Author: lenz

Rochester is — at the very least — the heart of the New York Golf Trail

Ravenwood is a featured course on both the New York and Finger Lakes golf trails.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – There are good reasons why Rochester should come to mind when you consider golf destinations. After all, the legendary player Walter Hagen grew up here and one of the most prolific course designers, Robert Trent Jones Sr., was not only born in Rochester but his very first design, Midvale, is also within the city limits.

And then there’s the venerable Oak Hill Country Club in suburban Pittsford. Its East Course is a Donald Ross design that dates back to 1901. The course has hosted three U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships (a fourth one is coming in 2023), two U.S. Amateurs, two Senior PGA Championships, one U.S. Senior Open and the 1995 Ryder Cup. The LPGA has played some of its majors at Locust Hill.

Golf in Rochester is a lot more than major championships, Hagen and RTJ Sr. (For the record now Chicago’s own Jeff Sluman developed his game in Rochester before becoming a fixture on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions).

Rod Chrlstian’s New York Golf Trail has more courses (34) than any of the other U.S. trails.

Rochester is also very much a place to visit for the purpose of just playing golf. Rod Christian created the New York Golf Trail, which is now the largest trail in the country in terms of courses (34). He has divided his trail into eight regions and, he says, “the most popular of the regions is right here (in Rochester).’’

Four of his New York Trail courses – The Links at Greystone in Walworth, Ravenwood in Victor, Bristol Harbour in Canandaigua and Mill Creek in Churchville – also form the Finger Lakes Golf Trail. If another course is needed to accommodate trail packages 27-hole Deerfield, in Brockport, gets the call.

Christian operates his trail in regions to facilitate travel for participating golfers. That sets New York apart from many of the other trails, most notably the much more well-known Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama.

“There’s a lot more driving on that trail,’’ said Christian. “Rochester is a great place to work with. Here you plant yourself in one (hotel) location and there’s no more than a 20- to 30-minute drive to the courses.’’

And those course are not only good, they’re affordable.

The best course we played on our visit was The Links at Greystone, a family owned and operated facility with a course designed by Craig Schreiner in 1995. Its top greens fee is $67 – a bargain given the quality of the course.

The family-owned Links at Greystone has my vote as the best of Rochester’s public courses.

Greystone is a three-generation labor of love for members of the Odenbach family, who opened a quarry and mining business in the Rochester area in 1920. Using equipment from that business, the Odenbachs built three courses between 1979 and 1995, sold them in 2000 and then bought them back 16 years later. They now operate two of the courses with family members playing a variety of lead roles.

Brothers John and Gardy Odenbach own The Links at Greystone. John’s son Alex is general manager and Gardy’s son Dusty is the director of golf. John’s wife Julie, a well-known high school coach of both boys and girls teams in the area, oversees the gardening and floral arrangements at the course.

“Our family tree is large here,’’ admitted Dusty Odenbach. The superintendent, Tim Hahn, may as well be a family member, too. The son of a one-time superintendent at famed Oak Hill, Hahn has been at Greystone since it opened.

Ravenwood is good, too. It has hosted the New York State Amateur twice. Its top green fee is $65 in the summer months.

The George Eastman Museum is located in the exotic mansion of the late founder of Eastman Kodak.

While the golf at the approximately 60 public course within a 20-mile radius of Rochester is enticing, the area has other attractions that are also appealing – especially if you schedule your visit during the annual Rochester International Jazz Festival. It keeps the downtown area hopping with its series of free concerts.

Of the year-around offerings, The Strong National Museum of Play most accurately bills itself as “the ultimate play destination for all ages.’’ It has the world’s largest collection of toys, dolls, board games and electronic games and its Toys National Hall of Fame honors such innovators as Milton Bradley, Walt Disney, Jim Henson and George Lucas.

The Genesee Brewery, which doubles as a popular restaurant, has been operating in Rochester since 1878.

Then there’s the George Eastman Museum. Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, was a pioneer in the photography and motion picture industry and the museum is housed in his mansion. It has one of the oldest film archives in the U.S. and its artifacts include the world’s largest collection of camera technology.

If you want a non-golf outdoor activity take a guided cruise down the Erie Canal on the Sam Patch, a replica of the boats that traveled in the canal after its opening in 1825.

Dining is more than ample, too. We tried out The Cub Room, which specializes in American fare but has nothing to do with Chicago’s baseball team. We also sampled the Italian dishes at Branca Midtown, the unique atmosphere of the Genesee Brew House and the wines at the Casa Larga Vineyards.

All made for a great escape but the golf was in the forefront.

Next to golf, the Strong Museum may be Rochester’s best attraction. It has something for everyone.

This Illinois Open field is filled with proven competitors

The 70th Illinois Open, always the premier event of the season for local players, tees off next week with a field that resembles a walk down memory lane.

There’ll be seven past champions among the 156 starters, and they have combined to win 11 titles. The last two amateurs to win the coveted title – Patrick Flavin (2017) and David Cooke (2015) — are among those seven, though both have since turned pro.

Flavin, already a winner on the PGA Tour’s Latinoamerica circuit, shares the record for the tourney’s low 18-hole round. He shot 64 twice when he won his title and became only the second player to win the Open and Illinois State Amateur in the same year.

As good as Flavin was that year, Carlos Sainz Jr. retains the record for best score in the 54-hole championship – a 17-under-par 197 in 2016. Cooke’s 16-under in 2016 is the second best, and his five-stroke victory margin is the largest by an amateur in tournament history.

And then there’s the University of Illinois influence, which will be bigger than ever when the first ball is struck at both The Glen Club, in Glenview, and Chicago’s Ridgemoor Country Club on Monday. There are a combined eight current and former Illini in the field headed by current men’s head coach Mike Small, a four-time Illinois Open champion.

Only Gary Pinns, who won the last of his five Illinois Opens in 1990, has won the tournament more times than Small. Other former winners trying to capture the magic again are Roy Biancalana (1987 and 2001), Phillip Arouca (2011) and Eric Meierdierks (2010).

Small won his titles between 2003 and 2007 and was the runner-up three other times. Five of his current players – Luke Armbrust, Bryan Baumgarten, Varun Chopra, Tommy Kuhl and Brendan O’Reilly – are also in the field as are Illini alums Garrett Chaussard and Nick Hardy, who are both now in the professional ranks.

Chaussard, now director of instruction at Skokie Country Club, won the Illinois PGA’s Match Play title this year. Hardy, runner-up in the Illinois Open in 2017, hopes to become the 10th player to own titles in both the Open and Illinois State Amateur. He won the Amateur in a record 28-under-par 260 at St. Charles Country Club in 2016.

Also not to be forgotten is Brandon Holtz, the former Illinois State University basketball player who was the runner-up in the last two Illinois Opens.

The one notable absentee – though it’s no surprise – is Vince India. One of only nine players to own titles in both the Illinois Open and Illinois State Amateur, India chose not to defend his Open title. He’s a member of the Korn Ferry Tour, which provides a direct pathway to the PGA Tour for its best players each year.

Finalists in the tournament will be completed today (WEDNESDAY) after the Last Chance Qualifier concludes at Willow Crest in Oak Brook. There were seven previous state-wide qualifying rounds to determine the finalists. The survivors will play 18 holes at The Glen Club and Ridgemoor on Monday and Tuesday and the low 50 and ties will decide the champion in a final 18 at The Glen on Wednesday, Aug. 7

Here and there

The Western Golf Association’s Western Amateur championship concludes on Saturday at Point O’Woods in Benton Harbor, MI. Then the WGA will turn its focus on the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup Playoff event that runs at Medinah from Aug. 13-18.

Elmhurst’s Mark Wilson, despite being a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, has gotten into only three events this season. He missed the cut in the first two and made the cut in last week’s Barracuda Championship only to be disqualified before the final round for using an improperly-sized greens book. Wilson self-reported the violation, in effect disqualifying himself.

The Illinois PGA team had no trouble beating the Chicago District Golf Association’s amateur team in the 58th Radix Cup matches, which were rescheduled for last week after weather problems caused an earlier postponement. The IPGA’s 14 ½-3 ½ margin gave the pros a 36-20-2 edge in the series.

Oak Park Country Club, in River Grove, hosted the Radix Cup matches and the CDGA’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship will conclude its three-day run there today (JULY 31). The CDGA will also conduct a qualifying round for the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur today at the Glenview Park course.

Illinois high school champion Lauren Beaudreau, of Lemont, reached the quarterfinals of last week’s U.S. Junior Girls Championship at Wisconsin’s SentryWorld before being eliminated by eventual runner-up Jillian Bourdage, of Tamarac, FL.

A milestone for Grand Geneva comes with the loss of a landmark

The 18th green of The Brute course provides a stunning view for Grand Geneva’s hotel guests.

LAKE GENEVA, Wis.—This is a milestone year for Grand Geneva Resort and Spa, which is already a place with an interesting history.

The current milestone being celebrated is the 25th anniversary of the resort’s ownership by Milwaukee-based Marcus Corporation. Marcus bought what was then called the Americana Resort in 1981, and that came after Chicago-based Americana Hotels Corporation had taken over what was originally the Playboy Club-Hotel.

Hugh Hefner had created the Playboy Club concept, opening his first facilty in Chicago in 1960. Hefner, amidst much fanfare, expanded into the resort world when the Lake Geneva location opened in 1968.

The Playboy Club-Hotel thrived for a while but eventually was no longer considered a trendsetter in sex, sophistication or entertainment. That led to financial trouble and the sale to Americana. Americana rebranded as more of a family destination and thrived for a while, too, before encountering its own financial problems. That prompted the sale to Marcus.

Not much remains from the good old days. In fact one of the most prominent disappeared earlier this year. A sculpture on the No. 16 tee of The Brute course was taken down. It was a topic of discussion for most every golfing visitor because nobody knew quite what it was.

This controversial sculpture is gone but still memorable to Grand Geneva golfers.

A local sculptor, Charles Moelter, created it for Playboy 50 years ago and advised those wondering what it was to “Use your imagination.’’

“It was supposedly a reproduction of Picasso drawing and was called `The Frustrated Golfer,’’’ said Dave Hallenbeck, the current director of golf who marked his 46th year working on the property on the Fourth of July. He started as a lifeguard at the resort and worked on the golf side for the last 42 years.

Hallenbeck said that taking the iconic sculpture down was a corporate decision.

“I was surprised because it was kind of a landmark,’’ he said, “but it was getting holes in it and it would have cost a lot of money to repair it. The whole thing was just falling apart.’’

The sculpture did occasionally serve as a rain shelter but was more of a conversation piece than anything else.

One icon still remains, and it pre-dates the weird statue.

Lots of golfers hit tee shots into this old silo on No. 11 of The Brute, but it’s still standing.

“We still have the old silo on the 11th hole,’’ said Hallenbeck. “It was from the original farmhouse on the property.’’

That silo has been battered by many errant golf shots and shows signs of wear and tear, too. Hallenbeck has proposed that it be restored and re-pointed with a new roof and a plaque to mark its historical significant on the property.

While the absence of the sculpture is notable to the resort’s golf aficionados, it hardly detracts from what Grand Geneva has become under the Marcus ownership. It’s a beautiful place with two fine courses – the well-known Brute and the more user-friendly Highlands. Both are always busy, as Grand Geneva is an extremely popular outing destination.

“I don’t know any resort or club that does the volume that we do,’’ said Hallenbeck. “We’re a melting pot. We take a little of what everyone else does in golf and blend it in.’’

Fireworks displays over water are a regular treat for the guests at Grand Geneva.

Corporate and charity outings are a fixture at Grand Geneva, but there’s almost always openings for individual play.

“There have been days when we’ve done up to eight events,’’ said Hallenbeck. “Our groups start with 12-16 players and go up to a massive one that has 325 players. You try to please everybody. Golf is flat, even decreasing, but we understand what golfers want.’’

Grand Geneva finds room for junior programs (it even has a team in the PGA Junior League), couples events and PGA, college and high school tournaments.

“Playboy and Americana never did things like that,’’ said Hallenbeck. “We’re doing everything we can to keep golf going and to support it.’’

Grand Geneva is the only golf facility among the 18 Marcus properties. The others include hotels, resorts and theaters. At Grand Geneva there’s much more than golf. It’s a haven for skiers in the winter and the spa and fitness center attracts all ages year-around.

Carlos Miramontes, massage supervisor of the WELL spa, has been a fixture at Grand Geneva for 16 years.

Carlos Miramontes, the WELL spa’s massage supervisor, grew up two miles from the resort and has been giving massages there for 16 years. He supervises a staff that can provide up to eight massages an hour when the demand is there.

Grand Geneva is also a popular wedding destination and its Christmas in the Country display has attracted visitors in the winter since 1996.

“We have three entities,’’ said Hallenbeck. “We have a time-share, family fun area; the resort side, which is more corporate and upscale; and a waterpark, which is a fun family place.’’

The two main restaurants – Geneva Chop House and Ristorante Brissago – supplement that activities offered by providing fine dining. Many of those non-golf offerings were also available in the Playboy and Americana days, but not to the extent seen since Marcus took over.

The Highlands isn’t the best known course at Grand Geneva but many players prefer it over The Brute.

New look will soon be unveiled at the Weibring course at ISU

D.A. Weibring is certainly well known as a player within the Illinois ranks. He won the John Deere Classic three times and scored an unusual victory in the 1987 Western Open, a tournament that was split between two courses, Butler National and Oak Brook Golf Club, after flooding left Butler with only nine holes playable.

Now, though, Weibring is more prominent as a course architect and his projects in Illinois have been as noteworthy as his playing accomplishments. He designed TPC Deere Run, which has hosted the John Deere Classic the last 20 years, and Metamora Fields in the central part of the state.

And now there’s more.

He’s about to complete work on a course that bears his name and just beginning on a project that could help save a once well-regarded public course in Peoria.

Weibring played collegiately at Illinois State, in Normal, and launched a successful PGA Tour career after his graduation in 1975.

The course that Weibring played his college golf on was a Robert Bruce Harris design that opened in 1964. After establishing himself as a touring pro Weibring created a golf architectural firm in Dallas and one of its projects was the renovation of that ISU course.

Over the years he turned it into a 6,915-yard par-71 layout that is the home for the Redbirds’ men’s and women’s teams and has been used for many of the Illinois high school championships as well as a variety of fund-raisers. Its Mounier Golf Training Center is considered one of the top practice facilities in collegiate golf.

The course was renamed the Weibring Course at Illinois State in 2007 after another renovation in honor of Weibring’s support of both the school and its golf programs. He helped to raise $14 million for the golf teams and now he’s stepped up his efforts again. A massive bunker renovation project was conducted without the need of closing the course and it’s scheduled for completing on Aug. 2.

Lauding the efforts of superintendent Travis Williams, Weibring supervised a major change in what the course will look like for both the high school and college events that are played there. This renovation also involved members of the ISU teams, who pitched in to move sod during the reconstruction.

“We’ve eliminated all those bunkers and changed the personality of the course,’’ he said. Now he wants to get ISU alumni out to check out the new look and stimulate more fund-raising for the program. There’ll be some fun-raising outings there in September.

Weibring’s efforts for golf in Illinois don’t end there, either.

Weibring has also taken on a renovation project at Weaver Ridge, a Peoria public facility with some nice elevation changes. It was recently purchased by the Ring family who created Metamora Fields. They’ve called on Weibring to bring back the course.

“Weaver Ridge needs repair. Its bunkers have not been touched in years,’’ said Weibring.

Radix Cup rescheduled

The annual Radix Cup matches between the top players in the Illinois PGA and Chicago District Golf Association is on again. Called off by inclement weather early in the season, the two golf groups settled on a rescheduled match for Thursday at Oak Park Country Club. It’ll tee off at 12:45 p.m.

Oak Park will remain a busy place, with the CDGA bringing its Amateur Four-Ball Championship there for a three-day run beginning on Monday.

Here and there

The University of Illinois women’s team has added Reena Sulkar to its list of recruits. She’ll join the team as a graduate student. A high schools star at Barrington Sulkar finished her undergraduate work at Illinois-Chicago while playing her goal in amateur tournaments. She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2018 and was the Chicago Women’s District Golf Association champion in 2017.

Weather concerns led to the shortening of two big events last week. The Women’s Western Amateur, at Royal Mebourne in Long Grove, and the Illinois State Amateur, at Cantigny in Wheaton, both deviated from the planned format. The Women’s Western Am cut the championship match from the traditional 36 holes to 18 and the Illinois State Amateur, which was scheduled for a 36-hole final cut, reduced it to 18 to make it a 54-hole event. Sarah Shipley, a University of Kentucky senior from Hastings, MI., captured the Women’s Western Am and Ethan Farnam of Crystal Lake won the State Am. Farnam, who spent his freshman year in college at Northwestern, is about to enter his junior season at St. Mary’s in California.

Porvasnik answers Jeray charge to win Illinois Women’s Open

Jessice Porvasnik accepts the Illinois Women’s Open trophy from Greg Kosin, brother of the tourney’s late founder Phil Kosin, after her one-shot victory at Mistwood.

It took just one swing for the 25th Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open to turn into a real battle Wednesday at Mistwood, in Romeoville.

Nicole Jeray, for two decades Chicago’s only LPGA Tour player, picked the perfect spot to deliver the dramatic shot. Now 48, Jeray has shifted her focus to teaching at Mistwood and has grown to love it. But, no doubt about it, she can still play.

Playing against much younger players – many of them college stars, Jeray covered the Mistwood layout in 4-under-par 212 for 54 holes but it wasn’t quite good enough. Jessica Porvasnik, of Hinckley, Ohio, was one shot better.

Jeray, though, put excitement into what had been a quiet final round. She used a 4-hybrid from 177 to get within two feet of the cup at Mistwood’s dramatic par-3 fourteenth hole. After that is was Game On!

At that point Jeray and Porvasnik, her playing partner, weren’t sure where they stood on the leaderboard. The only threesome behind them was dropping two holes behind and scores provided on the course were suspect.

Porvasnik just knew that she was in a battle with Jeray, and Jeray was aware of the same thing. Not only did Jeray make her spectacular birdie at No. 14, she also birdied the 15th, a par-5, from 10 feet and rolled in a birdie putt of the same length at the par-4 seventeenth.

That birdie binge put Jeray in position to achieve a lifetime dream. She wanted to win the IWO in three decades, having previously won in 1998 and 2003.

“I wanted to. It would have been fun,’’ said Jeray, “but she (Porvasnik) birdied 18.’’

In addition to her two IWO wins Jeray lost the title in playoffs in 2010 and 2013. Her birdie run got Porvasnik’s attention.

“After she stuffed a couple in there I knew that last hole really meant something,’’ she said. Porvasnik rolled in a 15-footer to assure a win over Jeray, then had to wait for the last threesome to finish.

Two players in the final group, Kasey Miller, a professional from Findlay, Ohio, and amateur Kaho Monica Matsubara, finished at 4-under and tied with Jeray. None could beat Porvasnik’s score. Matsubara, who attends Northwestern, was the tourney’s low amateur.

.Porvasnik played collegiately at Ohio State and became the second consecutive IWO winner from a Big Ten school. Northwestern’s Hana Kim won in 2018, then captured the Tennessee Open the next week. Porvasnik hopes to do the same thing and she’ll go into that tournament on a roll. Previously she had top-10 finishes in the state opens in Colorado and Michigan.

Immediately prior to coming to Mistwood Porvasnik survived the Monday qualifying for an LPGA tournament in Toledo, Ohio, and made the 36-hole cut there to earn her first check on the circuit — $4,083. She added $5,000 for her win at Mistwood.

Though she’s primarily a teacher now Jeray isn’t done competing. She is first alternate to play in a Legends Tour event in Janesville, Wis., and has spots in both the LPGA Teaching Division national championship and Senior LPGA Championship before the season is out.

“I have just enough tournaments for me to keep me on my game,’’ said Jeray. “I like being a teacher, It’s rewarding, and I’m getting really good at it.’’

Women’s Western Amateur, IWO go head-to-head

This is the most recent instance for unfortunate tournament scheduling. The two biggest women’s tournaments of the Chicago season are going head-to-head this week.

The 119th playing of the Women’s Western Amateur began Tuesday at Royal Melbourne, in Long Grove, and the Illinois Women’s Open began its 25th anniversary celebration on the same day at Mistwood, in Romeoville. The IWO ends Wednesday, the Women’s Western on Saturday.

These are both prestigious competitions, and it’s unfortunate that players had to choose one over the other.

At least this year’s schedule conflict isn’t as bad as the one last year, when golf attention was spread among the Women’s Western at Mistwood; the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club, in Wheaton; and the Senior Players Championship, one of the majors on PGA Tour Champions, at Exmoor in Highland Park. The PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic, near Moline, was also played that week.

Mistwood hosted both the IWO and the Women’s Western last year and Tristyn Nowlin, a University of Illinois standout, finished second in both.

Nowlin, who is from Richmond, Ky., and is entering her senior year with the Illini, has opted for the Women’s Western this year. She’ll be part of a field that is unusually rich in Chicago area talent.

Rarely have Chicago players been a factor in the Western Am, but this time there are three top-tier Chicago hopefuls. Two of them, Megan Furtney of South Elgin and Sarah Arnold of St. Charles, were teammates on St. Charles North’s Illinois high school championship team. Another, Lauren Beaudreau, was the individual state champion. She lives off the Ruffled Feathers course in Lemont.

All three have done big things since the high school season ended, too. Furtney was a winner in the U.S. Golf Association’s Four-Ball Championship and qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open. Arnold won the Illinois Women’s State Amateur title in her first appearance in the event and also qualified for next week’s U.S. Girls Junior Championship at SentryWorld, in Wisconsin.

Beaudreau qualified for both the U.S. Girls finals and the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Those two events are still on her summer schedule. Arnold also will play in the Illinois State Junior and Kentucky Open before the college season starts.

While Arnold admitted to having “swing issues’’ during Monday’s practice round at Royal Melbourne, Beaudreau went in with confidence. She shot 67 and was the medalist in a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier in Tennessee. The Western begins with 36 holes of stroke play qualifying before the top 32 determine the title in match play,

Then it’s on to their freshman year in college — Beaudreau at Notre Dame, Arnold at Western Kentucky and Furtney at Duke. While their records to this point are impressive, winning the Western Am would take them to a new level. Its past champions include Patty Berg, Louise Suggs, Nancy Lopez, Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn.

Cut coming at Cantigny

The 89th Illinois State Amateur started with 132 players, and most will be gone after today’s (WEDNESDAY’S) second round. The survivors play 36 holes on Thursday to decide the champion at Cantigny, in Wheaton.

This year’s State Am drew 497 entries, with 103 earning berths in the finals through eight state-wide qualifying rounds. The other 29 were exempt on past performance. Quinlan Prchal was the only past champion in the field. Oldest of the finalists was Tom Fox (59) and the youngest – for the second straight year – was Jack Inabnot (15).

The Chicago District Golf Association also announced that Wynstone, in Barrington, will host the finals in 2020, Mistwood will take the honors in 2021 and Westmoreland, in Wilmette, in 2022.

Here and there

Eagle Ridge, Illinois’ premier golf resort in Galena, has a new owner. Mark Klausner, a 20-year resident of the Galena Territory, is the first local owner in the resort’s history.

Head coach Mike Small has a new assistant at Illinois. He’s Justin Bardgett, who was an assistant at Army when the Black Knights won the Patriot League title and went to the NCAA tournament last year. Bardgett played collegiately at Colorado and played on various pro tours for seven years before entering the coaching ranks. He replaces Zach Barlow, now the head coach at Michigan.

The Women’s Western Amateur will stay in the Chicago area for at least two more years. Prestwick, in Frankfort, will host in 2020 and Park Ridge Country Club in 2021.

D.A. Weibring, who the John Deere Classic three times and also was a Western Open champion, has been hired to oversee the renovation of Weaver Ridge, in Peoria.

Frittelli looks like a Spieth replica in winning his first JDC

Dylan Frittelli has won twice in Europe. Now he has his first win on the PGA Tour.

SILVIS, IL. – Jordan Spieth was one of the most popular champions in the history of the John Deere Classic. Spieth won ii in 2013 when he was just 19 and took the title again two years later.

Spieth has never been back, but one of his teammates on the University of Texas’ national championship team in 2012 made it to the event this year and did just fine. Dylan Frittelli used a final-round 64 to claim a two-stroke victory at TPC Deere Run.

Frittelli, 29, is a lot different player than Spieth. Spieth grew up in Texas, Frittelli in South Africa. Now Spieth lives in Dallas, Frittelli in Austin. They have lunch together frequently and play some practice rounds together as well, but Frittelli didn’t seek any advice from Spieth – winner of three major championships — as he prepared for his first visit to the JDC

They do share a great memory, though. Frittelli rolled in the winning putt for Texas in the NCAA Championships his senior season. Spieth was a freshman on that team and turned professional rather than return to Texas. He made the John Deere Classic his first professional victory the next year, and Sunday’s win was Frittelli’s first on the circuit. Frittelli said they’re “still good buddies.’’

“Jordan came in as the most highly recruited player. He had a chip on his shoulder,’’ said Frittelli. “We pushed each other. I beat him in more tournaments than he beat me at the college level.’’

As touring pros that hasn’t been the case. Frittelli has divided time between the European and PGA Tours and was worried that he could retain his membership in both. Sunday’s win quelled that fear. On Sunday night he was off on the tournament-sponsored jet to next week’s British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

Frittelli will be making his third straight appearance in The Open and he’s played in seven major championships.

But he’s no Spieth – yet.

“Jordan is the antithesis of me,’’ said Frittelli. “He has a burning desire to win at everything. I’d beat him four straight games in Ping Pong and he’d insist we play another one. I’m more methodical and thoughtful than him.’’

The connection with Spieth notwithstanding, Frittelli is different than most every player on the PGA Tour – not just Spieth. Frittelli is not afraid to wear long sleeves in steamy conditions, like he did in Sunday’s 90-degree plus conditions. He disdains contact lenses, and wears prescription glasses instead. He also prefers to leave the flagstick in on most every putt.

Until Sunday Frittelli’s unique status wasn’t so noticeable. His previous best finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for 18th at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic in March.

The John Deere Classic was its usual wide-open affair on Sunday with 11 players within three shots of 54-hole co-leaders Andrew Landry and Cameron Tringale. Frittelli was two shots back in a tie for fifth.

Russell Henley made the only serious move among the players who teed off early – and his was an eye-catcher. Henley posted a sizzling 9-under-par 61 – the best round of the week – as Frittelli was walking to the No. 10 tee. Henley and Frittelli were tied for the lead at that time, and Frittelli took the lead – for good, as it turned out – with a birdie at No. 11.

His work wasn’t done, though. He drove the green on the 361-yard par-4 fourteenth but missed both his eagle and birdie putts. He missed a makeable birdie putt at No. 15, too, and the one-stroke lead was maintained through the par-3 sixteenth when Frittelli two-putted from 40 feet for another par.

Frittelli expanded his lead by two shots when he got up and down from a green-side bunker at No. 17, holing his birdie putt from 11 feet. He didn’t look at a leaderboard until he was lining up that putt.

No. 18 was a routine par – a drive in the fairway, an approach to the front of the green and two putts for the par. He finished at 21-under-par 263, two ahead of Henley and three in front of Landry.

Luke Donald, the lone player with Chicago connections in the field, faded on the weekend with rounds of 70-71. He fell 17 spots on Sunday and finished in a tie for 56th.

Don’t rule out vets Haas, Moore in final round of the JDC

Lucas Glover’s second shot to the par-5 tenth hole at TPC Deere Run on Saturday drew a crowd. He had holed out with a 3-iron from 255 yards for a double eagle on Friday and gave it a good try for another albatross, hitting to 12 feet and sinking the putt for an eagle.

SILVIS, IL. – The Las Vegas odds-makers didn’t believe experience mattered much when they sized up the John Deere Classic field earlier this week. The top five betting favorites – Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Sunglae Im and Matthew Wolff — are all between the ages of 20 and 22.

But what do those odds-makers know anyway?

Those young guns may have played well lately on the PGA Tour, and the JDC is a tournament known for producing first-time champions. Of the young hotshots, though, the best entering Sunday’s final round is Morikawa and he’s in a tie for 12th, four strokes behind co-leaders Cameron Tringale and Andrew Landry.

While Tringale and Landry hit the 54-hole stop at TPC Deere Run at 16-under-par 197 on Saturday, their status is precarious at best. Six others are within two shots of the lead, and that group includes a couple of battled hardened veterans who were among golf’s elite not too long ago.

Bill Haas, who posted Saturday’s best score with a 7-under-par 64, was the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup champion in 2011. He’s a shot behind the co-leaders and Ryan Moore, who finished his third round birdie-eagle-birdie, is one swing behind Haas.

Moore’s win in the 2016 JDC triggered his selection to the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and he went on to score the winning point against the Europeans that year. His win in the JDC, in effect, helped Moore become a national hero – at least for awhile.

“It (winning at TPC Deere Run) definitely kick-started that run, and I played good, solid golf from there all the way through the Ryder Cup,’’ said Moore.

A win Sunday wouldn’t have the same effect, since it’ll be Moore’s last competitive round for awhile. He’s skipping next week’s British Open because his wife is expecting their third child.

“I’m in an on-call situation right here,’’ said Moore. “She’s still a few weeks out, so it was comfortable being here. I won’t be going to the British because that’s just way too far away and I would not feel comfortable being that far away a few weeks with baby No. 3 is on the way.’’

Haas posted his lowest round of the year on Saturday, and it gave him a big lift.

“I certainly haven’t been seeing many mid-60 rounds in the last two years,’’ he said. “The game is not easy. It’s been beating me most weeks. Hopefully if I keep working hard days like this will happen.’’

Haas, now 37, realizes the landscape of the PGA Tour is changing. Players are getting younger and younger.

“We’re starting to see maybe the trend is younger is better,’’ he said. “The average age on Tour has gone down since I was a rookie Experience doesn’t seem to hold as much weight. I’m just going to have to play my game, and hopefully it’s enough.’’

Co-leaders Tringale and Landry aren’t exactly kids, either. Both are 31, but they’re careers haven’t been as noteworthy. Landry’s only win was at the Valero Texas Open last year, but he’s had only one top-10 finish this season.

Tringale has gone winless in 10 years on the circuit. This year he’s tied for fifth twice, the last time at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit two weeks ago.

Landry had the lead at the turn on Saturday but made bogeys at Nos. 11 and 12. He rallied with three birdies after that, though.

“I just got tired,’’ said Landry. “It was really hot out there. My golf swing started feeling a little bit shaky, my body was not really turning and I was arming it out there rather than really hitting solid shots.’’

He’ll take precautions to avoid that repeating itself in the final round.

“I need to bring more food in the bag, drink more water,’’ he said. Landry may also have to deal with being a relatively new father. His son, just 18 months old, and travels with him.

“It’s absolutely hectic. I’m about to leave here and get ready for bedtime for him,’’ said Landry. “It’s good to get off the course, just forget about everything and get away from the game. He’s a blessing.’’

But Landry still hasn’t figured out how to balance family life with tournament golf.

“Whenever someone does figure it out, please let me know because I would live to know,’’ he said.

TPC Deere Run’s par-5 tenth hole drew a bigger gallery than usual on Saturday when Lucas Glover arrived at the tee. Glover made the tourney’s first double-eagle in 19 years there on Friday and put his drive in the fairway again. He went for the green in two again, got within 12 feet and holed his putt for eagle.

Donald makes the cut at JDC, joins those chasing Vegas

SILVIS, IL. – Luke Donald is seven years removed from being the world’s No. 1 golfer, but he’s showing signs of regaining the form that made him that good, and that’s saying a lot.

Donald was sidelined for nearly a year with back problems. During the time off he lost his PGA Tour membership but he’s on the way to regaining it. His play over the first two rounds of the John Deere Classic is proof of that.

Back-to-back 68s have Donald at 6-under-par 136 for the first 36 holes at TPC Deere Run. He’s safely inside the cut line entering Saturday’s third round, though he’s a distant seven strokes behind leader Jhonattan Vegas.

Jhonattan Vegas was delighted with his play in the second round of the JDC.

Vegas, from Venezuela, matched the best round of the tournament with his 9-under-par 62 on Friday and hit the halfway stop at 13-under-par 129. He’s one swing ahead of Andrew Landry and two in front of Lucas Glover, who made the shot of the day. He holed his second shot from 255 yards on the par-5 tenth for an albatross.en route to posting a 64. It was the first double eagle at the JDC since 2000 – Frank Lickliter had one at No. 2 that year — but the seventh on the PGA Tour this season.

Donald, 41, starred at Northwestern before rising to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, a status he held for 55 weeks between 2011 and 2012. During most of that time he lived at least part-time in Northfield, and he is the great Chicago hope in this year’s JDC.

“We’ve had a place in Jupiter, Florida, since 2006,’’ said Donald. “For a few years we’d just go there in the winter but when my girls started in school we had to make a decision and Jupiter won out because of the weather. I loved that house, but we were spending less and less time in Chicago.’’

The Northfield house was sold a few months ago as Donald was starting to regain his form. His game isn’t all there yet, but it’s getting there.

“I feel pretty solid,’’ he said. “A back issue is always something you have to manage, but I’ve had no issues on the course. The last time I did was at the Sony (in Hawaii in January) and I took some time off after that.’’

Andrew Landry hit his approach shot into a tree on this shot at No. 6, leading to a bogey that dropped out of a share of the JDC lede.

He returned in March at the Valspar Championship, in Florida, and tied for ninth – his best finish since resuming tournament play. His fitness level is improving now. As proof of that he’s survived the 36-hole cut in three straight tournaments and is hopeful of a good finish at the JDC to get more FedEx points towards regaining full playing privileges.

“My game is in a pretty good place,’’ he said. “Thirteen birdies in the first two days is a good sign that my confidence is coming back. I hadn’t played here since 2003. After that I was a European Tour member and played the Scottish (Open) before The (British) Open. It’s nice to be back here. This is a good course for me. You hit lots of wedges and it’s not overly long.’’

After this weekend Donald won’t play again until the Wyndham Championship, in North Carolina, Aug. 1-4 a week before the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin. Donald won’t get into next week’s British Open unless he wins on Sunday and he will need two very solid finishes to have a chance of making it into the PGA Tour’s postseason series.

Chances of Donald playing in either the British or FedEx Playoffs are slim, but regaining full membership isn’t. Mizuno, his equipment company since 2004, has no doubts Donald will be playing full-time again. He was awarded a new contract in January, months before his comeback was in full swing.

“I’ll have three or four starts after the Wyndham to get enough points, and I might take a money list exemption to play fully next year so I won’t have to worry about it,’’ said Donald.

In the meantime he’s in the big pack chasing Vegas, who holed over 100 feet of putts on Saturday in a bogey-free round that included nine birdies.

“It was probably the best I’ve felt all year,’’ said Vegas. “I hit the ball extremely well. I was obviously super solid from the beginning all the way to the end. Ball-striking was impeccable. I can’t wait for the weekend. The course is usually soft, and it’s been a little firmer because of the warm conditions. It’s the best I’ve ever seen it.’’

Vegas posted his round in the morning and Landry caught him in the afternoon. He fell a stroke back when his second shot from the rough on No. 6 hit a tree. That shot, on his 15th hole of the day, led to a bogey and Landry finished with a 65.

Diaz’ 62 tops an unusual first round at the John Deere Classic

Roberto Diaz focused on making the FedEx Cup Playoffs while taking the lead at the JDC.

SILVIS, IL. – The 49th John Deere Classic meant the return of the PGA Tour to Illinois for the first time in 2019, but Thursday’s opening round had a different feel to it.

There was the usual abundance of low scoring, with the best saved for last. Mexico’s Roberto Diaz, in the last threesome to tee off, shot a 9-under-par 62 to open a two-stroke lead over Adam Long and Russell Henley after Round 1. Still, notable stars of the past were either missing or off form.

There was no Steve Stricker, a three-time winner and loyal JDC supporter who opted to play in the Bridgestone Constellation Senior Players Championship instead. Two-time winner Jordan Spieth thought about coming but didn’t, and there hasn’t much excitement over the defending champion, Michael Kim.

Luke Donald tapped in a six-inch birdie putt at No. 18 to get his game going in the first round of the JDC.

Kim set scoring records in his win at TPC Deere Run last year but took a string of 18 consecutive missed cuts into his title defense. He didn’t show signs of shaking his slump, posting a 73. Then there was Zach Johnson, the face of the tournament on many levels. He shot 72, his first over-par round in the JDC since 2008. His streak of 41 in a row at par or better came to an end.

And finally there was the unusual shortage of local PGA Tour players. Not even Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman was on hand – and the scenario surrounding his absence from the $6 million event was a weird one.

Streelman had just won Monday’s Rockford Pro-Am, a fixture around John Deere Classic time, at the Aldeen course in Rockford. After shooting a 6-under-par 66 there he made a quick check of his emails and found a most interesting one.

It read: “There has been a withdrawal from The Open. There is a space for you if you’d like to play? Thanks.’’

Jonathan Tippletts-Aylmer, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club’s entries manager, had sent it and Streelman was at a loss for words.

“My mind’s everywhere,’’ he said then.

And it was. Streelman had already committed to the JDC, an event he had played in eight times since 2009. Coming off his best finish in the tournament (a tie for seventh) last year, Streelman has been a JDC mainstay.

The news of the player withdrawal – it was John Daly, who pulled out because he wasn’t allowed to use a cart – made national news. Streelman’s elevation to the field didn’t. He got into the British off his place on the Official World Golf Rankings, where he is No. 85.

Streelman was left with decisions to make on the fly. He could have still played in the JDC because tournament director Clair Peterson provides a charter flight to the British site immediately after his tournament ends. Streelman, though, needed to get his passport and proper clothing. Both were at his home in Arizona, and he also needed to line up a caddie for next week because his regular bag-toter wasn’t going to make the trip..

So, Streelman made a heart-felt apology to Peterson before withdrawing from the JDC, then had a session with swing instructor Jim (Doc) Suttie at Black Sheep, in Sugar Grove, picked up his necessities in Arizona and headed across the pond for more on-site preparation there. Streelman has played in five British Opens, the last in 2015, and never did better than a tie for 54th place at Royal Liverpool the year before that.

Peterson’s charter flight will take off on Sunday, but will be only about half-full. In 2010 a second charter flight was needed to get all the JDC participants to St. Andrews but only about 60 will travel to Royal Portrush on Sunday night.

Getting on that plane isn’t Diaz’ main concern, however.

“My goal right now isn’t to get into the British Open,’’ he said. “That’s not in my mind right now. It’s to get enough points to make it into the (FedEx Cup) playoffs. There are four events left, and this is crunch time.’’

Diaz, nicknamed Porky, needs to get into the top 125 in the FedEx standings to make it into the first playoff event. He is now No. 158. Diaz’ previous best round on the PGA Tour was a 65. In the last five rounds on the PGA Tour a player has posted a 62, Diaz being the most recent.

Long and Henley would like to be on the jet. Long, with a morning tee time, won the Desert Classic in California in January, then missed 11 cuts in the next 17 tournaments including the last three in a row. Henley, an afternoon starter, is trying to snap a string of four straight missed cuts.

Henley was paired with former world No. 1 Luke Donald, who is in the JDC field for the first time since 2003. He posted a 3-under 68.