lenz – Page 110 – Len Ziehm On Golf

Major changes are coming to the Illinois Open in 2015

Last month’s 65th Illinois Open revealed one change – the addition of First Tee of Chicago as a charity partner. More changes are coming, and they’re likely to be just as good.

The Illinois Open officially dates back to 1950, when Felice Torza won at Onwentsia, but tournaments of the same name were played as early as 1922. This year entries were down a bit, and it’s become obvious that the self-proclaimed “State Championship of Illinois Golf’’ needs a little freshening.

There’s nothing wrong with that. The tradition-rich Western Open – later converted into the BMW Championship – benefitted first from a move to Cog Hill after a 17-year run at Butler National and later in a move to Conway Farms that involved both format and date changes after a 20-year run at Cog Hill.

In the case of the Illinois Open, it isn’t really a move that’s necessary. As Mike Miller, executive director of the Illinois PGA, sees it, the primary need is to get more spots in the final. In good years the number of entries hits 600.

“A top priority of our section is to make the Illinois Open bigger and better,’’ said Miller in a press briefing prior to last month’s tournament. “The bulk of our entries have been from the Chicago area. We want to know how to get more players from the west and south sections of the state.’’

Four years ago the IPGA set up a committee, headed by Jim Miller – head professional at Bloomington Country Club, to study ways to improve the Illinois Open. The committee’s findings are now being implemented.

Mike Miller said there are no plans to change the final from its present 54 holes to 72 and no plans to open the tournament to out-of-state residents. It’s not likely the tourney will leave its Monday-though-Wednesday schedule and have some weekend rounds, either. Some state opens have done all those things. In Texas, for instance, the state open grew into a PGA Tour stop – the Valero Texas Open.

Whether the tournament could be played outside the Chicago area is uncertain. The last time it was held at an outlying area was 1985, when Crestwicke Country Club in Bloomington was the site. Added at least one pro-am and more charity involvement are also possibilities.

Opening the field to out of state players was looked at, Miller said. “But there is the element of history, that this tournament is the championship of our state,’’ he said. “We want to protect that. We just want to grow the field.’’

That’ll probably happen in time for next year’s tournament, and just that change alone represents something substantial.

This year there were seven state-wide qualifying rounds with the survivors advancing to The Glen Club for the 156-player finals. The field played 36 holes before it was cut to the low 50 and ties for the final round.

Next year the Illinois PGA, which has conducted the tournament since 1977 and split duties with the Chicago District Golf Assn. before that, wants the first 36 holes to be played on two courses. The field could conceivably double if that happens, and the number of 18-hole qualifiers would likely double as well.

Of the seven qualifying rounds this year, the furthest from Chicago was at Effingham Country Club near St. Louis. Others were at Ironwood (in Joliet), Crystal Woods (Woodstock), Westmoreland (Wilmette), Prestwick (Frankfort), Deerfield and Inverness. That meant considerable travel for players hoping to qualify from more distant areas of the state. Their incentive to enter was diminished by those travel considerations and the limited number of finalists’ spots available, but that could change if more players can play in the finals and more qualifying tournaments are offered, thereby reducing travel concerns.

“We’ll try to grow participation by setting up a site (for the finals) at a 36-hole facility,’’ said Miller, who admitted that such a change “potentially’’ would lead to a move from The Glen Club. The Glen hosted the tourney for a record ninth time this year, with stretches from 2002-07 and 2012-14. The Glen, though, has only 18 holes. An alternate site would be needed if The Glen were to be used again.

The Illinois PGA is working the Northbrook-based Kemper Sports in determining site options. Kemper operates The Glen Club as well as 12 other Illinois courses that would be suitable for a major championship like the Illinois Open. They include Chicago’s Harborside International; Cantigny in Wheaton, site of this year’s Illinois State Amateur and Chicago Open; Hawthorn Woods, the Illinois Open site from 2008-2011; Turnberry in Lakewood, the Illinois Open site in 1989; Royal Melbourne in Long Grove, a past site for the IPGA Championship; Bull Valley in Woodstock, Bolingbrook Golf Club, Stone Creek in Urbana and Rockford Country Club.

The Illinois PGA has also used three sites – Medinah and Olympia Fields country clubs and Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake — for its section championships and Kemper Lakes (no longer connected to Kemper Sports) is the annual base for the IPGA’s Match Play Championship. They could also figure in the site selection process.

Of the Kemper-operated courses only Harborside International is a 36-hole facility. Medinah and Olympia Fields also have two 18-holers suitable for the Illinois Open.

“Hopefully in a short period of time we’ll be able to make an announcement,’’ said Miller. “We still have some logistics to work out. We’re looking at all components.’’

BEFORE ENDING this column, mention should be made of the retirement of Matt Pekarek as general manager at Village Links of Glen Ellyn. He spent 47 years at The Links, one of the area’s best public facility and for many years the site of the general qualifying round for the Western Open.

Matt started at The Links five days before the course even opened and later served a term as president of the Chicago District Golf Assn. He plans to continue his involvement with the CDGA and the Pekarek influence will remain at The Links. Pekarek’s brother Chris, the course superintendent, is in his 45th year there.

WESTERN AMATEUR: Champion Hossler proves spoiler for Illinois contenders

Rarely, if ever, have Illinois golfers made as big an impression at the Western Amateur as they did last week in the 112th staging of the prestigious tournament at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club.

Doug Ghim, of Arlington Heights, tied the course record with a 63 in stroke play qualifying and was the tourney’s medalist – the first Chicago player to earn that honor since Roy Biancalana in 1983.

The scoreboard beside Beverly’s 18th green said it all after the 112th Western Amateur.

Three University of Illinois golfers survived the 156-player stroke play portion of the tournament to make the Sweet 16 for the match play segment and two were still playing in Saturday’s climax to the event. None of them, however, could get the ultimate prize. The title went to Beau Hossler, a University of Texas sophomore from Mission Viejo, Calif.

Hossler knocked off Ghim, who will be his teammate at Texas when classes begin in the fall, in the Round of 16 on Friday. On Saturday morning he eliminated Northbrook’s Nick Hardy 4 and 3 in the morning semifinals before dispatching another Californian, Xander (CORRECT) Schauffele, 2-up in the afternoon final.

Schauffele, a senior at San Diego State, was also a spoiler for the Illinois contingent. He was a 1-up winner over Brian Campbell, Illinois’ No. 1 player, in the other semifinal. Campbell and Hardy, who graduated from Glenbrook North and will soon be an Illinois freshman, were poised to make it an all-Illini final but both came up short.

“I played 36 holes the last three days, and I certainly never walked 36 for three straight days,’’ said Hossler. “I’ll have to cut off my feet and grow some new ones.’’

To the winner goes the George R. Thorne Trophy. Thorne was the Western Golf Association’s first treasurer in 1899.

Hardy, runner-up in both the Western Junior and Illinois State Amateur this summer, didn’t need to play beyond the 14th hole in his first two matches, but he was no match for Hossler after going 4-down after seven holes. Campbell pushed Schauffele harder, and that may have impacted the title match.

In that one Schauffele went 3-up twice before Hossler mounted a comeback on the back nine.

“Fatigue and exhaustion definitely kicked in,’’ said Schauffele. “I have no excuse, but I fell asleep at some point.’’

The match was all square going to No. 17, a 229-yard par-3 that features a green that slopes steeply back to front. Hossler hit to the front of the green, leaving himself a 30-foot uphill putt. Schauffele took the more aggressive route, hitting a 5-iron that took a big bounce and wound up 15 feet past the hole on the back fringe.

Hossler’s fine lag putt assured par and Schauffele chunked his first chip as a cellular radio nearby sounded, leaving him a third shot from nearly the same spot.

Runner-up Xander Schauffle (left) was in good spirits in his post-match meeting with the media. (Photos by Joy Sarver)

“I didn’t hear the radio, so whoever it was is off the hook,’’ grinned Schauffele. “But I wound up looking silly. I went for it off the tee, which I didn’t have to do.’’

Schauffele’s long par putt rolled well past the hole, giving Hossler the lead going to the 18th. He played the 559-yard par-5 solidly, hitting his third shot to four feet below the cup. Schauffele’s drive went far left, leaving him an awkward stance in the rough that necessitated a second shot down an adjoining fairway. When his fourth dropped into a bunker he conceded the hole and match to Hossler.

“I had to go out there and get it,’’ said Hossler, who lost to Schauffele in the final of the California Amateur in June. “I’m very fortunate. This is one of the best tournaments in the world.’’

Second International Crown, at Rich Harvest, should be bigger than the first

The LPGA’s first International Crown competition ended less than a week ago and already preparations are well underway for the second staging, in July of 2016 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

Rich Harvest owner Jerry Rich, LPGA star Anna Nordquist from Sweden and LPGA commissioner Mike Whan (left to right) hosted a Launch Party on Friday at Naperville’s Hotel Arista for the next eight-country, 32-player competition two years down the road. The first version was won by Spain at Caves Valley in Maryland. The Rich Harvest version falls a month before golf’s return to the Olympics in Brazil.

“I love the Olympics, but we’ll give the world what the Olympics won’t,’’ said Whan, who grew up in Naperville. “The Olympics won’t give us team dynamics.’’

The International Crown certainly did at Caves Valley. The top two seeded teams, the U.S. and Korea, met in a do-or-die playoff for the fifth and last spot in the finals, Korea winning. The disappointing showing by Team USA didn’t hurt world-wide viewership.

“There were 167 countries watching, ‘’ reported Whan, “and our Saturday TV viewership was 82 percent of the number at our last Solheim Cup.’’

For a first-year event, that was deemed outstanding, and Whan added that “over 5,000 articles were written about the International Crown in Korea alone.’’

Rich hosted the most successful Solheim Cup, a U.S. win over Europe in 2009. He and Whan started plans for creation of International Crown a few weeks later at Rich Harvest.

photo-26 — A creative dessert topped off the festivities at the International Crown Launch Party.

“Chicago’s the greatest place in the world if you love golf,’’ said Rich. “People really turned out in 2009, and we’ve been working for over two years on the next International Crown.’’

A big part of that work has been in the recruitment of high school golfers. Rich invited every girls team in Illinois to the 2009 Solheim Cup. For the International Crown he’s invited over 1,800 teams from Illinois and neighboring states. They’ll be housed at Northern Illinois University and Aurora University during the matches.

Whan also announced the first two Ambassador Sponsors for 2016, Rolex and Calamos Investments. The first Crown had five corporate sponsors. More will be coming.

“Jerry’s going to make it huge,’’ said Whan. “Rich Harvest is one of the top 10 golf venues in the world. I can’t think of any that can match Rich Harvest for ambiance, specialness and theater.’’

IWO: A record 9-shot win for U. of Oklahoma golfer

The 20th Illinois Women’s Open may have seemed like a ho-hum affair. Emily Collins started the final round with a five-stroke lead and won by nine. It wasn’t quite that easy for the University of Oklahoma graduate, however.

Collins, in her second tournament as a professional, started double bogey-bogey and her playing partner, Michigan State graduate Allyssa Ferrell, went birdie-birdie at Mistwood in Romeoville . Collins’ first swing put her in a bad spot, and she three-putted the first hole. Suddenly that big lead was gone, and Collins seemed vulnerable.

“I was a little bit nervous having such a big lead,’’ she said, “but I tried not to think about it.’’

A solid birdie on the third hole and four more after that steadied her nerves, and she had a seven-shot lead at the turn, an eight-stroke advantage after No. 12 and a whopping 10-shot cushion before her last bogey at No. 17.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,’’ said Collins, “but it was definitely exciting. I played solid all week. I’m happy with the way I played.’’

Other than Ferrell, none of the other 31 finalists put pressure on Collins and her nine-shot edge was an IWO record. Her 54-hole score of 212 was 4-under par and it earned her a $5,000 payday and honorary membership to Mistwood.

Ashley Armstrong, a Notre Dame golfer from Flossmoor, was the top Chicago area player. She finished in a four-way tie for second with Ferrell, who – like Collins — is preparing for LPGA Q-school; and amateurs Lisabeth Brooks, from Waunakee, Wis., and Amber Schuldt, a University of Illinois golfer from Sterling. Brooks matched Collins’ 1-under 71 in the final round. The only score lower than that on Wednesday was a 70 by Naperville high school phenom Bing Singhsumalee.

Collins was runner-up in the Texas Women’s Open, her only other pro start, before winning at Mistwood. She’s in the qualifying round for the LPGA’s new Meijer Classic in Grand Rapids, Mich. When she’s done in that event she’ll focus on net month’s Q-school.

Though she attended college in Oklahoma and lives in the Dallas suburb of Colleyville, Tex., Collins has some Illinois connections. Her mother is from Bloomington and her father from DeKalb. Both attended Illinois State and Collins’ caddie, Tony Costello, is a family friend who lives 20 minutes from Mistwood.

“I looked at other tournaments I could play in, and thought the Illinois Women’s Open would be a good one,’’ said Collins. “It worked out the best. I loved the course and it was cool that my parents were from here.’’

Endurance will be the key to winning Western Amateur at Beverly

No tournament in golf, amateur or professional, requires as much to win as the Western Amateur. The Western Golf Assn. is conducting its annual golf marathon for the 112th time this week at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club, and Wednesday is an especially big day because it includes the largest cut of the event – from the starting field of 156 to the low 44 and ties.

The Tuesday and Wednesday stroke play rounds involved 156 players, including 21 of the top 37 in the world amateur rankings. Only the low 44 and ties after the first 36 holes resume play on Thursday. They’ll go 36 more holes to determine 16 qualifiers for the match play portion of the tournament.

That’s when the title is really on the line. There’ll be two rounds of match play on Friday, the semifinals are on Saturday morning and the championship match on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s such a tough tournament to win,’’ said Oklahoma State golfer Jordan Niebrugge, who won it last year in Arkansas. “You have two cuts, then four matches after that. It really tests your patience.’’

Niebrugge, from Mequon, Wis., came in with good credentials. Playing as an amateur, he tied for 27th in the John Deere Classic in his first PGA Tour event. The next week, though, he was beaten by Arlington Heights resident Doug Ghim in the last U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.

That ended Niebrugge’s hopes of defending that title, and Ghim – with a berth in next year’s Masters tournament on the line – lost a 37-hole duel with San Diego’s Byron Meth in an epic title match. Ghim and Meth, co-medalists in the Publinx, were among the many top stars teeing off in the Western Am.

Ghim, headed to the University of Texas, wasn’t the only Chicago star in the starting field. Naperville’s Ray Knoll qualified for the John Deere Classic and won the Illinois State Amateur the following week at Cantigny in Wheaton. His opponent in the final there was Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, who had been runner-up in the Western Junior at Flossmoor earlier in the summer.

Tournament director Vince Pellegerino had players from 30 states, 17 countries and six continents in his starting field. The foreign contingent include Tawian’s Cheng-Tsun Pan, the Western Amateur medalists in 2009 and 2010 and a qualifier for the 2013 U.S. Open and this year’s British Open, and China’s Tianglang Guan, the 14-year old who survived the cut in April’s Masters tournament.

The Western Amateur’s champions list includes Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ben Crenshaw and Curtis Strange. Beverly last hosted the tourney in 1930. It has also hosted four Western Opens, the 1931 U.S. Amateur and Chicago Opens.

Illinois Open moving?

The Illinois Open was played for a record ninth time at The Glen Club in Glenview last week, and Illinois PGA executive director Michael Miller said that a proposed format change could “potentially’’ take the tourney elsewhere.

In an effort to increase the entries the IPGA is considering an expansion of the qualifiers for the finals from 156 to 312. That would mean two courses would be needed for the first two rounds and a 36-hole facility would be ideal.

With the IPGA working with partner Kemper Sports, that suggests the finals might be shifted to Harborside International in Chicago for the first two rounds. Using two 18-holers in close proximity to each other is also under consideration. Miller said the tourney will remain at 54 holes and be limited to Illinois residents.

Here and there

The Illinois PGA Assistants Championship will be decided on Monday in a 36-hole competition at Crystal Lake Country Club.

Matt Pekarek, after 47 years at Village Links of Glen Ellyn, has retired as the 27-hole facility’s general manager. A past president of the Chicago District Golf Assn., he’ll continue to work on CDGA projects. Pekarek’s brother Chris is in his 45th year as superintendent at Village Links.

Justin Fetcho, assistant men’s coach at Illinois the past two years, has been named the head coach at Southern Illinois.

The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct four straight days of qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur starting on Monday. Sites, in order, will be Red Tail in Decatur, Balmoral Woods in Crete, Stone Creek in Urbana and Highland Park Country Club.

The Illinois Amateur Invitational has been scheduled for Aug. 9-10 at Heritage Bluffs in Channahon.

IWO: Hot second round gives Oklahoma golfer a 5-shot cushion

Mistwood’s recently renovated course has proven a tough challenge for the players in the 20th Illinois Women’s Open – with the exception of Emily Collins, that is.

Collins, a recent University of Oklahoma graduate preparing for the LPGA qualifying school, posted a 4-under-par 68 in Tuesday’s second round to open a five-stroke lead entering Wednesday’s final 18 holes. She’s at 3-under-par 141 for the first 36 holes after a seven-birdie performance in the second round.

Alyssia Ferrell, is in the same position career-wise as Collins, is Collins’ closest pursuer. Ferrell, who just finished her collegiate career at Michigan State, is also headed to LPGA Q-school. The IWO is her third pro tournament, and she’s made the cut in all three starts.

Ferrell also has one thing going on Collins. Michigan golfers have won five of the last six IWO titles and two of her former Michigan State teammates, Allison Fouch and Aimee Neff, are past IWO champions. Neff, who won the tournament twice, is now the Spartans’ assistant coach.

Windy conditions hampered the 81 starters on Monday and Tuesday but they didn’t faze Collins, who is from Colleywood, Tex.

“Wind doesn’t bother me a lot,’’ she said. “I think I’ll be OK if I stay in the same mindset.’’

Her college team finished fourth in the NCAA tournament and she finished second in her first pro tournament, the Texas Women’s Open. The IWO is her second as a pro and she’ll try to qualify for next week’s LPGA tournament in Michigan on Monday before focusing on Q-School, which comes at the end of August.

“Emily played wonderful,’’ said Berwyn veteran Nicole Jeray, one of Collins’ playing partners in the first two rounds and the only LPGA player in the field. “She hardly made any mistakes and putted well.’’

Starting her second round at No. 10, Collins took charge of the tournament by making all birdies on Mistwood’s treacherous Kelpie’s Corner – the three-hole stretch from Nos. 14-16.

Best of the Illinois players are Sterling’s Ember Schuldt and Flossmoor’s Ashley Armstrong. They’re tied for fourth. Schuldt is a University of Illinois golfer as is Burr Ridge’s Samantha Postillion, who is tied for ninth. Postillion lost last year’s title to Michigan-based Elise Swartout in a playoff. Armstrong, also an amateur, plays collegiately at Notre Dame.

Jeray, a two-time IWO winner, goes into the final round in a tie for 19th

CENTRAL IOWA: Amana Colonies course rekindles good memories

Bet you never thought of Iowa as a golf destination, did you? Well, maybe you should.

At least visits to two courses – Spirit Hollow in Burlington and Amana Colonies Golf Club in Middle Amana — during John Deere Classic week suggested that Iowa has plenty to offer golf-wise.

The Amana Colonies layout is the older of the two courses. It was opened in 1989, but the area near Cedar Rapids and the University of Iowa in Iowa City already had a reputation in golf before that. The Amana VIP tournament, which ran from 1967-90, was created by George Foerstner, founder of Amana Refrigeration, and Julius Boros, a long-time PGA Tour player who won the 1952 and 1963 U.S. Opens and the 1968 PGA Championship.

The Amana Colonies course was challenging, but a most welcoming, place.

Their long-popular event was a forerunner to the celebrity events put on today. Bob Goalby, the former Masters champion, called it “the Masters of the Pro-Ams’’ and all the top players of that era – from Lee Trevino to Fuzzy Zoeller to Tom Watson – played in it at one time or another. So did celebs like ex-President Gerald Ford, Mike Ditka, Flip Wilson and Joe DiMaggio.

That event wasn’t held at Amana Colonies Golf Club. It opened one year before the last Amana VIP tourney was held at the University of Iowa’s Finkbine course.

Amana Colonies hasn’t had an event that big, but the 6,824-yard par-72 layout designed by William Spear on a 600-acre plot has long been considered one of Iowa’s best public facilities. Some may find the number of blind shots on the hilly layout excessive but the course has some beautiful views and successfully walks the fine line of being both fun and challenging.

Unlike Spirit Hollow, Amana Colonies is a more finished project. It also includes lodging at Colony Oaks condominiums, where stay-and-play packages for one to eight guests are available adjacent to the course. The Colonies – there’s seven of them that date back to 1855 – also are a National Historic Landmark. They attract visitors, golfers and non-golfers alike, all year long.

Spirit Hollow, though, is where exciting new things are happening now.

The Amana Colonies clubhouse makes for a nice finishing hole on a course with plenty of elevation changes.

The course, designed by Libertville architect Rick Jacobson, opened in 2000. It’s been a busy place that will soon get busier.

Spirit Hollow hosted the Iowa Amateur in 2000 and 2012 and was the site of the last men’s National Junior College Athletic Assn. Division I championship. It’ll host the GolfWeek Challenge, which draws 15 of the top college teams, in September. Those are big events in a town of 30,000 residents that isn’t close to a bigger city. (The Quad Cities are a 75-minute drive away and Western Illinois University is the closest big college).

Burlington businessman Randy Winegard has done wonderful things with Spirit Hollow and more will become self-evident soon. Eight lodge rooms are under construction, so – possibly as soon as August – Spirit Hollow will be able to offer exclusive stay-and-play packages on the premises.

“It’ll make you feel like you’re staying at your own lodge,’’ said head professional Erin Strieck, who knows her way around the Illinois-Iowa golf scene. She held a similar job at Eagle Ridge in Galena, Ill., for 15 years and then spent two more at Fyre Lake, a Nicklaus Design Group project now operating in Sherrard, Ill.

Lodging isn’t all that’s coming in what will end up as about a $1 million renovation. There’ll also be a new bar and grill in the clubhouse and a stand-alone pavilion will be constructed near the driving range to host outings and other big events.

Oh, deer! It’s always interesting to get some unexpected visitors in the middle of a round. This was our onlooker at Amana.

Spirit Hollow already has other entertainment options available. Winegard owns the Catfish Bend Inn, which is four miles away. It has a casino, water park and two restaurants and is a good place for adult get-aways, business gatherings and family vacations. And now the golf alternative – already quite good – is getting a boost.

“We’re lucky to have an owner who wants to take Spirit Hollow to the next level in achieving excellence,’’ said Strieck. “Our ultimate goal is Top 100 (in the various course ratings) and No. 1 in Iowa. With the addition of the lodging rooms, and as the place matures, that’s definitely without our reach.’’

More about the course facilities. Spirit Hollow may be the best buy in the Midwest now — $35 for seniors with cart included seven days a week. The clubhouse has an indoor hitting facility that allows for winter practice, and having music playing on a big practice range offers a nice, somewhat unusual twist.

Jacobson, who got his start in golf architecture working for Jack Nicklaus, formed his own company in 1991. He’s done a lot of work in China lately, but his creations in the Chicago area include two real good ones – Strawberry Creek in Kenosha and Bowes Creek in Elgin. Spirit Hollow ranks at least on par with those. He’s also done renovation work at such quality places as Kemper Lakes, North Shore, Bob O’Link, Oak Park, Cantigny and Sunset Ridge. That should speak volumes about what you can expect if you visit Spirit Hollow.

The staff there is also notable. In addition to Strieck, the superintendent is Jim Wyffels. He was superintendent at The General at Eagle Ridge before moving on to Fyre Lake and then Spirit Hollow.

There are lots of good holes at Spirit Hollow. You don’t forget No. 6, a 445-yard par-4 where some extremely realistic-looking “wolves’’ serve as decoys to keep geese off the green and away from the pond that fronts the putting surface.

None of the holes, however, are more memorable than No. 9 – a short dogleg right par-4. A stream runs in front of the long, elevated green and a waterfall – though not really in play – provides an added attraction. Play the hole from the right tee – 266 yards from the front one, or longer tests from 321, 365 or 410 yards — and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a challenge as much fun as this one.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Asian Watch Party was vital for International Crown’s future

The first International Crown concludes Sunday at Caves Valley, in Owings Mills, Md., but a Saturday gathering that wasn’t held anywhere near the course will have a more direct bearing on how the event plays out at Rich Harvest Farms in 2016.

Jerry Rich, in the forefront during the Crown’s creation, hosted a Watch Party for nearly 200 members of Chicago’s Asian community at The Stonegate in Hoffman Estates. Big-screen televisions flanked both sides of the speakers’ podium, ethnic food and beverages were offered and Crown memorabilia was available.

Rich and his staff hosted smaller gatherings for other ethnic groups in the days leading up to the inaugural staging of the global team competition, but Saturday’s was the big event that Rich most wanted.

Among those attending were Chunho Park, senior reporter for The Korea Daily of Chicago, and Kay Kihwa Rho, president of IOTRIO, an Asian education group. Chunho Park and I found out that we live just a few blocks from each other. What a small world we live in, and just one aspect of the International Crown is that it will bring people from different parts of the world together for a positive experience.

Chunho Park (left) and Kay Kihwa Rho were among the key members of Chicago’s Asian community in attendance at the International Crown Watch Party.

Another factor is the economic impact it is certain to have in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has told Rich that the International Crown “is the Olympics we didn’t get.’’

The International Crown at Rich Harvest will be played a month before golf is restored to the Olympic Games in Brazil. It will be a big deal, especially if Rich’s efforts to stir interest in Chicago’s various ethnic communities is successful.

“The people we have here at this Watch Party will really make that event successful,’’ Rich predicted. “We need the various (ethnicities) on the golf course cheering for their countries. That’ll create excitement and let this tournament grow for the next 50 or 60 years.’’

Rich has no doubt that’ll happen (neither do I, for that matter). He has called the Crown “my legacy’’ and likens it to Bobby Jones’ creation of the men’s Masters tournament 50 years ago.

Jerry Rich, flanked by communications manager Samantha Rubin, addressed the Watch Party gathering while the International Crown telecast was in progress.

“We look at the International Crown as being as successful for women as the Masters was for the men,’’ said Rich.

The very successful Solheim Cup, staged at Rich Harvest in 2009, was barely over when Rich welcomed LPGA commissioner Mike Whan to his Sugar Grove headquarters. Rich told Whan: “You have the greatest product in the world, and you’re not marketing it properly.’’ (No argument from me on that one, either).

Women’s golf is more global than the men’s game, and the best women players aren’t Americans or Europeans. They needed a unique event like the International Crown.

“Of the top 100 players 60 percent are from Asia,’’ said Rich. “The best players in women’s golf are from Asia. We’ve found, in working with these ethnic groups, that they love golf but don’t know who the best players are. The Japan people, for instance, didn’t know the best players from Taiwan or Korea. This will really be something different for them.’’

The well-decorated bar added to the festive atmosphere at the International Crown Watch Party.

Rich left Caves Valley at the midway point of the first International Crown because of the importance he felt Saturday’s Watch Party merited. He described what he saw at Caves Valley as “absolutely terrific,’’ though there were some understandable snags in a first-time event. Attendance – he estimated it at about 15,000 per day – didn’t approach the 120,000 who showed up for Rich Harvest’s Solheim Cup.

While Caves Valley looked great on television, it wasn’t as fan-friendly as Rich Harvest will be. The steep hills at Caves Valley made spectator traffic difficult but, again, the first staging of the Crown was deemed an overall success.

“If I was disappointed about anything, it was that they didn’t energize the youth at all,’’ said Rich. “We are really going to do that (at Rich Harvest). High school girls will bring energy to the tournament.’’

ILLINOIS OPEN: Win puts Hopfinger among the Lucky 7

Only seven players have won titles in both the Illinois State Amateur, which has been played for 84 years, and the Illinois Open, which just completed its 65th staging.

Brad Hopfinger, a Lake Forest resident who attended the University of Iowa before turning pro, was the latest and he joined a selected group – David Ogrin, Gary Hallberg, Bill Hoffer, Gary Pinns, Mark Hensby and Roy Biancalana.

Of those only Hoffer played at least briefly on the PGA Tour, and Ogrin, Hallberg and Hensby were champions on golf’s premier circuit.

The 65th Illinois Open Championship — Three birdies in the first five holes helped Brad Hopfinger join some select company in Illinois golf. (Photo courtesy of Mike Schoaf, Illinois PGA.

Hopfinger, 25, hopes to get there eventually, but for now he’s just happy to be carrying on the extraordinary success by players from his school in Illinois’ biggest tournaments. The 2011 Illinois State Amateur winner at Glen Oak in Glen Ellyn, Hopfinger entered the final round of the Illinois Open as only an after-thought among the Hawkeyes.

Brian Bullington, an Iowa senior from Frankfort, was the 36-hole leader in the 54-hole competition and Iowa freshman-to-be Ray Knoll, from Naperville, was coming off a rousing two weeks in which he qualified for the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic and won the Illinois State Amateur at Cantigny in Wheaton.

Hopfinger held off Medinah teaching pro Travis Johns to win the biggest tournament of the year for Illinois residents. Finishing the 54-hole competition with a 71 in winds that gusted up to 28 miles per hour, Hopfinger posted a 6-under-par 210 to claim a $13,500 first prize. He’s competed primarily on the new PGA Latinoamerica Tour this year but took a break to play in his state Open after tying for fourth in the tournament in 2013.

Iowa teammate Vince India preceded Hopfinger as champion of the 2010 Illinois State Amateur and is now on the Web.com Tour. Knoll and Bullington were both finalists in the latest Illinois Open but wilted in the final 18.

Hopfinger, who graduated from Lake Forest High School, started his collegiate career at Kansas before heading to Iowa. Now 25, he had only one serious challenger after a fast start in which he made three birdies in the first five holes.

Johns, who began the day one stroke behind Bullington, was in the last threesome and Hopfinger was in one group in front.
They were tied through 16 holes and Hopfinger had a 5-footer for birdie at the par-3 17th to take the lead. He missed, but Johns made bogey playing in the group behind him. Then Johns’ errant drive on the par-5 18th turned into a lost ball.

Hopfinger caught a plugged lie in a green-side bunker at No. 18 and didn’t know about Johns’ dilemma until after he two-putted from 35 feet for bogey. Johns wound up making bogey, too, so Hopfinger still came out on top.

“I knew I was in a tough spot,’’ said Hopfinger, “but those last two holes were into the wind and they were just hard holes.’’

Johns, who finished one stroke back, lost his hat on his wild drive at the 18th and almost holed his chip shot for the par that would have forced a playoff.

“I was hitting it everywhere on the back nine, and it was entertaining – just like Phil Mickelson,’’ said Johns. “I went down in style, though.’’

Roselle’s Dan Stringfellow shared low amateur honors with Flossmoor’s Brian Payne. Payne, a former Illinois Open winner, is a reinstated amateur. He had turned pro after completing his collegiate career at Northwestern.

ILLINOIS OPEN: Another Hawkeye is in position to win

University of Iowa golfers have won three of the last five Illinois State Amateur golf titles. Now another Hawkeye is poised to claim the Illinois Open crown.

Brian Bullington, a Frankfort resident who will be a senior at Iowa in the fall, coped with windy conditions at The Glen Club in Glenview on Tuesday to claim the 36-hole lead. His second-round 67 gave Bullington a 7-under-par 137 total for the first two rounds. He’s one stroke ahead of Medinah teaching pro Travis Johns.

Johns and Illinois men’s coach Mike Small shot 66s, the low round of the day, but Small – seeking a record-tying fifth Illinois Open title – is six strokes off the pace entering Wednesday’s final round.

Both Bullington and Johns made eagle on the downwind 578-yard par-5 18th hole to get their spots atop the leaderboard. Bullington used a 7-iron for his second shot, then holed a tricky eight-foot downhill putt. Johns connected from 20 feet, his third putt from that distance in his last six holes.

“Every day I set a number and hit it,’’ said Bullington. “The number for tomorrow? Just one that’s good enough.’’

Bullington, who got his round going with a 35-footer at No. 11, is in the final round of the Illinois Open for the third time in as many tries. He finished back in the pack the first two times, but Bullington could find that three’s a charm.

He’s had a decent summer, having qualified for the final U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and reaching the match play portion of the Chicago District Amateur. Getting the big win, however, has eluded him.

His Iowa teammate, incoming freshman Ray Knoll of Naperville, has had better luck. He qualified for the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic and won the Illinois State Amateur last week at Cantigny in Wheaton. Iowa golfers Vince India and Brad Hopfinger won that title in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Hopfinger and Knoll are also in the hunt in this Illinois Open, standing in a tie for third and a tie for ninth, respectively.

Johns could make a big climb in the Illinois PGA Player-of-the-Year race with a good showing on Wednesday. He was the runner-up in the section’s first major tourney of the year, the IPGA Match Play Championship, after losing the final to two-time player-of-the-year Curtis Malm, the head pro at White Eagle in Naperville.

Malm has led the standings throughout this season but had a disappointing Illinois Open, shooting 79-76 to miss the cut.

Author: lenz