Author: lenz

Will a PGA Tour visit bolster Myrtle Beach tourism? We’ll see

It was long overdue, but the PGA Tour now has a tournament in Myrtle Beach. (Joy Sarver Photos)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Having about 100 courses, an oceanside setting and tons of lodging and dining options made Myrtle Beach a popular place for golfers to visit.  It wasn’t good enough for the PGA Tour, however – at least not until this year.

Golf’s premier circuit brought its first-ever tournament to the stunning Dunes Golf & Beach Club in May. Even without a great field the Myrtle Beach Classic received a warm welcome that encouraged city leaders.

“This high-profile sporting event not only enhances our area’s reputation as The Golf Capital of the World, but also reinforces the strong community spirit that defines the Grand Strand,’’ said Karen Riordan, president and chief executive officer of Visit Myrtle Beach. She called the inaugural playing of the event “a standout success.’’

Tournament director Darren Nelson reported that over 1,300 volunteers turned out to get the Classic off to a good start.

“With the continued dedication and support from the Myrtle Beach community the event is poised to continue to grow and evolve, further spotlighting the Grand Strand as a premier destination for golf and recreation,’’ said Nelson.

The tourney reported over 40,000 spectators attended the pro-am and four tournament rounds and claimed that the 15,281 ticketholders for Saturday’s third round was 5,000 more than expected. TV coverage on The Golf Channel was also helpful.

Chris Gotterup earned the champion’s blue jacket as the first winner of the Myrtle Beach Classic.

Oh, yes.  The golf was good, too.  Chris Gotterup, an up-and-coming 24-year old, was 22-under-par en route to winning by six strokes on a course designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1948. Another young hotshot, Thorbjern Oleson, set a course record with a 10-under 61.

Vanna White, a mainstay on TV’s Wheel of Fortune and a North Myrtle Beach resident, played in the pro-am and said what many were thinking about the only new tournament on the PGA Tour in 2024.

“We relate Myrtle Beach to golf, and it’s been that way for a long time,’’ she said.  “It’s  time the PGA Tour came here.’’

No argument there, and the area’s biggest tournament – the 41st annual World Amateur Handicap Championship – is still to come, along with a myriad of other events that have been annual attractions in Myrtle Beach.  The World Amateur will bring bring over 3,000 players to Myrtle Beach from Aug. 26-30. It’s the world’s biggest golf tournament and this two-time participant has fond memories of the experience.

The PGA Tour certainly needed to put one of its tournaments in this golfing hotbed.  Now we’ll find out if Myrtle Beach really needed the PGA Tour. Chances are both parties will benefit from the relationship that will continue for at least a few more years.

Grande Dunes will host the final round of Myrtle Beach’s World Amateur Handicap Championship.

In the meantime the Myrtle Beach golf community has continued to upgrade its courses.  Our stop took us to Grande Dunes first. It has re-opened after a lengthy renovation and will return as the site of the Flight Winner’s Playoff, the climax to the World Amateur.

Next stop was Myrtlewood, a 36-hole facility that offers the Pinehills and Palmetto courses.  We played Pinehills, a layout in the final stages of a bunker renovation.  We got rained out after 10 holes.  Still, a fun day with our return likely as soon as we get back to the area.

Finally, we hit the Caledonia Golf & Fish Club – arguably Myrtle Beach’s most popular course. (At least it is our favorite).  Caledonia and neighbor True Blue make for a nifty double-round day if you choose to accept the challenge.

Because we’ve been to Myrtle Beach many times over the past 20 years we can attest to the quality of lots of other courses – Pine Lakes, River Club, Pawleys Plantation, TPC Myrtle Beach, Founders Club, Barefoot Resort’s Fazio, Dye and Love courses, King’s North at Myrtle Beach National, Oyster Bay, Thistle.  The beat goes on.

The key to Myrtle Beach’s success isn’t  because the PGA Tour has finally arrived there.  It’s because course leaders haven’t been reluctant to re-invest in their properties. For the vast majority of visitors over the years that’s been the most important thing.  That’s why Myrtle Beach has maintained its prominent position as a golf destination.

Myrtlewood (above) has two 18-holers, both fun layouts, while Caledonia (below) has a most memorable finishing hole with the clubhouse as a backdrop. There’s frequently an audience on the veranda cheering on the players as they finish their rounds.

 

 

 

New Butler National pro could be PGA’s player to watch

 

Andy Svoboda, the new head professional at Butler National in Oak Brook, has made a big impression since arriving on the Chicago golf scene in March, and this week he could make an even bigger one.

Svoboda is one of two Illinois PGA members to qualify for the PGA Championship, which tees off Thursday at Valhalla, in Louisville, KY.

Jeff Kellen, Svoboda’s predecessor at Butler National and the newly-named head man at North Shore in Glenview, also will be in the field as will Brad Marek, who was a stalwart growing up in Arlington Heights and won the 2005 Illinois State Amateur.

That trio will take on the world’s best touring pros, with LIV golf member Brooks Koepka the defending champion. Koepka figures to battle Rory McIlroy for the title.  Both won their last starts, with McIlroy doing it in impressive fashion on Sunday at the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina.  McIlroy also won the last PGA Champions play at Valhalla, in 2014.

Svoboda, Kellen and Marek were among 20 club professionals to qualify golf’s second major championship of the season at the PGA Professionals Championship two weeks ago in Texas. Two Chicago-connected PGA Tour members – Luke Donald and Doug Ghim – will also be in the field at Valhalla but Svoboda looms as one of the most interesting longshots.

With career winnings over $1 million on both the PGA and Korn Ferry tours before turning to the club pro ranks Svoboda has been nothing short of sensational since joining the Chicago club pro ranks.

He was second in the Professionals Championship, then followed up with another runner-up finish in last week’s Illinois PGA Match Play Championship at Bull Valley, in Woodstock. Prior to those finishes he was the medalist in a local qualifier for the U.S. Open, so his hopes to play in that major are still alive as well.

Svoboda, now 44, was edged out in the first of the Illinois PGA’s four major tournaments of the season when his birdie putt on the 18th hole hit the back of the cup and spun out.  Had he made that putt he would have forced a playoff for the title with Medinah’s Travis Johns, the tourney champion.

“Andy’s a great player and plays the game like a true gentleman,’’ said Johns. “He got an unfortunate break at the end, but I had a lot of fun competing against him.  He’s going to win a lot of these events going forward.’’

Johns has already had his share of Illinois PGA victories, winning the Match Play for the first time in 2010, the Players Championship in 2014 and the IPGA Championship in 2019.

He hadn’t been in the Match Play final since 2017 prior to his title run last week. Now he needs to win August’s Illinois Open to complete a career Grand Slam of the IPGA’s major events.

Johns got to last week’s title match by beating defending champion Chris French, of Aldeen in Rockford, in the quarterfinals and reigning IPGA Player of the Year Brian Carroll of The Hawk in St. Charles in the semifinals. French won last year after qualifying for last year’s PGA Championship.

HERE AND THERE: The men’s teams at Northwestern, Illinois and Notre Dame all wrap up their three-day NCAA regional tourneys today (WEDNESDAY, MAY 15) with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA finals May 24-29 at LaCosta in Carlsbad, CA.

Chicago State finished fifth behind champion Florida A&M in the PGA Works Collegiate Championship at Florida’s TPC Sawgrass.

The ninth Chicago District Mid Amateur begins its three-day run on Monday (MAY 20) at Elgin Country Club with Glenview’s John Ramsey the defending champion.   Qualifying for the CDGA Amateur begins the following day.

 

Gotterup is an appropriate first champion at Myrtle Beach

Chris Gotterup sports his new blue jacket as Myrtle Beach’s first champion. (Joy Sarver Photo)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – This was only fitting.  The newest tournament on the PGA Tour was won by one of the circuit’s youngest players.

Chris Gotterup, just 24 and barely a year removed from his last college tournament, captured the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic at the Dunes Golf & Beach Club.  He took a four-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round, then floundered twice before finally putting the win away.

Gotterup opened the final round with two bogeys then went birdie-eagle-birdie to open a five-shot lead.  The lead was in jeopardy again when he struggled on the first four holes of the back nine.  His advantage was cut to two after 13 holes before he regrouped again to beat closest rivals Davis Thompson and Canadian Alistair Docherty and earn the blue jacket — the start of a tradition for the tournament’s champions.

“No matter what tournament I’m in, I’m going to grind it out,’’ said Gotterup, whose two comebacks made the surprise arrival of his parents and two brothers all the more special.  They weren’t expected here until Monday.

The final round was marked by a 10-under-par 61 by Denmark’s Thorbjern Oleson, a course record on the ocean-side layout designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1948. Gotterup’s closing 67 and gave him a 72-hole score of 22-under-par 262.

Meanwhile, Gotterup had only one top-five finish to show for his first 26 starts on the PGA Tour but is now headed for this week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, in Louisviile, KY. The year’s second major championship tees off on Thursday and Sunday’s win got him there.

Gotterup spent his first four collegiate years at Rutgers, where he had a Player of the Year season.   Then he took a redshirt year at Oklahoma and was even better there. He followed it up by getting eight starts on the PGA Tour, many through sponsor exemptions.

Those eight starts technically ruled Gotterup out of rookie status on the PGA Tour for this season, but he has no complaints about that.

“Those eight starts were huge for me,’’ he said.  “I left school with no status at all but I played good and grinded it out.’’

He also did just that to get his first professional win in the first PGA Tour event at Myrtle Beach, a golf mecca that justifiably bills itself as “the World’s Golf Capital.’’

The tourney, blessed with beautiful weather and good crowd support, made its debut on the same day that the Wells Fargo Championship, held just 173 miles away in Charlotte, N.C., with a much stronger field than Myrtle Beach’s, ended its PGA Tour run.  That decision was made by its sponsor several months ago, but its site – Quail Hollow – will host next year’s PGA Championship.

 

 

One tournament begins, another ends on PGA Tour this week

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club may be the most history-rich course in Myrtle Beach.

OCALA, FL. – Even without a ball being hit yet, the week ahead looms as an interesting one on the PGA Tour.

Holding two concurrent events in the same week isn’t unusual on the PGA Tour, but this is a little different.  The Wells Fargo Championship, in Charlotte, N.C., and the Myrtle Beach Classic are similar in that both are 72-hole events that begin their four-day runs on Thursday.

The Carolina events aren’t that far apart either – only 172 miles, less than four-hour drive.  Otherwise there are some stark differences.

The Wells Fargo is a tournament with some rich history, while Myrtle Beach – which bills itself “the Golf Capital of the World ‘’ with some justification  — has never hosted a PGA Tour stop. The Wells Fargo is a Signature Event with a $20 million purse and many of the game’s top stars.  The Myrtle Beach Classic has a $4 million purse and its field is dominated by the young up-and-coming stars.

While the Myrtle Beach Classic is a new event, the Wells Fargo is being held for the last time.  Its inaugural playing was in 2003, and its list of champions include Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fower, Brian Harman and Max Homa.  Its defending champion is Wyndham Clark, the reigning U.S. Open titlist. Wells Fargo, though, has announced that it won’t renew its sponsorship after this year’s playing.

Charlotte has been a PGA Tour site long before the Wells Fargo teed off for the first time at Quail Hollow Club, and that venue won’t be disappearing from big-time golf.  It’ll host the PGA Championship in 2025. That won’t be anything new for the club, either.  It was the site of Justin Thomas’ PGA victory in 2017 and the President’s Cup was also played there in 2022.

Robert Trent Jones Sr. created The Dunes course in 1948. (Joy Sarver Photos)

Switching the focus to Myrtle Beach, it’s shocking that this community hasn’t attracted  corporate sponsorship for a PGA Tour event until this year.  For over 40 years MB’s nearly 100 courses have been used for the World Amateur Handicap Tournament.  With entries topping 3,000 annually, it’s believed to be the biggest golf event in the world.

This is a really avid golf town,  and there have been professional tournaments held there in the past.  The U.S. Women’s Open was played in MB in 1962 and the women’s circuit held four tournaments there in the 1990s, with Australian star Karrie Webb winning two of them. Seven Senior PGA Tour Championships were also held there, the last in 2000.

Myrtle Beach even has a TPC course, and many of Dustin Johnson’s trophies are on display there. The Myrtle Beach Classic, however, will be played at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, a par-71 layout measuring 7,347 yards.  It’s the second-oldest course in Myrtle Beach.

Robert Trent Jones Sr. was the designer in 1948, and insiders believe it can be stretched a little longer to better suit PGA Tour players. Those who were early entrants included Brandt Snedeker, Jonattan Vegan, Daniel Berger, Joel Dahmer, Cameron Champ and Charley Hoffman.

Organizers of the MB event held a unique qualifying event, called The Q, as part of its pre-tournament promotional festivities.  They also had no trouble finding volunteers.  The number needed filled up quickly, — faster, they believe, than any  event with the exception of a Ryder Cup. Clearly the enthusiasm for golf on its biggest stage is bubbling over in Myrtle Beach.

The new event has one – at least minor – concern.  Sunday’s final round will be played on Mother’s Day, and that might cut into attendance. Of course, that could minimally impact the Wells Fargo, too.

What the future holds for both events is uncertain.  It’s unlikely Quail Hollow will be without a big event after the PGA Championship next year.  It’s been just too good of a tournament site and new sponsorship should be forthcoming eventually.  The Myrtle Beach Classic has a contract for two more years and would likely continue long beyond that, assuming the sponsoring and crowd support are up to expectations at the inaugural event.

The ocean views at The Dunes create a stunning backdrop for golfers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three golfers with Chicago ties await the PGA Championship

 

Next week’s PGA Championship is the second of golf’s four major tournaments of 2024, and it’ll be extremely significant from a Chicago perspective.

Two present Chicago area club professionals – Andy Svoboda of Butler National and Jeff Kellen of North Shore – earned spots in the field by finishing in the top 20 at last week’s PGA Professionals Championship in Texas.

And that’s not all.  A third player with strong Illinois ties, Brad Marek, also cracked the top 20 and earned his second appearance in the PGA.  Marek grew up in Arlington Heights, attended Hersey High School and won the Illinois State Junior in 2002 and the Illinois State Amateur in 2005. He turned pro in 2008 after playing collegiately at Indiana.

Svoboda tied for second in the PGA Professionals Championship at Fields Ranch, in Frisco,  TX,  Marek tied for sixth and Kellen tied for eighth.  That tourney had a 312-player field, with all the participants having survived PGA sectional qualifiers. Now they’ll match skills with the world’s best touring professionals.

The experience is nothing new for Marek, who has been working in  since California since 2015.  In 2021 he qualified after a top-20 finish in the PGA Professionals event, then he made the cut in the PGA Championship at Kiawah, in South Carolina.

At Kiawah Marek finished 78th, beating two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, who finished 80th, in a year when such luminaries as Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott and Justin Thomas didn’t survive the 36-hole cut.

The Svoboda-Kellen scenario is interesting as well.  Kellen switched head professional jobs, moving from Butler, in Oak Brook, to North Shore, in Glenview, during the winter.  Svoboda, who had been the Connecticut PGA Player of the Year in 2023, was hired at Butler in March.

While a Chicago newcomer, Svoboda is a seasoned tournament player.  Now 44, he topped $1 million in winnings on both the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours. He was a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry and runner-up at the PGA Tour stop in New Orleans. Like Kellen, he’ll be playing in the PGA Championship for the first time.

“It’s a dream come true,’’ said Svoboda.  “(The Professionals Championship) was a great week on an amazing golf course with amazing competition.  It was fun to play at the new home of the PGA of America.’’

Svoboda will be in the field for the Illinois PGA’s first of four majors this week.  The IPGA Match Play began its three-day run on Tuesday at Bull Valley, in Woodstock.

For Kellen making it to Valhalla was even more special.  He did it with his father serving as his caddie in Texas.

“I’m so proud to be a PGA member,’’ said Kellen.  “This was a wild week with all the weather delays, but I was able to buckle down and play some good golf.’’

Getting two Illinois Section members into the PGA Championship is a rarity.  The last time it happened was in 2004 when Roy Biancalana and Mike Small made it.

HERE AND THERE —  Illinois’ Jackson Buchanan has been named joint winner of the Big Ten Player of the Year honor after a ballot review.  He shares the honor with Purdue’s Herman Sekne. The Illini have had a Big Ten Player of the Year for four straight years.

NCAA men’s regional play begins on Monday (MAY 13) with Illinois in the Stanford Regional.  Big Ten champion Northwestern will be in the North Carolina Regional and Notre Dame in the Texas Regional.  Two Illinois State golfers, Valentin Peugnet and Alex McCulla, will compete as individuals in the Purdue Regional.

Jason Day has entered July’s John Deere Classic.  He started his PGA Tour career there in 2006 but hasn’t played in Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event since 2011.

Illinois third, and last, U.S. Open local qualifier will be held Monday (MAY 13) at Illini Country Club in Springfield.  It’ll have 84 players competing for five spots in the final qualifying stage.  Illini CC will be hosting a local for the 45th consecutive year, or every year since the U.S. Golf Assn. has held such qualifiers.  No other club in the country can make that claim.

The Golfers on Golf Radio show kicked off its 34th season last week on WNDZ (750-AM).  The longest-running golf radio show in Chicago history has a new starting time – 9 a.m., on Saturdays.  It has three co-hosts at the moment – Rory Spears, Ed Stevenson and Len Ziehm —  with Bill Berger fighting a battle with cancer.

 

 

NU golfers show Illini aren’t invincible in the Big Ten

Illinois’ record eight-year run as the Big Ten champion in men’s golf is over.  Northwestern, led by medalist Daniel Svard, was a winner by 15 strokes at Ohio’s Scioto Country Club on Sunday with the Illini second.

Both schools will get their regional assignments in the NCAA tournament today on The Golf Channel’s Selection Show.

“Hats off to Northwestern,’’ said Illini coach Mike Small.  “They controlled the narrative from Day 1. Nobody else played to that level. They had four guys in the top 10.  We didn’t have much answer for that.’’

Svard, a sophomore, won the individual title for the second straight year and was NU’s third multiple winner following Sid Richardson (1937-38) and Luke Donald (2000-01). It was the Wildcats’ first team title since 2006.

Illinois junior Jackson Buchanan was second individually, finishing one stroke behind Svard’s 1-over par 211 in the 54-hole test.

OPEN LOCALS: The two Chicago area local qualifiers for June’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst, N.C., are now official.

Northern Illinois alum Bryce Emory, the 2020 Illinois Open champion from Aurora, and new Butler National head professional Andrew Svoboda shared medalist honors last week at Stonewall Orchard in Gurnee and Hinsdale’s Mac McClear dominated Monday’s session at Cantigny in Wheaton.

David Nyfjall, a Northwestern alum from Sweden, and Charlie Nikitas, of Glenview, survived a four-man playoff for the final two berths in the final qualifying stage at Stonewall and Libertyville’s Graham O’Connor Brooks and Bloomington’s T.J. Barger were among five players sharing second place at Cantigny.

McClear, a Big Ten medalist twice at Iowa, shot a five-under-par 67 in his Open qualifier, was five strokes better than his nearest rivals.

Final qualifiers begin on May 20 to decide the 156 finalists for the Open proper at Pinehurst, N.C. on June 13-16.

HERE AND THERE:  Nick Hardy’s title defense with partner Davis Riley in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans ended with the pair finishing in a tie for 28th place on Sunday.  Hardy, from Northbrook, had local company at that spot.  Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim, paired with Chan Kim, and Northwestern alum Dylan Wu, playing with Justin Lower, also were in the group tied for 28th.  Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry won the PGA Tour’s lone annual two-man team event.

Winnetka’s Elizabeth Szokol, Illinois only LPGA Tour player, tied for 61st in the Jim Eagle LA Championship.  Szokol has survived the 36-hole cut in six of her eight starts in 2024 with a best finish of a tie for 30th in the season-opening Tournament of Champions.

Northwestern has earned a spot in the women’s NCAA tourney, which begins its three-day regional run on Monday in East Lansing, Mich.  Illinois didn’t qualify as a team but senior Isabel Sy will compete there as an individual.

The first of the Illinois PGA’s four major tournaments – the Match Play Championship – tees off on Monday at Bull Valley, in Woodstock. Chris French, of Aldeen in Rockford, is the defending champion.

Twelve IPGA members, among them French and Svoboda, are competing in the PGA Professional Championship this week in Texas.  Illinois has the fifth-most  players in the 312-man field among the PGA’s 41 sections.  The tourney ends today and the top 20 qualify for the PGA Championship May 13-19 at Valhalla, in Kentucky.

The Chicago District Golf Assn. will hold a qualifier for its Senior Mid Amateur on Wednesday at Bloomingdale and the first qualifier for its Mid Am Thursday  at Kankakee Elks.

 

 

 

 

Australia tourney gives the LIV Tour a big boost

 

OCALA, FL. – No, I wasn’t at LIV GOLF/Adelaide. Last week’s tournament was played in Australia. This was also one of the few LIV events that I didn’t watch on television.

Still, from all I can gather, it provided an opportunity for the fledgling circuit to celebrate.

Australia Golf Digest reported a crowd of 35,000 for the final round.  The LIV Golf League announced an attendance of 94,000 for the week.  I’ve been on hand for four LIV tournaments and attendance – while not insignificant – didn’t approach those numbers.

I don’t doubt the numbers in Adelaide, though.  This is Australia, where LIV commissioner Greg Norman grew up. The tournament also had a dramatic finish.  The team competition, a staple at LIV events, was ideal.  For the first time a playoff was needed to decide the team winner and the all-Australian Rippers were in it.

That didn’t hurt attendance or crowd enthusiasm, nor did the fact that the Rippers beat the all-South African Stingers.  LIV team playoffs call for two players on each team competing with total score counting. Captain Cameron Smith and his mates – Mark Leishman, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert – were the heroes of the day.

Said Smith:  “This week has far exceeded my vision for what was ahead.  I always knew internally that Australia would really embrace LIV with the culture, with the music, with the entertainment, with all of that goes on around it.  I always felt like this was the place it was going to make it big, and how it’s been (in the Australia events) the last couple years has been insane.’’

The show on his home turf understandably uplifted Norman, who said he was “feeling proud.’’

“With what we’ve gone through over the past 16 months, both as a league and what I’ve copped personally – the hatred – this makes it all worth while,’’ he said.

And that’s not all.

“Vindication is not the right word,’’ said Norman.  “It’s  the ignorance of others who simply don’t understand what we’re trying to do.  “I actually feel sorry for them because they now see the true value of LIV golf and want to be part of it.’’

Well, whether “they want to be part of it’’ remains to be seen, but if LIV supporters needed a boost, the happenings in Australia provided it.

The timing is good, too.  LIV has another event this week, in Singapore, and then two in the U.S., in Houston and Nashville in June. After heading overseas for July tournments in Spain and the United Kingdom the circuit concludes its regular season at the Greeenbrier, in West Virginia, Aug. 16-18.

Two season-ending tournaments – billed as the climax to the third season – follow in September. I feel especially close to this issue because I was told (or at least strongly advised) that one event is coming to the Chicago area, my long-time home base. That was nearly a month ago.

The event wasn’t to be held at Rich Harvest Farms, which hosted LIV tournaments the last two years, and I was unofficially advised that it will be held at Bolingbrook Golf Club, an Arthur Hills design in Chicago’s South suburbs.  A radio station – again unofficially – said it’ll be the individual championship and the dates will be Sept. 13-15.

As I was finishing up this piece I was advised that Bolingbrook would host a press conference on Tuesday.  Could this finally make it official?  We’ll let you know soon.

 

 

 

 

At 66 Langer is making a comeback from Achilles surgery

 

OCALA, FL. – Yes, I know that there has been some monumental golf news  the last few weeks – Nelly Korda winning five LPGA tournaments in a row and Scottie Scheffler getting four wins and a runner-up finish in his last five starts, and both winning major titles during those hot streaks.

Those are huge developments, but this is pretty significant, too.  Bernhard Langer, the winningest player in the history of PGA Tour Champions, reports that he’s on the mend from a serious injury and is even ready to set a target date for his return to competition.

Langer is 66 years old.  He won three Masters (1985, 1993) and wpjm42 times on the DP World Tour and three times on the PGA Tour in addition to his 46 Champions victories.

And then came a game of pickleball in February.

Langer took a tumble Langer and underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. One of the most fit players in golf went down with a career-threatening injury.

Last week, with help from Tour Edge – his Illinois-based club provider – Langer was ready to talk about it.

“I was at a country club in Boca Raton (FL), where I live, and I do other sports there – like ping pong and pickleball,’’ said Langer.  “This time I was playing pickleball and my opponent lobbed me.  I took a few steps back and heard a loud noise and felt pain in my leg. At first I thought I’d hit something but saw that there was nothing there.’’

He had surgery the following day while fearing what the results might bring.

“ I started to wonder what this meant.  I had no idea how long I’d be out, if I’d ever be back,’’ he said.

Those fears have subsided considerably, Langer has been practicing golf and has a goal in mind:  play in the Insperity Championship May 3-5 at The Woodlands in Texas.  It’s a tournament Langer has won four times over an 11-year span, the wins coming in 2007, 2008, 2014 and 2018.

“That’s what I’m training for,’’ he said.  “Everything has to go perfectly for me to be competing in Houston.’’

Immediately after surgery Langer’s leg was put in a heavy boot, much like skiers use.  Eventually he was switched to a less cumbersome one and was told by his medical advisors to stand up.

“At first I had a mental block,’’ said Langer. “I didn’t stand for weeks.  I’d been laying on a couch for weeks and losing muscle stretngth, which I didn’t want to do.’’

So, Langer made an effort to stand up.

“I got up with no issues,’’ he said, and his healing increased immediately.

He does upper body issues every day and has some exercises designed to strengthen his Achilles. He carries a band with him for those, which have improved his rotation.

“Other athletes have had similar injuries, and I’ve followed the story of Aaron Rodgers, the New York Jets quarterback,’’ said Langer.  “He had the same procedure as me and came back fairly quickly.  When I learned he was on the field throwing the ball after eight-nine weeks that encouraged me.  It lifted my spirits.’’

Langer had intended to make his last appearance in the Masters in April, but the surgery ruled that out. He vows it won’t end his tournament career, though.

“My goal has always been to be the best I can be,’’ he said.  “I still think I can be competitive and win on certain courses. I can be productive for a few more years.  I’ve still got some good golf in me.’’

I believe he does, too, and look forward to seeing it.  The golf world needs more players like Bernhard Langer.

 

 

Arthur Hills influence perks up golf options in Daytona

The par-3 16th  hole at Florida’s Cypress Head course doesn’t look like much — but sometimes looks can be deceiving. That’s the case with this one. (Joy Sarver Photos)

DAYTONA BEACH, FL. – Because we do what we do, it’s golf that is our first target when we make our visits to the Daytona Beach area, and that’s a shame.  Daytona offers so much more than golf.

There’s the beach, of course – 11 miles of oceanfront famous for its wide, firm sands that allow for vehicle usage. There’s even been automobile speed trials and stock car races there.

Then there’s the Daytona International Speedway, of course. It houses the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America but the stagings of the Daytona 500 since 1959 are the primary reason the facility has been dubbed the “World Center of Racing’’ and the “Birthplace of Speed.’’

Significant signage highlights some of  the Daytona area’s must-see spots — Millie’s Restaurant (upper left) and Buc-ee’s (upper right) and Tiano’s Restaurant at New Smyrna Beach.

Those attractions are tough to beat, but golf can’t be ignored – especially when LPGA Boulevard is one of the main drags as you exit I-95. The Ladies Professional Golf Assn. has called Daytona home since 1996 and that’s somewhat where our golf journey begins this time. The late Arthur Hills is one of the most popular course architects of this generation, and he designed one of the two 18-holers at LPGA International.

The LPGA’s Hills Course had been closed for five months, primarily for a comprehensive greens renovation project that restored the putting surfaces to their original size and U.S. Golf Association specifications.  The result was that the greens netted an additional 26,600 square feet.  Prior to the installation of the new TifEagle bermudagrass the Hills Course had 65,340 square feet of putting surface.  Now it has 92,000 square feet.

TifEagle had previously been installed at the LPGA’s Jones Course and was found to be ideally suited to Daytona Beach’s climate.  The Hills project, though, was more extensive.  The bunker complexes were also restored with the addition of 300 tons of sand and the cart paths were resurfaced.

We’re also happy to report that we uncovered another Hills design that we weren’t aware was in the area on our previous trips.  This one is at the Cypress Head course in Port Orange. Hills, who died in 2021, designed it in 1992 with assistance from Mike Dasher.

Hills’ courses are always fun, but are also known for the architect’s quirks.  His designs usually have one hole that might be called goofy. Hills outdid himself at Cypress Head, widely acclaimed to be one of the best municipal courses in the South.

This one has back-to-back par-3s at Nos. 6 and 7 and back-to-back par-5s on the finishing holes, Nos. 17 and 18. Any back-to-back holes with the same par are unusual, and two such pairs is extremely rare.

But there’s more to the Hills’ touch than that at Cypress Head. The No. 16 hole is a par-3 that measures 178  yards from the back tees but only between 55 and 103 yards from the other  markers.  In other words, it seems like a nothing hole – too short to be much of a challenge for most players.  The only thing is, it’s not!

Assistant professional Dylan Quintrell is filled with stories about how that hole confounds all types of players – from beginners all the way up to pros like himself.

The Cypress Head staff added to the unique nature of the course by conducting a survey of patrons last year to give names to each hole.  The short 16th is “NightnDay.’’ Some of the others are “Double Trouble,’’ “Bigfoot’’ and “Alley Oops.’’

Chicago-based KemperSports has managed the city-owned facility for 22 years. Oregon’s Bandon Dunes and former U.S. Open site Chambers Bay, in Washington, are among the 140 courses managed by Kemper nation-wide.

The other course on this year’s Daytona schedule was an old favorite, New Smyrna. It’s a player-friendly layout featuring Donald Ross’ trademark turtle-back greens. This is one of Ross’ last creations.  He died in 1948, but New Smyrna didn’t open until 1953.  The facility also has had a well-regarded Tiano’s Restaurant for the past 16 years.  Another Tiano’s location is included in the new OneDaytona  complex.

For lodging there’s no shortage in Daytona.  We tried an oceanfront facility for the first time, the Bahama House.  It was great for ocean viewing and would work well for golf groups.

This family of red-headed cranes had no fear of the golfers playing at Cypress Head.

Dining is in abundance, too. Our biggest dinner was at Millie’s, a restaurant recently-featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins & Dives’’ TV show on the Food Network. We also hit Crabby’s Oceanside for a post-round meal, and it was a hopping place. Four Rivers Smokehouse is another hotspot, especially for barbecue buffs. And, if you haven’t already experienced one of those Buc-ee’s massive gas station-convenience stores, Daytona has one of those, too.

For those looking for more than golf courses and good restaurants Daytona has the Museum of Arts & Services, which tells you all you all want to know about Central Florida’s art, science and history.

The Jackie Robinson Ballpark is an historic treasure.  Now the home of the minor league Daytona Tortugas, the park was where Robinson played his first spring training game in 1946.  The park opened in 1914. It’s part of Daytona’s rich cultural heritage that also includes the African American Museum of the Arts.

Newest attraction is the Daytona Aquarium and Rainforest Adventure, located down the street from the Daytona International Speedway. The 55,000 square foot facility has 40 exhibits.  They include a 100,000-gallon shark tank and a 12,000-gallon stingray touch pool.

Watching the tide rolling in is the key to ocean viewing. Here’s the day and night difference in the views from the balcony of our room at the Bahama House.

 

 

Illinois PGA adds team golf to its tournament schedule

 

The Illinois PGA informally opened its tournament season this week, but it won’t be long until the section’s newest feature in the schedule kicks in. Team play will make its debut on May 13 at the first stroke play event at Schaumburg Golf Club.

This is real team play, not best ball or foursome competitions.  With nine six-player teams and a seven-tournament schedule, it more closely resembles what the LIV Golf League started doing three years ago at its tournaments.

The 10-man IPGA tournament committee invited interest from section members, then named captains based largely on last year’s Bernardi Point Standings. Those who signed up were placed in pods based on past performance and the captains drew  from each one to create nine teams of six players each.

Each player who signed up contributed to the season’s prize fund, and a few details will be finalized when they gather at Schaumburg.

“It should be pretty cool,’’ said tournament committee chairman Andy Mickelson, of Mistwood in Romeoville, “and it should be pretty lucrative for the top three teams.’’

The competitive format will be two gross best ball and the season-long competition will be held at the six stroke play events – at Schaumburg, Merit Club in Libertyville, Glen Flora in Waukegan, Oak Park in River Grove, Crystal Lake Country Club and Mt. Hawley in Peoria –and conclude at the IPGA Players Championship Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Glen View Club.

Team captains are Roy Biancalana and Brian Carroll, both from The Hawk in St. Charles: Jim Billiter, Ivanhoe; Kyle Donovan, Oak Park; Kevin Flack, Mauh-Nah-Tee-See in Rockford; Chris French, Aldeen in Rockford; Jeff Kellen, North Shore in Glenview; Matthew Rion from Briarwood in Deerfield; and Mickelson.

The IPGA’s schedule also has two new events – the Pro-Junior at Mount Prospect on June 19 and the Pro-Veterans at Cantigny, in Wheaton, on Oct. 10. The Illinois Open, the section’s premier championship, will return to Flossmoor Country Club on Aug. 5-7.

HERE AND THERE: The University of Illinois men’s goes after its ninth straight Big Ten championship when the conference teams gather for a three-day competition at Scioto, in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday. The Illini won their last regular season tournament, the Fighting Illini Spring Collegiate at Atkins Golf Club in Urbana last week.  Sophomore Ryan Voris was the individual winner.

The Chicago area’s two local qualifiers for the U.S. Open are today (APRIL 24) at Stonewall Orchard, in Grayslake, and Monday (APRIL 29) at Cantigny. There’ll be 73 players competing for four spots in the final qualifying stage at Stonewall and 84 battling for five spots at Cantigny.

The U.S. Golf Assn. has announced 10,052 players have entered this year’s U.S. Open that concludes June 13-16 at Pinehurst, N.C. It’s the third largest turnout in the tourney’s 124-year history.

Recently announced professional changes have Jeff Kellen moving from Butler National to North Shore and Andrew Svoboda taking over at Butler.

Gene Hiser, who played for both the Cubs and White Sox, has announced the dates for two golf charity events that he’s running.  The Bill “Soup’’ Campbell Memorial Open is June 21 at Bridges at Poplar Creek, in Hoffman Estates, and the 53rd Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities All-Star Invitational is July 18 at Twin Orchard, in Long Grove.

Tickets are on sale for the John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event.  Two post-round concerts are also scheduled – Counting Crows on Saturday, July 6, and Lainey Wilson on Sunday, July 7.

Mistwood will host the College Learning Experience’s Dill Midwest Exposure Camp on June 18-19.  It’ll bring together 28 girls and boys who want to connect with 10 college coaches, five heading girls teams and five guiding boys teams.