Author: lenz

Hardy takes momentum from NCAAs into the U.S. Open

Northbrook’s Nick Hardy is going from one big event to another.
Just 10 months ago Northbrook’s Nick Hardy was shaking off a loss in the final of the Illinois State Amateur and getting ready for his freshman year at the University of Illinois. This week, at 19, he’s playing in the 115th U.S. Open at Washington’s Chambers Bay course.

Hardy won’t be the youngest player in the year’s second major championship. That honor goes to Cole Hammer, a 15-year old high school freshman from Houston. Hammer is the third-youngest player ever to tee off in the Open but Hardy is more battled-hardened.

He blossomed as a freshman for coach Mike Small’s Illini, sharing the Big Ten individual title in May and helping his team finish on top of the leaderboard in the stroke play portion of the NCAA tournament. Small put Hardy in the crucial No. 5 position for the match play portion, and he came through with the victory needed to get the Illini through to the semifinals.

His team’s season ended there, but Hardy wasn’t done. He – along with senior teammate Brian Campbell – survived last week’s sectional qualifying for the Open.

“It’s been a pretty crazy month,’’ said Hardy, after participating in an Illinois Junior Golf Assn. clinic at Valley Lo in Glenview. “I’ve gotten better just being in the positions I have. I’ve learned a lot about myself and a lot about competition. I’ve really grown a lot. I was ready for this.’’

The U.S. Open is, of course, a different animal than playing with the college guys. The best players in the world are at Chambers Bay.

“I’m going to treat it like any other event and not focus on the things around me,’’ said Hardy. “I’ll just try to control what I can control. My goal is to be low amateur, but I’ll be trying to win like everybody else. I’ll focus on the first tee shot, and go from there.’’

That first tee shot comes on Thursday. His practice partners at Chambers Bay included Campbell, who also qualified last year, and PGA Tour veteran D.A. Points, an Illinois alum.

“I’m real excited. I hope this will be one of many (Opens). It not only gives me a chance to try to beat the best players in the world, but also learn from them.’’

This year’s Open had 9,882 entrants from 75 countries, and 156 will tee off at Chambers Bay. Fifty-eight earned their spots in 12 sectional qualifying tournaments. Hardy additionally had to survive an 18-hole local qualifier to play in the sectional.

Only two Open champions – Ken Venturi in 1964 and Orville Moody in 1969 – came through both local and sectional eliminations to win the title. In last year’s Open at Pinehurst, N.C., 25 of the 156 starters were survivors of both eliminations and five of them made the 36-hole cut.

They’ll be there, too

This is an extraordinary U.S. Open from a Chicago area standpoint. Other sectional qualifiers include former world No. 1 Luke Donald, who has played in every Open since 2005; Points, a three-time Illinois State Amateur champion; Glen Ellyn’s Andy Pope, a Web.com Tour player who was the Illinois Junior Golf Assn. Boys Player of the Year in 2001; and Hoopeston’s Michael Davan, who was the Chicago District Amateur champion in 2012.

Davan, like Hardy, qualified for the Open in a sectional at Springfield, Ohio. Davan was the medalist there, shooting 65-67 for the 36 holes. Davan, a 26-year old pro, has been playing on golf’s many mini-tours. Until the sectional he had been one frustrated golfer, missing seven Web.com Tour events as well as the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic by one shot in qualifying tournaments.

“I knew my game was getting close,’’ he said. “I’ve never won a mini-tour event, but I had a chance a few weeks ago and stumbled down the stretch. It’s nice to finally break through and do something like this.’’

In addition to the unusual large contingent of local players the tourney has another Chicago connection. Chambers Bay is managed by Northbrook-based KemperSports.

Here and there

Illinois’ Campbell is one of four sponsor invites for next month’s John Deere Classic. Others are college stars Bryson DeChambeau of Southern Methodist and Lee McCoy of Georgia, both U.S. Open qualifiers, and former No. 1-ranked amateur Patrick Rodgers. Rodgers is getting his fourth sponsor invite to the JDC.

Three winners of major championships – Larry Nelson, Hal Sutton and Lee Janzen – have entered next month’s Encompass Championship at North Shore in Glenview. So has D.A. Weibring, a champion at both Illinois PGA events (former Western Open and JDC). Twenty-three of the top 30 on the Champions Tour money list have committed to play in the tournament.

KemperSports will host the Chambers Bay Challenge at all its member courses during the U.S. Open. Players making a hole-in-one can receive a trip to Chambers, where they’ll get a shot at $1 million on the No. 17 hole.

U.S. stays focused, regains Palmer Cup

The U.S. team in the Palmer Cup certainly didn’t want a repeat of the epic collapse the country’s professionals had in the 2012 Ryder Cup matches at Medinah.

In that Ryder Cup the U.S. took a 10-6 lead into the final day’s singles matches and blew it. In the Palmer Cup, a similar team event for college stars from the U.S. and Europe contested at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, the Americans owned a 13 ½-6 ½ advantage going into Sunday’s 10 singles matches but they weren’t convinced the lead was safe.

U.S. players celebrate after taking a one-sided victory over the European side.

“Playing with a big lead is the hardest thing in sports,’’ said U.S. coach Bruce Heppler. “I just told them I wasn’t going to tell them how things were going until their match was over. I wanted to keep them focused on their matches.’’

The strategy worked, as the U.S. took an 18-12 victory, avenging an 18 ½-11 ½ loss to the Europeans last year at Walton Heath in England.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who really cared about what we’re doing here,’’ said Beau Hossler, the University of Texas star who was a winner in three of his four matches during the three-day competition and produced the clinching point for his team with a 2 and 1 win over Pep Angles of France in the third match of the day.

Two U.S. players – Hunter Stewart of Vanderbilt and Robby Shelton of Alabama – went 4-0 in their matches. They were the first players to sweep their Palmer Cup opponents since Andrew Yung of the U.S. did it in 2012.

Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, though, was accorded the sponsor’s exemption to the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2015. Palmer, who lives at the Orlando, Fla., club, founded the collegiate event in 1997. McNealy was selected by his teammates before Sunday’s matches.

McNealy will be using his Palmer Cup caddie, Zach Urwiler, at Bay Hill. Urwiler, a freshman at Mooseheart Academy, is in his second year as a caddie at Rich Harvest.

“It’s going to be a blast,’’ said McNealy. “There’s no better feeling than winning with your team, and it was such an honor to be voted to go to Bay Hill. This was some of the most fun golf I’ve played my entire life.’’

Hossler will be back at Rich Harvest in August in hopes of repeating as champion of the Western Amateur. He believes the Palmer Cup experience will boost his chances.

“This course requires some local knowledge, and I’ve figured it out the last few days,’’ he said. “I’m looking forward to defending my title.’’

Memories of Medinah? U.S. takes big lead into last day of Palmer Cup

Beau Hossler vowed even before the Palmer Cup matches began that he wouldn’t be looking ahead to his title defense in August’s Western Amateur. Both competitions are being played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

The Palmer Cup is a 19-year old team event pitting the college stars of the U.S. against their counterparts from Europe. The Western Amateur is 112 years old and has been won by some of golf’s greatest names – Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Jack Nicklaus. Very few have won it back-to-back (the last was Justin Leonard in 1992-93), and Hossler has a chance to do that.

Still, the Western Amateur is more than a month away and Hossler has not only Sunday’s conclusion of the Palmer Cup but also next week’s U.S. Open before his title defense at Rich Harvest.

“One of the goals I’d set at the beginning of the year was to be here competing for my country,’’ said Hossler. “You know you’ve had a solid year if you make the Palmer Cup team. It’s a huge honor to play in this tournament. I’m not at all preparing for the Western.’’

And that showed on Saturday – a huge day for Hossler’s U.S. squad that was battered by the Europeans last year in England.

Hossler, from the University of Texas, had to stay focused. Trailing most of the match, he drilled the last putt of the day – a 12-footer for birdie – to take a 1-up victory over Austria’s Matthias Schwab and help the U.S. to a 13 ½-6 ½ lead. Hossler needed birdies on the last two holes to pull out the win and he was swarmed by his teammates after the last putt dropped.

Ten singles matches remain on Sunday, the first of which tees off at 8 a.m., and the U.S. needs just three wins to re-claim the cup. The U.S. leads the series 9-8-1.

The Europeans trailed 6-4 after Friday’s fourball and alternate shot matches and had little to cheer about on Saturday. Their brightest moment came in the first match where Thomas Detry, a Belgium native who was part of the University of Illinois’ NCAA semifinalists, demolished Georgia’s Lee McCoy 5 and 4.

After that Europe won only one of the remaining nine matches. Highlighting the U.S. charge was Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans, who took out Jon Rahm 2 and 1. Rahm, from Spain and Arizona State, is No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. McCoy is No. 5, Hossler No. 6, Detry No. 11 and Schniederjans No. 13.

U.S. gets off to a fast start in Palmer Cup

Just two weeks ago Thomas Detry was on the popular side, a key player in the University of Illinois’ drive to the semifinals of the NCAA golf tournament in Florida.

Now, as a member of the European team in the Palmer Cup matches at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, he’s trying to do in the U.S. squad. Last year the native of Belgium did a good job of it, winning three of his four matches as the European college stars won handily in England.

Arnold Palmer was on hand to get the Palmer Cup matches off to a rousing start.

In Friday’s opening fourball matches at Rich Harvest, however. Detry and partner Jon Rahm, an Arizona State player from Spain, were crushed 4 and 3 by Americans Lee McCoy, of Georgia, and Ollie Schniederjans of Georgia Tech in a match that started 40 minutes late because of lightning in the area.

Detry had better luck against the same opponents in the afternoon alternate shot matches with a new partner in Adrian Meronk, the first player from Poland to compete in the 19-year old Palmer Cup. They won 4 and 3 and helped the Europeans cut a 4-1 deficit after the morning matches. The U.S. leads 6-4 heading into the last two days of singles matches. They start at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

“This is a big deal,’’ said Detry. “I’m very honored to be playing in the Palmer Cup. Last year was so much fun. Here it’s a different feeling.’’

The Palmer Cup was founded by Arnold Palmer in 1997, and he was on hand for the opening ceremony and first tee shots on Saturday

Friday’s matches started the latest in a series of big events at Rich Harvest. The Western Amateur will be played there in August, the LPGA International Crown in 2016 and the NCAA Championships in 2018.

“I love the golf course,’’ said Detry. “Jerry Rich did a great job designing it. Some didn’t like it, but it’s straight-forward course and a good challenge.’’

Detry was on the Illini team that won an NCAA regional tournament at Rich Harvest in 2014 but he didn’t try to qualify for next week’s U.S. Open and will skip the Western Amateur to compete in Europe after the Palmer Cup is over. He’ll enter his senior year at Illinois in the fall.

HERE AND THERE: Players keep coming to Grand Geneva

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. – For the life of me I can’t understand why Grand Geneva Resort hasn’t hosted a big PGA or U.S. Golf Assn. championship. The playing facilities are certainly there to do it.

So is the lodging (355 guest rooms and suites), restaurant options (three fine-dining spots on property plus more in this long-time vacation destination community on the Illinois border), and space for the on-course requirements that a big tournament requires. There’s even an executive airport on the property.

More than anything, though, Grand Geneva has quality courses, two of them in fact.

Golfers get a cheerful, colorful greeting upon arrival at Grand Geneva’s lodge.

The Brute is the better known. It’s 68 bunkers and huge, rolling greens have challenged golfers of all abilities since the Robert Bruce Harris design opened in late 1968. The other course, which opened at about the same time as The Brute, was first called the Briarpatch but is now The Highlands.

Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus made a rare joint design effort to create the Briarpatch, and it underwent a major transformation from Bob Cupp in 1996. Bob Lohman gave the course an additional update in 2006. It doesn’t have the reputation The Brute has, but The Highlands has its devotees – among the most notable being head professional Kyle Kunash.

Kunash pointed out that the property has lost about 40 ash trees recently and will likely be taking more down. He also says plans are underway to add a tee placement between the front markers (5,244 yards) and regular tees (6,554 yards) on The Brute. That’s necessary, and would be a plus, but the quality and conditioning of the courses and the views they offer is still extraordinary.

The “Frustrated Golfer” statue can’t be missed at the 16th green of The Brute course.

As for landing a big tournament, Grand Geneva is trying but so far has been unsuccessful. The courses still host a variety of Wisconsin PGA events and USGA qualifiers while remaining one of the best outing destinations around.

The lack of a big-time tournament, while not worth dwelling on, could simply be because Wisconsin already has so many coming up state-wide. A third PGA Championship is coming to Whistling Straits later this summer. The U.S. Open is coming to Erin Hills in 2017, and the Ryder Cup is coming to Whistling Straits in 2020. Earlier this month the Champions Tour announced a new tournament to be held at University Ridge in Madison in 2016.

All the activity in recent years has left Dave Hallenbeck, Grand Geneva’s long-time director of golf, stunned. Hallenbeck has worked on property for 42 years – he was a lifeguard back when the facility was known as the Playboy Club Hotel in the 1970s – and has been a golf professional for 37.

Fountains aren’t all that unusual, but The Brute course has three of them beside its 18th green.

“You wouldn’t think of Wisconsin hosting all these major events at these first-class facilities – but it’s happened,’’ said Hallenbeck. “I never dreamed it would get to this point.’’

Grand Geneva no doubt played a role it that going back to the Playboy Club days.

“Playboy got the state on the map and Kohler (Blackwolf Run, Whistling Straits) made it international,’’ said Hallenbeck.

Together, Grand Geneva and the state’s other array of golf facilities and destinations overcame the perception that a short season weather-wise was detrimental to golf development.

“There’s no better place than where we are four-five months a year – during our peak season,’’ said Hallenbeck. “The climate’s great, and there’s so many things you can’t find in other parts of the country. Wisconsin has it all, and it’s affordable. That’s huge.’’

PRAIRIE CLUB, in Valentine, Neb., will be the site of the second KemperClub Championship from Aug. 2-5. Northbrook-based KemperSports held the first championship at Bandon Dunes in Oregon last year.

The competitive format will remain the same for the second version – a fourball handicapped event that will be limited to 40 two-player teams.

ARNOLD PALMER’S Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Fla., will be closed during the summer to allow for a comprehensive re-grassing project on the greens and additional fairway restoration and design modifications.

The courses are scheduled to re-open in August. In the meantime, Bay Hill is offering a summer fishing package for anglers in search of bass in the Butler Chain of Lakes in Orlando.

FOREST DUNES, in Roscommon, Mich., has named Brian Moore the director of agronomy at its unique Tom Doak-designed course that is under construction. The course can be played in both directions. Moore had formerly been senior assistant superintendent at Chicago Golf Club.

Hossler is in Palmer Cup spotlight at Rich Harvest

Jerry Rich has become the most ambitious golf tournament promoter in Chicago, there’s no doubt about that.

The owner of Rich Harvest Farms, Rich has provided a steady diet of top-level competition at his sparkling Sugar Grove layout ever since the LPGA’s Solheim Cup was contested there in 2009.

This year, though, Rich has outdone himself. He’s hosting two big events, the first of which is this week’s Palmer Cup matches between the top college players from the United States and Europe. The Western Golf Association’s Western Amateur arrives Aug. 3-9 and at least one player will be prominent in both.

Beau Hossler, a 20-year old junior at the University of Texas, earned a berth on the U.S. team in the Palmer Cup by virtue of the event’s point standings and he is also the defending champion in the 113th Western Amateur, having won last year at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club.

Hossler looks on the chance to play Rich Harvest twice in competition as a highlight of his summer.

“I’ve heard it’s incredible,’’ said Hossler, “and I’ll get some preparation for the Western there as well.’’

The Palmer Cup, organized by the legendary Arnold Palmer in 1997 at his Bay Hill club in Florida, has been contested at various sites in both the U.S. and Europe. The Europeans won 18 ½-11 ½ last year at Walton Heath in England, but the U.S. leads the series 9-8-1.

Hossler is one of six Palmer Cup players in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The Palmer Cup starts his summer season, which also includes the California Amateur, Southern California Amateur, Porter Cup, Western and U.S. Amateur. He believes he’s a better player than he was when he won at Beverly.

“I’ve really improved my ball-striking as a whole,’’ he said. “I’ve gotten a lot better with the driver, and I need to work on my full wedge game. It was a bit off my last semester (at Texas).’’
The European team will be headed by Spain’s Jon Rahm, the No. 1-ranked amateur and a student at Arizona State. One of his teammates will be Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who sparked Illinois to the semifinals of the match play portion of the NCAA tournament last week. Detry tied for third in the individual NCAA standings and will play in the Palmer Cup for the second straight year. He was 3-1 in his matches for Europe last summer.

Georgia Tech’s Bruce Heppler will coach the 12-player U.S. team that also includes Georgia’s Lee McCoy, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart, Alabama’s Robby Shelton and Florida State’s Jack Maguire off the event point standings. Jean Van De Velde will coach the European side.

Opening ceremonies will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Foursome matches start at 7:30 a.m. on Friday and four ball matches at 1:30 p.m. Singles matches begin at 8:30 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday. There is no admission charge.

Donald heads U.S. Open qualifiers

Luke Donald, once the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, survived Monday’s sectional qualify day for the U.S. Open on one of his home courses — Bear Trap in Florida. He’ll lead six Illinois golfers into next week’s Open at Chambers Bay in Washington.

Donald, with former Northwestern coach Pat Goss as his caddie, shared medalist honors at Bear Trap with Glen Ellyn’s Andy Pope, a Web.com Tour player. Three present or past University of Illinois golfers also qualified. Nick Hardy, the freshman from Northbrook, and senior Brian Campbell – both members of this year’s NCAA semifinalist team – advanced as did alum D.A. Points.

Also headed to Chambers Bay is Michael Davan, the 2012 Chicago District Amateur champion from Hoopeston. He was low man at the Springfield, Ohio, sectional.

Here and there

Kemper Lakes is welcoming big tournaments again following the completion of a three-year bunker renovation conducted by Libertyville architect Rick Jacobson. The Kildeer club hosted the 1989 PGA Championship, six Champions Tour events, four Grand Slams of Golf, the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship before becoming a private facility in 2007. General manager John Hosteland has announced the `Restore the Roar’ initiative in hopes of bringing big events back.

Northwestern has awarded Emily Fletcher, three-time Big Ten coach-of-the-year, a contract extension. Her Wildcats won the Big Ten title this season and finished 10th in the NCAA tournament.

Illinois men’s coach Mike Small, who took his Illini to the NCAA tournament for the eighth straight year, was named one of six winners of the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year award.

The Chicago-based Women’s Western Golf Assn. will hold its 115th Amateur championship at Nashville Golf & Athletic Club in Brentwood, Tenn., beginning on Monday (JUNE 15). Nine Illinois players are entered in the six-day event including Naperville’s Bing Singhsumalee and Crystal Lake’s Lexie Harkins, the Illinois Women’s Amateur titlists of the last two years.

The Illinois PGA hosts an Illinois Open qualifier at Turnberry in Lakewood on Thursday and will hold the second of six stroke play events at Blackberry Oaks in Bristol next Monday.

The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct Illinois State Amateur qualifiers at the University of Illinois course in Savoy and Kankakee Elks on Wednesday, PrairieView in Byron and Effingham Country Club on Thursday and Lake Bluff next Monday.

Kemper Lakes is ready to `Restore the Roar’


A three-year project to renovate its bunkers is over, and Kemper Lakes is ready to “Restore the Roar.’’ The club, based in Chicago’s northwest suburb of Kildeer, wants big tournaments again, and the new looks that Libertyville architect Rick Jacobson created with the bunkers should help.

“The renovations are now complete, and it’s been a seamless transformation into a premier championship venue that we believe is once again ready for the best players in the world,’’ said John Hosteland, the club’s general manager. “So, this summer we’ll be welcoming golf media and the various governing bodies to visit Kemper Lakes. We call it our `Restore the Roar’ initiative. In the event there’s a need or desire to bring a national tournament to Kemper Lakes, we’re ready.’’

The longest bunker in Chicago golf is gone, and this is the challenge for golfers off the No. 14 tee now.

Augie Tonne, a club member who heads its championship committee, is also spearheading the `Restore the Roar’ effort. Both he and Hosteland point to the available space around the course for parking and other event necessities as an added plus in its appeal for big tournaments.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Kemper Lakes was the No. 1 big tournament site in the Chicago area. Opened in 1979 as a public facility, the course made the world spotlight in 1989 as the site of Payne Stewart’s first major title at that year’s PGA Championship.

The late, great Payne Stewart still has a locker in the Kemper Lakes clubhouse.

Kemper hosted more big events than that one, however. It was the site of Chicago’s annual Champions Tour stop for six years and hosted the Grand Slam of Golf four times. Two big women’s events – the 92nd USGA Women’s Amateur Championship and the 25th U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship – were played there. And, in addition to all those big events, Kemper hosted the Illinois PGA Championship 24 straight years.

The big events disappeared after the LaSalle Bank Open made its debut on the Web.com Tour in 2002. Private investors purchased the Kemper facility the following year, and the Web.com stop was moved to The Glen Club in Glenview for the next six years. It is no longer held.

Kemper, meanwhile, was gradually transformed into a private club. It became fully private on Jan. 1, 2007, and the only non-member event on its annual schedule since then has been the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship.

Now the club and its 285 members hope that will change. The bunker project certainly gave the course a refreshing new look.

Most strikingly different is No. 14 – a short par-4 that once had a 100-yard bunker (the longest bunker in Chicago golf) stretching down the left side of the fairway on the dogleg left. Now that area has several bunkers and another has been added on the right side of the fairway.

Remembrances of past championships adorn the Kemper clubhouse.

The green-side bunkering at the par-5 seventh hole is also markedly different. Water lines the left side of the fairway and a retaining wall had blocked the bunker from both the water and the green. That wall is still there, but you don’t see it. It’s been covered over by turf that runs down into the water.

The sand bunkers on every hole, however, have either been re-constructed, renovated or eliminated to – according to the club’s formal announcement — “bring it to 21st century standards.’’

“For the Chicago golfers and fans who either enjoyed playing the course or attending the previous championships, if we host an event we’d be excited for them to see the course they haven’t seen in over 10 years,’’ said Hosteland. “It’s a dramatic change.’’

And, while Hosteland and Tonne have both declared the course ready for the big time again, work is continuing.

Jacobson is now tackling the tee boxes. He completed a new tee at the super tough par-4 sixteenth hole and will also build new tee boxes at Nos. 9, 13, 15 and 17. The new markers at the 15th will stretch a 578-yard par-5 to 620 yards. The course measures 7,217 yards from the tips now but will be over 7,400 when the new tee boxes are put into play.

Since the big crowds were last on the grounds Kemper’s members remodeled the locker rooms and put plaques commemorating big events of the past on each hole. A contest is now underway to create a name for the three finishing holes, a stretch that is at least arguably the toughest stretch in the Chicago area.

Golfers used to see a bunker and retaining at this spot beside the No. 7 green. Now the wall has been covered and the challenge for approaches enhanced.

Sainz `excited’ midway through his rookie PGA Tour season

You might think that Carlos Sainz Jr. would be down in the dumps after enduring eight missed cuts, seven of them in a row, to start his rookie season on the PGA Tour. That was certainly not the case, though, as the Elgin golfer approached the midway point of the season.

“I’m excited,’’ said Sainz during his final days of preparation for his tenth PGA Tour event – the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April. “I’ve got to keep things in perspective. It’s just a matter of time before I start playing well again.’’

Sainz earned his PGA Tour privileges with a strong finish in the 2014 Web.com Tour season, and a return to that circuit at the El Bosque Mexico Championship in April did wonders for his confidence. Making eagle on the last hole, Sainz finished in a tie for 27th place, ended his string of missed cuts and shot 68, matching his low round of the year first posted in Round 1 of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am on the big circuit.

“I was really happy about that week in Mexico,’’ said Sainz. “I hadn’t been performing as well as I’d have liked, and it was nice to see my hard work pay off. But that week we played for $600,00 and (at New Orleans) we play for $6 million. Nothing against the Web.com. It’s a great tour, but the PGA Tour is the one I want to play on.’’

That’s understandable, but – unless his success improves quickly on the PGA Tour – Sainz may have to keep bouncing between the circuits. He missed the cut at the Louisiana Open in his only other Web.com tournament of the year in March and was looking forward to his next one – at the United Leasing Championship at Victoria National in Evansville, Ind., the week after New Orleans.

“That course is one of the best on the Web.com Tour,’’ said Sainz. “It was where I played my first Web.com event. It’ll be the third time I’ve played there.’’

What Sainz needs, though, are more showings like he had in his second PGA Tour event – a tie for ninth place in the Sanderson Farms Championship back in November. It earned him $100,000, which was more than he earned in all of 2014 on the Web.com circuit. He was 10 under par in that tournament, played near Mississippi State University where Sainz enjoyed a solid collegiate career before turning pro in 2010.

“It seems like forever ago,’’ admitted Sainz. The string of missed cuts followed –the OHL Classic Mayakoba in Mexico; Sony Open in Hawaii; Humana Challenge, Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am and Northern Trust Open in California; and the Puerto Rico Open – before his uplifting finish at the Web.com stop in Mexico.

“Playing the West Coast swing was a great experience, but I was sick for two of the tournaments and I also pulled my back,’’ said Sainz. “My allergies popped up at Pebble Beach, then I had a touch of the flu. But these are the things we deal with. Those things happen.’’

Other than the Zurich Classic and United Leasing Championship, Sainz wasn’t sure where he’d be playing the rest of the season.

“It’s hard to tell,’’ he said. “It all depends on who commits to events late, but there’ll be opportunities. I’ll have five to 10 more tournaments on the PGA tour and I’ll play another five to 10 on the Web.com to keep my game sharp.’’

He felt his best chances to get into PGA Tour events would be at the Wells-Fargo Championship, the Byron Nelson Classic, the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the Greenbrier Classic, the John Deere Classic and the Barracuda Championship in Nevada. They’ll all be played before the PGA Championship comes to Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits course in Wisconsin in August.

Sainz is also entered in the U.S. Open and has a pass into sectional qualifying. His life could change in a heartbeat if he plays well in any of those.

“It just takes one great week and a couple of good ones on these tours,’’ said Sainz, who doesn’t turn 30 until November. It’s safe to assume plenty of good tournament are still in the offing.

Illini season is over, Open sectionals are next

A great season came to an end for the University of Illinois men’s team on Tuesday as the Illini were eliminated by Southern California in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament at Concession Club in Bradenton, Fla.

The Illini were Big Ten champions, won their NCAA regional tournament and were the top team in the stroke play portion of the NCAA finals, meaning Illinois was the top-seeded team in the eight-team match play finals. USC will meet Louisiana State for the NCAA championship on Wednesday.

Illinois’ players are far from done competing, however. Four of coach Mike Small’s five players survived the 18-hole local qualifying rounds for the U.S. Open. Brian Campbell, Thomas Detry, Charlie Danielson and freshman Nick Hardy will compete on Monday for berths in the U.S. Open proper.

As challenging as the NCAA finals have been for those collegians, the U.S. Open sectionals will be even more pressure-packed. Over 9,000 entered the Open, which will be played at Chambers Bay, a Washington club operated by Chicago-based KemperSports, from June 18-21. The field was whittled dramatically at the local eliminations, two of which were held in the Chicago area, but the real tension comes in the sectionals.

Most of the 156-man starting field at Chambers Bay will be filled through Monday’s 36-hole eliminations on what has long been dubbed “the Longest Day in Golf.’’

The Illini players be tested against much more than college competition, regardless of which sectional they compete in. Plenty of established players will be trying to qualify for the Open on Monday. Former world No. 1 Luke Donald, for instance, hopes to survive a sectional at Bears Club, a Florida facility of which he is a member.

Kevin Streelman, D.A. Points and Steve Stricker are in the usually loaded field in Columbus, Ohio, because they’ll be in the area to play in the PGA Tour’s Memorial tournament. Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, Vijay Singh, Ben Curtis and Stewart Cink – all winners of major championships – also need to survive sectionals to get to this U.S. Open.

Defending JDC champ lauds Spieth

Brian Harman visited TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis this week to prepare for his title defense in next month’s John Deere Classic. When he returns for the July 9-12 tourney the spotlight will shift to Masters champion Jordan Spieth, but that doesn’t bother the lesser known Harman.

“(Spieth) is extremely popular,’’ said Harman, who is also in the U.S. Opens sectional shootouts on Monday.. “He makes every putt he looks at, and he’s great for the game because he cares about (the PGA) Tour. He’s not out chasing a bunch of appearance fees all over the world.’’

Other top players have done that during JDC week in past years, since the tourney falls the week before the British Open. Another who remains loyal to the JDC winner Stricker, a three-time winner. He’ll play in this year’s tourney, but made other news on Monday at the same time Harman was addressing the Quad Cities media.

Stricker will host the American Family Insurance Championship, a new event on the Champions Tour, in 2016 even though he can’t play in the June 22-26 event at University Ridge in Madison, Wis.. Stricker won’t turn 50, a requirement for Champions Tour players, until 2017 but he will play in two pro-ams during the new tourney’s championship week.

Here and there

The stars of the Illinois PGA will bid for their third straight victory over the best amateurs in the Chicago District Golf Association on Wednesday (TODAY) in the 54th Radix Cup matches at Oak Park Country Club in River Forest. The IPGA leads the series 34-17-2. First of six two-man team matches tees off at 12:30 p.m.

Doug Bauman, head professional at Biltmore in Barrington, repeated as champion of the IPGA PGA Senior Match Play tournament with a 1-up victory over Ivanhoe’s Jim Sobb at Shoreacres in Lake Bluff.

Arlington Lakes closes for a year-long renovation after the Arlington Amateur concludes on Sunday.

The first of nine state-wide qualifying rounds for the Illinois State Amateur championship wil be played at Fox Bend in Oswego on Monday (JUNE 8). Finals are July 14-16 at Panther Creek in Springfield.

Two Illinois amateurs, Taylorville’s Dave Ryan and Inverness’ Mike Rice, lost out to Sonny Skinner of Sylvester, Ga., for the last of two qualifying berths for the U.S. Senior Open in a sudden death playoff. Chien Soon Lu of Pomona, Calif., shot 69 at Barrington Hills to earn medalist honors by three strokes.

Greenbrier, Homestead, Bay Hill, Pinehurst — What a winter it was!

What have you done golf-wise since dropping your last putt in the Chicago area in 2014? Not as much as me, I’ll bet.

This has been an extraordinary “offseason.’’ It began in November when we made a series of golf/travel-writing stops – a few days here, a few days there — at some very choice locations. How about French Lick, Greenbrier, Homestead, Hilton Head, Bay Hill and Pinehurst?

It’d be hard to beat those, but we also tossed in a couple of Pete Dye-related stops that aren’t as well known – Mystic Hills in Culver, Ind., and Keswick Hall, the legendary architect’s newest creation in Virginia.

And, after that 27-day golfing marathon was over, we settled in Florida where we made two stops in the Orlando area as spectators — to watch Bernhard Langer and his 14-year old son win the Father-Son Challenge and Jordan Spieth post a run-away victory in Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge at Isleworth. Then, after the calendar changed to 2015 we visited the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando and the LPGA’s new season-opening tournament, the Coates Championship in Ocala.

That was a ton of golf – but don’t think it was too much. We’re anxious for the Chicago season to start just as much as all of you who weren’t as lucky as we were in getting away for the winter.

It’d be hard to beat our November odyssey for sheer enjoyment, though. While there might be a call to rank the famous courses, we won’t do that. It’d be like comparing apples and oranges. Each has their own special charms. We just enjoyed them all.

Most interesting, though, was Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club. The 18-hole championship course there is a PGA Tour site in March, when it welcomes the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I’ve played perhaps 20 courses that have hosted PGA Tour events, and Bay Hill – while very much a challenge — is the most playable for the recreational duffer (like me).

What makes Bay Hill special, though, is Palmer himself. Bay Hill is his winter home. He was frequently around when we were there, playing cards and dining with friends. He wasn’t hounded by well-wishers. He was just enjoying himself. Where else could he be caught in such a relaxed setting?

We were told that Palmer, now 85, rarely plays the 27 holes available at Bay Hill these days but that he does frequently hit balls on the range. Simply put, he helps Bay Hill guests feel welcome in what to him is home.

Being big on golf history, we were fascinated by Homestead’s Old Course in Virginia, where we teed off on the longest No. 1 tee in continuous use in America. It was first played in 1892 and the resort, dating to 1766, is even older than the United States. The late, great Sam Snead grew up in the area and was the first head professional at Homestead’s Cascades course and his son Sam Jr. owns the Sam Snead Restaurant there. Not only was Sam Jr. on hand when we dined there, he even sent over a signed memento from our visit.

We witnessed lots of progress at both Hilton Head, the long-time golfers’ mecca, in South Carolina, and Pinehurst, where we played that famous resort’s newly-acquired Jack Nicklaus design in North Carolina. It had been called National Golf Club; now it’s Pinehurst No. 9.

The work recently completed or underway at Hilton Head was most impressive. Over $200 million has been spent on upgrades in recent years at all the resorts there with Sea Pines the trend-setter. Pete Dye’s Heron Point course was renovated there last year and Davis Love III will re-design the Ocean course beginning this October.

More noticeable is the work at Harbour Town Links, which has hosted the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage Classic since 1969. A new $25 million clubhouse will be unveiled when the tournament returns a week after the Masters in April. In May the Harbour Town course will close for a summer-long renovation.

In all Riverstone Group, of Richmond, Va., will spend $55 million on improvements at Sea Pines in addition to its projects that are either underway or completed at Kiawah, another South Carolina hotbed, and Keswick Hall, site of Dye’s recently-opened Full Cry layout.

The aggressive spending going on, particularly at Hilton Head, was another clear indication that the golf industry is weathering the economic downturn that thwarted progress the last few years.

Finally, the Dye designs continue to be well-received. Mystic Hills, one of his early ones, resulted in our completion of the seven-stop Pete Dye Golf Trail. Riverstone Group has made Full Cry the centerpiece of its spiffy Keswick Hall facility in the history-rich area near Charlottesville, Va.

French Lick’s Pete Dye Course will get its biggest dose of exposure come May when the Indiana resort hosts the Senior PGA Championship – an event that Chicago golfers should consider visiting.

NOW THAT it’s about time for golf at home again, there’s plenty on the horizon. Two Chicago area players, Kevin Streelman and Carlos Sainz Jr., got off to good starts when the PGA Tour began its first split season schedule last fall. Sainz claimed a $100,000 payday with a tie for ninth place at the Sanderson Farms Championship – only his second PGA Tour event. Streelman has wins in the last two years. He could make an even bigger impact in 2015.

Luke Donald, working again with swing instructor Pat Goss, showed signs of recapturing his former magic late in 2014 and will benefit when the BMW Championship returns to Conway Farms, his home course in Lake Forest, in September.

The local scene will also include the Champions Tour’s Encompass Championship at North Shore and the PGA’s John Deere Classic, unfortunately held over the same July dates, and Rich Harvest Farms will have a one-two punch of big amateur events when it welcomes the Palmer Cup and Western Amateur.

It’ll be another year for lots of good playing and lots of good viewing just as soon as the snow melts. I say, bring it on!