The John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, will be held for the 54^th time starting on Thursday at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis. and this staging will be a big different than those of the past.

Golf’s top stars had tended to take the week off, rather than play in one of the smallest markets on the PGA Tour.  That’s changing, thanks to format changes in the big-money FedEx Cup Playoffs.  Now in their 19^th year, the playoffs are only five weeks away and getting into the field is harder.

In the past the top 100 on the circuit’s FedEx standings got into the first playoff event.  This year only 70 get in. So, some big-name stars are in the JDC field in search of elevating their positions in the standings.

Most notable if Rickie Fowler.  One of the circuit’s most popular players accepted a sponsor’s exemption into the JDC in 2010 but hasn’t been back since.  He’s in this year’s field as is Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023, and Max Homa who had multiple wins in two of the last three seasons.  Like Fowler, Clark and Homa have rarely played at TPC Deere Run.

Davis Thompson, who set the JDC scoring record in winning last year, will defend his title while sitting precariously on the FedEx bubble at No. 70.

Thompson was dazzling at last year’s JDC, winning by four strokes after shooting 62-64 in the weekend rounds. His 28 under par performance was one better than Michael Kim’s then-record 72-hole 257 in his eight-stroke victory in 2018.

Last year’s win made Thompson the 24^th player to win his first PGA Tour event at the JDC. Thompson has had only one top-10 finish this year – a tie for 10^th at The Players Championship — in 19 starts.

Thompson was the third straight JDC champion who resided during tournament week with several other players at a house near the course.  J.T. Poston was a “Champions House’’ resident when he won in 2022 and Sepp Straka stayed there in 2023.  If one of the group wins the tournament, he pays the lodging cost.

“It was something I was happy to do,’’ said Thompson.  “I was happy to write the check.’’

Poston, Straka and Thompson will stay in the same house this week. Greyson Sigg, Patton Kizzire and perhaps one other player will join them.

“It’s definitely strange that it’s been three in a row,’’ said Thompson.  Hopefully we can make it four.’’

In addition to those roommates, the field includes past champions Lucas Glover (2021), Michael Kim, Dylan Frittelli (2019) and Zach Johnson (2012).  Johnson will be competing for the 23^rd consecutive year.

The tournament field also includes Ben Griffin, Jason Day, Sungae Im, Si Woo Kim, Tom Kim, Jake Knapp, Adam Hadwin and Brandt Snedeker—captain of the U.S. team in the 2026 Presidents Cup matches at Medinah.

Luke Clanton, who tied for second as an amateur last year, is now playing as a professional.  Michael Thornbjornsen, a co-runner-up last year, is also back and the sponsor exemptions include NCAA champion Michael LaSasso, Jackson Koivun, Ben James, Brendan Valdes, Preston Summerhays and Gordon Sargeant.

LOCAL FLAVOR: Northbrook’s Nick Hardy and Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim – Chicago’s tour regulars – are in the field again and Hardy may be in the process of making a coaching change.

Recently Sean Foley, a Canadian now living in Florida, announced via Instagram that he and Hardy, who has been struggling with his game, have been working together for several months.

“We’ve devised a blueprint,’’ said Foley, who has previously worked with Tiger Woods and Lydia Ko among other touring pros.  “Nick has historically always been a strong ball striker but has struggled with wedges and taking distance off his irons when he is in between (yardage) numbers. This is a very necessary skill on the PGA Tour.  We have a long way to go on the blueprint but in the short term thus far we’ve improved play and scoring, and that’s the only goal.’’

HISTORICAL:  When Lake Forest’s Pierce Grieve won the Chicago District Amateur last week he became the 12^th player to win both the CDGA and Illinois State Amateur titles.  The last to do it before Grieve was Joel Hirsch in 1988.

Grieve, a 21-year old West Virginia graduate, won the State Amateur in 2024 but won’t defend his title this year when it comes to Stonebridge, in Aurora, in two weeks.

“To get both those trophies and put my name on them is super special, and to do it in 11 months is even cooler.  It speaks on just where my game is at,’’ said Grieve.  “Professional golf is on the horizon.  I’m not sure when that’ll be, but it’s definitely in the near future.’’

The Chicago District Golf Association staged two of its biggest tournaments last week, with Barrington’s Bridget Butler winning the 92^nd Illinois State Women’s Amateur at The Grove, in Long Grove, and Tennessee golfer Ford Martin capturing the Chicago Adaptive Open in a playoff with Winfield’s Victor Postillion at Fox Bend, in Oswego.

This week, though, is the CDGA’s biggest event of them all. The 105^th CDGA Amateur ends its four-day run with the 36-hole title match on Thursday (JUNE 26) at Briarwood, in Deerfield.

One of the most prestigious events in Chicago golf, the CDGA Amateur may have been the area’s most memorable tournament of 2024 when Winnetka’s Tyler Greenspahn outlasted Medinah’s Dan Stringfellow in a match that went 39 holes.

Greenspahn, who just completed his freshman year at Southern California, and Stringfellow were back in the field for Monday’s 36-hole stroke play qualifying round at Briarwood. The tourney drew 358 starters, and they were whittled to 75 in four state-wide qualifying sessions.

Sixteen got through the Monday stroke play session at Briarwood and two rounds of match play on Tuesday left four still alive for Wednesday’s (TODAY’S) 8 a.m. semifinals.

NO SMALL FEAT: Illinois men’s coach Mike Small won his third Illinois Senior Open title by beating a fellow member of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.  Gary Hallberg, who spends more time on PGA Tour Champions, and Small were the only players under par over 36 holes at Hawthorn Woods.  Small’s 8-under-par 136 gave him a five-shot cushion on Hallberg.

“That course gets in my head a little bit,’’ said Small.  “I was runner-up at two Illinois Opens back in the day when it was played there.  I couldn’t quite pull it off and get the win then, and I didn’t play well (at Hawthorn Woods) last year.’’

Small plans to play in the Illinois  Senior PGA, the Illinois Open and Illinois PGA Championship in an upcoming three-tournament stretch. He has won the IPGA Championship 14 times and the Illinois Open four times.

WOMEN’S WORK: The Illinois Women’s State Amateur brought Butler back to competitive golf.

“It was my first tournament in 11 months, since I redshirted at Nebraska,’’ the 19-year old  said after beating co-runner-ups Kayla Sayyalinh, a junior at Southern Illinois, and Alexis Meyers, an incoming freshman at Illinois, by three strokes with a 4-under-par performance for the 54 holes.

The win earned Butler a place in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Aug. 4-10 at Oregon’s Bandon Dunes. Then she’ll be going through another redshirt season in college, this time at Stetson.

GRIFFIN ENTERS JDC: The PGA Tour has the Rocket Classic in Detroit this week, then shifts to Illinois’ only annual PGA stop – the John Deere Classic July 3-6 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis.  The JDC has landed another top player in Ben Griffin, a two-time winner this season.

Griffin paired with Andrew Novak to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event and took the Schwab Challenge on his own a week after finishing tied for eighth in the PGA Championship. Last year Griffin tied for fifth in his first appearance at the JDC.

“He had a great tournament, and we are extremely happy to welcome him back,’’ said JDC director Andrew Lehman.  “Ben has positioned himself well for the (FedEx) Playoffs and a chance to be on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.’’

A WGA WINNER:  Trevor Gutschewski, the U.S. Junior Amateur champion last year, captured the Western Golf Association’s 107^th Junior title last week at The Harvester Club in Iowa.

Gutschewski, from Nebraska, missed the cut at the U.S. Open before winning the WGA event.  He finished one stroke ahead of Cameron Kuchar, the son of PGA veteran Matt Kuchar. Gutschewski joined an elite list of past champions that includes Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa.

This latest win earned Gutschewski an exemption into the Western Amateur July 28-Aug. 2 at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe.

The Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open – the three major golf tournaments held annually on American soil – are over.  Now comes even bigger news.  The PGA Tour has a new leader.

Brian Rolaff, a key member of the National Football League staff for 22 years, was named the first chief executive officer of the PGA Tour on Tuesday with commissioner Jay Monahan scheduled to remain on the organization’s executive board until his contract expires in 2026.

Rolaff’s views on the PGA Tour and its ongoing battle with the LIV Golf League will emerge in the next few weeks, during which time Chicago will host tournaments on both circuits.

The John Deere Classic, the only annual PGA Tour stop in Illinois, is coming up July 3-6 at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis with a most notable star, Rickie Fowler, joining the field, and the LIV Golf League will bring a tournament to Chicago for a fifth straight year from Aug. 8-10 at Bolingbrook Golf Club.

While only July’s British Open remains among golf’s majors, the heart of Chicago’s season tees off just as Rolapp’s leadership role begins. He was non-committal on the PGA-LIV issue, which rocked the sport in recent years.

“I’ll have a clean sheet on everything, including that,’’ said Rolapp, speaking from this week’s PGA Tour stop in Connecticut.

Meanwhile, the 54^th playing of the John Deere Classic will be notable for one big reason: Fowler will be there. Fowler, one of pro golf’s most popular players, hasn’t played in the JDC since 2010 when he accepted a sponsor’s exemption just as he was coming out of the college ranks at Oklahoma State.

TPC director Andrew Lehman couldn’t be more pleased.

“We’re thrilled to have Rickie,’’ said Lehman.  “He’s a fan favorite, particularly among younger fans who gravitate toward him.  He’s had an exceptional career and has been playing well this year.’’

Fowler hasn’t been the player he once was, when he made five U.S. Ryder Cup teams. His 2014 season was most impressive, when he finished in the top five at all four major championships. The last of his six PGA Tour  wins was in Detroit in 2023 but Fowler had top-20 finishes in three of his last four starts and his tie for seventh at the Memorial two weeks ago earned him a spot in the year’s last major, July’s British Open.

Early entries of Max Homa, Jason Day and Sungjae Im also give the JDC field a fresh look. Homa was ranked in the world’s top 10 last year.  He’s struggled this season but did finish 12^th in the Masters.  Day, bothered by back problems in recent years, was once No. 1 in the world rankings.  This year he has three top-10s.

Im, from South Korea, has become the PGA’s ironman.  He ‘s played between 26 and 35 events per season in the last few years. Davis Thompson, a four-shot winner in last year’s JDC, will defend his title.  He was the tourney’s 24^th first-time PGA Tour winner. The purse this year is $8.4 million.

As is a tournament tradition, sponsor exemptions have been awarded to three elite college stars – NCAA champion Michael LaSasso of Mississippi, No. 2-ranked amateur Jackson Koivun of Auburn and No.3-ranked Ben James of Virginia.

THIS WEEK the Illinois State Women’s Amateur concludes its three-day run at The Grove in Long Grove.  The 92^nd annual event  has a new format.  Formerly a match play event, the champion this year will be decided in 54 holes of stroke play with the final round on Wednesday.

Kyle Donovan, of Oak Park Country Club, was the run-away champion in last week’s big local event – the  36-hole Illinois PGA Assistants tourney. He posted a seven-stroke victory at Chicago’s Bryn Mawr Country Club.  The Illinois PGA also won the 63^rd Radix Cup battle with the Chicago District’s best amateurs at Oak Park Country Club.  The pros now lead that series 39-22-22.

Doug Ghim got some good news this week.  The U.S. Golf Association made the PGA Tour player from Arlington Heights one of the 156 official starters in the 125^th U.S. Open, which tees off on Thursday at Pennsylvania’s Oakmont course.

Rugged Oakmont is a frequent U.S. Open site, and that was undoubtedly a big factor in the USGA accepting a record 10,202 entries at the April 9 deadline.  Hopefuls were whittled to 156 after 110 local qualifiers and 13 final qualifiers. The latter included 36-hole competitions in Canada, England and Japan in addition to the 10 held across the U.S.

Ghim, as a PGA Tour member, didn’t have to play in a local elimination and chose to enter the final qualifier in Dallas.  He wound up in a seven-players-for-one-spot playoff for the final Oakmont berth available there.

This week, with players starting to arrive at Oakmont, the USGA announced the last seven who would be elevated to the field following late withdrawals and the completion of other qualification procedures. Ghim was one of the lucky ones.

Ghim, 29, attended Buffalo Grove High School but — preferring to focus on national amateur events — played only one season of high school golf. After starring at the University of Texas, where he won the Big Hogan Award as the best male college golfer in 2018, Ghim was runner-up in the 2017 U.S. Amateur, then turned pro and earned his PGA Tour card in 2020.

While he’s earned $7.6 million Ghim has yet to win on golf’s premier circuit. This year he’s made the cut in 10 of his 15 starts and finished in the top 25 in three events.

A long-time Las Vegas resident since turning pro Ghim will make his second appearance in the U.S. Open proper at Oakmont.  He missed the cut in his only other start in 2018.

A SMALL WORLD:  With Mike Small dominant for decades as both a player and coach Illinois golf has frequently seemed like a “Small world.’’ This time it’s a little different.

Mark Small, who plays out of Prestwick in Frankfort, won the 23^rd Illinois State Senior Amateur last week.  It was his first win in a Chicago District Golf Association-administered event in 29 years.  Small won the Illinois State Amateur in 1996 but he’s contended many times between his big wins.

Mark Small, now 61, was in the top 10 of the last four Illinois State Senior Amateurs.  He was runner-up last year and gave Mike Small a scare in the Illinois Senior Open two years ago.

“There is going to come a time where I can’t do this anymore,’’ said Mark Small.  “But while I can, it sure is fun.’’

Mike Small isn’t exactly out of this picture, though.  The University of Illinois men’s coach has two of his former players competing in this week’s U.S. Open.  Thomas Detry and Brian Campbell qualified by winning PGA Tour events this year and current Illini player Jackson Buchanan also got in by sharing top honors in the qualifying event in Atlanta.

Buchanan qualified for last year’s Open at Pinehurst, N.C., but missed the cut.  He’ll make his professional debut at Oakmont.

FAST STARTER:  Elizabeth Szokol, Chicago’s only player on the Ladies PGA Tour, shared the first round lead at last week’s ShopRite Classic after posting a 63. She tailed off with rounds of 69 and 74 and wound up in a tie for 20^th place.

Szokol grew up in Winnetka,  played on New Trier’s 2010 state championship team and was the Illinois Women’s State Amateur champion in 2012.  That tourney will start its three-day run on Monday at The Grove, in Long Grove and it’ll have a new  look since Szokol won it.

The CDGA is now conducting the tournament and has incorporated a Mid-Amateur component to the 54-hole event. Players who have reached their 25^th birthday can play for the title in the 36-hole Mid- Am division.  If any finish among the top 20 and ties after 36 holes they’ll also be eligible to play the third round with the chance to win the IWSA title.

For 38 years Dan Roan was a most-respected sports anchor and reporter at WGN-TV. He retired three years ago – but now he’s back on the airwaves.

Roan was coaxed back to the broadcast world by Dave Lockhart, producer of the Golf 360 TV show, which debuted for its 10^th season this week on Marquee Sports Network – the home of the Cubs.

“It’s only four shows – not time-consuming at all,’’ said Roan, but it might seem like more than that. Each show will be broadcast several times each month during the golf season. The broadcast times will be posted on the Golf 360 website.

“For the first show my role was minimal.  Dave did a lot of research for it,’’ said Roan.“But I’m always excited to talk about golf in Chicagoland and beyond.  It’s going to be a lot of fun.’’

Roan will host the show and Patrick Mannelly, the former Bears’ center who has been a Golf 360 regular since 2017, will be co-host. Billy Fitzgerald director of instruction at Beverly Country Club, is also part of the program.

“Dan brings professionalism and passion for the game of golf that truly comes through on the screen,’’ said Lockhart.  “ His fans from the WGN days will be happy lo see him back on the air.’’

Roan doesn’t just discuss golf on the airwaves.  He also played the game quite well.  He played on both the golf and basketball teams at Illinois State. While he “didn’t play much,’’ he was a college golf teammate of D.A. Weibring, a three-time winner of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic and also the designer of the course it’s played on – TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis.

Now 72, the long-time Elmhurst resident remains a regular at Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course and now brings two of his four grandchildren out with him.

“When I retired I expected to play more,’’  said Roan.  “My handicap is skyrocketing, so I’m trying to figure that out right now.’’

That handicap was 0.2 last summer and is now up to 3.7.  That doesn’t detract from a memorable round Roan shot back in 2017 at Chicago Highlands with Mike Munro, who also has a broad  background in local golf.  Roan had a 63, which included a hole-in-one en route to a 30 on the back nine.   “It was pretty crazy at the time,’’ admitted Roan.

Since retirement Roan has also stayed involved in the game in more than a playing capacity.  He was named a director for the Chicago District Golf Association and was part of the crew at last summer’s Chicago Adaptive Open.

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: John Deere, sponsor of Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, has signed a multi-year extension to continue as title sponsor through 2030.  The JDC sponsorship started in 1998, and this year’s event will be played July 3-6.

The tournament, meanwhile, announced three sponsor exemptions to the tourney – NCAA champion Michael La Sasso of Mississippi, No. 2-ranked amateur Jackson Koivun of Auburn and No. 3-ranked Ben James of Virginia.

U.S. OPEN:  Monday was the last qualifiers for this month’s U.S. Open, with 36-hole eliminations at 10 sites. Only University of Illinois golfer Jackson Buchanan, who tied for first in the qualifier in Atlanta, survived among the Illinois-connected players competing. He was 18-under-par at Piedmont Driving Club. PGA regular Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights might make the field at Oakmont, in Pennsylvania.  He was the last man out in a seven-for-one playoff for the last of seven Open berths in Dallas on May 19 and could advance as the first alternate.

HERE AND THERE:  Brad Kay, of Arlington Heights, qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, to be played at The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, June 26-29.  Kay was also the defending champion in the 23^rd Chicago District Senior Amateur, which concludes its four-day run on Thursday at Briar Ridge, in Schererville, Ind.

Illinois sophomore Max Herendeen has been named to Team USA for this week’s Palmer Cup matches in South Carolina and the Illini women’s team has landed transfer Tavia Burgess,  who just completed her freshman year at Morehead State.

The Illinois PGA’s 36-hole Assistants Championship will be decided on Monday at Bryn Mawr, in Chicago.

The selection process is over for the next induction class into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame and two of the six to made it were PGA Tour regulars after being early survivors of the qualifying school format.

Bob Zender came first.  After winning the Illinois State Amateur three times and earning All-American status at Purdue Zender won the 1971 PGA Tour qualifying tournament and played on the circuit for a decade.  During that time he found time to win three consecutive Illinois PGA Championships (1976-78) and match Ben Hogan’s course record of 62 at Chicago’s Ridgemoor Golf Club.

David Ogrin followed him after an amateur career highlighted by victories in both the Illinois Amateur and Illinois Open in 1980. The Waukegan product had more success on the PGA Tour than Zender did, notching 32 top-10 finishes and winning the 1996 Texas Open when he outdueled Tiger Woods down the stretch in Woods’ first professional season. Ogrin, now a successful golf instructor in Texas, also had a tie for 10^th in the 1997 U.S. Open.

The 21st induction class will be added to the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame at The Glen Club in Glenview on Oct. 17.

Joining Zender and Ogrin will be Dan Dinelli, course superintendent at North Shore Country Club for 36 years and one of the nation’s leading turfgrass experts; Steve Skinner, chief executive officer at KemperSports who played a pivotal role in shaping modern facility management; Horace McDougal, a Chicago native and Northwestern golfer in 1923 who emerged a pioneer for racial integration in the sport; and Joe Roseman, whose contributions spanned course design and construction.  Roseman designed courses across the Chicago area and built the first lighted par-3 course in the 1930s.

NCAA WRAPUP: Northwestern’s women won the NCAA title under the direction of coach Emily Fletcher in dramatic fashion, beating No. 1-ranked Stanford 3-2 in the final match  after Stanford had won the stroke play portion by 27 shots.

The Illinois men finished 18^th in stroke play and didn’t make it into the top 15 for the final round.  Illini sophomore Max Herendeen, however, qualified for the final round as an individual not on a non-advancing team. He finished tied for 27th among 81 players.

Both Illinois teams announced major signings for next season.  The men landed Dane Huddleston, a transfer from Utah State, and the women added Alexis Meyers, who led Glenbrook North to the last two state championships and was second as an individual.  She also won the Illinois State Junior by seven strokes.

Huddleston, from Woodland, Wash., will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Illini.  He won five tournaments including the Western Athletic Assn. title at Utah State this season.

HERE AND THERE:  Illinois alum Nick Hardy had his best finish on the PGA Tour this season with a tie for 11^th at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. That may have triggered a breakthrough for the 29-year old Northbrook product  who has been struggling this season after joining the PGA Tour in 2018. He missed the cut in his first six starts and nine of his first time but now has played all four rounds in three of his last five.

Elmhurst’s Jordan Less became the first player to win titles in both the Chicago District Amateur (2019) and CDGA Mid-Amateur. Less played professionally for three seasons before regaining his amateur status.  He won his Mid-Am at Kemper Lakes.

The 35^th playing of the Thompson Cup matches, pitting the the top senior players from the Illinois PGA and Chicago District, will be held on Thursday (MAY 29) at Ridge, in Chicago.

The 23^rd CDGA Senior Amateur begins its four-day run on Monday (JUNE 2) at Briar Ridge, in Schererville, Ind.

While there are no local players in the field, the U.S. Women’s Open will kick off its four-day run at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills on Thursday (MAY 29).

Last week’s PGA Championship at North Carolina’s Quail Hollow had its surprises.  None of the 20 club professionals survived the 36-hole cut.  Neither did established stars Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry.

One who did play all 72 holes was also surprising.  Luke Donald, the long ago Northwestern star, had missed cuts in all five of his starts on the PGA Tour this season and was over par in every one except the team event in New Orleans.

Donald shot a 4-under-par bogey-free 67 in the first round at Quail Hollow and got into a tie for third place.

“Where I am in my career, I’m obviously very grateful to the PGA of America for giving me an invitation to play,’’ said Donald.  “I was there only because I’m captain of the European Ryder Cup Team.  I wouldn’t be in the field otherwise.’’

Donald’s hot first round created an interesting side issue.  He was a shot of ahead of Keegan Bradley, who will be Donald’s opposing captain in September’s Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage Black in New York. Bradley, 38, didn’t need an invitation. He’s a solid player on the PGA Tour, missing only one cut in his 11 starts prior to the PGA.

“Keegan is top 20 in the world.  He can have one good week out here, win, and he’s absolutely in the conversation of being a playing captain,’’ said Donald.  “That’s not quite in my future, but we live very close together.  I see where he practices and he practices very hard.  He’s still one of the top players in the world.’’

Donald, 47, was one of those, too, before back problems slowed him down.  He graduated from Northwestern in 2001 and – despite never winning a major championship – climbed to No. 1 in the world in 2011 and held that spot for 40 weeks.  He also remained active in the Chicago golf community while retaining  NU director of golf Pat Goss as his swing coach. Donald’s best finish in a major was also in Chicago — a tie for third in the 2006 PGA at Medinah.

The Donald vs. Bradley competition at Quail Hollow didn’t last long.  Bradley finished at 4-under-par and in a tie for eighth place.  Donald struggled in with 74-73-76 to finish at 6-over-par and tied for 60^th.  Champion Scottie Scheffler was at 11-under in his five-shot victory.

As a Ryder Cup captain Donald was superb in the Europeans’ last win in Italy after being a second choice.  Sweden’s Henrik Stenson was picked, then dropped after he jumped to the LIV Tour.  Donald was the backup pick and retained the job for the upcoming team competition.

Now living in Jupiter, FL., Donald has changed a bit since being the winning captain in golf’s premier team event.

“Well, I’m still 5-9, not hitting it far enough,’’ he said.  “As a player not much has changed.  I still like to work on my game, and it gets harder the older you get.  As a captain I had some doubts whether I could fulfill that role when I was given the call (in 2022).  Certainly in the last three years I’ve learned a lot about myself.  I’ve learned a lot about leadership, how to come out of my natural introvertness.  It’s only helped me as a person and helped me understand myself a little bit better.’’

The LIV Tour remains an issue as far as team selections are concerned for this year’s Ryder Cup.

“I do not get involved with the politics of that,’’ said Donald, but he wants the 12 best players available to him at Bethpage and that would mean LIV players Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton – and possibly Sergio Garcia – would have to be declared eligible for selection.

Even without them Donald will field a good team.

“It’s always nice when potential guys on your team are up there every week playing against the strongest fields in golf,’’ said Donald.  “At the Masters we had obviously Rory (champion Rory McIlroy), Justin (Rose), Ludvig (Aberg).  Then there’s Shane (Lowry) and Sepp (Straka). The players always seem to elevate their games in Ryder Cup years, and I love the momentum we have so far.’’