Author: lenz

Michelle Wie is having fun on the course again

Michelle Wie finished her first round at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a big smile on her face – and with good reason. She shot a 3-under-par 68, another indication that her game is improving.

Wie hasn’t won since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst and by her own admission her play in 2016 was “awful.’’ It’s not bad now, though. Wie has five top-five finishes this season including four in her last five starts.

She believes the good play is a reflection of an improved attitude.

“I was sick of playing bad golf, honestly,’’ she said. “I was sick of being down and started this year with a really good sense of determination and motivation. I just want to be happy and have fun out there. I made a pact with myself that I’m going to have fun.’’

She’s doing it in an unusual manner. She has no set putting grip, instead grabbing the club in whatever seems comfortable at the time. She couldn’t say how many different grips she uses in each round but Gary Koch, the PGA Tour veteran-turned-broadcaster, is intrigued.

“There is no rhyme or reason to it. It is feel,’’ he said. “For the longest time we’ve said that Michelle is not playing by feel, that she is too mechanical. I like this change.’’

SUPPORT FOR LEXI: Lexi Thompson has taken a break from media interviews the past few days after learning that her mother has uterine cancer. Jaye Marie Green, one of Thompson’s best friends among the tour players, sympathizes with Thompson.

“It must be tough,’’ said Green. “Her and her mom are so close. They talk every day. They are best friends. Her mom would be the first person she would call about anything.’’

Green, though, won’t rule out Thompson winning the tournament. Thompson shot 70 in the opening round, barely getting to the clubhouse before play was suspended because of dangerous weather in the area at 7:01 p.m.

“She is definitely the toughest, most strong-willed person I know,’’ said Green. “If there’s someone who can win a major with what she’s going through, I’d put my money on her.’’

FAST STARTER: If there was a surprise in the first round it would be Brittany Altomare, a 26-year old former University of Virginia golfer whose best finish on the LPGA Tour was a tie for 11th in last year’s Volvik Championship.

Altomare started her round in the fourth group off the No. 10 tee and shot 67. The putts were just falling, she said.

“This golf course is unbelievable,’’ she said. “It’s in incredible shape. The greens are just perfect. You just hit the ball where you want it, and it just goes where you’re aiming. You can’t hit a bad putt.’’

WOMANLY BOOST: Three Olympians – skier Lindsay Vonn, figure skater Michelle Kwan and hockey player Angela Ruggiero – participated in the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summer, which was held at Olympia Fields in conjunction with the tournament.

“Women in golf definitely had a hard time being at the same level as men,’’ said Vonn, former girlfriend of Tiger Woods. “What KPMG is doing for women in golf is incredible, and it needs to be done.’’

KPMG announced this week that it will boost the tournament purse from $3.5 million to $3.65 million next year at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer. The company also agreed to extend its sponsorship agreement for the tournament through 2023.

HERE AND THERE

Olympia Fields’ North Course is now one of 22 venues that have hosted both men’s and women’s major championships. Kemper Lakes, which hosted the 1989 men’s PGA Championship, will join that select group next year.

NBC and The Golf Channel combined will provide 29 hours of coverage of this week’s tournament. It’ll reach 167 countries and 600 million households.

Olympia’s par-71 North Course was set up at 6,577 yards for Round 1 and the weather was unusual. The morning starters endured wind gusts of 35 miles per hour so they had more difficult playing conditions than the afternoon starters, who played their rounds in only a light breeze.

New No. 1 woman golfer is ready for a challenge at Olympia Fields

Women’s golf has a new No. 1 player going into today’s start of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club.

So Yeon Ryu of South Korea took over the top spot in the Rolex Rankings this week following her victory on Sunday in the Wal-Mart Northwest Arkansas Championship. She supplanted Ariya Jutanugarn, who had been No. 1 for just three weeks and didn’t play in Arkansas.

The ranking improvement – she had been No. 3 behind Jutanugarn and Lydia Ko – caught Ryu somewhat by surprise after she arrived at Olympia Fields this week.

“I couldn’t really think about it because I thought I was kind of far away from No. 1,’’ said Ryu, “But here I am. I’m finally No. 1. Dreams come true. I’m living a dream.’’

A five-time winner on the Ladies PGA Tour, Ryu won the first major tournament of the season – the ANA Inspiration – in March and became the first multiple winner of the season with her victory in Arkansas. It was a monumental win, too, as she set tournament scoring records after 18, 36 and 54 holes. She posted a sizzling 61 in the third round.

“I got a lot of confidence last week to play in this major tournament,’’ she said. “This week it’s really important to have great iron shots, and my iron shots have been really great. I feel pretty comfortable playing this golf course.’’

Along with claiming the No. 1 ranking Ryu took over the No. 1 spot on the LPGA’s official money list, the race to the CME Globe, the Rolex Player of the Year standings and Rolex Annika Major Award.

Ryu has missed only five cuts in over 140 starts on the LPGA Tour. Prior to her current hot streak she claimed another major title, at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

“I’m not a robot, so sometimes I play bad, sometimes great,’’ she said. “But even when I play bad I still enjoy the game. I can handle the situation. That’s why I made a lot of cuts. Hopefully I can make many more in the future.’’

Ryu doesn’t feel Olympia Fields’ North Course is as difficult as some of the other venues for recent major championships.

“The rough is not really long yet compared to the last two years of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (at Westchester, in New York, and Sahalee, in Washington),’’ said Ryu. “I hate to say this, but the rough lengths are the easiest so far.’’

She does think, however, that the slopes of the greens at Olympia could be tricky.

Ryu has won two of the LPGA’s five major championships. Her next goal is to achieve a Grand Slam of the women’s majors. She can win a third this week with the Ricoh British Open and the Evian Championship coming up after that. She’d like to win all five during her career, but getting them all this season is still a possibility.

“That’s the goal I really want to achieve,’’ she said. “Even though I’m No. 1 right now I still have to knock down three more tournaments. I haven’t thought about a season Grand Slam yet, but if I can do it that’d be fantastic.’’

Ryu is the third woman from South Korea to ascend to the No. 1 ranking. Jiyai Shin and Inbee Park were the previous No. 1-ranked players from that country.

“It’ll be interesting to see how long I can be the No. 1 player,’’ said Ryu. “I don’t know how long it can be, but I’m going to do my best to keep this position as long as I can.’’

She’ll tee off at 1:40 p.m. today, her 27th birthday, after receiving the No. 1 bib signifying her top ranking. Jutanugarn, the player she supplanted in the top spot, tees off at 2:06 on the same course that hosted the men’s U.S. Open in 2003.

Olympia satisfies LPGA’s desire to play courses that have hosted men’s events

The tournament now known as the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is the second oldest event on the LPGA Tour, right behind the U.S. Women’s Open, but this week’s staging at Olympia Fields will mark the first time the tournament has been played in the Chicago area.

Olympia Fields will host the second of the five annual majors on the women’s tour. It was first played in 1955 as the LPGA Championship and took on its present name three years ago after an unprecedented collaboration with the PGA of America.

The site is critical in this arrangement, as the LPGA wanted more events on famous courses used for men’s tournaments. The first KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was played at Westchester, in New York, in 2015. Westchester was a frequent PGA Tour site from 1963-2007, then hosted the Senior Players Championship in 2011.

Sahalee, in Washington, hosted last year. It was the PGA Championship venue in 1998 and welcomed the U.S. Senior Open in 2010. Olympia Fields has a more impressive resume than both Westchester and Sahalee, having hosted U.S. Opens in 1928 and 2003 PGA Championships in 1925 and 1961, the 1997 U.S. Senior Open and five Western Opens.

“It’s a big deal for us to be here, and that was one of the stipulations we gave KPMG,’’ said LPGA star Stacy Lewis. “The history of the men playing here and, more specifically, the fact that the women have never played here. We need to be on golf courses we have historically not played in the past. That’s what the PGA has helped us to do.’’

The tournament will be played next year at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer, which hosted the 1989 PGA Championship, and the 2019 version is scheduled for Hazeltine, the Minnesota course that has hosted multiple big events, most recently last year’s Ryder Cup.

All of the top 100 on the LPGA Tour money list are among the 156 players who will tee off at Olympia Fields on Thursday. That group includes 26 winners of major championships and those 26 have combined to win 53 majors.

The first major for the women this year was the ANA Inspiration, formerly the Dinah Shore tourney, played in March in California. It was won by South Korean So Yeon Ryu, who claimed the No. 1 spot in the women’s Rolex Rankings this week after her victory in the LPGA’s Northwest Arkansas Classic on Sunday.

After the tourney at Olympia is over the LPGA stars have three other majors – the U.S.Women’s Open, Ricoh British Open and Evian Championship.

Six locals in U.S. Senior Open

Chicago-based Champions Tour veteran Jeff Sluman isn’t the only local player in this week’s U.S. Senior Open – and not by a long shot. Six qualified for the 72-hole test that tees off on Thursday at Salem Country Club in Massachusetts. That’s the tourney biggest local contingent of qualifiers in years.

Mike Small, the Illinois men’s coach, comes in on a roll. He tied for third in the Professional Players National Championship in Oregon and followed with a tie for 20th in the Champions’ American Family Insurance Championship in Wisconsin on Sunday. By virtue of his top-20 finish in the PPNC Small will again play in August’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.

Also in the Senior Open field are club professionals Danny Mulhearn of Glen Oak and Doug Bauman of Biltmore and teaching pro Jim Buenzli.

Here and there

Nancy Scranton, who came out of downstate Centralia to become one of the few Illinois players to make it to the LPGA Tour, and Sandra Palmer, a former U.S. Women’s Open champion, were selected for induction into The LPGA Legends Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be July 8 at French Lick, Ind.

It was an all-Kelly final in last week’s Illinois Women’s State Amateur at Pine Meadow in Mundelein. Kelly Sterling of Mokena defeated Kelly Anderson of Wheaton in the championship flight’s title match.

Next month’s John Deere Classic, the PGA Tour stop in the Quad Cities, landed two big names this week. Bubba Watson and Davis Love III will compete at TPC Deere Run.

William Mouw, a 16-year old Californian, was a wire-to-wire winner of the 100th Western Junior Championship last week at Park Ridge Country Club. His 14-under-par score for 72 holes enabled Mouw to win by eight strokes and match Hunter Mahan’s tournament record score, posted in 1999.

Mickelson takes on LPGA stars in KPMG warmup at Olympia Fields

Phil Mickelson obviously won’t be playing in this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields but – just as was the case at last week’s U.S. Open – he was still part of the show.

Mickelson’s participation in the Open at Erin Hills was in limbo until he formally withdrew to attend his daughter’s high school graduation in California just before the first round started at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. After the Open he was the talk of the golf world again when he announced a breakup with Jim Mackay, his caddie of 25 years.

Monday was a day for Mickelson to do some promotional work for KPMG, sponsor of the second of five major championships on the Ladies PGA Tour. The $3.5 million 72-hole championship tees off on Thursday but Mickelson gave tournament week a big sendoff when he competed with three of the top women players – defending champion Brooke Henderson, world No. 1 Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis – in a fun exhibition that was closed to the public.

Several youth groups and Olympia members filled the bleachers as Mickelson and Henderson wound up in a duel for the title, Mickelson winning.

“It was fun a showcase for the young kids – and hopefully it’ll inspire them,’’ said Henderson amidst a throng of autograph-seekers.

Mickelson claimed he was “nervous’’ beforehand, but insisted his support for women’s golf overrode the competitive aspect of the day. Through his foundation he is making a contribution to the KPMG Future Leaders Program for the creation of college scholarships and believes the tournament will have a positive impact on women both on and off the course.

He was particularly respectful of Henderson, Ko and Lewis – three of the greatest stars in women’s golf.

“I know how good they are,’’ said Mickelson, “and it was fun to be around some of the best athletes in the world. Last year, when Brooke shot her low rounds (in winning the tournament at Sahalee in Washington) that was one of the most exciting events of the year.’’

Mickelson arrived at Olympia Fields on a Metra train from downtown Chicago to underscore an easy mode of transportation for spectators to get to the tournament.

Henderson and her cohorts will carry that message further in a day-long pro-am today that also features former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan, comedian George Lopez, Chicago sports legends Brian Urlacher, Ryne Sandberg and Greg Maddux and TV personality Drew Scott.

As for the much-publicized breakup with his caddie, Mickelson admitted it was emotional. Their last round together was in the St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

“We had hoped to end at the U.S. Open, because that’s where we started in 1992,’’ said Mickelson, “but we both knew it was time. He’ll have some incredible opportunities, and I’ve cherished the last 25 years. We’ve come through highs and lows on and off the course, but I’m also looking forward to spending time with my brother.’’

Tim Mickelson will be Phil’s caddie for the rest of the year and Mickelson added one bit of new information on the caddie switch. It came with the permission of young PGA phenom Jon Rahm. Tim was Rahm’s college coach at Arizona State. He quit the ASU job to become Rahm’s manager, a job he’ll now conduct along with his caddie duties.

Women’s Western will benefit from closer relationship with WGA

This one was long, long overdue.

The Western Golf Association and Women’s Western Golf Association have jointly announced that they have formed “a new partnership.’’ That made May 10, 2017, an announcement date to remember in Chicago sports history. Given the rich histories of the two organizations, its importance goes beyond just golf.

While the new agreement doesn’t kick in until Aug. 1 – which is after the WWGA’s two 2017 tournaments – it does have the potential for some great things that could be coming to golf in Chicago as soon as the 2018 season.

Few organizations in anything have lasted as long as the two Chicago-based golf groups. The WGA was founded in 1899, the WWGA in 1903. Prior to the women forming their own organization the WGA sponsored the first two Women’s Western Amateur Championships in 1901 and 1902.

Despite their similarities in name and purpose, the two groups have operated more or less independently most of the time since then. They formed a loose partnership in 2011 and the WWGA conducts its board meetings at WGA headquarters in the North Chicago suburb aptly named Golf. That doesn’t come close to having the impact the new five-year agreement will have, however.

Under the new agreement the WGA will “help guide the Women’s Western Golf Foundation’’ and “help stage and promote the WWGA’s Women’s Western National Amateur Championship and the Women’s Western National Junior Championship and secure host sites for the events.’’

These are changing times, and the new agreement in no way detracts from all the great things the women’s group has accomplished in its 116 years. Operating with all volunteers the WWGA put on not only its two continuing championships but also ran an LPGA major tournament, the Women’s Western Open, from 1930 until 1967. The Women’s Western Amateur is the oldest annually played championship in all of golf.

Organizational demands, though, have grown over the years and the 2011 agreement with the WGA did provide the women with some administrative support. Still, more is needed.

The WWGA will operate the same as last year for its two 2017 events – the 117th Women’s Western Amateur June 12-17 at River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst and the 91st Women’s Junior Championship July 10-14 at Dubuque Golf and Country Club in Iowa. Then the WGA takes on managerial duties just as it has long done with its three tournaments – the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship (an offshoot of the old Western Open), the Western Amateur and the Western Junior.

First order of business will be for the WGA to name a site for the next WWGA tournament. No site has been determined for the 2018 Women’s Western Amateur but WGA staffers hope to announce one during the tournament at River Forest and some Chicago clubs are under consideration.

The stop at River Forest was the tournament’s first staging in the Chicago area since Exmoor, in Highland Park, hosted in 2001. Though no official comments were made, the off-the-record sentiments of Western staffers was that the tournament should be basically a fixture in the Chicago area much like the WGA’s Western Amateur has been since the tourney left Point O’ Woods in Benton Harbor, Mich., after a 28-year run there ended in 2008.

Chicago area courses have hosted eight of the nine Western Amateurs played since then and Skokie will be the site of the 2017 championship from July 31 to Aug. 5. The WGA also has reaches a milestone tournament-wise this year when its Western Junior is played for the 100th time. Park Ridge Country Club will be the site from June 19-22.

Both organizations are delighted with the new agreement.

“The history between these two golf associations goes back to the beginnings of the Women’s Western Golf Association. We have had a great relationship with the Western Golf Association through the years,’’ said Frances Fleckenstein, the WWGA president. “We now look forward to taking the next step to having their full support, which will be beneficial to both our organizations.’’

David Robinson, the WGA chairman, feels the same way.

“We’re excited to be deepening our relationship with the WWGA, which has done so much in the Midwest and across the country for women’s golf,’’ he said. “It’s an organization whose values and storied history of championships and scholarships are very much aligned with our own.’’

The WGA’s Evans Scholars program had 935 students enrolled in 20 universities during the 2016-17 school year and 24 percent were women. The Women’s Western Golf Association Foundation, founded in 1971, has awarded more than $3.5 million in scholarships to more than 690 young women from across the country over the years.

Already the two organizations jointly sponsor a Women’s Western Evans Scholar, awarding a four-year tuition and housing college scholarship to a female caddie who excels academically, has an outstanding caddie record and demonstrates financial need. The current Women’s Western Evans Scholar is Hannah Gillespie, who is completing her freshman year at Notre Dame.

And all those good connections lead to the inevitable question: Can there be a Women’s Western Open again?

The Women’s Western Open had a history as rich as the men’s Western Open. It was first played 20 years before the formation of the Ladies PGA Tour, and the LPGA had the support of the WWGA at the time of its founding.

Two Chicago players – Lucia Mida of Butterfield and June Beebe of Olympia Fields – played in the title match of the first Women’s Western Open, Mida winning at Acacia in Indian Head Park – a club that no longer exists. The tourney continued under a match play format through 1954 with 11 of the 24 tournaments played on Chicago courses. The last of those was at Glen Flora, in Waukegan.

Then the tourney went to a stroke play format from 1955 to 1967 and Chicago’s Beverly Country Club hosted twice. The event’s last playing was at another Illinois course, Pekin Country Club, where Kathy Whitworth won the title with a record 11-under-par performance. Years after the event was discontinued it is still considered a major championship in women’s golf history.

Quoting the WWGA tournament histories in its 2016 annual publication, the Women’s Western Open was discontinued “when the WWGA concentrated all its efforts to support and promote amateur women’s golf.’’

Now might be a good time to change that line of thought. The WGA has benefitted from being involved in the pro game, why not the women as well?

No one in a leadership role at either the Western Golf Association or the Women’s Western Golf Association will predict a revival of the Women’s Western Open, but they won’t rule it out, either. Be sure to stay tuned.

CDGA Amateur makes rare appearance out of Illinois

The Chicago District Golf Association has been staging competitions since 1914 and it’s the regional governing body for amateur golf in Illinois and parts of three other states. It services nearly 400 clubs and 800 individual golfers in a variety of ways.

Most know the CDGA for its computerized handicaps. All members get a U.S. Golf Association Handicap Index from the CDGA twice a month. Some are aware that the CDGA is authorized by the USGA to assign course ratings. Some are aware of its turfgrass research program or the efforts of its Foundation to help those with physical and mental challenges.

The CDGA’s board of directors, known as the “Blue Coats,’’ donate their services and time – more than 15,000 man-hours a year – to the organization’s projects and the month of June offers two of the most high-profile ones. Both are competitions.

On June 7 Oak Park Country Club will host the Radix Cup matches for the 56th time, and from June 27-30 the 98th playing of the Chicago District Amateur will be conducted at Briar Ridge in Schererville, Ind. These two annual attractions, coupled with the Illinois State Amateur, form the nucleus of Chicago’s rich golf tournament history.

The Illinois State Amateur will be played for the 87th time at Calumet Country Club in Homewood from July 18-20.

This year’s CDGA Amateur, though, might be more special than the others. The tourney has been played outside of Illinois only four times, and this will be the fifth. Briar Ridge will be the first non-Illinois course to host the event since The Dunes Club in Michigan was the site in 1998. Prior to that the only non-Illinois tourneys were at Gary Country Club in Indiana in 1952, North Hills in Wisconsin in 1954 and Southmoor in Pennsylvania in 1955.

It’s not that those three big tournaments form the heart of the CDGA season. In May, for instance, the CDGA Senior Amateur brought together 90 players – the survivors of four qualifying rounds – to Chicago’s Ridge Country Club. They battled it out until Terry Werner, of Briar Ridge, beat John Finnin of Olympia Fields 3 and 2 in the title match.

That was the first big one of the season among the more than 50 championships conducted by the CDGA for amateur golfers, be they high or low handicappers, juniors, seniors, men or women. The CDGA also conducts regional qualifying rounds for USGA championships. During May, for instance, three local eliminations were held for this month’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills and in June the CDGA holds a qualifier for the U.S. Senior Open on June 5 at Aurora Country Club and another for the U.S. Women’s Open on June 12 at Prestwick in Frankfort.

June’s schedule also includes 10 state-wide qualifiers for the Illinois State Amateur sandwiched around the demands of the Radix Cup and CDGA Amateur. Yes, executive director Robert Markionni and his staff of 19 at Midwest Golf House in Lemont will by busy – and that’s putting it mildly.

The Radix Cup matches pit the top amateurs from the CDGA against the top professionals from the Illinois PGA. The 12 players on both teams are determined largely by point systems devised by each organization and the competition to get on either of the teams can be intense. The IPGA leads the series 35-18-2 but it’s always interesting to see how the amateurs stand up in the better ball matchups.

And then there’s the CDGA Amateur – one of the oldest such tournaments in the country. For some reason it doesn’t get the attention that the Illinois State Amateur does, but the CDGA Amateur’s list of champions offers a walk through history.

No less a celebrity than Chick Evans won the first CDGA Amateur, played at Ravisloe in Homewood in 1914 – the year the CDGA was founded. Two years later Evans became the first player to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year, and Bobby Jones is the only other golfer to accomplish that feat.

Robert Gardner won the first of his three CDGA Amateurs in 1916. By then he was already a two-time U.S. Amateur champion (1909 and 1915). The tourney wasn’t held for six years, when the U.S. was involved in wars, but the tourney was always revived after peace was restored.

In 1935 invitations were issued nationally and in 1941 the event became known as the Great Lakes Amateur Championship. That lasted until 1955 when the CDGA board of directors opted to limit the field to players who were CDGA members. That remains the case today but it didn’t keep tournament winners like Jim Jamieson, Sherman Finger, Lance Ten Broeck, David Ogrin, Joe Affrunti, Eric Meierdierks and Carlos Sainz from using the CDGA Amateur as a partial springboard to playing status on the PGA Tour.

As the game evolved, so did its CDGA champions. Frank Stranahan, who played the PGA Tour successfully while remaining an amateur, was the CDGA champion in 1946 and 1947. Skee Riegel, another tour player, won in 1949 and Tam O’Shanter’s colorful Martin Stanovich took the tiitle in 1959 and 1960.

Some of the other CDGA Amateur winners – notably Joel Hirsch, Bill Hoffer, Mike Milligan and Rick Ten Broeck — didn’t turn pro but went on to bigger things in the amateur ranks.

Hirsch won both the CDGA and Illinois State Amateur twice, was a two-time winner of the British Senior Amateur and a qualifier for 34 U.S. Golf Association championships. At 58 he qualified for his fourth Western Open.

Hoffer won the U.S. Mid Amateur in 1982 (a title which earned him a berth in the Masters) and the Illinois Open in 1983. Milligan ruled the CDGA Amateur three times from 1973 to 1977 and Ten Broeck had a game that lasted, too. He won the CDGA Amateur in 1981 and 1994 and the Illinois Open in 1973 and 1981.

The CDGA Amateur format has changed slightly over the years. This year’s calls for four 18-hole qualifying eliminations, two of which were held during the last two days of May. The last two are June 5 at Ravinia Green, in Riverwoods, and June 7 at the University of Illinois’ Orange course in Savoy.

Starting in 2003, the tourney finals called for 60 finalists playing 36 holes in one day to determine 16 match play qualifiers. Matches will be at 18 holes with the exception of the finals. It’ll be played over 36 holes.

Andrew Price, who plays out of Conway Farms is Lake Forest, is the defending champion and one of only 17 players awarded a sponsor’s exemption off previous tournament accomplishments.

Koepka played like Dustin’s double in claiming U.S. Open title

ERIN, Wis. – No, Dustin Johnson didn’t defend his U.S. Open title on Sunday. In fact, the game’s No. 1-ranked player didn’t even qualify for the weekend rounds at Erin Hills.

But Brooks Koepka did win, and he might well be a reincarnation of Johnson. They are close friends. They play lots of practice rounds together, and they frequently dine together on the road.

On Saturday night Johnson called Koepka.

“It was probably not that interesting,’’ said Koepka. “For us it was a long conversation – about two minutes. We played a practice round here on Tuesday, and he basically just said `you’re good enough to win.’’

And he was.

Koepka, 27, played just like Johnson does when he’s on his game. He dominated the final round of the 117th playing of America’s national championship and tied the tournament record for lowest 72-hole score in relation to par. He posted 16-under 272 after a 67 on Sunday and won by four strokes over third-round leader Brian Harman and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

Veteran tour player Bill Haas, who had his best-ever finish in the Open with a tie for fifth, was quick to compare Koepka with Johnson.

“He’s just really impressive physically,’’ said Haas. “He just pounds the ball and he hits it very straight. He’s got a lot of Dustin Johnson in him, and he’s going to overpower golf courses. He’s got a great demeanor. Just like Dustin, nothing seems to bother them.’’

Koepka started the day one stroke behind Harman and tied with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood. Thomas, paired with Harman in the last twosome, struggled after his record 63 round of Saturday and finished in a tie for ninth. Fleetwood, paired with Koepka, was solo fourth.

A birdie-birdie start put Koepka into the lead and he protected it the rest of the way. Matsuyama, playing six groups in front of Koepka, shot the day’s low round of 66 and his 12-under score was the target that Koepka needed to beat with five holes left in his round. He did it with birdies of Nos. 14, 15 and 16 and two closing pars.

The one thing that eluded him was sole possession of the tournament 72-hole scoring record in relation to par. He could only match the standard set by Rory McIlroy at Congressional in 2011. Still, Koepka had only one three-putt in the heat of Sunday’s final round and he missed only 10 greens in regulation all week.

“That’s probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced and to do it on Father’s Day is pretty neat,’’ said Koepka. `I didn’t exactly get my dad a card, so I hope this works. This is probably the first major that anyone in my family missed. I don’t know if that’s saying anything.’’

Well, it does suggest that Koepka can take care of himself, as he did immediately after making an unusual decision to start his professional career. After playing collegiately at Florida State he turned pro in 2012. Rather than compete for a spot on one of the PGA tours Koepka opted to start in Europe. Few American players do that, but for Koepka it worked.

He won four times on the European Challenge Tour, then once on the European Tour and once in Japan. His U.S. Open title came after only one win on the PGA Tour.

“I have felt like I’m an under-achiever because I tried so hard to win. I felt like I should be winning more,’’ he said. “I needed to stay patient and not get ahead of myself.’’

For 72 holes at a new U.S. Open venue he was able to do that, and the emotions showed on his cart ride from the 18th green to the scoring tent.

“I played real solid from the moment I got here,’’ said Koepka, “but that was probably the most emotion I have ever showed.’’

Harman just couldn’t keep up with Koepka’s back nine birdie barrage

ERIN, Wis. – Brian Harman didn’t lose Sunday’s U.S. Open. Brooks Koepka just won it. That’s how Harman sees it.

The turning point came on Erin Hills’ back nine after Harman made bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13.

“Then I made the birdie at 14 and he birdies 14, 15 and 16,’’ said Harman. “That was kind of lights out. You’ve got to tip your cap. He went out and won the tournament on the back nine. I’ve done that before, but he did it today.’’

Koepka talked afterwards about feeling like an under-achiever until he won his first major title. Harman could identify with that.

“When I was a young junior golfer I definitely perceived myself contending in majors,’’ he said. “Not that I’m an old man by any means, but I am 30. So for me I am trying to make up for some lost time. I don’t know why, but that’s the way I feel.’’

MONEY-MAKERS: The tourney’s $12 million purse represents another big jump in recent years. In 2003 it was $6 million, in 2014 it was $9 million and in 2015 it hit $10 million.

Last year Dustin Johnson’s first-place prize was $1.8 million. Koepka earned $2,160,000 for his victory on Sunday.

A BREEZE: Jordan Spieth was the ninth player to tee off on Sunday and the wind was at its worst, approaching 30 miles per hour. That didn’t keep Spieth from shooting a 3-under-par 69 – his best round of the tournament.

“A fantastic round of golf, given what we were dealing with to start the day,’’ he said. Conditions got easier as the day went on and Spieth left a happier man than he’d been all week.

“I struck the ball the same way I have been. I hit 17 greens, which was just awesome in these conditions,’’ he said. And then my expectations were lowered on the greens given the conditions. That was the difference. I was able to get to a few under by just accepting the fact that the putt might miss instead of having to have it perfect. Maybe a day like today is all I needed to just kind of calm down.’’

HEROES AT HOME: Steve Stricker and Jordan Niebrugge, the two Wisconsin players in the finals, finished up in style. Stricker shot 69-69 on the weekend to get to 5-under for the tournament. Making birdies on three of the last five holes, Niebrugge was 3-under on his final nine and was 1-over for the 72 holes.

Stricker hosts a Champions Tour event, the American Family Insurance Championship, at University Ridge in Madison this week while Niebrugge just learned he has a spot in the Web.com Tour’s Lincoln Land Charity Championship, at Panther Creek in Springfield, IL.

SCHEFFLERS WIN: The battle for low amateur at the U.S. Open was a two-man duel between Texans. Scottie Scheffler of Texas was 1-under-par in edging Cameron Champ of Texas A&M by one stroke. It was a team win for the Schefflers as Scottie’s sister Cali worked as his caddie.

WHAT’S THE BEEF? Andrew “Beef’’ Johnson has been popular with the galleries whenever he comes over from London to play in a tournament, but his popularity was magnified at Erin Hills.

“It’s been wicked,’’ said Johnston. “The people have been so good to me. Hopefully they’ve had fun watching me, as well, because I’ve had fun with them. I never dreamt of this. To have the support is just crazy.’’

A WIND PLAYER: Veteran Matt Kuchar took advantage of the windier conditions on Sunday to finish his U.S. Open with a 4-under-par 68.

“I was looking forward to tougher conditions, knowing that I’d have a chance to make up a lot of ground,’’ he said. “I did just that.’’

He gave Erin Hills high grades in its first year as a U.S. Open site.

“The course was great. The people were great,’’ said Kuchar. “The tournament was really well run. We’ll be leaving on a high note.’’

Women’s major at Olympia Fields tries to match a successful U.S. Open

These are unprecedented times for spectator golf around the Chicago area. Last week it was the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. Next week it’s a women’s major – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields.

The best players in women’s golf start showing their skills at the south suburban private club on Tuesday in a star-studded pro-am. After a day of practice the 72-hole battle for a $3.5 million purse – one of the biggest in women’s golf — is on the line beginning on Thursday, June 29.

Once named the LPGA Championship, the tourney became an unprecedented collaboration between the Ladies PGA Tour and the PGA of America three years ago at Westchester Country Club in New York. Last year’s event was at Sahalee, in Washington, and Chicago gets the next two—at Olympia Fields and then at Kemper Lakes, in Kildeer, in 2018.

Tuesday’s pro-am, which tees off at 7:30 a.m., features former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, comedian George Lopez and Chicago sports legends Brian Urlacher, Ryne Sandberg and Greg Maddux.

The 156-player field in the tournament proper includes defending champion Brooke Henderson. World No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn and American mainstays Stacy Lewis, Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson.

U.S. Open aftermath

Back in 1990, when Medinah hosted the last of its three U.S. Opens, members weren’t happy with the record low scoring. Ideal weather, much like that last week at Erin Hills, led to the low scores but Medinah members felt the course setup wasn’t challenging enough as well.

With one exception, those U.S. Open scoring records set 27 years ago are no more thanks to the shootout in Wisconsin. Medinah yielded 28 sub-par scores for the 72 holes in 1990. Thirty-one players finished under par at Erin Hills.

The total number of sub-par rounds at Erin Hills was 140, which surpassed the previous record of 122 at Medinah, and the 44 sub-par scores in the first round at Erin Hills erased the record of 39 at Medinah. The one Medinah record still on the books is for most sub-par scores in one round. Medinah yielded 47 on its most vulnerable day while the most in any one round at Erin Hills was 46.

Medinah unveils new Nos. 2 course

Medinah’s No. 2 course is back in operation after undergoing a unique $3.6 million renovation jointly created by architect Rees Jones, superintendent Curtis Tyrrell, head professional Marty DeAngelo and instruction staffers Travis Johns and Rich Dukelow.

No. 2 was basically untouched since original architect Tom Bendelow designed it in 1927. The new course will be the most versatile of the three layouts at the club. Each hole has seven tee placements and will be the base for a “Golf for Life’’ program that DeAngelo has created “to bring enjoyment for all skills without the use of handicaps.’’

“The No. 2 course was always known as the ladies course, but now it’s the most appropriate venue for higher handicappers and casual golfers,’’ said Jones. “It has the potential to become the most popular golf course in the entire city of Chicago.’’

Here and there

Three of the 12 Illinois PGA members who qualified for this week’s Professional Players National Championship in Sunriver, Ore., survived the 36-hole cut. Curtis Malm, of White Eagle in Naperville; Mike Small, the Illinois men’s coach; and Jim Billiter, of Kemper Lakes, will compete through Wednesday (TODAY) and the top 20 qualify for August’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.

More than 150 of the world’s top junior golfers are competing in the 100th Western Junior Championship this week at Park Ridge Country Club. The field will be cut to the low 44 and ties after today’s (WEDNESDAY) round and the survivors will play 36 holes on Thursday to determine the champion. Sean Maruyama, a UCLA recruit from Los Angeles, is bidding to become the tourney’s first repeat champion in 76 years.

The 98th Chicago District Amateur begins its four-day run on Tuesday (JUNE 27) at Briar Ridge in Schererville, Ind. The tournament has been played outside of Illinois only five times, the last in 1998 when The Dunes Club in Michigan hosted.

Canadian Maddie Szeryk captured last week’s 117th Women’s Western Amateur at River Forest in Elmhurst.

Medinah’s Tee-K Kelly followed up his win in the Dominican Republic with a fourth-place finish in Jamaica on Sunday on PGA Tour Latinoamerica. Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr., the reigning Illinois Open champion, tied fors seventh in Jamaica.

Thomas’ 63 is the best round in U.S. Open history

ERIN, Wis. – No, Justin Thomas isn’t leading the U.S. Open going into today’s final round but he’s definitely the man of the hour at Erin Hills.

The 24-year old from Louisville, Ky., shot the lowest round in the 117-year history of America’s premier golf championship on Saturday – a 9-under-par 63. He trails Brian Harman by one stroke going into the final 18 holes.

Johnny Miller posted the first 63 in U.S. Open history in the final round of the 1973 championship at Oakmont, in Pennsylvania. Oakmont was a par-71 course then, so Miller was 8-under par.

Three other players posted 63s in the Open. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf did it in 1980 and Vijay Singh in 2003. All were on par-70 courses, so they were 7-under. Only Thomas reached 9-under, and he did it despite making two bogeys along the way.

“That means I’m a part of history. It means I have a lot better cce to win the tournament than I did when the day started,’’ said Thomas. “It’s all pretty self-explanatory in terms of what it means. But just for me, I’ve been playing pretty well all week and didn’t quite have the numbers to show for it. Obviously today I definitely had something to show for it.’’

Thomas started the day at 2-under-par after a 73-69 start. He was in a 9-way tie for 24th place when he teed off and is tied for second with American Brooks Koepka and England’s Tommy Fleetwood heading into the tournament’s first-ever staging in Wisconsin and first in the Midwest since Olympia Fields hosted in 2003.

Thomas’ card featured 10 threes and a two. Put another way, he had 10 birdies, two bogeys, five pars and – in a finish that couldn’t have been more spectacular – an eagle. It came at the second-longest hole in Open history. Erin Hills’ finisher was set up at 637 yards on Saturday. Oakmont’s No. 12 played at 694 yards in the first round of last year’s U.S. Open.

Coming off a birdie at the 17th, Thomas hit 3-wood off the tee to stay clear of fairway bunkers and had a tough decision to make on his second shot.

“I had 310 to the hole, but it was downwind to where I knew if I hit it solid I could definitely get it there,’’ he said. “I also knew my miss, if I hit it off the bottom or got spiny, it was going to be in those front bunkers, which was fine. That was perfect. All my caddie and I were trying to do was give ourselves a chance to make four and get out of there.’’

Thomas went with the 3-wood and put it eight feet from the cup as the huge gallery around the green went crazy. Then Thomas had to wait to attempt his eagle putt because playing partner Jonathan Randolph was struggling his way to a bogey before Thomas could putt.

Once he did, though, the ball went straight into the hole and the cheers got even louder.

Thomas said Friday night rains helped on his long second shot. Without a softer-than-usual green he couldn’t have stopped a 3-wood on the putting surface. Once he did the considerations of posting a 63 came to mind.

“I knew what it was score-wise. I knew it was for 63. You’ve got leaderboards everywhere and you usually have an idea what you’re doing,’’ said Thomas. “But I had no idea in terms of 9-under being the best in the U.S. Open.’’

Thomas is no stranger to low scores. He became the youngest player to shoot a 59 on the PGA Tour when he did it en route to winning the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

Prior to turning pro Thomas became the third youngest player to make the cut in a PGA Tour event. He did it at age 16 in the 2009 Wyndham Classic before heading to the University of Alabama. He turned pro in 2013 and – prior to Saturday – his career highlight was back-to-back wins in Hawaii to begin the 2017 part of the PGA Tour season.