The LIV Golf Tour kicks off its fifth season this week in Saudi Arabia minus four of its mainstay players and one notable change in its 14-tournament schedule. Chicago was the site of tournaments in the lucrative Saudi-backed circuit’s first four years, but not this time. “No Chicago event this year,’’ a LIV spokesperson confirmed…
Author: lenz
GTWA changing of the guard
The ’75 U.S. Open at Medinah was something special
THIS COLUMN WAS NAMED THE WINNER OF THE 2025 INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF GOLF MEDIA AWARDS IN THE FEATURE WRITING CATEGORY. IT APPEARED IN THE JUNE ISSUE OF THE CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLFER IN 2025. This month marks the 50th anniversary of Medinah Country Club’s second U.S. Open. The first was in 1949 when Cary…
Anthony Kim earns his way back to the LIV tour
LECANTO, FL. – Anthony Kim is back on the LIV Tour in 2026, and he earned it with his clubs this time. Kim, who had a 12-year hiatus from golf after a promising start to his professional career, finished third in LIV’s Promotion tournament at Black Diamond Ranch. That was good enough to regain his…
Kim survives, Chase Koepka out in LIV Promotion event
LECANTO, FL. – Three players will earn spots on the lucrative LIV Golf tour this weekend, and they know it won’t be easy. Promotion to the Saudi-backed circuit is demanding. The qualifier started with 60 players from 24 countries on Thursday. The low 20 and ties – it turned out to be 29 players –…
Polar Bear Open starts St. Andrews centennial celebration
The weather may suggest otherwise, but the Chicago golf season is ready to tee off. January rounds in snow and frigid weather aren’t unusual in the Chicago area but the Polar Bear Open on Sunday (JAN 4) is different. It not only brings golf diehards together at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West…
Hensby fits right in at pro golf’s most unusual event
CLEARWATER, Florida – When Mark Hensby was getting started in professional golf he was definitely different. He moved from Australia to the Chicago area in 1996, devoted himself to golf and promptly won the Illinois State Amateur. He was known to occasionally sleep in his car in the Cog Hill parking lot in those…
Golf is by no means everything in the St. Augustine area
ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA – There are lots of golf travel destinations well worth visiting – even if you don’t play golf. This is Part 2 of a series on that theme. We had intended to bring our clubs to World Golf Village for a brief visit over the Thanksgiving holidays. Those clubs got left…
This ING Fall Forum wasn’t like any of its predecessors
SEBRING, FL. — Mike Jamison, executive director of the International Network of Golf, started holding Fall Forums at the Inn on the Lakes Hotel in 2022, ending a run of annual Spring Conferences that started at Hilton Head, S.C., in 1990. It ran through 2019 when the Sebring Raceway Hotel hosted before the pandemic…
Is a Chicago player turnover coming on the LPGA Tour?
BELLEAIR, FL. – Elizabeth Szokol, the only player on the Ladies PGA Tour with Chicago area roots, announced her retirement on the same day that Lauryn Nguyen, the most recent Northwestern star, concluded her debut on the premier women’s circuit. Both missed the 36-hole cut on Friday in The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican…