Author: lenz

Medinah announcement might be highlight of 2021 Chicago golf season

That horrible pandemic made 2021 a difficult year for everybody, but it was somewhat less so for those in the Chicago area golf industry. The courses were busy, the big events were back on schedule and an extraordinarily large number of facilities took on expansion projects.

The biggest was at Heritage Oaks, the Northbrook Park District’s facility formerly called Sportsman’s. It got a remake of its 27 holes and a new clubhouse, a $12.75 million project with the clubhouse costing $6 million. The facility was closed throughout 2020, but everything was up and running in August of 2021.

Another overhaul, at The Preserve at Oak Meadows in Addison, was brought to an end with the building of a new $12.6 million clubhouse that opened in early August. The work on its 18-hole course, owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and long beset by flooding issues, required a $16 million renovation that was completed three years earlier.

The Preserve had been in operation since 1923 (as Elmhurst Country Club), and Heritage Oaks dated back to 1931 (as Sky Harbor Golf Club ). The revival of these two longstanding facilities were a big deal, but not as impressive cost-wise as a project that Medinah Country Club announced in the waning days of December.

A membership vote approved a $23.5 million renovation of the club’s famous No. 3 course, a layout that opened in 1923 and has hosted three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and the 2012 Ryder Cup. Work won’t start on the renovation until the fall of 2022 and the new version won’t re-open until sometime in 2024 but, golf-wise, it’ll be the talk of the town for a few years at least.

The club wants to have the new version in top shape for the 2026 President’s Cup matches. That’ll be the next of Medinah’s high-profile events.  The work will be done by OCM, an Australian design firm headed by former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and partners Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead.

While Medinah No. 3 has long been one of the world’s most famous courses, its new version will look much different. It’ll have three new holes, with a five-hole short course and enlarged putting green also part of the renovation plans.

William Kuehn, the Medinah president, said the renovation wasn’t taken on just because the President’s Cup is coming.

“The plan encapsulates a continuing vision to provide compelling tournament play and a world-class golf experience for members, guests and the professional tournament player,’’ said Kuehn.

Michael Scimo, a former club president and the club’s chairman for the President’s Cup, said Medinah “has an option for another tour event.’’ That includes the possibility of a U.S. Open returning to the Chicago area. That event was last held at Medinah in 1990 and the event hasn’t been at a Chicago course since Olympia Fields hosted in 2003.

Medinah had more to celebrate in 2021 than the massive plans for its showcase course.  Tee-K Kelly, a Medinah member, won the Illinois Open and also earned conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour, which offers a direct pathway to the PGA Tour for its best players in the 2022 season.

BEFORE 2021 is gone there were some other big memories made within the Chicago golf world:

Northbrook’s Nick Hardy earned his PGA Tour card thanks to his solid play over the last two years on the Korn Ferry circuit, and he immediately proved he can compete on the premier circuit when he made the cut in three of his first four tournaments as a PGA member.

Highwood’s Patrick Flavin had a huge week in the PGA’s Bermuda Open, winning $99,125 for a tie for 17th finish after making the starting field through Monday qualifying.

Batavia-based equipment manufacturer Tour Edge made a huge signing in adding Bernhard Langer to its roster of PGA Tour Champions staffers.  Langer went on to win the Charles Schwab Cup, and Tour Edge got a late-season boost when John Daly, with 13 Tour Edge clubs in his bag, teamed up with his son to the win the PNC Championship.

Winnetka’s Elizabeth Szokol, in her second season as Illinois’ lone LPGA Tour player, made a huge climb on the money list from her rookie campaign.  Thanks largely to a third-place finish (worth $198,617) in the Founders Cup, Szokol topped the $500,000 mark for the season.

The Western Golf Association announced it’s bringing the BMW Championship back to Chicago area.  It’ll be played at Olympia Fields in 2023. The WGA also landed a new sponsor for its Korn Ferry event. Formerly the Evans Scholars Invitational, it’ll be known as the NV5 Invitational Presented by First Midwest Bank when it is held in May at The Glen Club in Glenview.

While Mistwood’s Andy Mickelson won the Illinois PGA Championship, the section’s players of the year were Skokie’s Garrett Chaussard in the regular division and Blackberry Oaks’ Roy Biancalana in the senior division. Nick Tenuta, of Mount Prospect, and Mark Small, of Frankfort, were the Players of the Year in the Chicago District Golf Association season.

University of Illinois alum Tristyn Nowlin won the Illinois Women’s Open at Mistwood after finishing second in both the IWO and Women’s Western Amateur at the Romeoville Course in 2018.

The Preserve at Oak Meadows and Heritage Oaks aren’t the only places to  get new clubhouses in 2021.  Fox Run,  in Elk Grove, just opened a new one, too, and more are in the planning stages at Glencoe Golf Club, Heritage Bluffs,  in Channahon, and Settler’s Hill, in Geneva. The Bridges at Poplar Creek, in Hoffman Estates, also just opened its new indoor-outdoor practice range so the building boom appears to be ongoing.

In summing up 2021 it should be noted world-wide climax came not too far away.  After two decades of frustration in the Ryder Cup matches the U.S. team posted a record 19-9 victory when the biennial competition was held at Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits in October.

 

 

New additions open at Poplar Creek, Fox Run courses

The Bridges of Poplar Creek has opened its new covered and heated practice area.

While most area golf courses are in the process of closing for the season, a couple are just kicking into high gear thanks to the completion of some major construction work.

The Bridges of Poplar Creek, an 18-holer in Hoffman Estates, has opened its new Toptracer Range. It features 10 covered, heated hitting bays. While a Grand Opening won’t be held until March director of golf Brian Bechtold has set a six-day-a-week operating schedule.

It’ll be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4-8 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.  Fee is $25 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, $40 per hour Wednesdays and Fridays and $50 per hour on Saturdays and Sundays.  A maximum of six golfers per bay is permitted. Reservations can be made seven days in advance and food and beverage service is available.

The 140-foot long facility, built at a cost of $750,000, is a Hoffman Estates Park District property.  It has two sets of heaters and was built adjacent to the first tee and driving range.

Bechtold said the original target date for opening the facility was in June but it had to be continually pushed back for a variety pandemic-related issues.

Fox Run, an 18-hole facility in Elk Grove, opens its new sports bar on Friday, Dec. 17.  It has a full service restaurant, 22 televisions and three simulators with fees of $45 on weekends and $40 on weekdays.

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC – Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event was moved up a week on the circuit’s 2022 calendar to June 27 through July 3, making it opposite the Fourth of  July Weekend, and that’s not all.

In recent years the JDC chartered a jet to take its players directly to the following week’s British Open. The earlier spot in the schedule makes that unnecessary, as players will have more time to get to the year’s final major championship, but more will have the opportunity to play in the British next year by doing well at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis.

The top JDC finisher among the top five finishers not previously qualified for the British Open were given a spot in the field in previous years.  In 2022 that opportunity will be awarded to three players from the top 10. No such exemptions were offered in 2021 due to pandemic concerns but Jordan Spieth (2013) and Bryson DeChambeau (2017) with recipients in the past.

JDC executive director Clair Peterson also announced the charity payoff from last year’s 50th anniversary playing of the tournament.  It raised $12,568,038 for 470 local charities in the Quad Cities area.

CDGA – Chicago golf organizing groups rarely announce the following year’s event schedule until the spring, but the Chicago District Golf Association broke with tradition and unveiled an 86-event schedule complete with the sites  for 2022.  There are 55 on the championship slate and 31 on the social side.

Key dates and sites are July 19-21 for the 91st Illinois State Amateur, to be played at Westmoreland in Wilmette, and June 27-30 for the 102nd Chicago District Amateur, to be played at Glen Flora in Waukegan.

The CDGA is also coming out with a commemorative yardage book, this one a coffee table version produced by PuttView Books of Delaware, listing its Dream Eighteen holes. Olympia Fields, with its Nos. 2 and 6 chosen, is the only course with more than one hole honored in the voting by CDGA members.

HERE AND THERE: The Eskimo Open, the annual cold weather tournament for golf diehards, is coming up on Jan. 2 at Cog Hill, in Palos Park….Tony Anderson, a Chicago Golf Club member, has been nominated for a second three-year term on the U.S. Golf Association’s Executive Board.  The election is Feb. 19 at the USGA’s annual meeting in California….Tristyn Nowlin, a stalwart on the University of Illinois women’s teams and the reigning Illinois Women’s Open champion, missed getting her LPGA playing privileges by two strokes in last week’s finals of the circuit’s qualifying tournament in Dothan, Ala….Inverness Golf Club is getting a grounds makeover with the addition of resort-like facilities. Paddle and pickleball courts, indoor golf simulators, a sports par and casual dining room are under construction at the private club….Eagle Ridge Resort, in Galena, is in the process of moving its Stonedrift Spa – located in the clubhouse for nearly 20 years – to a stand-alone location.  The move will increase the spa’s size from 3,500 square feet to over 8,000 and Abi Porter, formerly of Elms Hotel in Missouri, will manage the new facility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bubba Watson’s `Up & Down’ is well worth reading

It was part of my tournament coverage routine at a PGA Tour events to walk at least nine holes in the first two rounds with a player just to get a handle on the course.  At that stage of a tournament it wasn’t necessary to be caught up in what players were in contention.  That could wait for the weekend.

During those early tournaments rounds there was no player I’d rather walk with than Bubba Watson. Sure, over most of those years he was one of the PGA Tour’s top players but that wasn’t why I’d spend time with him. I did it because he was fascinating to watch.  His creative shot-making skills were obvious, whether he was playing good or bad. He would try to bend shots right or left, over or around trees or hazards.  That was his style.

There’s a lot more to Bubba Watson than his shot-making skills, though.  I learned that in detail in reading a book, “Up &^ Down: Victories and Struggles with the Course of Life,’’  that he wrote largely during the pandemic stoppage of the PGA Tour season with the help of Don Jaeger (W Publishing Group).

In our frequent travels we passed through the small town of Bagdad, FL., many times and found it unusual that a town of less than 4,000 near the Alabama line could spawn three PGA Tour players – Watson (the best of them), Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley.  Watson still lives there and is active in the Pensacola area community in a variety of ways,  not the least of which is his part-ownership of a minor league baseball team known as the Blue Wahoos..

A few things that make Bubba interesting: his wife Angie was a star basketball player, they have two adopted children and — oh, yes –Watson – as you might remember – won the Masters twice.

And, there’s a lot more to Bubba Watson than that.  In “Up & Down’’ he candidly reveals his struggles on and off the course, his growing religious faith, his battles with anxiety and his ongoing efforts to make himself a better person. In short the book reveals what makes Bubba tick. It’s a most interesting, thoughtfully-written book, and I heartily recommend reading it.

Chicago experienced an extraordinary golf building boom in 2021

The 2021 Chicago golf season should be remembered for much more than pandemic-related issues.  Some extraordinary building was going on at clubs across the Chicago area, and it wasn’t all done on golf courses.

Golf course renovations are commonplace annually, but this year the most noteworthy upgrading related to clubhouses. Two facilities – The Preserve at Oak Meadows, in Addison, and Heritage Oaks, in Northbrook — opened brand new clubhouses and a third — Fox Run, in Elk Grove, will unveil its new one any day now.

And, two other facilities – Settler’s Hill, in Geneva, and Heritage Oaks, in Channahon – are well underway with clubhouse developments.  Theirs will open in 2022.

Here’s how these massive clubhouse projects look as this season winds down:

THE PRESERVE AT OAK MEADOWS: The Preserve’s clubhouse was the first to open, in early August, and it also took the longest to complete. The course, which began in 1923 as Elmhurst Country Club, was without a clubhouse since lightning destroyed the previous one in 2009.

Building a new clubhouse wasn’t as high on the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s priority list as getting the golf course up to par. It had long been beset by flooding issues.  They were solved as part of a $16 million renovation but it took three more years for the new $12.6 million clubhouse to be up and running.

The new one, measuring slightly under 14,000 square feet, was designed by Dan Wohfeil, who had previously created the much bigger clubhouse for Mistwood, in Romeoville. Nineteen architects submitted proposals before Wohfeil was selected.

Ed Stevenson was a focal point throughout the lengthy course and clubhouse projects.  Long the director of golf at the Preserve, Stevenson also served as executive director of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County during critical times when the work was going on.

The new clubhouse looks much different than the old, more stately one.  Construction began on Sept. 17 of 2019. Wohfeil’s version offers the Greenway Restaurant,  a most pleasant sports bar, great views of the golf course and also includes a pro shop.  The old one was closed in the final days before completion of the clubhouse.  It’ll be converted into to a base for indoor golf activities.

 

HERITAGE OAKS: The Northbrook Park District completely revamped what had been Sportsman’s Country Club. The facility started as Sky Harbor Golf Club when the course opened in 1931 and was a 54-hole facility at one time.

It was long known as Sportsman’s Country Club, with 27 holes, prior to its re-opening in late August. The change in name to Heritage Oaks Golf Club was in keeping with the complete upheaval involved in the construction process.

“It was almost like opening a brand-new facility,’’ said general manager Greg Baron.  “The Sportsman’s name  didn’t suggest we were a very inclusive facility, but 30 to 40 percent of our play is women, and we’ve never been a country club.  We’re a golf club.’’

Unlike the Preserve at Oak Meadows, the course and clubhouse creations were handled simultaneously and the facility was closed for the  entire 2021 season.  The clubhouse, the 18-hole and 9-hole courses and the practice range all opened together.

Libertyville architect Rick Jacobson supervised work on the courses and range and  RATIO Architects of Indianapolis handled the clubhouse.  The renovations of the property was a $12.75 millions property with the clubhouse costing $6 million.

The 10,000-square foot clubhouse includes the full-service Acorn Grill, a bar that seats 20 and an area set aside for two golf simulators. The restaurant can seat 80 inside and 48 more on the terrace.  There’s a window wall that opens to the outside. In the Sportsman’s days there was no bar.  “It was just a glorified walkup window,’’ said Baron.

 

FOX RUN: The 18-hole course in Elk Grove wasn’t touched while an $8.5 million clubhouse was under construction.  The construction work was expected to be completed in mid-October and general manager Tom Klaas anticipated  completion of the project would come in late November or early December.

Klaas and his staff have operated out of a trailer this season, and it was taken down on Oct. 15. Williams Architects of Itasca designed the new building.

“We designed away from the traditional pro shop,’’ said Klaas.  “Our planning started with the maintenance building, which was built in 1984 and was the oldest on (Elk Grove) Park District property.’’

Eventually the decision was made to combine the maintenance facility with a new clubhouse.  The old one was demolished after Labor Day in 2020.

“We’ll be a 12-month facility now,’’ said Klaas.  “We wanted to keep our players engaged in the winter.  We’ll have a sports bar opened all winter with a kitchen and lots of TVs.  We’ll also have three Full Swing screen simulators and we do have our slots room, too.’’

 

AND STILL COMING:  New clubhouse construction was barely underway at Settler’s Hill and Heritage Bluffs as the 2021 season was fading away.

Settler’s Hill was closed all season for work on the course, but that all was dictated by plans for a new clubhouse. The old course had no practice range with neither of the nines returning to the existing clubhouse. That’ll be corrected with the building of a new, more centrally located clubhouse.  The old one will remain as a banquet facility. Target date for completion is mid-July of 2022.

Heritage Bluffs, owned by the Channahon Park District, is a well-established, well-received course that opened in 1993.  The Park District board approved a design for a new clubhouse in January, the  most notable feature being an indoor-outdoor bar area. Construction began in June and the old clubhouse was demolished in July. The new clubhouse is also slated for an opening some time in 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

Palm Aire’s Champions Course re-opens on Dec. 1

The par-5 eleventh hole of The Champions Course at Sarasota’s Palm Aire Country Club has come a long way in the construction process. (Mike Benkusky Photos)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SARASOTA, FL. – The Champions Course at Palm Aire Country Club was one of the more difficult courses in Florida, and it may still be. It will, however, have a much different look when it re-opens following an extensive $2 million  renovation on December 1.

The original version, created by architect Dick Wilson, opened in 1957 when the club was named DeSoto Lakes. The club added a second 18-holer, The Lakes – a Joe Lee design, in 1984 when the Palm Aire name went into effect.

In its early years the Champion layout was known as the Green Monster and was the site of PGA and LPGA Tour events as well as the National Lefthanders Championship and the LPGA Legends Tour’s Handa Cup. Tour events won’t likely return because the practice range is on the short side, but new features will stir conversation once the club’s members and their guests have crack at it.

Illinois-based architect Mike Benkusky, who had worked almost entirely in the Midwest before landing the Palm Aire project, calls the renovation “a re-imagining’’ of the course that the respected Wilson brought to life.  Wilson’s work also included Bay Hill and Doral’s Blue Monster in Florida and the Dubsdread course at Cog Hill in the Chicago area.

The Champion’s  “re-imagining’’ will feature runway tees, two of them measuring about 100 yards; the use of 15 acres of crushed shells that will benefit cart traffic but will come into play as well; and a vastly different scorecard. There’ll be eight – yes, eight – sets of rated tee markers for the men and five for the women and they’ll be designated by numbers, not the colors used in the past. Tee markers will range from 4,466 yards on the short end to 7,126 at the tips – that’s 125 yards longer than the pre-imagining layout.

“Using tee numbers instead of colors will change peoples’ mindsets,’’ said Palm Aire director of golf Jay Seymour, who has been at the club for 11 years.  “Instead of playing the white tees, players may decide to play the 4-tees or the 5-tees. It comes down to what yardage do you want to play, not what color.’’

The flagsticks will all have white flags, so they won’t designate a pin placement in the front, middle or back of the green.

“That’s not always the best way to utilize the greens surface,’’ said Seymour. “We’ll be taking advantage of technology to do that.’’

Palm Aire has been a test site for Easy Locater’s state of the art app that provides a more detailed description of the pin locations.

While most of the concrete cart paths will remain, the crushed shells will combine with the runway tees to create a more modern day look for the course overall. The long tee boxes not only provide an updated appearance but will  also  enhance maintenance procedures.

Sixty-five oak trees were removed in the “re-imagining’’ and lots of collection areas were created around the greens.  A history wall was erected around the No. 1 tee. Greens were expanded to their original size and bunkers were given a more severe look while the new BillyBunker system will improve drainage in them. And, the sand is now white instead of tan.

While overall yardage hasn’t changed dramatically, the way it has been distributed will be noticeable.

“For those who preferred the White tees the yardage stayed the same, about 6,000 to 6,100 yards,’’ said Seymour, “but the par-5s will now be on the shorter side and the par-3s will be on the longer side.  There’ll be a nice mix of par-4s.’’

The original target date for the re-opening was Nov. 1, then the greens committee pushed it back to Nov. 13 and finally to the recently announced Dec. 1.

“They’re not rushing it – and that’s good,’’ said Benkusky.“Everything’s looking good.  The greens look very good. We’re right on schedule.’’.

Seymour said some college events and USGA qualifiers would like be held on the Champion Course.  That’s in contrast to when Wilson did his work. The PGA Tour conducted the DeSoto Open there in 1960, Sam Snead winning the title. A year later another Hall of Famer, Louise Suggs, won Golden Circle of Golf Festival, an LPGA event, on the course. That was one of Suggs’ five wins that season.

 

 

Olympia Fields will host another BMW Championship in 2023

The PGA Tour’s 2021 season concluded on Sunday, but the circuit – along with the Western Golf Association – made an announcement on Monday that will have a huge effect on the Chicago golf community for years to come.

After a two-year absence the PGA Tour will be back in the Chicago area in 2023 with Olympia Fields named as the site for another playing of the BMW Championship.

And that’s not all. The announcement also included a five-year extension of the BMW Championship as the second event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs through 2027. That waylays any fears that the tour’s season-ending playoff series might be headed to a major revampment.

The FedEx Cup Playoffs were launched in 2007 and Chicago was part of it after the WGA agreed to discontinue the Western Open, a tournament first played in 1899 and a Chicago fixture since 1962. BMW took over sponsorship of the event then.

While the WGA considers the BMW Championship an extension of the tradition-rich Western, there are major differences in format and venue choice.  The Western was a full-field event, the BMW is limited to the top 70 players on the FedEx Cup point standings.  While the Western was a Chicago fixture, the WGA has taken the tournament out of town frequently.  It was played at Cave’s Valley, in Maryland, this year and will be played at Wilmington Country Club, in Delaware. The sites after 2023 have not been announced.

Those changes have been very beneficial to the WGA, which uses proceeds to benefit its Evans Scholars Foundation.  The Foundation has provided college scholarships for caddies since 1930.  Over the past 15 years the BMW Championship has raised more than $40 million on behalf of the Evans Scholars and that has helped send more than 3,000 students to college.  This academic year a record 1,070 caddies are attending 21 schools on Evans Scholarships.

The North Course at Olympia Fields was the last Chicago site for the tournament in 2020. That staging produced one of the most memorable playings of the BMW Championship, though it went on without fans due to pandemic concerns.  It ended with a one-hole playoff that was decided when Jon Rahm beat Dustin Johnson by sinking a 66-foot putt.

Olympia had a rich tournament history long before Rahm’s putt dropped.  Professional champions crowned there in one big tournament or another were Jock Hutchison (1920), Walter Hagen (1927), Macdonald Smith (1933), Jack Nicklaus (1968), Bruce Crampton (1971) and Jim Furyk (2003).  Current star Bryson DeChambeau also won the 2015 U.S. Amateur there and Danielle Kang captured the 2017 Women’s PGA Championship at the south suburban layout.

The BMW has also been an organizational success.  It has been named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year four times (2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014).

“BMW has been our valued partner and a steadfast supporter of both our championships and the Evans Scholars Foundation,’’ said John Kazkowki, the WGA president and chief executive officer.  “As title sponsor BMW has fully embraced our mission, helping us transform the Evans Scholars Foundation into a truly national program.  We’re excited and grateful for the opportunity to continue working together to change the lives of you caddies nationwide.’’

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan also credited BMW for its role in the FedEx Cup Playoff series.

“BMW’s commitment to presenting a best-in-class event each year continues to elevate the Playoffs,’’ said Monahan.

 

 

 

 

 

Jin Young Ko’s epic win caps off a big week for the LPGA

 

No doubt about it: Korea’s Jin Young Ko is the best player on the LPGA tour in 2021.

NAPLES, FL. – The PGA and LPGA tours concluded their 2021 seasons on Sunday, and the women went out with a bigger bang than the men.

The PGA Tour reached its high point a couple months ago with the staging of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Ryder Cup. Those were tough acts for the remaining tournaments to follow. On the other hand, the LPGA took the more traditional route. The biggest event was the last one.

Korea’s Jin Young Ko won that big event for the second straight year, but her win was much different than the one in 2020, when the tourney was played without fans because of pandemic concerns.

Ko started the final round in a four-way tie for the lead with American Nelly Korda, Japan’s Nasa Hataoka and France’s Celine Boutier.  Ko fired a 63 to edge Hataoka by one stroke.  Korda, the other member of the final threesome, wound up in a tie for fifth place.  Boutier, who played in the next-to-the-last threesome, tied for third.

A left wrist injury bothered Ko since May and she considered withdrawing in the days leading into the tournament, but she was awesome in the last event of the season.  She reached the green in regulation in her last 63 holes.

“I didn’t practice much,’’ said Ko, “but I played really well.  The whole week was amazing.’’

“She made everything,’’ said Korda.  “I just stood back and watched her all day.’’

In addition to winning the Race to the CME Globe Ko also overtook Korda for the LPGA’s Rolex Player of the Year Award.The Race to the CME Globe has brought together the LPGA’s top players for that calendar year since 2011.  This year’s had 60 players chasing a $5 million purse and Ko received a record $1.5 million.

As a footnote, Winnetka’s Elizabeth Szokol became the first Chicago area golfer to even qualify for the LPGA’s biggest event.  She shot her best round of the week — a 69 — on Sunday and tied for 51st place.

In a sense, however, the biggest news of the week came before the first ball was struck at Tiburon Golf Club.  Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who replaced Mike Whan as the LPGA commissioner four months ago, had taken a low-key approach to her new role until the CME’s pre-tournament banquet.

Samaan had been athletic director at Princeton when Whan was finishing up his successful 11-year stint with the LPGA.  Whan became the executive director of the U.S. Golf Association when Samaan started tackling LPGA issues, and she finally shed some light on where she’ll be taking the women’s circuit. It looks like it’ll be to a better place.

In 2021 the LPGA purses totaled $67.5 million, with the $5 million at the CME event topping the list. Last week’s tournament announcement revealed a season boost in purses to $85.7 million for 2022.  Nine of the 34 tournaments boosted their purses, most notably the CME.  Its purse will climb to $7 million with the first prize boosted to $2 million.

“This is our time,’’ said Samaan.  “Momentum is with us.  There’s even more growth to come in so many different areas.’’

For now, though, those who want to watch the pro golf tours will have to endure at least a six-week waiting period.  The PGA and LPGA will hold their Tournament of Champions in January. The PGA, as well as PGA Tour Champions, will hold theirs in Hawaii.  The PGA version is at Kapalua Jan. 3-9 and the Champions will tee it up at Hualalai Jan. 17-22.

The women’s version will be slightly later and at a new site.  It’ll move to Lake Nona, in Florida, with dates of Jan. 20-23.  The first three events on the LPGA’s 2022 schedule will be in the Sunshine State.

 

 

Sore wrist can’t keep Korean star from stringing seven birdies

 

Korea’s Jin Young Ko is hurting, but can still go on a birdie binge,

NAPLES, FL. — Beware of the injured golfer.  Korea’s Jin Young Ko is the defending champion in the biggest money event in women’s golf, and she’s definitely injured.

An injury to her left wrist has troubled her since May and she never takes a full swing in practice.   On a scale of 1 to 10 she says her wrist feels like a five. Earlier this week her caddie suggested she consider withdrawing from the CME Globe Tour Championship, which has a $5 million purse with a record $1.5 million going to Sunday’s champion.

Citing the big prize money and the fact that it’s the LPGA’s last tournament of 2021, Ko refused. Injured or not, shenn had a stunning birdie streak in Saturday’s third round and is part of a four-way tie for the lead going into Sunday’s finale.

Ko made seven straight birdies en route to shooting a 66 on Saturday.  Her 14-under-par 202 total for 54 holes matches that of Nasa Hataoka, of Japan; American Nelly Korda and France’s Celine Boutier.  Hataoka bettered Ko’s birdie streak on Saturday, making eight in a row en route to shooting the day’s low round – an 8-under-par 64. Still, Ko is in the thick of the battle.

“I’m sick right now, but I don’t want to withdraw,’’ said Ko. “I just keep hitting the ball straight, choose the right club and read a break right (on the greens).’’

Her birdie streak came on holes 2-8 on the Gold Course at Tiburon Golf Club.  Unfortunately she made bogeys a bogey at No. 9 and had only pars on the back nine.

“I was feeling I could make any putt on the front nine,’’ she said.  “I had a lot of good golf, but had a lot of missed shots on the back nine.’’

Ko and Korda have both won four tournaments this year.  If either wins on Sunday she’ll be the first to win five in a season since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016. Korda, winner of last week’s Pelican Championship in Bellaire, FL., earned her share of the lead thanks to an eagle at No. 17 that helped her post a 67.  Boutier was the 36-hole leader but was able to maintain a share of the top spot despite shooting a 72

Szokol makes it into the LPGA’s most lucrative tournament

The golf season has a series of climax events these days. The PGA Tour had its season climax in either September, when the FedEx Cup Playoffs concluded, or October, when the Ryder Cup ended. Take your pick.

PGA Tour Champions concluded its season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs last Sunday when Phil Mickelson won the last tournament and Bernhard Langer captured the series title  for the sixth time.

That leaves only  the last of the “climax’’ events – this week’s CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, FL.  With a $5 million purse and $1.5 first-place prize, it’s the biggest money event in the history of women’s golf and Elizabeth Szokol, the Chicago area’s only LPGA player, will be right in the thick of it.

Szokol, 27, qualified for the event for the first time.  Created in 2011, it’s limited to the top 60 players and ties in a season-long point race.  Szokol, in only her second LPGA season, missed the cut in last week’s regular season finale – the Pelican Championship — but it didn’t keep her out of the big-money wrapup to the season. She was a comfortable 44th in the standings going into Pelican and safely into the Naples shootout that begins on Thursday at Tiburon Golf Club’s Gold Course.

Chicago golfers have found it tough to break into the LPGA over the last three decades. Other than Szokol the only one to do it was Berwyn’s Nicole Jeray, who starred at Northern Illinois before spending a long career on the LPGA and its satellite tour.

Jeray, though still competing on the LPGA’s Legends Tour for senior members, has taken on a heavy teaching load at Mistwood, in Romeoville.  Szokol’s road to the LPGA was similar.  She was a high school star at New Trier, then spent two seasons at Northwestern before concluding her collegiate career at Virginia.

She turned pro in 2017, won an event in her second year on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour and gained LPGA membership in 2018 with four top-10 finishes in her last five starts. Her rookie LPGA season in 2019 was somewhat of a struggle but she improved in 2020, making seven cuts in 14 starts and earning $110,873.

The improvement was much more dramatic this year when she had three top-10s in 21 starts, the last coming in October – a third-place finish in the $3 million Founders Cup in New Jersey.  It earned her a $198,627 paycheck, a big factor in the $515,640 she has earned for the season.  That figure could grow in a hurry, given the money on the line this week for the LPGA’s best players.

While Szokol’s missed cut last week was a disappointment, her time spent at Pelican – a Donald Ross design that opened in 1925 – may have played a positive part in her strong 2021 showing.  Szokol had her best finish (11th) of 2020 in the Pelican.  It was a new event then and was played without spectators because of pandemic concerns. This year she is spending more time at the Pelican club because her swing coach, Justin Sheehan, is the director of golf there.

 

HERE AND THERE: Michael Feagles, a stalwart on the University of Illinois teams the last four years, is guaranteed 12 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 thanks to his tie for fifth place finish in the final stage of the circuit’s qualifying competition.  The Illinois Open champions of the last two years, Bryce Emory and Tee-K Kelly, aren’t guaranteed any starts but do have conditional status on the circuit for next season because they made it through all three stages of qualifying….The Illinois PGA had three of its members qualify for last week’s PGA Assistants Championship in Florida but only Kevin Flack, of Mauh-Nah-Tee-See in Rockford, qualified for all 72 holes.  He tied for 42nd…..All the Chicago area gang – Kevin Streelman, Luke Donald, Doug Ghim, Nick Hardy and Dylan Wu – will play in the last full field PGA Tour event of the year, this week’s RSM Classic in Sea Island, Ga…..Bernhard Langer will have knee surgery in Germany this week and won’t hit aa golf ball for at least six weeks.  The 64-year old star still plans to be a full-time player on the Champions Tour in 2022, however.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A weird finish sets the stage for the LPGA’s biggest money event

 

Nelly Korda has won bigger tournaments, but none as dramatic as this Pelican Championship.

BELLAIRE, FL. – With the biggest money tournament in the history of women’s golf coming up this week it’s easy to think of the two-year old Pelican Championship – the last event of the LPGA’s regular season – as anything more than a warmup event.

It was certainly no ho-hum affair on Sunday, however. It came down to a duel between American stars Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, Korda winning on the first hole of a four-player sudden death playoff after Thompson gave away two good chances to win and another to extend the playoff in the final three holes of the day.

Both American-born Florida residents, Korda (Bradenton) and Thompson (Delray Beach) will remain in the Sunshine State for the CME Group Tour Championship.  It tees off on Thursday with $5 million in prize money and a $1.5 million winner’s check on the line.

The Pelican purse was only $1.75 million, but it presented Thompson with the chance for a win she badly needed.

Long one of golf’s top women players, Thompson is the youngest to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open (she was 12 when she did it).  She turned pro at 15 and won her first major title at 19. Now 27, she has gone over two years without notching her 12th tour title.

Thompson and Korda started the final round in a tie for the lead and still shared the top spot through 70 holes when both were 20-under par and dominating the field. Then Korda took a triple bogey at the 17th, missing a two-foot putt to conclude her nightmare.

Though Thompson three-putted for bogey she still took a two-stroke lead to the final hole of regulation. That didn’t solve her problems, however.  Thompson hit her approach over the green at 409-yard par-4 eighteenth – the hardest hole throughout the tournament.  Korda hit hers to 20 feet and made the birdie putt.

Thompson, feeling the pressure, putted from off the green to four feet but her par putt to win didn’t touch the cup. That set the stage for the four-way playoff between Thompson, Korda and two faster finishers – New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and South Korea’s Sei-young Kim. All finished at 17-under-par 263.  Ko and Kim, hitting their approaches over the green, were out when  Korda made another birdie putt from the same spot she had connected from moments earlier.

“I lost face (after the triple bogey),’’ said Korda, “and I was trying to focus on next week, in a sense. I had the same putt twice is a row.’’

Both went in.

Thompson also putted from the same spot she had to win the tournament in the regulation 72 holes, but this one — for birdie to keep the playoff going – also wouldn’t drop.

“It was a great week. I played a lot of good golf and made a lot of good putts,’’ she said, “but it just wasn’t meant for me in the end.’’

Even with its record prize money the CME Group Tour Championship will be hard-pressed to match the drama that unfolded on Sunday.

Korda goes into the LPGA’s season finale with lots of momentum. The reigning Olympic champion and No. 1-ranked player in the Rolex Rankings won her fourth tournament of the season on Sunday, the first American to do that since Stacy Lewis did it in 2012.

The Pelican, meanwhile, wasn’t just unusual for its weird finish.  The tourney offered two-year leases for new Lamborghinis to players who made a hole-in-one on the 12th hole. Austin Ernst did it in the tourney’s pro-am and Pavarisa Yoktuan in the second round on Friday.  The third, by Su Oh, was especially noteworthy.  She started her round at No. 12 and was the first player to tee off on the featured on during the final round. That’s when she holed a 7-iron from 157 yards.