Author: lenz

Conway Farms gets spruced up for ’15 BMW Championship

It’s back to Chicago for the BMW Championship. The Western Golf Assn. will continue its policy of playing its premier event close to its home base every other year, and Conway Farms will again be the site of tourney after it leaves Cherry Hills. It’ll next be contested from Sept. 14-20 in 2015.

Conway Farms, based in Chicago’s North Shore community of Lake Forest, hosted the tournament for the first time in 2013 and the event was a rousing success. It was one of the best-attended tournaments of the year on the PGA Tour, with 130,000 spectators. It produced the lowest 18-hole round of the season – Jim Furyk’s 59. It raised $2.3 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation and – for the second straight year – the BMW Championship was named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year. The estimated economic impact for the area was $30 million.

Tournament director Vince Pellegrino called the support received at a new location “overwhelming.’’ Given that a PGA Tour event hadn’t been staged in Chicago’s North suburbs since 1972, it was no surprise when the PGA Tour confirmed the return to Conway Farms on May 28. There was no reason to change a good thing.

Still, the announcement was good news for the club’s most prominent member – former world No. 1 Luke Donald.

“As a member I’m proud that Conway Farms will again be hosting the BMW Championship,’’ said Donald, “and, as a PGA Tour player, I’m excited to have another opportunity to compete on my home course against the world’s best players.’’

Having the 2013 BMW at Conway was a tonic for Donald, who needed a strong showing there to earn a place in the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings that would qualify him for The Tour Championship in Atlanta. Donald got it with a tie for fourth place showing at Conway.

That tourney was filled with other highlights. Furyk’s hot second round made him only the sixth player to shoot a 59 in a PGA Tour event, following Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby. Furyk was 12-under after making 11 birdies and a holeout for eagle at the par-4 15th hole.

Hunter Mahan also made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, and controversy wasn’t lacking with Tiger Woods assessed a video-aided penalty. Those developments also helped make for an exciting week.

Woods finished in a tie for 11th, as Zach Johnson emerged the champion with a 16-under-par 268 performance. A 65 in the final round gave Johnson a two-stroke edge on Nick Watney and a three-shot advantage on Furyk, who finished solo third.

The tourney had one major problem – the weather. The final round couldn’t be completed on time because of heavy rain, and the tourney didn’t end until Monday.

When the event returns next year the place and the course will have a new look. The club membership undertook some major projects this summer that will enhance the next BMW Championship.

The practice range was closed on July 17 for a major renovation, and the course also was shut down early, on Aug. 4, to allow for renovation work by architects Tom Fazio and Dennis Wise. It won’t re-open until Memorial Day weekend of 2015.

All the greens were renovated and some other tweaks – described as “minor’’ by general manager Todd Marsh – were also made to the course so the 70 players who qualify for the next BMW Championship will find an even better layout than the one played in 2013. As you can tell, Conway Farms members take their golf seriously. Of the 265 members, 165 have single digit handicaps. That puts Conway in the top five clubs in the country for having that many quality players in its membership.

More extensive work was done off the course. Sixty-six spaces were added to the parking lot, the golf shop underwent a complete renovation and a state-of-the-art caddie headquarters was also constructed.

Even before the updating the Tom Fazio-designed layout was plenty good for tournament play. Six years after its 1991 opening it hosted the men’s NCAA Championship and a year later the U.S. Junior Amateur was played there.

Before the BMW’s arrival Conway also hosted the American Junior Golf Assn. Canon Cup in 2002 and 2006, the men’s Big Ten Championship in 2006, the Western Amateur in 2009 and the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2011.

Until the BMW came to town, however, the course’s only tests from pros came in the 2007 U.S. Open local qualifying and the 2008 U.S. Open sectional qualifying. The course was set up at 7,216 yards with a par of 71 for its first full-fledged test from PGA Tour players. The low scoring was in large part due to helpful playing conditions – rain-softened greens and little wind throughout the tourney.

Scoring could be much different next time, if the weather isn’t as ideal and the renovation creates more challenging playing conditions.

Ghim, Hardy could make collegiate debuts at Illini Invitational

Three weeks ago University of Illinois men’s coach Mike Small won the Illinois PGA Championship for a record 11th time, with two of those victories coming at Olympia Fields Country Club in 2010 and 2013. This weekend Small reverts from player to coach with hopes that his well-regarded Illini can do as well at the Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Invitational.

It’ll be the season opener for the Illini, who were ranked No. 4 by Golfweek and No. 6 by the Golf Coaches Assn. of America in preseason polls. Annually one of the top collegiate invitations in the country, the Olympia Fields test is also — potentially at least — the beginning of the collegiate careers for both Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim and Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, two of the most promising young players to come out of the Chicago ranks in years.

While tournament rosters haven’t been announced, Ghim could be in Texas’ lineup and fellow freshman Hardy was among Small’s latest recruiting class at Illinois. Ghim was runner-up in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship this summer and medalist in the Western Amateur. Hardy was runner-up in both the Western Junior and Illinois State Amateur.

Hardy’s presence aside, Illinois’ lofty rankings are understandable since Small has five of six players returning from last year’s squad including All-Americans Brian Campbell, Charlie Danielson and Thomas Detry.

The Illini reached the match play finals of the NCAA tournament three times in the last four years, but winning their own event this weekend won’t be easy. The 15-team field for the three-day 54-hole event that tees off on Friday comprises one of strongest in collegiate golf with Texas and Stanford looming as the top challengers for the host team.

In the first in-season poll, released by TheGolf Channel this week, Texas was No. 2 and Illinois No. 3 behind Oklahoma State. In addition to Ghim, the Longhorns have the two finalists from this summer’s Western Amateur at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club in champion Beau Hossler and runner-up Scottie Sheffler, both Californians.

From the tours

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman won’t be in the Tour Championship, last event of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. It begins Thursday at East Lake in Atlanta, and Streelman couldn’t retain his spot among the top 30 qualifiers. Despite a closing round 66 at the BMW Championship on Sunday Streelman ranked only 48th after the first three events of the four-tourney playoff series.

Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. continued his bid to earn his PGA Tour card for 2015 with a tie for 12th in the second event of the Web.com Tour Finals. He’s tied for 16th midway through that four-tournament series and the top 25 money winners after the finals conclude on Sept. 21 advance to the premier circuit next season.

Northwestern alum David Lipsky won the Omega European Masters in Switzerland, an event co-sponsored by the European and Asian PGA Tours. The victory earned Lipsky his playing privileges on the European Tour for two years and elevated him to the top spot in the Asian Order of Merit.

Lake Forest’s Chip Beck held the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s Quebec Championship last week but a pair of 75s after that relegated him to a tie for 49th place. Hinsdale’s Jeff Sluman tied for 10th and is now in fifth place in the Charles Schwab Cup point race with five events left in the season.

Holmes tops IPGA honorees

Jim Holmes, head professional at Ravinia Green in Riverwoods, has been named the 60th recipient of the Illinois PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award.

Katie Dick, of Chicago’s Bryn Mawr Country Club, is Assistant of the Year while Wheaton’s Gary Pinns was named the Teacher of the Year and Brett Packee of Vernon Hills took the Youth Player Development Award.

Others cited include Eric Aldrich, Glen Ellyn, Player Development Award; Tim Buscombe, Champaign, Bill Strausbaugh Award; Todd Sones, Vernon Hills, Horton Smith Award; and Wally Hines, Naperville, Bill Heald Career Achievement Award. Merchandiser award-winners were Lake Zurich’s Andy Shuman (private clubs) and Hampshire’s Steve Gillie (public facilities). All will be honored Oct. 23 at Medinah

Coming up next

The Illinois State Senior Amateur runs Monday through Wednesday at Royal Club of Long Grove. It has an 85-man field, but figures to be a two-man duel. Either Taylorville’s Dave Ryan, the defending champion, or Kewanee’s Tom Miler have won the last three titles in the event and five of the last six.

There’ll be 18-hole rounds on Monday and Tuesday before the field is cut to the low 35 and ties or any player within 10 shots of the lead for the final round next Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Donald is out of both FedEx Playoffs, Ryder Cup

These are not the best of times for Luke Donald even though his last tournament round was a great one – a 67 to conclude the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday in Boston.

“A nice round but a disappointing season on the PGA Tour,’’ the former Northwestern star and former world No. 1 said via Twitter. “Have never worked harder, so hopefully that was a glimpse of things to come.’’

Unfortunately, the hot round was only good enough for a tie for 57th place in the second of the four FedEx Cup Playoff events, and that wasn’t all. After the second of the four $8 million tournaments Donald stood 89th in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 70 are eligible to play in the third event – the BMW Championship, which tees off Thursday at Cherry Hills in Denver.

That meant Donald will miss out on a great financial opportunity and things got worse for Donald on Tuesday. Paul McGinley, captain of the European Ryder Cup team, bypassed Donald in making his three roster picks for the upcoming matches at Gleneagles in Scotland. McGinley went for Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher instead. In so doing, he passed on Donald who had played on four straight winning Ryder Cup teams.

Not only had he been on the Europeans’ roster but Donald also had been one of its stars. He won 70 percent of the points available in his matches, the last of which were played at Medinah two years ago. Of those who have played in at least 15 Ryder Cup matches only Poulter (80 percent) and Arnold Palmer (71.9 percent) have done better than Donald.

Despite his solid Ryder Cup record and the fact that he had publically pushed for McGinley’s selection as European captain, Donald knew he was on the bubble before McGinley made his roster decisions. His game has not been sharp, as evidenced by only one top 35 finish in his last nine starts.

“I told Paul last week that I felt my game was pretty close,’’ Donald told British media members prior to Tuesday’s announcement. “It seems like I’ve been in a bit of a mental rut and not been able to get any momentum going.’’

McGinley was also Donald’s partner in his first Ryder Cup match in 2006, but that didn’t prevent Donald from getting the bad news.

“He wasn’t expecting it. He was very, very disappointed – and rightly so,’’ McGinley said. “That was a very difficult conversation.’’

Missing the last two FedEx events will be difficult, too. The BMW Championship was played at Conway Farms in Lake Forest — Donald’s home course – last year and will return there in 2015. The Western Golf Assn., which conducts the event to raise funds for its Evans Scholars Foundation, has opted to play the tournament away from Chicago every other year. That’s why it’s in Denver this time.

Last year’s event at Conway was won by Zach Johnson, but the week’s highlight was a 59 by Jim Furyk. Both are in the field at Cherry Hills. So is Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, who is No. 38 in the FedEx standings after finishing in a tie for 26th at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Streelman needs a good week to get into the top 30 in the standings and earn a spot in the last FedEx event – the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. The FedEx point leader after that event will earn a $10 million bonus in addition to his prize money.

Deutsche Bank winner Chris Kirk, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan, winner of the first playoff event (The Barclays), are 1-2-3 in the standings going into the BMW.

Here and there

The PGA’s satellite Web.com Tour holds the second of its four playoff events, the Chiquita Classic in North Carolina, starting on Thursday. It’s important for Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. because the top 25 in the Web.com Finals get PGA Tour cards for 2015. Sainz is tied for 19th after last week’s first event in the series at Fort Wayne, Ind.

The last major local competition, the Oct. 5-7 Chicago Open, has its first qualifying round in the area at Village Links of Glen Ellyn on Monday. The only other one locally will be Sept. 25 at Makray Memorial in Barrington before the tournament proper is played at Cantigny in Wheaton.

The Illinois Senior Open runs Monday and Tuesday at McHenry and the Chicago District Golf Assn. holds its Par 3 Championship Monday at Lost Dunes in Bridgman, MI., and its Mid-Amateur Championship Tuesday at Bridges of Poplar Creek in Hoffman Estates.

Back-to-back tournaments present a challenge for WGA

This may well be the busiest two weeks in the Western Golf Association’s 105-year history.

The WGA, based in north suburban Golf, does much of its fundraising for its Evans Scholars Foundation through the staging of big tournaments. Until last year that basically meant putting on three events that were spread out over the course of the summer.

Last year the WGA added a fourth tournament – the Hotel Fitness Championship, which is part of the Web.com Tour Finals. This year the WGA will conduct the same four events, and the Western Junior and Western Amateur have already been held. The last two professional events will be held in back-to-back weeks.

The Hotel Fitness Championship tees off Thursday at Sycamore Hills in Fort Wayne, Ind., and the WGA’s biggest event follows with a Sept. 4-6 staging of the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills in Denver. The WGA staff will work both.

“It was different last year,’’ said WGA president and chief executive officer John Kaczkowski. “We had a week in between, and it was a little easier to manage them.’’

It’s not as easy this time. The Hotel Fitness Championship has 125 players – among them Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. — battling to earn places on the PGA Tour for 2015. A week later the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings after this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston will battle for an $8 million purse at Cherry Hills.

The BMW Championship was held at Conway Farms in Lake Forest last year, which eliminated travel considerations for the WGA staffers. That’s not the case this time.

“At the end of the day it’s easier to run a tournament in Chicago,’’ said Kaczkowski, “but moving it is better for the organization. It gives us more exposure and is more lucrative for the Evans Scholars.’’

The more money raised, the more caddies that can receive college scholarships. The WGA has been providing them since 1930 and more than 800 are currently in college on Evans Scholarships.

This week’s Hotel Fitness Championship was created when the PGA Tour revised its qualifying school format. It brings together the top 75 players on the Web.com Tour money list and players ranked 125-130 on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings.

“It’s an interesting event with a really good field,’’ said Kaczkowski. “There’s some pretty big names in it (ex-major champions Mike Weir, Ben Curtis and Trevor Immelman). It’s taken awhile for the Fort Wayne community to understand what’s going on, but this year we’ve seen an uptick in ticket sales and we’re optimistic we’ll get good crowds.’’

Sainz barely made the field. His tie for 41st in the Web.com’s last regular season event, the Portland Open, gave him the No. 74 spot on the money list.

The BMW Championship returns to Conway Farms in 2015. Conway closed earlier this month for renovations, which include an upgrading of the practice ranging and re-grassing of all the greens in preparation for the return of the BMW.

Crooked Stick, in Carmel, Ind., is expected to host in 2016. The BMW Championship was played there in 2012 with Rory McIlroy winning the title. Club members are expected to formally approve the tourney’s return on Thursday. The previous event at Crooked Stick was one of the best-attended tournaments, with 143,000 showing up during the course of the week. It was also voted the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year.

Titles on line for IPGA, Mid-Am

The final rounds for both the 92nd Illinois PGA Championship and 22nd Illinois State Mid-Amateur will be played on Wednesday. The IPGA began its 54-hole run on Monday at Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake and the Mid-Am started with 36 holes on Tuesday at Flossmoor Country Club.

Fields at both tournaments were cut after Tuesday’s rounds. The IPGA started with 117 players but only the low 60 and ties after 36 holes will play on Wednesday. The Mid-Am teed off with 81 players and was cut to the low 35 and ties plus any player within 10 shots of the lead for Wednesday’s wrapup.

Defending champions are Mike Small in the IPGA Championship and Todd Mitchell in the Mid-Am. Small is seeking his 11th win in the IPGA Championship and Mitchell is after his fifth victory in the Mid-Am. He won in both 2011 and 2013 at Flosssmoor.

New finishing holes enhance Michigan’s Crooked Tree

PETOSKEY, MI. – Boyne Resorts may be best known for skiing nationwide, but golf has never been just an afterthought. That was clearly evident this season when Boyne undertook two major projects simultaneously on its Michigan courses.

Crooked Tree’s No. 16 offers a spectacular view of Little Traverse Bay from the tee. (All photos courtesy of Boyne Golf).
The bunkers on The Moor layout at Boyne Highlands Resort underwent an extensive renovation while nearby Crooked Tree Golf Club was given an even more noteworthy updating. The Crooked Tree project represents, arguably, the most significant work done in this golf –rich state in 2014. That’s saying something, since Michigan has over 800 public courses.

Crooked Tree’s original designer was Harry Bowers, his creation opening in 1991. Bowers has worked with Robert Trent Jones Sr., Raymond Floyd and Curtis Strange on various projects in addition to his own designs, which include Odyssey in Tinley Park, IL (done with Strange). It opened a year after Crooked Tree.

A good tee shot at No.16 will give you this approach to the green.

Plenty of players liked the challenges Crooked Tree presented, to say nothing of the scenic views it offered of Lake Michigan’s Little Traverse Bay, but Bernie Friedrich, Boyne senior vice president of golf and retail operations, is quick to admit that all was not ideal with the original design.

There were issues with the three finishing holes. The well-respected architect Arthur Hills, who has another course named in his honor at Boyne Highlands, was brought in to correct the problems.

“We had three finishing holes that, frankly, weren’t very pleasing,’’ said Friedrich, in his 38th season with Boyne. “People would leave with a bad taste in their mouths.’’

For many players, those holes were too tough but Friedrich insists that Hills’ re-design effort wasn’t about making the holes easier.

“Easier? No,’’ he said. “It made them more playable. There’s a difference.’’

No. 16 is a par-4 that measures 389 yards from the back tees and 310 from the front. Hills’ version has some enthusiastic supporters, one telling me “We now have one of the best holes in North America.’’

It is indeed memorable. Little Traverse Bay doesn’t come into play, but it’s highly visible from the elevated tee. A good drive can leave you with another nice look, a downhill shot to a green blocked in part by a pond front right. The fairway was extended and the green moved behind the pond. That represented a big change for the hole.

Much more work was needed at No. 17, a par-5 that now plays 510 yards from the tips and 379 from the front markers.

“It was a really bad golf hole,’’ said Friedrich. An assessment can’t get any more blunt than that.

“A 10-handicapper would hit a driver, then lay up with a 9-iron and then hit a 150-shot over a ravine to the green,’’ said Friedrich, describing the old No. 17. “Women’s couldn’t play it. They’d skip it.’’

So, Hills backed up the tees, moved 165 yards of dirt, lowered the green and flattened it out. Friedrich now calls it “a very pleasant par-5.’’

No. 17 at Crooked Tree has gone from a “bad golf hole” to a “pleasant par-5” in part because of this new tee placement.

The finishing hole is now a 431-yard par-4 and can be played as short as 272 yards. The green’s the thing here. No. 18 shares the same green with No. 9. Previously it lacked a variety of pin positions for a finishing hole. Now it has three tiers, so there’s plenty of them. The fairway was also moved and some bunkers narrowed, the end result being a more playable hole before you head to the clubhouse.

Friedrich reports the new holes have been “extremely well received,’’ but it wasn’t a quick fix and it didn’t come cheap. Hills began his work last fall and the course re-opened on June 11 after an array of challenges.

The new holes were seeded twice because “horrible’’ spring weather resulted in 11 inches of rain falling in a three-week span. That led to the decision to lay sod instead.

“Otherwise we would have ended up trying to grow grass all years,’’ said Friedrich. “It turned out very expensive – in excess of $600,000 for just those three holes.’’

The project, though, produced the desired result. “The course is fun to play, and you leave the golf course with a much better feeling now,’’ said Friedrich.

His job, of course, encompasses much more than Crooked Tree. Within Michigan he’s also responsible for the Arthur Hills, Donald Ross Memorial, The Heather, Hidden River and The Moor at Boyne Highlands as well as The Alpine and The Monument at Boyne Mountain Resort and The Links, The Quarry and The Preserve at Bay Harbor.

He also oversees Boyne courses in Montana and Maine, and most are also impacted by busy ski seasons. Sometimes those seasons overlap. Two years ago, for instance, northern Michigan had 80-degree temperatures in March.

“We were trying to stretch out the ski season, and we were making snow on one side of a hill and on the other side (where golf holes were in place) we were watering,’’ said Friedrich. But that is highly unusual.

“If golf and skiing are going on in this climate at the same time it’s probably not very good for either one of them,’’ said Friedrich. “Having them together depends on the year, but it’s not a goal. We start golf in May (in Michigan) when a lot of holes still have snow on them and we’ll see snow until June.’’

Michigan’s True North brings Carlson out of retirement

HARBOR SPRINGS, MI. – Terry Carlson thought his working life was done after being a head golf professional in the Chicago area for 26 years and then getting a big sendoff into retirement at a prestigious club in Arizona.

Terry Carlson couldn’t turn down the chance to work at True North.

Forty years as a club professional plus one as a player on the Champions Tour seemed like plenty until Carlson got a call from one of his former members. He wanted Carlson to spend four summer months running the golf operation at True North, a northern Michigan club that had undergone an ownership change and was in transition.

“I never realized how beautiful the courses are here,’’ said Carlson, who just reached his 70th birthday. “And I was overwhelmed when I saw this place. It’s a top-50 golf course in America. Every hole is just gorgeous.’’

The addition of five golf cottages has made True North a more attractive destination.

Carlson knows all about good golf courses. He was the head pro at Elgin Country Club for 10 years, then spent 16 in a similar position at Glen Oak in Glen Ellyn. While at Glen Oak he served term as president of the Illinois PGA.

Then he got a call from Estancia Club, a Scottsdale, Ariz., private facility that has a course ranked in America’s Top 100 Courses by Golf Digest magazine. Its members include two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and several other PGA Tour players. Carlson spent 14 years there.

In addition to his club duties in Arizona and Illinois Carlson was a good enough player to earn playing privileges on the Champions Tour for one season and play in nine major championships.

“I’m very proud of that. Club pros today don’t get a chance to do that,’’ said Carlson. “It was a great life for me.’’

Carlson left Scottsdale after his retirement and moved to New Orleans to be close to family members. Then came the call from True North.

Elevation changes, on both the tees and greens, add to the challenge at True North.

“I jumped at the chance to come here,’’ said Carlson. True North has 67 members, and the list isn’t quite like it was at Estancia with its array of PGA Tour players. True North, however, does have Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly, former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and the son of Hord Hardin, former chairman of the Masters tournament for Augusta National.

True North has an interesting history. Its designer was the well-respected Jim Engh, whose first Michigan design – Tullymore in Stanwood – was an immediate hit in the Midwest. True North, which opened two years later in 2003, is at least as good. Carlson calls it a “good, tough and fair’’ layout. It measures 7,040 yards from the back tees with a rating of 73.2 and slope of 146.

“(Engh) has a specific style with his bunkering,’’ said Matt Payne, True North’s general manager. “What he did here was let the course flow with the natural terrain.’’

The first ownership group wanted the course to be the centerpiece for a real estate development. That didn’t work out. The next wanted to go fully public. That didn’t work, either. The present four-man group of owners is moving in a different direction, with five new golf cottages built in the last two years to create a setting for a national membership..

“They wanted a fully private, low volume, high quality level experience,’’ said Payne. “Our members just want a place to play when they come. We’re pretty casual, a first-name club that’s unique to the area. We don’t need a lot of members to make the place successful. We just need the right people to make it successful.’’

An up-close view of the wildlife is an added attraction to a round a True North.

Northern Michigan is loaded with good golf courses, most of them public or resort layouts. But not True North. Payne says the initial target for members is 150.

“We’re building a private club, which means we’re trying to sell privacy,’’ said Carlson. “We’re kind of bucking the trend. This is a place where a guy who doesn’t want to own a second home – and a lot don’t these days – can come and stay in our cottages. We take care of everything from the moment he arrives until the moment he leaves and we can pick up him and take him back to the airport. For a guy looking for a vacation home, this is a pretty good choice.’’

The club is offering generational memberships, meaning a member’s privileges extend to a spouse, parents and all dependents of the members. The club is looking to fill the membership roster with more than just individuals, but with a lineage of legacy that will be with the club for many years down the road. The member also has the ability to transfer the membership to a dependent at any time.

National corporate memberships are also an option. The club is offering one-time visits for non-members to enable them to experience the club, the cost depending on rounds played, cart and lodging fees and transportation requirements. Details on how that works is available through www.truenorthgolf.com.

A Q&A with USGA’s Tom O’Toole

The U.S. Golf Assn. is based in Far Hills, N.J., and its leaders don’t get to Chicago all that much. That’s why Tom O’Toole’s recent stopover offered a good opportunity to find out what’s new with golf’s ruling body in the United States.

O’Toole, the USGA president, is from St. Louis. He’s been involved with USGA matters since 1988 and is in his seventh year as a member of the USGA Executive Committee. O’Toole is in his first year as president after serving as secretary in 2010 and vice president from 2011 to 2013. He has also been a USGA rules official on more than 135 championships including every U.S. Open since 1990.

While O’Toole’s visit was designed to connect with key supporters and benefactors for next year’s U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields, KemperSports arranged for some select media to question him about current issues in our game. O’Toole spoke expansively, and this is the boiled down version of what he said:

QUESTION: While it’s great that the U.S. Amateur is coming (its 115th playing is from Aug. 17-23, 2015, on the North and South courses at Olympia Fields), Chicago is not on the current list for a U.S. Open – or any other USGA championship, for that matter. Will any big events – particular U.S. Opens – be coming?

O’TOOLE: It’s been the long-standing practice of the USGA that we don’t talk about invitations that we receive for particular championships because we protect the confidentiality of clubs and regions and communities that are in that mix. That said, Chicago certainly is a wonderful golf town. We’ve had great U.S. Opens here, even in the last couple of decades with Hale Irwin winning at Medinah (1990) and Jim Furyk at Olympia Fields (2003).

We would always look to interact with a club that would issue an invitation, or facility if it’s not a private membership club like Medinah or Olympia Fields, to bring the U.S. Open back to this storied town of Chicago.

QUESTION: Which club, or facility, would be the best bet for that?

O’TOOLE: Suffice to say that our experience next year at Olympia Fields will be one that will be looked at closely. I’m sure it will cause the club possibly to entertain other discussions with us about future championships at the club.

QUESTION: This year was an unusual one for the USGA, in that both the men’s U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open were played on the same course for the first time, and in back-to-back weeks. In retrospect, was that a good idea and will it likely be tried again?

O’TOOLE: We’ll continue to look at something like that. We knew there was associated risk with doing that, predominantly centered around the Women’s championship. We don’t want to be braggadocios, but we pretty much avoided those risks and ended up with two great weeks of championship golf.

We always thought it would be an unbelievable celebration of women’s golf. You don’t always achieve your objective when you start down a road like that, but I think we did that. There were more eyes on women’s golf that second week. Our ratings were fabulous, the best they’d ever been for the Women’s Open. We had great galleries. It was mission accomplished.

QUESTION: Given the USGA’s new, more lucrative television contract, could some of that money be used to start a U.S. Senior Women’s Open?

O’TOOLE: That’s been a hotbed of discussion. Mike Davis and Dan Burton, who chair our Championship Committee, met with players on the (LPGA) Legends Tour. We had a good exchange, and we’re looking at it very in-depth. It’s the only sector of golfers we don’t have a national championship for. We don’t want to rush to have one if we don’t think the championship is viable.

Do we have a number of golfers from both the female professional ranks or female amateur ranks who would want to participate? We’re looking at what the Legends Tour is, how big its fields are. They range anywhere from the mid-40s up to 100. What would be the right fit for that? We promised this group that this was not lip service, that we were taking a very serious look at this championship.

I want to get this resolved by year’s end so we can say, we’ve made a decision, we’re going to go forward, we’re not, and here is the reason for either answer. I’d look for something this year.

QUESTION: One tournament that went away this year was the U.S. Public Links, for both men and women. Any regrets about that?

O’TOOLE: It was somewhat of a sad time when we retired that championship, but society has changed. We need to be celebrating that point, the fact that we don’t have in any of our national championships any requirements about what your socioeconomic background is, what golf club or facility you play for or represent.

It’s a wonderful thing that in this day and age we’ve evolved past that, particularly in a sport that’s been accused of being an elitist sport, exclusionary and not inclusionary. We don’t need those championships anymore because our society is open, our game is open. It’s something to be exhilarated about and not be disappointed about.

QUESTION: Finally, the U.S. Amateur that is coming to Olympia Fields next year may not be the most heavily followed of the USGA events but your organization in many ways finds it the most important. Why is that?

O’TOOLE: Well, it’s our oldest championship (it was first held in 1895) and the USGA is an amateur body. That’s why we were formed in December of 1894 – to conduct championships that are primarily of the amateur variety.

I don’t think there’s any debate in men’s amateur golf that the most coveted title is the Havemeyer Trophy (which goes to the U.S. Amateur champion). It just has a long connection with what the USGA represents and the epitome of what we’re trying to do in our championship presentation. The level of competition that you enjoy at the Amateur is the best in the amateur game. We have a particular attachment to it for what it means in championship golf going forward.

There was one day that defined this golf season

This golf season, of course, is far from over. We diehards know that fall golf is the best. Still, the conclusion of the PGA Championship does mean the end of the major championships and a good time to reflect on developments from the 2014 season.

SO, IF YOU had asked me I would have told you……

THE MOST INTERESTING day golf-wise was Aug. 16. Doesn’t it strike you as intriguing that the lowest rounds in the history of both senior professional tours were shot on the same day?

Sherri Steinhauer (left) celebrated her 63 on the Pete Dye Course with caddie Lisa DiPaulo.

On the men’s side Kevin Sutherland notched the first 59 in Champions Tour history and on the women’s front Sherri Steinhauer posted the lowest round in the 14-year history of the Legends circuit – a 9-under-par 63.

Sutherland’s hot round came in the 54-hole Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, N.Y. – a layout that was the long-time base for the PGA Tour’s B.C. Open, which is no longer held.

Steinhauer’s round came on one of the reputedly toughest newer layouts, the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort in Indiana. It opened in 2009 and will host the Senior PGA Championship in 2015. Steinhauer played it at 5,890 yards, but her score was every bit as significant as Sutherland’s was. Steinhauer’s round was the lowest score – man or woman – ever shot on the tricky layout that’s already been tested by top club professionals and college players under tournament conditions.

BY FAR the most striking player-caddie combination I have ever seen was LPGA Hall of Famer Joanne Carner and her sister Helen. Carner is 75 (but can still play) and Helen is 83. They don’t look at all alike and their personalities are different as well.

Joanne Carner (left) and her sister Helen made a striking team at the Legends Championship.

Helen didn’t take up golf until Joanne gave here a set of clubs for her 70th birthday. Now she’s hooked and Joanne says she’s a great caddie.

“Helen doesn’t say much, but she can run down the fairway,’’ said Joanne.

MY ADVICE to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson would be to make Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker his picks. (Watson was scheduled to make his announcement on Sept. 2).

The fact that Watson was even considering Tiger Woods “because he’s Tiger Woods’’ was ridiculous. You don’t take a player who’s endured the season Woods has, regardless of his career record. You wouldn’t take Jack Nicklaus, now would you?

Watson shouldn’t take any of the injured players, either. Given its lack of success lately, the U.S. needs fresh blood on this team. It’ll have it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the team did quite well despite low expectations from others.

JANE BLALOCK IS one of the very best leaders in golf world-wide. She is also the least publicized. Do you even know the name of the group she heads?

Answer: the LPGA Legends Tour. Blalock created it 14 years ago, has kept it going with little support from the LPGA itself and occasionally even tees it up in tournaments.

For your information, the Legends is for women 45 and over and it has a Super Seniors division for those 63 and over (that’s where Blalock plays). The circuit has seven tournaments this year and Blalock says there’ll be at last 10 in 2015.

BEFORE WE leave the women’s side, there’s one more point to make: the U.S. Golf Assn. should create a U.S. Women’s Senior Open as soon as possible. There’s enough players to make it viable. Blalock says at least 100 of her players will enter and there are many more good senior amateurs from around the country.

The USGA already has a U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur. Adding a U.S. Women’s Senior Open to its schedule is long, long overdue.

BEST NEW event of 2014 was the National Par-3 Team Championship, which is in progress on the famed Threetops course at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich. At least it seems like a lot of fun – just the type of event that golf needs to inspire a wide variety of players. You can enter through Sept. 11 by contacting the resort.

This is a two-person team event with the top 28 teams advancing to the finals on Sept. 27. (I’ll be making a rare tournament appearance in this one).

Threetops hosted the ESPN Par 3 Shootout in the late 90s and early 2000s and it involved the appearance of some top tour players. This is a nice form of revival for that popular event.

THIS WON’T SHOCK anyone, but I want to go on record anyway. The torch has been passed from Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy as the world’s premier golfer.

Woods had a great run, right up there with those of Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer before him. I expect Woods to get healthy and win some tournaments again – maybe even another major – but McIlroy is the man now and will be for quite awhile.

NEXT YEAR will be much more exciting in Chicago than this one has been. The main reason is there’ll be more big tournaments.

The BMW Championship is coming back to Conway Farms. Rich Harvest Farms will host the Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event for college stars and the Illinois Open will likely undergo a much-needed transformation. I’m especially intrigued to see what form that transformation takes.

FINALLY, FOR THOSE WHO like to plan well in advance (like me), here’s some useful information:

The summer of 2016 will be historically significant in all segments of golf, with three big global events. Not all the particulars are set yet, but this much is known:

The LPGA International Crown will be held at Rich Harvest Farms. It’ll have July dates – though the days haven’t been determined – because the LPGA wants to get its big event played before golf returns to the Olympics.

Brazil is the Olympic site, and the golf competition will be played some time between Aug. 5-21. Then comes the Ryder Cup, back on American soil at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn. It’ll be played there from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2. It’ll be the first time the Ryder Cup has been played in October since 2010 and only the second time in more than 30 years

This Ryder Cup is especially noteworthy, as it will climax the PGA of America’s Centennial Celebration.

Countdown is on for Par-3 national team tourney

GAYLORD, MI. – The northern Michigan community of Gaylord has 17 golf courses, all of them quite good. It’s one of the best places you can go if you’re looking for a golf-getaway destination. I should know. I’ve probably visited the area 10 times over the last two decades.

This spot on Threetops’ No. 7 tee was where Lee Trevino hit the most lucrative shot in golf in 2001 — a hole-in-one at the green far below.

This year, though, there’s something new going on. In mid-July the Treetops Resort introduced the National Par-3 Team Championship. It’ll run through Sept. 27, but you can expect to head more about it because this first version has been deemed a success and it’s not even over yet.

Jim McGuigan, head golf professional at Treetops North Resort, reported that 81 two-man teams had entered in the first six weeks of the event. Most were all male, but there are no restrictions.

“Looking forward, we wanted everybody playing the same set of tees,’’ said McGuigan, “but we could go to a second set that might bring in more women.’’

Age group categories might stimulate more entries, too, but that’s a topic for discussion for 2015. For now, the concept works as an introductory event. Each player pays $10 (in addition to his greens fee) to enter. Competitive format is a two-man best ball on the famed Threetops layout. Scores must be verified by at least one person in the group, and multiple entries are also encouraged.

Bright flowers greet all the players when they arrive at the first tee at Threetops.

“The word national is used because of the players we’re attracting,’’ said McGuigan. Players from seven states and Canada have already entered.

Playing the event on Threetops also adds to the event’s credibility. Its owner and designer, Rick Smith, opened the course in 1992 and it has been declared “the No. 1 Par 3 course in America’’ with some justification. It gained notoriety long ago as the site of the ESPN Par 3 Shootout, a nationally televised event with its participants including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Ray Floyd, Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Chris DiMarco and Paul Azinger.

In 2001 the event created big news when Trevino made a hole-in-one at No. 7 which won him $1,090,000 – the most lucrative shot in golf. The event ran only from 1999-2006 but the course’s popularity never wavered. It features spectacular holes with dramatic elevation changes.

Yardage from the back tees for regular play is 1,435 yards with the best hole being the steep downhill third, longest on the course at 219 yards.

The decision to create another high-profile event was the brainchild of Florida-based Andrew Wood, who heads his Legendary Marketing firm. He worked with Treetops North general manager Barry Owens and director of golf Kevin McKinley in developing the concept and McGuigan and assistant professional Spencer Bloom are handling the administrative duties.

You must play from these tee markers in the National Par 3 Team Championship and that makes the challenge more difficult.

Threetops is available to all players when the Par 3 National Championship is in progress, but those who enter the big event must play from a set of tees slightly behind the tips used for normal play.

McGuigan said the tournament tee placements are “near’’ those used for the ESPN Par 3 Shootout in its heyday.

Players have until Sept. 11 to play qualifying rounds. The top 28 teams, plus ties, will qualify for the final shootout on Sept. 27 and there’ll be no entry fee for the qualifiers. The grand prize is a golf trip to Scotland, including airfare. Finalists will also have an opportunity on each of the nine holes to earn $10,000 for a hole-in-one, and other prizes will also be awarded.

The low score after six weeks was a 3-under-par 24 posted by two teams. One of the members of the leading teams was Justin Kowatcz, a member of Treetops’ Club 81 (the resort has 81 holes available). The others, though, are visitors to the area.

“We’ve never done this before but even par (27) will probably get you into the finals,’’ McGuigan said.

As an incentive to potential qualifiers Treetops is offering a package starting at $118 per person based on double occupancy through Sept. 11 that covers one night’s lodging, one round on Threetops with the qualifier entry fee and one breakfast buffet.

While the National Par 3 Championship was the biggest development under discussion at the 27th annual Gaylord Golf Mecca gathering of media members, FootGolf has also been added at the Rick Smith Tradition course.

As was the case at many Midwestern golf destinations, difficult winter weather slowed the start to Gaylord’s spring activities but Paul Beachnau, executive director of Gaylord Michigan USA, reported play in full swing during the summer months and the courses played during the Mecca – Michaywe, Threetops, Rick Smith Signature and The Tribute at Otsego Club & Resort – were all in excellent condition.

LPGA LEGENDS: Final round rainout makes Rinker a champion

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The final round of the LPGA Legends Championship was impacted by weather for the second straight year Sunday, and this time it prevented a ball from being struck.

Anticipating weather problems, Legends officials scheduled a 7:30 a.m. start of play off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees, but a night of rain left the course too wet for play to begin on Sunday morning. Consideration was given to starting play five hours later, perhaps in a shotgun format, but the rain became stronger and fog made visibility difficult. A car accident on the road leading in to the course also was a factor in the decision to shorten the tournament to 36 holes.

That meant that Laurie Rinker, the leader after Saturday’s second round, was declared the champion and the winner of the $60,000 first-place check. She accepted the trophy to a standing ovation in the Dye Course pavilion and had words of wisdom for her brother Lee, a golf professional who will be playing in the Senior PGA Championship on the course next May.

“I texted my brother a picture of the trophy because he’ll be here next year,’’ said Rinker. “Maybe I can give him a tip or two.’’

She might also advise Lee to hire her caddie. Caleb Powers, a local bag-toter who was on her bag for both her tournaments on the Dye Course (they’re pictured together, below).

“He’s the best,’’ said Rinker. “He knows the course better than anybody. He told me where to hit it, and this week I could do it. French Lick’s a very special place. I’ve told people how beautiful it is, and the course is in fabulous shape.’’

Rinker, from Stuart, Fla., was joint runner-up in the first LPGA Legends Championship when Canadian Lorie Kane won the title. Kane had a two-stroke margin after the final round of 2013 was played in cold, rainy weather. She finished in a tie for 17th in her title defense after rounds of 75 and 73.

After two days of great weather rain and fog covered the Pete Dye Course and made the layout After two days of great weather rain and fog made it difficult to even see the Pete Dye Course from the clubhouse.

Sherri Steinhauer was within one stroke of Rinker after 36 holes thanks to a blistering 9-under-par 63 on Saturday. Steinhauer’s round is believed to be the lowest in the Legends’ 14-year history, two better than the 65 Kane shot in the Wendy’s Charity Challenge in 2011. Steinhauer’s runner-up check was for $36,969.

After two days of great weather rain and fog covered the Pete Dye Course and made the layout barely visible from the clubhouse.

Rosie Jones, winner of the Wendy’s Charity Classic in Michigan last Sunday, wound up third after Sunday’s round was cancelled. She was two strokes behind Steinhauer and earned $27,720. The tourney purse was $500,000, the highest on the Legends Tour.

Rinker, who shot 66 in the second round, posted a winning total of 7-under-par 137. It was her third win on the Legends circuit, the others coming in the BJ Charities Pro-Am in 2012 and the Legends Tour Open in 2013.

Rinker’s wins as an LPGA regular came at the Boston Five Classic in 1984 and the Corning (N.Y.) Classic in 1986. She also won the Bridgestone Ladies Open in Japan in 1984 and had three runner-up finishes on the LPGA circuit in 1987. Her brothers, Lee and Larry, are also golf professionals and Laurie teamed with Larry to win the JC Penney Classic in 1985.

Sunday’s cancellation also meant the six-player Super Seniors event was cut from 36 to 18 holes. It ended in a three-way tie for the title based on the 77s shot by Shelley Hamlin, Jane Blalock and Judy Dickinson on Saturday. Each pocketed $750. Blalock, CEO of the Legends Tour, also was inducted into the Legends Hall of Fame as part of the pre-tournament festivities.