David Cooke’s victory in the 66th Illinois Open was a run-away. His five-shot victory at Royal Melbourne, in Long Grove, was the biggest since Gary Hallberg’s triumph in 1977. Though the tourney lacked suspense, it was loaded with emotion and another historical touch. Cooke was the first amateur to win the title since Brad Benjamin…
Author: lenz
BMW spectators will benefit most from Conway Farms changes
The Western Golf Association’s premier tournament, the BMW Championship, is still nearly two months away, but the WGA showed off the improvements coming for the third tournament of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs Tourney site Conway Farms, in Lake Forest, underwent an extensive renovation since hosting the event in 2013 and spectators — 130,000…
Moline’s Lawrence starts Illinois Open with a record 62
Monday turned out a big day for the golfers at Conway Farms – but an even bigger one for David Lawrence. The Moline golfer shot a 9-under-par 62 at Royal Melbourne in Long Grove. That’s the lowest round in the 66-year history of the Illinois Open. Lawrence, who has been playing golf’s mini-tour since attending…
Medinah’s Tee-K Kelly wins Illinois Amateur again
SPRINGFIELD, IL. – A year ago Naperville’s Ray Knoll and Northbrook’s Nick Hardy battled through four playoff holes before Knoll won the Illinois State Amateur title. Knoll couldn’t repeat this year, and Hardy didn’t win, either, but nobody played better than those two during this year’s final round at Panther Creek Country Club on Thursday….
Hopefully men’s Illinois Amateur will have better luck weather-wise than women’s did
The longstanding major golf championships for Illinois’ best players will be coming fast and furious now. First up was the 82nd, rain-shortened Illinois Women’s Amateur at Illini Country Club in Springfield. This week the state’s best men are in the same city, but at Panther Creek Country Club, to decide the winner of the 85th…
JDC win gives Spieth momentum boost for St. Andrews
SILVIS, IL. – Bring on the British Open. Jordan Spieth is more than ready to claim the third leg of what could be the first modern day golf Grand Slam. The 21-year old Masters and U.S. Open champion won the John Deere Classic for the second time without his best stuff on Sunday, then boarded…
A 61 at JDC is Spieth’s lowest round as a pro
SILVIS, IL. – Another John Deere Classic hasn’t been won yet and the British Open – the third leg of golf’s Grand Slam — is next week’s target. Still, Jordan Spieth’s game is good enough right now to win them both, no doubt about it. That was underscored on Saturday when the 21-year old Masters…
Spieth shows his game is British-ready at the JDC
SILVIS, IL. – Second-guessers abounded when Jordan Spieth announced he would return to the John Deere Classic for his last tuneup tournament before next week’s British Open. A large segment of the world-wide golf community felt Spieth was short-changing himself by not heading to Europe a week ahead of his bid for a third straight…
Couples, Weibring boost field for Encompass tourney
The Champions Tour’s future in Chicago will be in doubt after this week’s Encompass Championship at North Shore Country Club in Glenview. The sponsor won’t renew its three-year contract, which expires after this year’s event, and North Shore is reportedly considering a major renovation project that would likely rule out its return as host venue…
Branson has the most scenic golf course in America
BRANSON, Mo. – Golf isn’t the main attraction in Branson, this rocking town of about 10,000 in southern Missouri. It has a wide range of entertainment options. Golf is just one of them. Plenty of links-related things have been happening in Branson, however, with most of them tied in some way to Johnny Morris –…