Author: lenz

Bonanno, Yuen take on Western Am challenge at Mistwood

Illinois Amateur champ Sabrina Bonanno gets pre-tourney attention from videographer Dave Lockhart.

Sabrina Bonanno of Norridge and Jessica Yuen of Bolingbrook were dominant golfers in the Illinois high school ranks and have been solid college players. Starting Tuesday, however, they’ll be experiencing something new and different as far as competition goes.

Both are in the select 120-player field in the 118th Women’s Western Amateur at Mistwood in Romeoville. The field includes players from 25 states and seven foreign countries, and they range in age from 15 to 57 – the oldest being Ellen Port of St. Louis who has six U.S. Golf Association national titles to her credit.

Port will also be in the field at the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton next month. That tournament concludes a hectic month featuring three big-time women’s events in the Chicago area. The first is the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which tees off on Thursday at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.

Though both are in the Western Amateur for the first time, Bonanno and Yuen rank among the most promising young players in the field.

A recent graduate of Arkansas-Little Rock, Bonanno won an Illinois high school title and finished second three times while at Ridgewood. Yuen, a junior-to-be at the University of Missouri, won two Illinois high school titles and was second her other two years at Nequa Valley.

Bonanno is coming off a stunning win in the Illinois Women’s State Amateur at Aldeen in Rockford. No player in the 85-year history of state tourney has dominated the event the way Bonanno did. She was medalist in stroke play qualifying, shooting a 67, and none of her matches went beyond the 15th hole.

That performance, coupled with her collegiate status, suggests the 22-year old might be ready to turn professional after this week’s prestigious event ends on Saturday. While not ruling that out, Bonanno isn’t in a hurry to make that dramatic lifestyle change.

“I’m going back to college to get my Masters in Business Administration,’’ she said. “I want to get my game where I’m shooting in the 60s, and I’m up and down right now. I know I can play at that level, but right now I’m not sure if I’m ready.’’

Her plans after the Women’s Western Am suggest she’s not. Rather than play in her first Illinois Women’s Open, also held at Mistwood in July, she’s going to Europe for a vacation and the only golf it’ll include is time spent watching the British Open.

When she returns she’ll attempt to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, then return to Arkansas-Little Rock and work on her game in addition to studying for that Masters. Professional golf can wait.

“There’s so much more golf you can play as an amateur,’’ she said. “I’d like to play in some pro tournaments as an amateur and then make a decision.’’

Yuen, who will also play in the Illinois Women’s Open for the fifth straight year, still has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining. She has one big advantage on every other player in the Western Amateur field. None know Mistwood as well as she does. Her home is 20 minutes away and she’s worked with four members of Mistwood’s teaching staff over the years.

“ I grew up playing it my entire life,’’ she said. “I’m real comfortable here. That should help me out this week.’’

One of the biggest amateur events for women, the Women’s Western Amateur has a new format this year. The starters will play 36 holes on Tuesday and Wednesday to decide the 32 qualifiers for match play, which begins on Thursday. There’ll be no secondary flights in match play, as there have been in recent years.

Kemper Lakes hosted one Chicago tournament that Annika DIDN’T win

Kemper Lakes has a rich history for hosting men’s tournaments. With the women it’s a little different.

This week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is by far the club’s biggest ever. The only one that comes close was 26 years ago when Kemper was still a public facility. In 1992 the U.S. Women’s Amateur was played there. It had a famous finalist, with Annika Sorenstam losing 1-up to the dominant amateur of that era, Vickie Goetze.

Consider how much women’s golf has changed since then. Kemper went fully private 15 years later. Goetze, after a winless 18-year career as an LPGA Tour player, is now the president of the LPGA Players Association and – in the most meaningful change of all – Sorenstam is retired as a player after a Hall of Fame career.

The LPGA’s most dominant player since Kathy Whitworth, the Sweden-born Sorenstam won 72 LPGA tournaments (a record 90 internationally as a professional) and over $22 million in prize money.

When Sorenstam competed at Kemper she was a promising 21-year old senior at Arizona, having won the 1991 NCAA title and making the cut in the 1992 U.S. Women’s Open.

“Other than the NCAA, that was my first really big tournament,’’ recalled Sorenstam. “She was No. 1 amateur then. I was just arriving, but I remember Kemper Lakes as a good match play course and playing there was a big deal for me – a big tournament in a big city on a big stage. I had zero expectations.’’

She handed the title to Goetze with a water ball on the 18th hole after battling back from 2-down with three holes to play to get the match back to all square

“I vividly remember that match. In the last four holes I felt that I was leaking oil, but it wasn’t so much that,’’ said Goetze (now Vickie Goetze-Ackerman). “Annika was taking the match away. It all worked out well for me in the end, and it was such a good match. At that time the U.S. Women’s Amateur matches weren’t televised. After that they were, and I felt that part of the reason was that ours had been such a good one.’’

Sorenstam fared better when she returned to Chicago as a professional. She won back-to-back titles in the Kellogg-Keebler Classic, an LPGA tour event played at Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora in 2002 and 2003. The first of those wins was by an 11-stroke margin.

No player dominated women’s golf the way Sorenstam did. She triggered a power shift to on the circuit after American players had dominated for four decades. Now only one American (No. 9 Jessica Korda) is among the top 10 on this year’s money list.

The first non-American superstar in women’s golf, Sorenstam was player-of-the-year eight times in 11 years from 1995 to 2005. No American has been player-of-the-year since 1993 and only Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa has approached Sorenstam’s record. Ochoa was player-of-the-year four straight times from 2006-09 as Sorenstam was winding down her career. She stepped away from the game in 2008.

The LPGA has also thrived in its numerous returns to Chicago. Australian Karrie Webb won the U.S. Women’s Open at Merit Club, in Libertyville, in 2000 and Danielle Kang took the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields last year. Those were the only two women’s majors played in the Chicago area since Kemper hosted the Goetze-Sorenstam duel 26 years ago.

A bigger impact for women’s golf came in 2009, when Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, hosted the Solheim Cup matches. That emerged as a rousing battle with the U.S. team beating its European counterpart. Another team event, the fledgling UL International Crown, was also played at the Merit Club in 2016 but with far less fanfare.

While Sorenstam’s appearance at Kemper this week is doubtful, Goetze-Ackerman will be there. She retired as a player in 2009 and three years later became the president of the LPGA Players Association. It takes her to half of the LPGA tournaments in North America each year and a few others overseas.

Goetze-Ackerman has been reluctant to attend major championships, believing that players would rather concentrate on their games at those crucial times of the season rather than discuss political issues. She was, however, at Olympia Fields for last year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and will be at Kemper Lakes as well. Pre-tournament activities start on Tuesday and the 72-hole competition on Thursday.

“I’m looking forward to coming back and looking at the golf course,’’ she said. “ At Olympia Fields I never set foot on the course, but I’ll be walking around Kemper Lakes. I will have to spend some extra days there.’’

Women’s PGA at Kemper Lakes will be a wide-open affair

Golf’s only major championship presently scheduled at a Chicago area course tees off next week when the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship comes to Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.

The event, one of five majors on the Ladies PGA Tour, was played at Olympia Fields last year with Danielle Kang the champion. Based on what’s been happening on the LPGA circuit the last few weeks this year’s tourney may have a different cast of leading characters when it comes to Kemper starting on June 26.

Canadian Brooke Henderson was the defending champion at Olympia, but she finished runner-up to Kang. Both pulled out of tournaments in the last two weeks for what was initially declared “personal reasons.’’

Henderson was a WD from the biggest event — U.S. Women’s Open — and it was later revealed that her grandfather had died. She was back in action as the defending champion at last week’s Meijer Classic in Grand Rapids, Mich., but wasn’t her usual sharp self, finishing in a tie for 44th place.

Kang played well in the U.S. Women’s Open, finishing fourth behind champion Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, but she pulled out of the Meijer Classic after playing 11 holes. No reason for that withdrawal has been given, though Kang said she’d return to the tour for the Northwest Arkansas Championship, this week’s LPGA stop, which begins its 54-hole run on Friday.

Meanwhile, Jutanugarn ‘s play tailed off after she won the most recent of the LPGA majors. She was in a tie for 56th place after three rounds of the Meijer tournament a week later but caught fire in the final round, shooting a 10-under-par 62 that included a 29 on the front nine. She finished the event in a tie for 12th.

Also showing at least some good form in the Meijer event was the best American player, Lexi Thompson. She shot 67-67 in the weekend rounds, but that wasn’t good enough to keep up with South Korean So Yeon Ryu. She posted a sizzling 21-under-par over 72 holes at Blythefield Country Club.

Last year Ryu moved to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings prior to hitting her first tee shot at Olympia Fields. The rankings have changed a bit since then, however. Ryu is now No. 5 behind Korean Inbee Park, Jutanugarn, Thompson and China’s Shanshan Feng. Ryu may be ready to make a move back to the top spot at Kemper Lakes, however.

Her victory in Michigan was her sixth career win on the LPGA Tour, but her first of this season. She is the defending champion in the Northwest Arkansas Championship and – unlike virtually every other player in the field – Ryu has already paid a visit to Kemper Lakes to get ready for the next major championship.

Here and there

Japan’s Eriko Gejo was the only player under par in the Chicago qualifier for next month’s inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. She shot a 1-under 70 at Conway Farms in Lake Forest on Monday. Conway’s only Chicago area qualifier for next month’s finals at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton was Lake Forest’s Jamie Fischer, who shot 77 to finish third.

Norridge’s Sabrina Bonanno, a recent graduate of Arkansas-Little Rock, is the new Illinois State Women’s Amateur champion. She defeated defending champion Kelly Sterling of Mokena for the title at Rockford’s Aldeen course. Bonanno led the stroke play qualifying with a 67 and none of her matches went beyond the 15th hole.

The Chicago area has a second qualifier for next week’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado. Gary March, a teaching professional at Mount Prospect, was co-medalist in a qualifier at the Warren course in South Bend. He joins Roy Biancalana, who survived an early elimination at Village Links of Glen Ellyn.

Maddie Szeryk won’t defend her Women’s Western Amateur title next week at Mistwood in Romeoville. She’ll compete in the British Ladies Amateur instead but her sister Ellie will be in the field at Mistwood.

The Kids Golf Foundation, based at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, has announced its large single donation to date — $1 million from the Hansberger family. The Hansbergers had guided Ram, a long-time golf equipment manufacturer.

The 57th Radix Cup at Oak Park Country Club last week ended in a 10-8 win for the Chicago District Golf Association’s amateur team over the Illinois PGA’s best professionals, and the competition had some individual highlights. Jim Billiter, the Kemper Lakes pro, holed a 260-yard 3-wood shot for the first albatross in Radix history. Taylorville amateur Dave Ryan made a hole-in-one and Matt Murlick of Winnetka Golf Club, chipped in three times for the amateurs.

The 99th Chicago District Amateur concludes Thursday at Briarwood in Deerfield. So does the 101st Western Golf Association’s Junior Championship, which is being played at Evanston Golf Club in Skokie.

Great golf and beer — this area of Michigan is a mecca for both

A bridge is needed to get golfers over the Orchestra Pit on the striking 17th hole at Ravines.

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – This is hardly breaking news. Michigan has been a golfing hotspot for, well – almost forever.

Michigan has over 850 public courses, more than any other state in the nation, and golf generates more than $4 billion to the state’s economy. You can pick virtually any section of Michigan for a visit and be assured the golf will be more than just fine.

That’s what happened when we ventured to Grand Rapids which – for us – was an untested section of the state. We found, to no one’s surprise, that the golf was great – four excellent courses in four days and more readily available had we opted for a longer stay.

The Grand Rapids area, we soon learned, has another good thing going. This city with a population just under 200,000 has over 80 breweries in the immediate area. It has earned its designation of Beer City, USA.

We were there for the golf, of course, but daily late afternoon visits to different breweries — climaxed by a guided tour of Founders, the biggest one – made this golf destination stand out from any of the others.

Grand Rapids offers much more than just golf and beer. The high-rises in its skyline are proof of that.

An Englishman opened the first brewery in Grand Rapids in 1836, and the Grand Rapids Brewing Company – the oldest of those still in existence – dates back to 1893. The golf courses aren’t nearly so well-seasoned but they have their charm, too.

Best of the ones we played was Pilgrim’s Run, located in the outlying town of Pierson. It has an interesting history. The Chicago-based Van Kampen family bought the course and had family members and friends design the holes. That was a start before Mike DeVries, a well-respected architect from Traverse City, Mich., stepped in.

DeVries attended Lake Forest College in the Chicago area before entering the golf world. He worked with designers Tom Doak and Tom Fazio before tackling Pilgrim’s Run. Then, teaming up with superintendent Kris Schumacker, DeVries routed the course and constructed in the greens. Since its opening as an 18-holer in 1998 Pilgrim’s Run has been one of Michigan’s most popular public courses.

Pilgrim’s Run stands out because of all its special touches.

Most notable from our standpoint was the short par-4 18th – one of the best finishing holes we’ve encountered. A great risk-reward hole with water protecting the green, No. 18 can play anywhere from 221 to 358 yards. It’s a thought-provoking, fun way to finish a round on a course that can play as long as 7,093 yards.

DeVries’ design credits also include The Mines, Greywalls and the Kingsley Club in Michigan and – well-received most recently – Cape Wickham in Australia. The Mines was also on our Grand Rapids itinerary, and there’s a lot to say for that layout as well – though I’m not a big fan of the many blind shots involved in playing it.

Sweeping elevation changes and undulating greens are major characteristics of The Mines and location-wise the course is near the downtown area. That can be a plus since you’ll be close to plenty of lodging, restaurants and – of course – the breweries.

The Golf Club at Thornapple Pointe is bordered by a river with an airport also nearby.

The Mines was built about 150 feet above gypsum mines that had been utilized as early as the 1860s and throughout the 1900s. Some features of the mines were incorporated into the construction of the course. The No. 8 hole is located where a natural sand pit was used for the mining operation. Directional signs were also made with wooden timbers from the mining process.

Another unusual feature of The Mines was that it has back-to-back par-3 holes at Nos. 7 and 8. The course is a par-70 with two tough par-5s, the longest being the 607-yard fifth.

This statue honors Arnold Palmer’s design work at the Ravines course.

The Golf Club at Thornapple Pointe isn’t bad, either, and clearly the locals like it. The course was a busy place during our visit. This is a Bill Newcomb design that opened in 1997. It’s located along the Thornapple River on Interstate 96 near the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

Newcomb’s stature in Michigan golf course architecture started earlier than DeVries.’ Newcomb, who attended the University of Michigan, was a nationally-ranked amateur golfer with wins in both the Michigan Amateur and Indiana Open and a competitive appearance in the Masters. Like all the courses we played on our Grand Rapids visit, The Golf Club at Thornapple Pointe had great views, interesting holes and striking views.

A quirk in the planned schedule turned out much to our advantage, as we had the opportunity to also visit a course about 30 miles beyond the Grand Rapids boundaries – the Arnold Palmer-designed Ravines in Saugatuck.

Ravines was another good layout, as would be expected. It has only three sets of tees but lots of forced carries. The most eye-catching features are the tall pines that dramatize the longest hole – the 626-yard 14th – and the Orchestra Pit at the par-3 17th. There’s a deep dropoff in front of the green, which accentuates the putting surface as a stage.

Playing those four courses may give you a thirst to try some more of the area layouts, but in Grand Rapids it might be a better idea to check beer drinkers’ hot spots like the The Knickerbocker, for its pinwheel appetizers, or City Built Brewing Company, for both its unique beers and Puerto Rico-inspired food menu, or the Creston Brewery, where its beer flights are served osn vinyl phonograph disc records. The brewerys were not cookie-cutters; all had their own unique atmospheres.

If you’re having trouble picking out a post-round recovery spot you can hop on the Grand Rapids Beer Trolley Tour. It’ll take you to a variety of locations for good dining and sipping. Then again, picking from all those available options might not simplify matters either.

The colorful Grand Rapids beer scene has created a cheerful, fun atmosphere.

Ghim, Lumsden, Meyer have a great opportunity at the U.S. Open

The 118th U.S. Open tees off on Thursday at New York’s Shinnecock Hills course with the usual representation of Chicago players among the 156 starters. This year it’s a little different, however, because two of local hopefuls are amateurs.

For Arlington resident Doug Ghim it’ll be his last event before turning pro. He got into his first U.S. Open the same way he got into his first Masters in April. Both spots were due to his runner-up finish in last fall’s U.S. Amateur and Ghim needed to maintain his amateur status to take advantage of the invite to Shinnecock.

Ghim did well in the Masters. He was only amateur to make the cut, finishing in a tie for 50th place and making three eagles along the way to earn some crystal souvenirs. Once his last putt drops at Shinnecock Hills Ghim will shift his focus to playing for money.

Thanks to his sterling record as an amateur – he won the Ben Hogan Award as the nation’s best collegiate player in his senior season at Texas – Ghim has already been awarded sponsor’s exemptions to three PGA Tour events – next week’s Travelers Championship in Hartford, Ct.; the Quicken Loans Invitational in Potomac, Md., the following week and the John Deere Classic in downstate Silvis next month.

Ryan Lumsden, who just completed his junior season at Northwestern, also will play in the U.S. Open as an amateur. Lumsden, from Scotland, survived the sectional qualifying tournament in Columbus, Ohio, but he has another year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

Dylan Meyer, who concluded his collegiate eligibility at Illinois, qualified for the U.S. Open with a second-place finish in the Springfield, Ohio, sectional. The U.S. Open will be Meyer’s pro debut, and he also has secured sponsor’s invites to play at Harford and Potomac.

Meyer will join his former Illini teammate, Nick Hardy, at Hartford. Hardy didn’t attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open, a championship he played twice as an amateur. He made his pro debut at last week’s Rust-Oleum Championship, a Web.com Tour stop at Ivanhoe Club, and earned $3,070 for a tie for 33rd place.

Hardy also has invites to play in Illinois’ other Web.com event – the Lincoln Land Championship at Panther Creek in Springfield – and the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in downstate Silvis., Ill. He also was invite made the cut at TPC Deere Run in 2017 athe Chicago area. Jon Jennings, the Shinnecock course superintendent since 2012, came to New York after serving in a similar position at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton from 2000 to 2012.

Radix Cup on tap

The Radix Cup matches between the stars of the Chicago District Golf Association and the Illinois PGA will be played for the 57th time Wednesday (TODAY) at Oak Park Country Club in River Forest.

While the CDGA’s amateur stars won last year’s competition 10-8, that team will have eight Radix Cup rookies in its 12-man lineup this time. The CDGA unit has two veterans, however. Taylorville’s Dave Ryan is making his 15th appearance and Bloomington’s Todd Mitchell his 14th.

The IPGA has a notable Radix veteran as well. Medinah teaching pro Rich Dukelow has played in the matches 12 times, counting both his time as an amateur and a professional.

There’ll be six better ball matches, the first going off at 12:45 p.m. Though the IPGA owns a commanding 35-19-2 lead in the series the teams are both 4-4 in matches played over the last eight years.

Here and there

The 85th playing of the Illinois Women’s State Amateur concludes on Thursday at Aldeen in Rockford.

Chicago’s qualifying round for the first-ever U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be played on Monday (JUNE 18) at Conway Farms in Lake Forest. Thirty-three players will battle for five berths in the championship proper July 12-15 at Chicago Golf Club.

The 101st Western Golf Association Junior Championship begins its four –day run on Monday at Evanston Golf Club in Skokie. William Mouw of Chino, Calif., is the defending champion. Past titlists include PGA Tour mainstays Ricky Fowler, Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan.

The Golf Scene, hosted by Steve Kashul, celebrated its 25th year on Sunday in its first show of this season. It’s the longest-airing golf show in the nation.

Entries are still available for the Blackberry Oaks Amateur, June 23-24 in Bristol.

Finally, a playoff decides the Rust-Oleum title as Wright beats Prugh

Chase Wright collects his trophy after his first Web.com Tour victory.

Scott Cassin has been the tournament director of previous eight Web.com Tour events played at Chicago golf courses, and he never had to experience a sudden death playoff — until Sunday, that is.

Chase Wright, in what might be the last playing of the Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club, rolled in a five-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Alex Prugh to win the $108,000 first prize.

Not only that, but Wright’s 72-hole score of 17-under-par 271 was the lowest winning score posted in the three years the $600,000 tourney was played at Ivanhoe. Max Homa, in 2016, and Stephen Jaeger last year were 13-under in their victories.

Wright notched his first win in four seasons on the PGA Tour’s alternate circuit. It could be a life-changer, as Wright moved from No. 35 to fifth on the Web.com money list. He looms a good bet to finish the season in the circuit’s top 25, and those players advance to the PGA Tour in 2019.

“It’s a great feeling,’’ said Wright, who is from Muncie, Ind., and played college golf at Indiana. “I’m proud that I hung in there. I probably knew this was going to happen all day. I just didn’t want to beat myself.’’

He didn’t do that, and Wright claimed that a two-putt from 80 feet for par on the par-3 17th hole “won me the tournament.’’

Actually it didn’t. Both Wright and Prugh singed the cup with birdie putts on the last hole of regulation play. Both also made pars on the first playoff hole and hit great approaches into the same hole – Ivanhoe’s No. 18 – on the second. Prugh’s stopped 12 feet from the cup, and he missed his birdie putt. Wright then made his five-footer for the win.

Wright’s first win in 83 Web.com starts came in his second playoff of the week. He was also in one for a berth in next week’s U.S. Open in a sectional qualifier at Ridgewood, N.J., last Monday. Wright didn’t win that one and learned later that his status as an alternate won’t be good enough to get into the field when play begins at Shinnecock Hills in New York on Thursday.

No problem there. Wright was happier to get a win that will have a more lasting effect on his career than just one that would get him into one big tournament.

After two decent seasons on the Web.com circuit Wright struggled last season. He had to drop down to the Canada’s McKenzie Tour, but got a win there. That helped him regain his status as a Web.com regular.

Now, thanks to Sunday’s strong finishes, both Wright and Prugh are in great position to advance to the PGA Tour next season. Prugh moved up from 61st to 23rd on the money list.

Whether Wright can defend the title he won Sunday, however, is doubtful. Rust-Oleum’s three-year contract as a tournament sponsor concluded on Sunday and no agreement has been reached on an extension. Contributing to the unlikelihood of the tournament returning is the retirement of Tom Reed on April 30. An Ivanhoe member, Reed was the Rust-Oleum president when the tournament was created.

The Web.com Tour has had a sporadic tenure in Chicago. Kemper Lakes hosted the first event in 2002 and the tourney moved to The Glen Club, in Glenview, the following year. It was contested there through 2008 as either the LaSalle Bank Open or Bank of American Open.

Rust-Oleum’s run featured three days of good weather before Sunday’s conclusion produced a forecast of inclement weather. Play was started at 8 a.m. in threesomes off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees and the lift, clean and place policy was invoked. It had only minimal impact on the local players who made the cut.

Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger dropped six places from the start of play and finished in a tie for 22nd place. That dropped him from 38th to 40th on the all-important money list.

Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, playing his first tournament as a professional, tied for 33rd with – among others – fellow University of Illinois alum Scott Langley.

Langley, maintaining his No. 2 ranking on the circuit money list, was sailing along with his best round of the week until his last hole. Then he put two balls in the water and took a triple bogey eight, but still finished ahead of money leader Sungjae Im of South Korea.

Hardy, happy with going all four rounds in his pro debut, will get another Web.com start in two weeks at the Lincoln Land Championship at Panther Creek in Springfield, Ill., thanks to another sponsor’s exemption. Then he’ll utilize two invites to PGA Tour events – the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Conn., and the John Deere Classic in downstate Silvis, Ill.

Final round weather issues don’t concern Kyle Jones at Ivanhoe

Nothing much went according to form in Saturday’s third round of the Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club, and it’ll be much the same on Sunday – at least at the start of the final round.

The probability of inclement weather led tournament organizers to schedule play in threesomes off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Rounds will start between 8 and 10 a.m. as opposed to the usual starts off No. 1 and the 54-hole leaders beginning their rounds at mid-day.

“It’ll be fine,’’ insisted Kyle Jones, who took over the tournament lead from playing partner Maverick McNealy. “It’ll be nice getting done at a good time.’’

The trophy presentation, as well as the awarding of the $108,000 first place check is planned for 3 p.m., and Jones isn’t the only one with a chance. Jones, at 15-under-par 201 after his 68 on Saturday, is one swing ahead of Christian Bland and two ahead of both Justin Lower and Chase Wright.

If any of those four win on Sunday it’ll be a surprise. Jones, who played collegiately at Baylor, is 67th on the Web.com Tour money list. Brand is 124th, Lower is 50th and Wright 35th. None are near the top 25, the dividing line to determine who secures spots on the PGA Tour in 2019, but a strong finish on Sunday could change that.

Jones was in the final pairing in Round 3 with 36-hole front-runner McNealy, the former collegiate hotshot for Stanford. After shooting 64 in the second round McNealy shot 73 in the third and enters the final round in a tie for ninth.

The names at the top of the leaderboard were also reflective of what happened to the four local hopefuls. None of them improved their position from the second to the third round. Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger dropped 12 places, into a tie for 16th. Nick Hardy fell 18 spots , into a tie for 40th. Scott Langley, the former NCAA champion from Illinois who is No. 2 on the Web.com money list, fell 14 places to a tie for 51st and Deerfield’s Vince India dropped 13 places into a tie for 65th.

Still, all four could improve enough to claim a good paycheck on Sunday based on the wild leaderboard changes on Saturdays.

Jones, who doesn’t even have a top-20 on the PGA’s alternate circuit this year, is holding the 54-hole lead for the first time.

“I’m excited, but I’ll try not to think about it too much because it might get into my head,’’ said Jones. He’ll be paired with Brand and Lower in the final threesome off the No. 1 tee. Brand and Lower are frequent practice partners who travel from tournament to tournament together.

“We’re in separate hotels this week, but he’s one of my best friends out here,’’ said Brand. “The secret to finding a good road trip buddy is not wanting to strangle each other, and he’s easy to get along with. We’ll have fun, but he wants to beat me more than anybody else on tour. We have our money games on Tuesdays, and there’s a lot of good trash-talking going on.’’

Saturday’s play did produce some low scores. Ryan Yip, a Canadian who played collegiately at Kent State, was low man with an 8-under-par 64. Brand carded a 65 as did Bill Kennerly, who is tied for fifth with Yip.

“It was a great day,’’ said Brand. “Ivanhoe played great, and the sun came out for us. When I woke up I wasn’t sure that would happen, but the course is in phenomenal shape.’’

Brand had one semi-miraculous shot. He hooked his drive into the trees at No. 10 but hooked a 7-iron second shot from 200 yards to 10 feet of the cup and proceeded to roll in the birdie putt.

Yip had one, too – a holed out bunker shot for birdie at No. 14.

“I had one foot in the bunker and one out, and I was falling backwards,’’ said Yip. “I was just trying to get the ball on the green.’’

Ex-Masters champ Weir fits right in with the young Web.com Tour stars

Former Masters champions don’t usually play in Web.com Tour events like this week’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club. Mike Weir, the Canadian left-handed golfer who won the 2003 Masters, made it a point of coming this year, however, and Friday he was glad he did.

“Other than the Canadian Open I probably won’t play in any more PGA Tour events,’’ said Weir. “I would have probably gotten into Memphis (the PGA Tour’s St. Jude Classic) this week, but I wanted to come here.’’

His first round on Thursday was nothing special, a 1-under-par 71, but Weir climbed the leaderboard in a hurry on Friday after posting a 5-under 67. Weir’s 6-under 138 total left him six strokes behind leader Maverick McNealy midway through the $600,000 championship.

McNealy shot the low round of the tournament so far – a 64 – on Friday. His leading challengers include Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger, who is tied for fourth and four shots back after his 66 in the second round. None of the finalists, though, are as intriguing as the veteran Weir, who has played only sparingly – and without much success – the last few years.

“I played a lot better today,’’ said Weir. “Yesterday I just didn’t hit enough fairways. Today I hit every fairway. That was the key to the round.’’

Weir, 47, got into the field at Ivanhoe on a special exemption saved for players nearing their eligibility for PGA Tour Champions – the 50-and-over circuit. The closer to 50 a former major champion is, the more opportunities he’ll have on the PGA’s alternative circuit.

“I’m still a couple years away. I haven’t played a lot of golf in the last couple of years, but I want to stay sharp and I still love to compete,’’ said Weir. “I turn 48 next May. Then I can play a more full schedule on theWeeb.com. That would be the goal if I don’t get my card.’’

Weir, who has won $27 million in PGA Tour events, played in only four tournaments on the premier circuit this year, missing the cut in three and finishing tied for 73rd in the Domincan Republic in March.

That’s a long way from his status in the game just a few years ago. Weir was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for 110 weeks between 2001 and 2005. He won eight times during his years on the PGA Tour, the last coming at the 2007 Fry’s Electronics Open, but his play tailed off after he suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow in 2010.

“I had some tough years when I was battling through injuries from 2010 through 2015,’’ said Weir. “That was a difficult time for me, but the last couple of years it’s been pretty easy. I’m enjoying being around these young guys. I’m enjoying my golf a lot more than I ever have.’’

Especially on Friday, when his round included seven birdies.

“Today is progress,’’ said Weir. “That’s a good sign. My mindset is to get out here and compete. I can still find my way around a golf course, and when I’m out here I want to win, so it’s nice to be in the mix here.’’

Weir isn’t the only former major champion in the field at Ivanhoe. Shaun Micheel, who won the PGA Championship in 2003, is just two strokes behind Weir and was well under the cut line of 3-under-par 141 through the first two rounds.

More than anything, though, the Rust-Oleum Championship is a place to help young stars work their way onto the PGA Tour, and Hopfinger improved his case for cracking the top 25 on the Web.com money list. The top 25 at season’s end get PGA Tour cards. Hopfinger was No. 38 at the start of the week but will move up significantly if he continues his second-round play in the weekend rounds.

Hopfinger will have company from three other Chicago players in the final 36 holes. Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, making his professional debut, climbed 57 places into a tie for 22nd after shooting a 67 on Friday.

Scott Langley, another former University of Illinois golfer who is No. 2 on the Web.com Tour’s season money list, and Deerfield’s Vince India, who got into the field as a sponsor’s exemption, also made the cut.

Sainz has best start among Chicago players at Ivanhoe

The 156 starters in Thursday’s $600,000 Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club included six Chicago area players and two more who played collegiately at Illinois. None were a threat to first-round leaders Andrew Novak, of Raleigh, N.C., He claimed the 18-hole lead with a 7-under par 65.

However, four of the locals got off to solid starts. Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. posted a 3-under-par 69 and Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger, Deerfield’s Vince India and Libertyville’s Michael Schachner shot 2-under 70s.

Schachner, an Ivanhoe member, and India got into the field on sponsor exemptions and were late starters.

Sainz, who is tied for 17th place after Round 1, made birdies on four of the first six holes. He and Hopfinger are former Illinois Open champions in contention to earn PGA Tour cards for 2019.

Schachner, an Ivanhoe member and mini-tour player, was the surprise of the day while playing in the last group to tee off. India,, a college teammate of Hopfinger’s at Iowa, is a former Web.com Tour regular who has had trouble getting into tournaments this season. That trio is tied for 39th place.

Hopfinger, standing No. 38 on the Web.com Tour money list, has the best chance to advance to the main circuit at the moment. The top 25 at the end of the season advance. Sainz is down at No. 91, but coming into the portion of the season where he historically has played his best.

“I’m looking forward to the summer,’’ said Sainz. “We’re in the middle of our season now and have next week off. Then we have 11 tournaments in a row. I don’t know if I’ll play all 11, but you never know. I played 14 in a row in 2014.’’

Hopfinger was just one stroke ahead of Sainz in the fall qualifying school. Hopfinger earned full Web.com Tour privileges. Sainz had to play well in the early season chances he got. He was first alternate in the season opener before getting a chance to play.

“I was one shot out of full,’’ said Sainz, “but I got into two of the first four events based on how I finished at Q-School. Some players who tied me (in Q=School) didn’t get into anything. Then I had a top 10 (actually a tie for eighth in Colombia) and that pretty much gave me (playing) status for the rest of the year.’’

Sainz spent one unsuccessful season on the PGA Tour but could be on his way back now that he will get starts on the top alternative circuit.

“I’m happy to be on this tour again,’’ he said. “I’ve started to play some good golf. Though my scores aren’t always reflecting it, we’re on the right track.’’

Hopfinger is playing his fifth tournament in a row and had his second top-10 of the year two weeks ago at Nashville. He’s not sure how much more money he’ll need to win to make it to the PGA Tour for the first time.

“The goal is to finish in the top 25,’’ he said. “You just try to play good golf every day. That’s all you can do. You can’t think about how much you have to make.’’

As for the other locals, things didn’t go so well. Northbrook’s Nick Hardy posted a so-so 72 in his first professional round after completing his outstanding collegiate career at Illinois. A five-foot birdie putt on the final hole lifted Hardy’s spirits for Friday’s second round, when he is in the last group off the tee at 2:15 p.m.

“I didn’t have my best stuff,’’ Hardy said of Round 1. “I’m just happy to get the first round out of the way.’’

This Illinois PGA pro is also in graduate school at Northwestern

A golf professional’s job is never an easy one. Some inevitably wind up working harder than others, however.

And then there’s Tony Semonick.

Semonick, 28, has worked on head professional Jim Sobb’s staff at Ivanhoe Club since his graduation from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., in 2012. His work days aren’t like any other assistant pros, however. He’s also a college student, and not just at any old school. He’s working on his Masters of Business Administration degree at Northwestern University’s well-respected Kellogg School.

“Ivanhoe gets more time. I’m there six days a week,’’ said Semonick, “but I don’t know anyone else doing something like this.’’

Semonick’s undergraduate degree was in Professional Golf Management, and Ferris State has been a collegiate pioneer in offering programs in that area. The school became the first university program sanctioned by the PGA of America in 1975. Semonick is from Livonia, Mich., so Ferris State was a good geographical fit.

Ivnahoe has been a good fit, too. Sobb brought Semonick to Ivanhoe as an intern three months after his graduation from Ferris State and he’s stayed on in an assistant’s role.

Last summer Semonick decided he needed more on the academic side and eventually enrolled at Kellogg School of Management, which is Northwestern’s business school.

“I applied to Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana and Northwestern,’’ he said, “but Northwestern was my first choice. With its part-time program it made more sense for me to keep working.’’

During the winter months Semonick spends more time on Northwestern’s campuses in Evanston and downtown Chicago, but he doesn’t avoid either after Ivanhoe members start turning out to play golf in the spring. He takes classes on Mondays, the quietest day of the week at Ivanhoe, and Tuesdays.

Monday is Semonick’s usual day off but his Tuesdays can be killers. Semonick checks in at Ivanhoe at 6:45 a.m. and runs the ladies league in the morning. When his duties there are done he returns to his home in Barrington, changes clothes and catches the 3:18 p.m. train to Chicago. It arrives at 4:30 p.m., and Semonick either takes the two-mile walk to the NU campus or grabs a ride through Uber.

Northwestern provides dinner before Semonick’s three hours of classes begin at 6 p.m. When they’re over he catches a 9:30 p.m. train back to Barrington. After a few hours rest he’s back in Ivanhoe’s pro shop for another day tending to golf projects.

“Jim’s been great, and the hours have been pretty flexible,’’ said Semonick, who needs to obtain 20 ½ credits to get his MBA with a major in finance and strategy. He’s on track to complete his requirements in August of 2019.

After that Semonick isn’t sure what he’ll do. He doesn’t expect to stay in golf, though.

“Probably not,’’ he said. “At first I thought I’d stay in golf, but then I started seeing other opportunities. There are greater opportunities elsewhere.’’

He won’t rule returning to golf, but “in a corporate role,’’ he said. He could envision himself as a financial analyst for one of the equipment or management companies.