2012 right now.”
Quigley’s ironman feats, which included playing in 278 straight tournaments for which he was eligible, astounded Sluman when he was on the PGA Tour.
“We’d talk to Brett [Quigley’s nephew who has played the PGA circuit] and he’d tell us about Dana taking a red-eye in Los Angeles and playing 36 holes for fun on Monday,” Sluman said. “We’d wonder how in the world is the guy doing that? We love the game – but not as much as him, I guess. What he’s done is very remarkable, and my hat’s off to him.”
Sluman isn’t quite sure what he’s getting into on the Champions Tour.
“I see the scores these guys are shooting, and I know that I have a lot to learn,” he said. “It’s 54 holes [in Champions tournaments]. You’ve got to start quickly versus our [PGA] tour, where sometimes you’re just trying to get your feet on the ground [in the early rounds]. I’m in awe of what these guys do for 54 holes and how low they shoot and the way they’ve continued to play throughout their careers. I’ve got quite a learning curve out here. Hopefully I’ll pick it up quickly and blend in.”
ONWARD AT OLYMPIA: Don’t be surprised if Olympia Fields is back on the U.S. Golf Association’s tournament calendar as soon as 2010. The USGA needs a site for the U.S. Amateur that year, and Olympia – thwarted in its bid to get another U.S. Open since it was held there in 2003 – has wanted to host that championship.
The south-suburban private club had put in a request with the USGA to host the U.S. Amateur in either 2011 or 2012.
An earlier date became available because Congressional, the Washington D.C.area layout that was to host in 2009, pulled out after landing Tiger Woods’ new PGA Tour event. Southern Hills, this year’s PGA Championship site, agreed to move up from its scheduled year as the host site in 2010 to take the tourney in 2009. That left 2010 open, and Mike Davis, the USGA’s senior director of rules and competitions, has already been at Olympia Fields to analyze the possibilities of bringing the tournament there.
Davis couldn’t see the full Olympia because the club’s South course is undergoing a renovation supervised by architect Steve Smyers. The course is scheduled to reopen next Memorial Day weekend, however, so it would be available for 2010. The U.S. Amateur requires two courses for its 36-hole stroke play qualifying competition.
In another Olympia Fields development, the club has made University of Illinois golf coach Mike Small an honorary member. Small was stunned by the honor. The club has hosted the Fighting Illini Olympia Fields Invitational men’s event the last two years.
U.S. Open Champion Jim Furyk, who won his major at Olympia in 2003, was accorded a similar honor.
SOLHEIM REVISITED: The Solheim Cup matches, just completed in Sweden, produced an exciting win by the U.S. team. They also kicked off promotional efforts for the competition’s next staging – at Rich Harvest Farms in 2009. Rich Harvest owner Jerry Rich sent about 30 representatives to Sweden to analyze how the event was staged there.
One development since the U.S. victory – and it was no surprise – was the announcement that Beth Daniel will be the U.S. captain in 2009. Daniel, a Rich Harvest honorary member, was Betsy King’s assistant captain in Sweden.
MORE IS BETTER: Details are still to be announced, but another golf show is being planned for Chicago this winter. It’ll be held at the Schaumburg Convention Center in February, two weeks before the longstanding Chicago Golf Show returns to Rosemont’s Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. The Rosemont show will also have February dates. It was held in March in 2005 and 2007.
COMING SOON: The neighboring states of Wisconsin and Indiana could be having spiffy new courses available next year. Wild Rock, in the Wisconsin Dells, had a soft opening on Oct. 1 and will be in full swing in the spring. In Indiana, Pete Dye is designing a layout in French Lick, the onetime resort hotspot that is in the throes of a major revival. The Donald Ross Memorial 18-holer and a 9-holer designed by Tom Bendelow have already been renovated there. Both opened this past summer. I’ve seen the Dye course under construction, and it should turn out a masterpiece when it opens either next fall or the spring of 2009.
