Author: lenz

Dr. Jim Suttie answers all our questions

Dr. Jim Suttie is, at least arguably, Chicago’s best-known golf teaching professional.

Noted as a pioneer in applying biomechanical principles to the golf swing, Suttie was the PGA of America’s national teacher-of-the-year in 2000 and won that award three times from the PGA’s Illinois section. He’s also been among GOLF magazine’s top 100 instructors and among the top 20 in America on Golf Digest’s 50 Greatest Teachers list.

In a recent, far-ranging interview, Suttie offered these insights on the game he has taught to so many over the years:

QUESTION: While you’ve been based in recent years at Cog Hill in the summer, you’ve also been teaching in Naples, FL. What’s it like teaching down south?

SUTTIE: I’ve been at Cog Hill for 14 years and also at a club called TwinEagles in Naples. It is a two-course development that’s been doing quite well and has a nice practice facility, but in the summer it’s too hot and it rains a lot.

Q: Lots of tour players have come to you for help. Who would be the main ones?

SUTTIE: Well, I don’t own any of them, but I’ve sure worked with a lot of them. After they’ve done it all and tried all the tricks they want to find out what they’re doing (chuckle).

I worked with Chip Beck, Bobby Clampett, Loren Roberts and Brad Faxon from when they were on the regular tour to now, when they’re on the senior tour. I haven’t worked with too many on the LPGA, but did work with a few of them.

Q: You’ve also worked with two of our Chicago PGA Tour players, Mark Wilson and Kevin Streelman. Kevin is Chicago’s only home-bred PGA Tour player and you correctly he’d make the cut at the U.S. Open for the third time in the three times he qualified for that tournament. What made you feel he’d do well at Olympic Club?

SUTTIE: I was quite impressed with his scoring in (U.S. Open sectional) qualifying (Streelman finished third in the nation’s toughest sectional after shooting a 30 on the first nine of Ohio State University’s Scarlett course). He’s very streaky, but that course really suits him well. He likes to hit a little fade and work the ball.

Q: You’re not just dealing with high-profile players, though. What about some of the others you have worked with – the devoted amateur-types?

SUTTIE: Last week a kid from Nashville came by (at Cog Hill), then went out on the course and made five birdies. Those kinds of things tend to be fun.

But I also had an ex-surgeon, 71 years old, and his wife come in from San Diego just because they wanted to get better. I try to give each person what they can physically do to enjoy the game. I don’t try to put them in spots they have to do something.

Q: What about your young pupils?

SUTTIE: Well, I worked with Michael Schachner (promising young touring pro from the North suburbs) since he was 3 years old. He’s become a very good player, but at that high a level it becomes strictly mental.

There’s an 8-year-old who I’ve been working with for over a year. You have to have different approaches for every person. Everybody has their own learning style. You’ve got to make it fun for young kids.

Q: In general, do you prefer working with men or women?

SUTTIE: It doesn’t matter. They say I’m good with the ladies, but I might scare them. Maybe it’s my doctorate. They might perceive me as very technical.

Q: Tell me about all that schooling you’ve had. I’m assuming that led to you’re getting the nickname “Doc,’’ – because you’re one of the few golf teaching pros to have a doctorate degree.

SUTTIE: I’ve been teaching about 40 years, but I went back to school in 1978 at Middle Tennessee State and did research at the University of Kentucky to get my doctorate. I had gotten my Masters at Northern Illinois. I was an assistant coach at Northern Illinois and also coached at Eastern Kentucky and Florida Gulfcoast.

Q: Golf has changed a lot over your years of teaching, due at least in part to developments in equipment technology. Any thoughts on that?

SUTTIE: We have had changes in technology. They’ve been very helpful, but we’ve overdone it a little. We’ve been looking too much at body mechanics. I like to spend a little time on analysis and more on fixing.

Q: What working hours do you keep as a teacher these days?

SUTTIE: I’m pretty flexible. I just have people call my 800 number. I don’t do a lot of marketing.

Q: Any new projects on the horizon?

SUTTIE: I’m working on a book for ladies, and I’ll get some LPGA players to model for it. Ladies can’t swing like men, but they’re being taught like me. Men are stronger in the upper body. Women are stronger in the lower body. Men are diggers, women are pickers. They’re afraid they’ll hurt their fingers and wrists.

U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN: Pak’s win in ’98 triggered big changes for LPGA

KOHLER, Wis. – Blackwolf Run was where women’s golf took a dramatic turn back in 1998. That’s where Se Ri Pak, a South Korean player, captured one of the most dramatic U.S. Women’s Opens ever. Her win in the biggest tournament in women’s golf triggered a huge influx of players from her country onto the Ladies PGA Tour.

Only nine players from the 1998 field at Blackwolf are back for this 67th U.S. Women’s Open, which tees off today, and Pak is one of them.

Pak defeated 20-year-old amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn in a 20-hole playoff for the title in ’98. Chuasiriporn took a brief fling as a touring pro but didn’t like it. She’s now a nurse in Richmond, Va., and hasn’t played golf in five years. Pak’s impact on the sport, though, has gotten bigger and bigger over the years.

Because of what Pak did, as the first successful Korean player on the women’s circuit, more Korean parents encouraged their daughters to take up golf. Now about 40 compete on the LPGA circuit and many are quite successful. So Yeon Ryu, another Korean, is this week’s defending champion and 28 Koreans are in the field.

“I guess I opened the door for them, as nobody even had tried before,’’ said Pak after a practice round here. “I gave them more confidence about their move forward. I decided to move to the U.S. and play the LPGA Tour. I wanted to be No. 1. My dream was here, on the LPGA Tour. Now they are trying to make their dreams comes true.’’

When Pak won the first of her 27 LPGA tournaments en route to a Hall of Fame career Ryu was 8 years old and wanted to be a violinist.

“At that moment golf was just my hobby and violin was my dream,’’ said Ryu. “Now violin is my hobby and golf is my dream job.’’

Ryu, who calls Pak “my hero,’’ won her title last year in a playoff with Hee Kyung Seo, another Korean, and Pak walked with both.

Pak gave Ryu some advice after both arrived here.

“She said don’t take too much practice at the golf course, because sometimes too much information makes you crazy,’’ said Ryu. “She said to keep low expectations and just trust yourself. I totally understand that.’’

Pak won’t likely contend this week on a course that is 500 yards longer than when she won. She dislocated her left shoulder in May. While her return to competition was sooner than expected, she hasn’t regained top form yet and last week she dropped out of an LPGA tourney in Arkansas, apparently because of dehydration.

Still chances are good a Korean, rather than an American, will win the title on Sunday, however. Only five Americans are ranked in the world’s top 20, and in the last 50 women’s majors American golfers won just nine times. Koreans, meanwhile, won 11 majors including five Women’s Opens since Pak’s victory.

Our `Big Three’ is primed for two weeks of big-time golf

From left, Tim Cronin, Len Ziehm, Rory Spears

The “Big Three’’ was born on Jan. 2, 2012, when three Chicago-based golf websites joined forces to provide different perspectives on the game we love.

While we have worked together on an informal basis the past six months, the impact of that joint affiliation will become more clearly evident in the next two weeks as Rory Spears (www.golfersongolf.com), Tim Cronin (www.illinoisgolfer.net) and myself (www.lenziehmongolf.com) all hit the road to provide extensive coverage of the two biggest tournaments of the Chicago season.

All three of us will be at the U.S. Women’s Open, which begins on Thursday, July 5, at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis., and the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic, which takes over TPC Deere run in Silvis, IL., on the outskirts of the Quad Cities on July 9. The tournament rounds of the JDC are July 12-15.

Blackwolf Run, just two hours from Chicago, will host the biggest tournament in women’s golf. TPC Deere Run, also a two-hour drive, will be the site of Steve Stricker’s historic run at a fourth straight championship, a factor that makes the event much more than a final tuneup for the British Open, which begins the following week.

Together we have over 100 years of experience as golf journalists. Our websites are different, each providing unique spins on issues affecting golf today. By checking out all three you will a more complete flavor on these two big events than you’ll get anywhere else – and it’ll all come with a Chicago spin.

After the Women’s Open and JDC are over we’ll turn out attention to annual local favorites – the Illinois Open, Illinois Women’s Open, Western Amateur, Illinois State Amateur and Illinois PGA Championship. The fun is just beginning.

U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN: Neff, Armstrong get into starting field

The 67th U.S. Women’s Open, which tees of Thursday at Blackwolf Run, in Kohler, Wis., has two late qualifiers with Chicago connections.

Aimee Neff, winner of the Illinois Women’s Open in 2008 and 2009, and amateur Ashley Armstrong, a Notre Dame sophomore-to-be who won the 2011 Western Junior title, were promoted to the starting field in the last few days after earning first-alternate status in their sectional qualifiers.

Neff is from Carmel, Ind., but some of her best golfing moments came in Chicago. In addition to her two IWO wins at Mistwood, in Romeoville, Neff last college tournament for Michigan State came at Lakeshore Country Club, in Lake Forest, when her Spartans upset NCAA champion Purdue for the title in 2011.

A days later Neff turned pro and is playing on the LPGA’s satellite Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour. She is coming off a tie for fifth on Sunday in the Island Resort Championship in Michigan, a showing that boosted her from 36th to 22nd on the circuit’s season money list with $9,486 won in seven starts.

Armstrong, who lives in Flossmoor, will have Cog Hill assistant pro Garrett Chaussard as her caddie.

The Women’s Open will have its 72-hole run on the same course that hosted a memorable 1998 staging, when Korean Se Ri Pak won in a playoff. Pak is one of nine players from the ’98 championship in this week’s field. Another Korean, So Yeon Ryu, is the defending champion.

Last year’s tourney purse of $3.25 million was the largest in women’s golf . This week’s purse will be announced later this week.

JDC caddie change for Johnson

Zach Johnson is both a tournament board member and frequent contender at the John Deere Classic but Illinois’ lone PGA Tour stop of 2012 will be unusual for the former Masters champion. Damon Green, who was on Johnson’s bag for his last 173 tournaments, won’t be there when the JDC tees off on July 12 at TPC Deere Run.

Green qualified as a player for the U.S. Senior Open, which will be played on concurrent dates in Michigan so Mike Bender, a former PGA Tour player who is Johnson’s swing coach, will be his caddie at the JDC.

PGA regulars Nick Watney, K.J. Choi and Y.E. Yang are the latest entries to the JDC, which will have 11 of the top 16 finishers at last week’s PGA Tour stop, the AT&T National.

PGA-bound again

University of Illinois coach Mike Small couldn’t claim his fourth title in the PGA Professionals National Championship in California last week but he did finished fourth, which qualified him for next month’s PGA Championship at Kiahwah in South Carolina.

The Illinois PGA had 14 members among the 312 qualifiers for the PGA Professionals tourney, with Small and David Paeglow the only ones to survive the 36-hole cut. Paeglow, head professional at Kishwaukee in DeKalb, finished in a tie for 60th.

Here and there

Northwestern women’s coach Emily Fletcher got a big boost when Canadian Nicole Zhang transferred to NU from Notre Dame. Zhang was the top-ranked freshman in the country last season for the Irish when she had six top-10 finishes and one tournament victory….Nicole Jeray, the long-time LPGA player from Berwyn, tied for second at the Island Resort Championship, a showing that boosted her from 25th to 12th on the Symetral Tour money list….Defending Illinois Open champion Philip Arouca tied for 34th in last week’s Windy City Open at Bolingbrook. Californian Chris Kilkenny won the Golfweek National Professional Tour event. Arouca had his best finish since suffering a wrist injury last fall….The Chicago District Golf Assn. hosts a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier on Monday at Blackberry Oaks, in Bristol, as well as the first Illinois Amateur eliminations – Monday at Franklin County in downstate West Frankfort and Tuesday at both Sanctuary, in New Lenox, and Panther Creek, in Springfield…..Illinois PGA members get their last tuneup for the Illinois Open at the Ravisloe Classic, in Homewood, on Monday….Midtown Athletic Club, in Palatine, has scheduled a July 23 charity fundraiser at Kemper Lakes, in Long Grove, to benefit the Clearbook facility that provides treatment for people with developmental disabilities.

CDGA AMATEUR: Rain delay was a boost for Davan

Friday’s 36-hole championship match of the 93rd Chicago District Amateur was interrupted by a 2-hour 40-minute rain delay, and the break had a big impact on the outcome.

Michael Davan and David Lawrence, two players who just completed their collegiate eligibility with plans to turn pro in the fall, were locked in a tight battle when the rain pelted Cantigny’s Woodside and Lakeside nines in Wheaton.

Davan was 1-up with a drive in the fairway at the 12th hole when play resumed. He was ready for the match’s restart, Lawrence wasn’t. Davan put his first swing after the delay on the green with a 9-iron from 125 yards while Lawrence hit his 8-iron from 162 far left, into a tree stump. Davan won that hole and took the next two with birdies.

“During the delay I took a nap, and it seemed like it took me an hour and a half to wake up,’’ said Lawrence, a Moline resident and Ohio Valley Conference first-team selection for Eastern Illinois. “I went from 1-down to 4-down quickly.’’

Davan, from downstate Hoopeston and the Horizon League player-of-the-year for Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, never trailed. He went on to a 4 and 3 victory in the first of the Chicago District Golf Association’s two major tourneys. The Illinois State Amateur is in August.

“Rain delays can make for a difficult situation,’’ said Davan. “I knew the shot I had to hit, and doing it gave me momentum. I got on a little run, and that made me comfortable.’’

Lawrence, 6-down at one point, fought back to 3-down with four holes left. He had a 14-foot birdie putt that might have cut the deficit further, but his putt lipped out. Davan then rolled in a 12-footer for birdie to clinch the match.

Four state-wide qualifying round advanced 60 players to the four-day competition at Cantigny. Though he’s had wins in college and junior events, Davan made the CDGA Am – oldest amateur tourney in the Midwest – his first major win. It came after a runner-up finish in the Southwest Amateur last week.

JDC is in the spotlight thanks to Stricker’s four-peat bid

By far the biggest month of the golf season in the Midwest begins in just a few days. July offers the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin and the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities , followed by the two state opens for Illinois golfers and the start of the Western Amateur at Exmoor in Highland Park.

None is bigger than the John Deere Classic, which spotlights Steve Stricker’s bid to become the fourth PGA Tour player to win a tournament four straight years. Only Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen and Tiger Woods have done that – and Woods did it twice.

Stricker won’t be the whole show in the PGA Tour’s only Illinois top in 2012, however. JDC director Clair Peterson’s latest entry report showed that the customary dates the week before the British Open won’t hurt his field in the least.

Forty players who competed in the U.S. Open will tee off at TPC at Deere Run on July 12 and at least 20 qualifiers for the British will have their final tuneup for the year’s third major championship there before jumping on the jet that Peterson has chartered the last five years to get players directly to British site Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England.

Stars from the U.S. Open coming to the Quad Cities include Michael Thompson, who tied for second; Kevin Chappel and John Senden, who tied for 10th; and Jordan Spieth, who was low amateur at the Olympic Club.

In addition the JDC field includes the winners of eight PGA Tour stops this year and 24 from the last two seasons.

“We’re very excited with how the field is shaping up,’’ said Peterson. “Our fans are guaranteed to see not only players who are stars of the future; they’ll also see players who have proven themselves on golf’s greatest stages.’’

Women in waiting

The U.S. Women’s Open, which tees off on July 5, might have two players with Chicago connections in its starting field.

Notre Dame sophomore Ashley Armstrong, from Flossmoor, is first alternate out of the sectional qualifier in St. Louis, and Aimee Neff, the Michigan State alum who won the Illinois Women’s Open in 2008 and 2009, is first alternate from Chicago’s sectional, which was played at Big Foot in Fontana, Wis. They were among a record 1,364 entries, which included players from 47 states and 44 other countries.

The U.S. Golf Assn. doesn’t reveal the order of advancement for alternates of sectional qualifying rounds. Both Armstrong and Neff might have to wait until the first day of competition before knowing if they’re in the field.

A battle to end all battles

The Chicago-based Women’s Western Golf Assn. had a match for the record books at its 112th Amateur championship last week in Monroe, Mich. Mary Michael Maggio and Asia Adell went 13 extra holes in the Round of 16. The longest matches in the U.S. Golf Assn. records were nine extra holes in women’s championships and 10 in men’s.

The Women’s Western Amateur final was memorable, too – a battle of sisters in which Ariya Jutanugarn beat Moryia 2 and 1. Ariya won the U.S. Girls Junior crown at Olympia Fields last year.

Here and there

The match play portion of the 93rd Chicago District Amateur runs through Friday at Cantigny in Wheaton. ….Pam Tyska has retired after coaching Northern Illinois’ women’s team for 26 seasons…..Fourteen Illinois PGA members are in the Professional Players National Championship, which concludes today in California….Northwestern’s Eric Chun was given honorable mention All-America status after ending his senior season with a 71.38 stroke average. That’s fifth-best in NU history behind three of Luke Donald’s seasons in Evanston and one by Jess Daley in 2000….Illinois had NCAA champion Thomas Pieters on the All-American first team and Luke Guthrie on the second team. Guthrie, is the fourth Illini players to be selected multiple times, behind Stricker (1987-89), James Lepp (2002-03) and Scott Langley (2009-11)….Last of the seven qualifiers for the July 16-18 Illinois Open is Thursday at downstate Effingham Country Club.…Adam Wood of Zionsville, Ind., won the first of the Western Golf Association’s three championships of 2012. He took the Western Junior by four shots at Country Club of Florida last week…. Oakley has joined sponsors for the Illinois Open and will also be presenting sponsor of the Aug. 20 stroke play event at Schaumburg and the Nov. 3-7 pro-am at Georgia’s Reynolds Plantation resort.

A nice gesture from the Missouri School of Journalism

The University of Missouri School of Journalism honored me in its Profiles of Success in June, 2012.

Len Ziehm


LEN ZIEHM

Sportswriter (Retired)
at Chicago Sun-Times

Degree(s): BJ ’65
Whereabouts: Chicago, Illinois, United States

What do you do?
Retired from the Chicago Sun-Times in June 2010 after 41 years in the sports department, I’ve stepped up my freelance writing and am coordinating my writing projects through the website, lenziehmongolf.com. In retirement. I’ve continued to do some writing for the Sun-Times. I’m also doing a weekly golf column for the Daily Herald chain of Chicago suburban newspapers, weekly columns and features for Chicago District Golfer newspapers. I’ve also been a regular contributor for the Chicago District Golfer magazine and report on the Chicago Fire soccer team for the Comcast SportsNet Chicago website. Those were somewhat extensions off my Sun-Times days, but I’m also working to develop myself in travel writing. In addition to some pieces in print publications, I’ve been highlighting these projects on my website and my four website partners.

How did you get your job?
The freelance work started when I was still at the Sun-Times, where my beats also included collegiate sports (11 years), the Chicago Blackhawks (nine years), tennis (five years) and the Chicago Marathon, which I’ve covered for about 25 years.

What is the best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?
You need to be resourceful and versatile. (Don’t know that the latter is as much a requirement now as it was when I came out of J-School.)

What advice do you have for current students?
Explore all phases of journalism. When I was in school I wanted (and got involved in) newspaper work. Now the options aren’t as limited as they were then.

What is your favorite J-School memory?
In college I was also on the cross country team and, at least twice, I went to road meets with the cross country team, ran in a Saturday morning race, left the team to cover an afternoon football team and then drove back to Columbia with my sports-writing partner. Ah, those were the days!

Any parting comments?
Just stopped back in Columbia in May and was pleasantly surprised to see how the town and campus have changed. It was always a happy, festive place for me and conjured good memories. I’d only been back in town twice since leaving in 1967. The facilities for both the Missourian and Columbia Tribune (where I held a part-time job while in graduate school) have improved greatly.

Illinois Open site change delights defending champion Arouca

For over three decades Illinois club professionals dominated their amateur counterparts. Those days are apparently over.

Last week the Chicago District Golf Association’s amateur stars beat the Illinois PGA’s best 11 ½-6 ½ in the 51st Radix Cup matches at Oak Park Country Club. That was the CDGA’s fourth win in five years in the competition, though the IPGA has a 32-17-2 edge in the rivalry.

With the team event over, both the CDGA and IPGA are preparing for their biggest championships and for Philip Arouca, the defending champion in the IPGA’s Illinois Open, that’s a big task.

Arouca won last year’s Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods Country Club but won’t defend there. After four years at Hawthorn Woods the IPGA is taking the championship back to The Glen Club in Glenview, with the 54-hole showdown coming July 16-18.

Normally a defender would prefer going for a repeat on the same course. Not so for Arouca. The Wilmette resident caddied at The Glen Club, played in two Illinois Opens there and has joined his father as a member for the last three years. He was “absolutely ecstatic’’ when he heard about the venue switch.

Arouca hasn’t been so happy about his health since his biggest win of 2011. He developed a stress fracture in his right wrist during the first stage of PGA Tour qualifying school last fall, forcing him to not touch a club for five weeks. He’s resuming competition this week in a National Pro Golf Tour event at Michigan’s Treetops course. That mini-circuit has been Arouca’s playground since the last Illinois Open and will remain that way until the shooting starts at The Glen.

Last year that tour held small regional tournaments in the Chicago area, with Arouca winning at Highlands of Elgin and finishing second at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Over the next three weeks he’ll play in 72-hole $150,000 events the circuit is staging at Treetops, Bolingbrook and Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis.

“The wrist pain at the end of last year wasn’t much fun, and it’s been a struggle lately,’’ he said, “but I’m real excited to finally have a good solid event schedule.’’

Amateurs were medalists at the first three qualifiers for the Illinois Open. Bloomington’s Alex Burge was best in the first qualifier with a 67 at Bloomington Country Club. Another amateur, Dan Strawbridge from Roselle, was low man at Deerfield with a 68 and still another, Joe Willis of Lake Forest, matched pro Tommy Bliefnick of Decatur for low round at Bull Valley in Woodstock. Both carded 70s.

The last four qualifiers are Wednesday (JUNE 20) at Lincolnshire, Monday (JUNE 25) at Inverness, Tuesday (JUNE 26) at Highlands of Elgin and June 28 at Effingham Country Club.

More changes for CDGA Amateur

Last year the 36-hole final of the CDGA Amateur was played on a different course than all the previous matches because the opportunity to play Medinah No. 3 was deemed too good an opportunity to pass up. September’s Ryder Cup venue produced a stirring climax to the historic championship, Bloomington’s Kyle English outlasting El Paso’s Andy Mickelson over 37 holes.

This year the tourney is making another unusual change for its 93rd staging at Cantigny in Wheaton. Departing from its traditional Monday-Thursday scheduling for the second straight year, the event will start next Tuesday and there will be another refinement with the 36-hole stroke play qualifying will be spread over two days. Match play for the 16 finalists will start next Wednesday afternoon – shortly after the second stroke play qualifying round.

As was the case last year, the scheduling change was made because outings were previously scheduled at Cantigny, the first public facility to host the CDGA Amateur since Pine Meadow, in Mundelein, co-hosted with Medinah in 1991. English and Mickelson are both entered, with English hoping to become the first repeat winner since Joe Affrunti in 2000 and 2001.

Here and there

Luke Donald’s fourth annual Taste of the First Tee fundraiser will be held Wednesday (JUNE 20) at Northern Trust’s headquarters in Chicago. PGA Tour stars Steve Stricker and Mark Wilson will also participate…..The Bears beat the Packers 10-2 in Monday’s Rivalry Cup at Medinah’s No. 3 layout…..Chalet, in Cary, and Chapel Hill, in McHenry, have been added to GolfVisions’ Player Pass program….Crane’s Landing, in Lincolnshire, and Willow Crest, in Oak Brook, are among the courses joining in the Fairways-Fore-Freedom program initiated by Marriott Golf to provide active, reserve and retired military personnel with both free and discounted golf opportunities….The Chicago qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Public Links tourney is at Oak Grove, in Harvard, on Wednesday…..Deerpath, in Lake Forest, will host the Illinois PGA Junior boys and girls championships Wednesday and Thursday (JUNE 20-21).

Hot nine on Scarlet course got Streelman into the Open

Kevin Streelman’s golf game may be peaking at just the right time.

The PGA Tour player from Winfield got into this week’s U.S. Open with an extraordinary nine holes in last week’s 36-hole sectional qualifier in Columbus. After shooting a 71 in the first 18, played at Scioto – Jack Nicklaus’ home course as a youth, Streelman exploded with a 30 on the front nine of his second 18, played at Ohio State University’s well-respected Scarlett course.

That burst made the final nine easy as Streelman finished third in the toughest of the 13 sectionals held across the country. The field at Columbus was filled with PGA Tour players, who chose to qualify there because of its proximity to the circuit’s Memorial tournament.

Streelman will be paired with D.A. Points, the former University of Illinois golfer from Pekin, and Korean Dong-Hwan Lee, who will be playing in the tournament for the first time, in the first two rounds. They start off the No. 1 tee at San Francisco’s Olympic Club at 12:05 p.m. (Chicago time) on Thursday. Streelman played the Olympic Club about five years ago when he was toiling on the mini-tours.

“It was just for fun, but I love that golf course,’’ said Streelman as he prepared for a practice round with Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley in Phoenix last week. “That course is very demanding, and this Open will be unique because the course is so difficult going out. The first eight-nine holes are the most difficult but you can make birdies coming in.’’

Streelman is in the biggest U.S. championship for the third time and survived the 36-hole cut the first two times. His best finish, though, was a tie for 53rd in his first Open – also in California, at Torrey Pines – in 2008.

“I led that one after the first round,’’ he said. “This will be my seventh major (championship). They’re a little different kind of pressure, and you get more comfortable each time you do it.’

On the home front

While the U.S. Open owns the golf spotlight this week, there will be two big events going on locally. The 79th Illinois Women’s Amateur makes a rare Chicago area appearance at Ravisloe in Homewood, and the 51st Radix Cup matches are on tap at Oak Park Country Club.

The women’s event started with a qualifying round on Tuesday and match play competition will run through Friday. Wednesday’s Radix Cup is a team event pitting the top players in the Illinois PGA against the top amateurs in the Chicago District Golf Assn. The pros hold a 32-16-2 edge in the series.

Kemper Lakes changes membership policy

Kemper Lakes, which hosted the 1989 PGA Championship during its start as a public facility, has announced a market-based pricing program that allows current members to offer their memberships for sale to new members at a price driven by market demand.

“It’s an incredible program that achieves all our objectives,’’ said general manager Janet Dobson. “We can garner new members during a slow period, we can introduce new members into the club and it allows current members who need to retire from the club the chance to do so without a waiting period.’’

Face value of a membership is $50,000. Membership director Steve Kashul said that initial sales under the new program were trading at 15 percent of the stated price with three currently available for $7,500.

Here and there

Luke Guthrie, who won the individual Big Ten title for Illinois this season and tied for 19th in the Memphis St. Jude Classic on Sunday in his professional debut, has accepted a sponsor’s exemption to next month’s John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities. Also accepting invites were college freshman stars Patrick Rodgers of Stanford and Jordan Spieth of Texas….Mistwood’s recently-renovated course in Romeoville opens to the public on Friday (JUNE 15). Though the course will be in full operation, work around the new learning center will be evident and the parking lot is being doubled in size, to accommodate 240 cars. A stoplight is also being installed at the course entrance to facilitate an expected heavier traffic flow….Scott Langley, the former NCAA champion for Illinois, gets the honor of hitting the first tee shot off the No. 1 tee at the U.S. Open on Thursday….The Champions Tour may be returning to Chicago for the first time since 2002. Though no announcement has been made, the circuit is expected to bring its Tampa Bay event to either North Shore Country Club in Glenview or Evanston Golf Club in Skokie starting in 2013…..The First Tee of Greater Chicago begins its program at Cog Hill, in Lemont, on Friday (JUNE 15)….Illinois Open qualifying resumes at Bull Valley in Woodstock on Thursday (JUNE 14).

Odyssey’s a place for more than just fun golf

TINLEY PARK, IL. – At first it seemed a walk down memory lane.

I hadn’t been back to the Odyssey Country Club in Chicago’s south suburbs since 1997 – the third and final year the course was used as the site of the Illinois Women’s Open championship. Odyssey got that tournament, the state’s most prestigious for women, off to a great start.

This recent visit was to participate in the Concierge & Hospitality Professionals Golf Outing, a delightful affair organized for the eighth straight year by Cheryl Justak to create awareness about the great golf available in the Chicago area and introduce it to concierges who can, in turn, pass it on to their clients and customers.

This year’s outing enabled me to re-connect with Ed Staffan, Odyssey’s manager/golf professional, and get acquainted with Nick Halikias, vice president of operations for the family-owned course and facility. The family also owns the adjoining Odyssey Fun World.

I didn’t know my playing partners before arrival, but James Cook, Tyrone Lyons and Stan Lee were all great guys. Stan could really deliver the long ball, Tyrone (my cart partner) hit some almost as long as Stan and had the sometimes difficult task of keeping my head in the game. Jimmy was the steadying influence for the rest of us.

There may have been better teams than ours (we finished 2-under-par), but I doubt any had as much fun.

Odyssey is a long drive from my home (over an hour), and that’s the main reason I didn’t have it on my calendar for such a long time. But I’ll be back.

I was very impressed with the development of both the course (designed by Harry Bowers and two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange, used as the consultant) and – particularly – the clubhouse. I’ve seen most every clubhouse at the Chicago area’s public courses, and Odyssey has one of the very best. It’s outing-friendly, and a perfect setup for weddings and other social gatherings.

I just wish I could have tasted the cuisine prepared by chef Alex Ottman, but another golf-related event – the flag-raising ceremony for the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, world No. 1 Luke Donald’s home course – was also a not-to-be missed socializing opportunity.

I had remembered the Odyssey course as player-friendly, yet plenty challenging. That hadn’t changed over the years. The par-72 layout is filled with lakes, wildflowers and gardens all meshing with holes that measure 7,095 from the back tees. Plus, the wildlife on the course is extraordinary. The course has a rating of 73.1 with a slope of 131.

Located between First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, one of the nation’s largest outdoor music venues, and Odyssey Fun World, which attract kids of all ages, Odyssey Country Club, 19110 S. Ridgeland, has a great location for entertainment options before and after a round of golf.