It didn’t take long to realize that Thursday wouldn’t be a good day for the Illinois players still competing in the 115th U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club.

University of Illinois golfer Alex Burge was in the first match of the day in the Round of 32. He lost 2-up when his opponent, Kyle Mueller of Watkinsville, Ga., closed him out by holing a 60-foot putt with a six-foot break on the last hole.

Thomas Detry, Burge’s Illini teammate, was in the second match and Japan’s Kenta Konishi eliminated him in a battle that went 19 holes. David Cooke, the Illinois Open champion from Bolingbrook, also was locked in a tense match with David Oraee of Greeley, Colo, but Greeley came away with a 2-up victory.

That left Bloomington’s Todd Mitchell as the only Illinois hope. Once a shortstop in the New York Yankees minor league system, Mitchell survived the Round of 32 easily by beating 19-year old Australian Ryan Ruffels 3 and 2.

Mitchell’s magic ended there. He went down 4 and 3 to Baylor sophomore Matthew Perrine, of Austin, Tex., in the afternoon Round of 16 matches.

Mitchell, the last player to win the Illinois State Amateur in back-to-back years (2002-03) and the runner-up in the 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur, was one of five mid-amateurs to qualify for match play and – at 37 — the oldest player to reach the Round of 16. He did it in his seventh U.S. Amateur appearance. This was the third time he qualified for match play; he was a first-round loser the first two times.

“The only reason I tried to qualify this year was because the tournament was at Olympia Fields,’’ said Mitchell. “Making the Sweet 16 here is the perfect place for this to happen.’’

That was some consolation for Mitchell, despite going out with a onesided loss.

“I played so poorly. I’m disappointed that I was unable to bring anything to the table,’’ said Mitchell. “I’m pretty beat up physically and mentally, but I’m grateful that I lasted this long.’’

The field will be cut from eight to four in Friday’s quarter-final matches. Semifinals are Saturday and the championship match, to be played over 36 holes, is on Sunday.

Illinois coach Mike Small was delighted that four of his players were among the 312 qualifiers for this week’s 115th U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club. He was even more happy that two of them, Alex Burge and Thomas Detry, were among the winners in Wednesday’s first round of matches.

Both had to do it under difficult circumstances, too. The stroke play qualifying session couldn’t be completed as scheduled on Tuesday, so the 64 match player qualifiers didn’t know when their matches would begin.

“It was hectic,’’ said Burge. “I knew the first match would start at 9:45 so I got here at about 8:45 and just hung out with Detry and putted a little.’’

At 9:20 he was told he’d be teeing off against Sam Stevens, of Wichita, Kan., at 9:45.

Burge hit seven balls as a warmup, then played even par golf in demolishing Stevens 5 and 4. Detry’s match started 10 minutes later, and he had to work harder before ousting Matt Oshrine of Baltimore 2-up.

There were 12 Illinois players among the starters, four made it to match play and all won their first matches. Todd Mitchell, a two-time Illinois Amateur champion from Bloomington, was a 1-up winner over Josh Munn of New Zealand and David Cooke, the reigning Illinois Open titlist from Bloomington, beat Hank Lebloda, of Winter Springs, FL., 3 and 2.

Both will continue their bid to win the oldest championship in American golf on Thursday while Illini teammates Charlie Danielson and Nick Hardy were eliminated in the stroke play competition.

“I’m proud of all four of them,’’ said Small, an Olympia Fields member who will bring his team to the club for the Fighting Illini Invitational next month. “They all played well this summer.’’

Detry, who is from Belgium, spent his summer competing in Europe. Burge won the Chicago District Amateur after taking a redshirt season at Illinois.

“(Burge) has been with us for three national finals,’’ said Small, “and it was weird to redshirt a senior but a freshman (Hardy) came in and hit him beside the mouth a little and (Burge) needed to get better. Not every kid in college sports takes advantage of a redshirt year, but Alex did.’’

His final collegiate season will start as soon as the U.S. Amateur ends, which could be as late as Sunday if he reaches the 36-hole title match. Detry also hopes for a long run this week.

“This is a marathon,’’ said Detry. “It’s a very long tournament. I’ve got to keep playing my game. Anything can happen.’’

That was evident on Wednesday, when Cameron Young, of Scarborough, N.Y., knocked out defending champion Gunn Yang 3 and 2.

Alex Burge and David Cooke both won big tournaments this summer, and now they’re poised to win something much bigger.

Though it’s not official yet, Burge and Cooke most likely survived the 36-hole stroke play portion of the 115th U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club and will be among the 64 qualifiers for the match play portion of the event that begins Wednesday.

Burge, who captured the Chicago District Amateur, and Cooke, the Illinois Open champion, were able to finish their stroke play rounds on Tuesday and both were at 1-over-par 141. With overnight rains delaying the start of play by 90 minutes on Tuesday, 54 of the 312 starters could not complete their rounds. They’ll have to finish on Wednesday morning before the matches can begin.

Both Burge, a University of Illinois golfer from Bloomington, and Cooke, a Bolingbrook resident who plays collegiately at North Carolina State, were looking for a strong showing before joining their college teams.

“Once you get to match play it’s anyone’s game,’’ said Burge, a redshirt senior for the Illini. He has already graduated and is using the year to work on a Master’s degree while completing his athletic eligibility.

“Sitting out last year wasn’t the most fun thing to do,’’ said Burge, “but hopefully it’ll pay off in the future.’’

Regardless of how he does in this week’s matches, Burge Fields next month for the Fighting Illini Invitational, one of the top college tournaments every season. Illinois coach Mike Small is an Olympia member, so Burge benefitted from his knowledge of the course.

“It helps, just be to familiar with the scenery, but it’s playing completely different than it does for our (college) tournament,’’ said Burge.

Cooke had to rally to keep his match play aspirations alive after going 2-over-par on the fourth hole of Olympia’s North Course. He got the birdie he needed with a nine-foot putt at No. 16 and then wrapped up a solid par-70 round with a sand save at No. 18.

“Winning the Illinois Open was a good confidence boost,’’ said Cooke. “It made me feel I’m definitely supposed to be here, but down the stretch there was a completely different feel. I had complete control of my game in the Illinois Open. Here is was a grind.’’

Both the North, site of the 2003 U.S. Open and many other major events, and the South were used in stroke play. All matches will be on the North with the 36-hole championship match on tap for Sunday.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – No longer is Jason Day the best golfer without a major championship. The 27-year old Australian had been in the conversation for that dubious honor for several years, but he took himself out of it on Sunday by winning the 97th PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

Day had this one coming. He endured runner-up finishes in three previous majors – at the Masters and U.S. Open in 2011 and the U.S. Open again in 2013. He also held or shared the 54-hole lead in the last three majors before getting the job done on the rugged, bunker-filled Pete Dye-designed course on the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan.

He did it in style, too. Day started Sunday’s round with a two-stroke lead and no player got any closer. He had a four-stroke cushion midway through the back nine and won by three over playing partner Jordan Spieth, who was thwarted in his bid for his third major title of 2015 but did succeed in supplanting Rory McIlroy at the top of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Spieth also reached 54 under par for his play in the four majors, which bettered a record held by Tiger Woods, but that was clearly overshadowed by Day’s dominance. His 67 on Sunday gave him a 20-under-par 268 total for the 72 holes – a record low for a major championship — along with the $1.5 million first prize from the tourney’s $10 million purse.

“He (Day) was sitting there swinging as hard as he could off the tee, and every single drive was right down the middle of the fairway,’’ said Spieth. “Typically in a major you’re looking for somebody in Jason’s position to miss a couple of shots and just feel the nerves of his own. He went about it like a seasoned veteran. I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but I was amazed that he kept pulling driver and kept hitting it in the tight zones. I probably would have hit 3–wood in that scenario just to keep it in play. He proved me wrong.’’

Day, who turned pro in 2006, played the Nationwide Tour in 2007 and earned his PGA Tour for the 2008 season. He’s endured a traumatic 2015 season, winning his first World Golf Championship event, contending at both the U.S. Open despite collapsing in the second round while battling a case of vertigo and winning the Canadian Open after making a strong run in the British.

Sunday’s win clearly represents a career breakthrough for Day, who has lived in Westerville, Ohio, since his marriage to wife Ellie. They are expected their second child in October.

“It was a fantastic day for me, personally, and something I’ll never forget,’’ said Day.

The key point in Sunday’s round came midway through it. Day, who had made a 50-foot birdie putt to open a three-shot lead at No. 7, gave his first – and only, as it turned out – sign of cracking when he chunked a chip shot to the No. 9 green. He recovered to make par with a nine-foot putt, however, and neither Spieth nor South African Branden Grace – his top challengers at the time — could take advantage of that minor lapse.

Spieth made bogey on the hole and Grace, playing one group in front, took a double bogey at No. 10. After that it was Day protecting his lead, mainly from Spieth. who shot 68 in the final round. Grace, who posted a 69, was two strokes behind Spieth in third place.

“There were plenty of times when I got out of it, more so just thinking about the future – especially on the back side,’’ said Day. “I had to pull myself back in and say `It’s not over. You’ve got to keep grinding, keep fighting.’ And once I did that I started hitting the quality shots that I needed.’’

While the year’s four major championships are over, the PGA Tour still has its lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs on the schedule. The four-tournament series includes the BMW Championship next month at Conway Farms in Lake Forest.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – Featured pairings don’t always work out, but this one was a no-brainer.

Rory McIlroy, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, played the first two rounds of the 97th PGA Championship with Jordan Spieth, ranked No. 2 after winning the Masters and U.S. Open this year. The third member was Zach Johnson, the British Open winner.

So, the PGA’s pairing at Whistling Straits had the champions of the last four majors, plus the intrigue of defending champion McIlroy returning to tournament golf after suffered ligament damage in his left ankle while playing soccer on July 4.

The matchup was so enticing that even Aaron Rogers, the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback, was among the fans hiking around the hilly course to watch on the morning after his team played its first preseason game.

Obviously to everyone, the coveted No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings is on the line heading into the two weekend rounds and – based on the first 36 holes – Spieth is poised to supplant McIlroy. Spieth carded a 67 on Friday while McIlroy had 71. Spieth, at 6-under-par 138 for two rounds, is four strokes ahead of McIlroy.

Spieth isn’t leading – that honor goes to Sweden’s David Lingmerth who was one shot better among the finishers – but the possibility of Spieth taking his third major title in a year is hardly a remote one. Only Ben Hogan in 1953 and Tiger Woods in 2000 have won three majors in the same year.

The Spieth-McIlroy pairing was over before a vicious storm hit the tournament, resulting in play ending at 5:30 p.m. with 57 players still on the course. They’ll complete the second round on Saturday before the third round begins.

The first two rounds here proved two things in the budding rivalry. Spieth hasn’t backed off competitively since his narrow loss in the British Open last month and McIlroy hasn’t lost his competitive edge after the injury-forced layoff.

“I’ve been friends with Rory since maybe the middle to end of the first year that I was out here,’’ said Spieth. “His game is extremely exciting. Watching drive the golf ball is just inspirational. It was really a good pairing for us.’’

Not for Johnson, though. He opened with a 75 on Thursday, got back to even par with three straight birdies to begin Friday’s round and then backed off again. At 3-over 147 he missed the 36-hole cut and won’t play on the weekend.

Spieth and McIlroy will have different partners on Saturday. McIlroy has more work to do if he’s to defend the PGA title he won last year at Valhalla, in Louisville. Putting was the problem on Friday.

“I don’t know if it’s rust or I just didn’t putt well,’’ he said. “I don’t want to blame it on rust.’’

The good news is, there appears no lingering effects from the ankle injury.

“It could have been much worse,’’ he said. “It could have required surgery. I’ve done a lot of rehab and a lot of hard work to get back as quickly as possible.’’

Though his trainer talked him out of competing last week in the Bridgestone Invitational, McIlroy proved to himself that he was fit to compete by playing 72 holes walking – 18 in four straight days – in Portugal. There was no pain and no swelling and he went for a 20-minute run here on Tuesday.

Spieth isn’t happy with his driving but his short game has kept him in contention. The highlight on Friday came at No. 18 – Whistling Straits’ toughest hole. Spieth holed a 50-foot bunker shot for birdie there. Despite his success elsewhere, this was the first time Spieth made the cut in the PGA. He missed in both 2013 and 2014.

Low scores weren’t out of the question on Saturday. Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata joined a long list of players posting the low round in a major championship. He posted a 9-under-par 63 after opening with a 77.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – American golfers could complete a sweep of the four major championships on Sunday. That hasn’t happened since 1982 – but don’t count on it happening this time.

Yes, Jordan Spieth won the Masters and U.S. Open and Zach Johnson took the British Open. Though Spieth is in contention again, any thought that an American win in the 99th PGA Championship at Whistling Straits would be premature. It’s at least likely, though, that he will supplant Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland at the top of the Official World Golf Rankings.

The 21-year old Spieth, who missed the cut in his first two PGA appearances in 2013 and 2014, is two strokes behind leader Jason Day, an Australian, and foreigners dominate the leaderboard after that. McIlroy isn’t among the challengers, though, so the change in the rankings seems inevitable.

Day, who played in the last group in the third round after completing the rain-delayed second, stands at 15-under par 201 after shooting 66. Then comes Spieth.

England’s Justin Rose, who won last year’s U.S. Open is one stroke behind Spieth and in a tie with South African Branden Grace who made his own big move by shooting a 64. Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who won the last PGA Championship played at Whistling Straits in 2010, is four back at 205.

As for Spieth, it’s possible he could become the third player to win three of the current majors in the same year, behind Ben Hogan (1953) and Tiger Woods (2000), but he’ll need more of the spectacular golf he played on the back nine on Saturday to do it. He charged up the leaderboard with six birdies to shoot 30 for the nine and 65 for the round.

Spieth has gone 33 holes without a bogey, but he wasn’t much of a factor over the first 45 holes.

“Michael (Greller, his caddie) did a great job keeping me in it,’’ said Spieth. “I was impatient on the front nine. I felt like I was playing some solid golf and was 1-under through 10. I just wasn’t scoring. My score did not reflect the way that I was playing.’’

A birdie putt at No. 11 changed his attitude and another followed at No. 12.

“And we’re off to the races,’’ said Spieth. “The holes started to look bigger. A lot of times it just takes one to go for me to really find that extra confidence, that extra little pop in my stroke. It was nice to get in the zone, and I’m very, very pleased to have a chance to win another major.’’

Not so fast.

The hot nine enabled Spieth to climb the leaderboard quickly, but Day is no slouch. He made the Canadian Open his second win of this season two weeks ago after top-10 finishes in both the U.S. Open and British Open. And, during that hot streak, he endured a bout with vertigo that caused him to pass out during the second round of the U.S. Open.

Day hasn’t won a major championship yet, but he’s due. Spieth, on the other hand, knows what it takes to win the big ones.

“Michael and I both learned from past major championship weekends,’’ said Spieth. “In the majors that we’ve won the putts have fallen on the weekend strictly by just letting it happen. Giving yourself opportunities, believing that it will fall, being stubborn on the greens – that’s what Michael likes to say. So I would draw back on past major weekends as a different type of experience than any other experience you can have.’’

Day wanted more practice time immediately after finishing his round. He discounted the lack of a major title on his resume.

“I’ve been here before, so I kind of know what to expect,’’ he said. “I haven’t won before, so that’s something that is possibly a new experience for me tomorrow. But overall, I’ve just got to rest up as best I can. Rest is important, recovery is very, very important for me and just enjoying tomorrow is my main key.’’

The more seasoned Rose anticipated a change in the weather for the final round.

“I heard it’s going to be windier,’’ he said. “That’s going to allow the chasing pack to maybe have a better chance of making inroads into the lead. It’s always a bit harder playing in the lead when you’ve got heavy winds to contend with as well. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.’’

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – Dustin Johnson knew the questions would be coming. After all, he blew a chance to win the last PGA Championship staged at Whistling Straits and – though that was five years ago – people into golf don’t forget.

Johnson grounded his club in a bunker on the last hole of regulation play in 2010, incurring a two-stroke penalty after charging into contention with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes. Instead of going into a playoff with eventual winner Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson to decide the title, Johnson was being asked how he didn’t know that the tromped down sand he had been standing in was a bunker.

Whistling Straits has about 1,000 bunkers, and spectators can stand in many of them. Johnson hit into one of those but still should have known he couldn’t ground his club.

“I don’t really think about it unless someone asks me the question,’’ said Johnson. “This year I don’t have to worry about it because there’s a grandstand there. Thanks you, PGA. I appreciate that.’’

Johnson was the last player to undergo a formal pre-tournament interview on Wednesday for the 92nd playing of the PGA Championship, and he was among the first to tee off in Thursday’s first round. There was no need to dwell on his bad mistakes afterwards. Johnson shot a 6-under-par 66 to claim the first-round lead by one stroke over Sweden’s David Lingmerth.

The early start benefitted Johnson. Winds kicked up later, making it more difficult for the afternoon players with the exception of Lingmerth. Among the other afternoon starters was the featured pairing of winners in the last four major championships – world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, current No. 2 Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson.

None could get anything going, Spieth and McIlroy shooting 71s and Johnson 75. Neither could Phil Mickelson (72) or Tiger Woods (75). McIlroy, the defending champion, was playing his first tournament round since tearing a ligament in his left ankle playing soccer on July 4.

Johnson, though, was another story. Starting his round at No. 10, Johnson opened birdie-birdie, a 357-yard drive at No. 11 setting up the second one. Then he made eagle at the 569-yard 16th, hitting a 4-iron second shot from 240 yards to 25 feet on the par-5.

That blazing start assured that Johnson would be contending for the third major in a row. He had a putt on the last hole to win the U.S. Open in June at Chambers Bay, in Washington, and ended up taking three putts to hand the title to Spieth. Johnson also led the British Open after two rounds but finished 75-75.

This season, though, has been largely encouraging for Johnson after he took a sixth-month break from golf to tend to personal issues. He seems to have his off-course life in order after becoming a father through his relationship with Paulina Gretzky, daughter of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.

“The biggest transformation would be the birth of mine and Paulina’s son,’’ said Johnson. “That was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Having a son makes everything so much easier. You don’t have to worry about golf as much.’’

Johnson was worried when he arrived here. He remembered the nightmare of five years ago in the waste bunker, but he also wasn’t pleased with his play in the Bridgestone tournament at Firestone, in Ohio, last week. It wasn’t a good tuneup for the season’s fourth and final major.

“I was more worried about getting on the range and figuring out what was going wrong,’’ he said. “I didn’t play well at all at Firestone.’’

Johnson apparently straightened out his game in time for the PGA, which represents another chance for him to win that elusive first major title. Why hasn’t he had a breakthrough in the majors? That’s another question that’s been dogging him for years but he’s not tired of hearing it — yet.

“If you’re asking me the question, it means I’m close and I’m playing well,’’ he said. “It’s hard to win majors. It really is. Even guys who have won will tell you how tough it is. Ask me in five or 10 years, maybe I’ll be tired of it then. But as of right now, I’m not.’’

Now 31, Johnson is playing in his 27th major championship and he’s finished 13th or better in seven of the last 13. Clearly his game is close. David Duval was in his 27th major when he won his first one. Mickeson didn’t win his first major until his 47th start at age 33. Nick Price was 35 and in his 36th start when he won his first major.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – Usually the PGA of America, PGA Tour, U.S. Golf Assn. and Ladies PGA announce their tournament sites at least five years in advance and, until Wednesday, Chicago seemed largely out of the mix.

The USGA has no Chicago tournament scheduled after next week’s U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields and the LPGA had only next year’s International Crown team event at Rich Harvest on its schedule. The PGA Tour comes on an every-other-year basis for the BMW Championship.

All that changed with some strange scheduling announced by the PGA of America. Its newest event, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, will be held at Olympia Fields in 2017 and Kemper Lakes, in Hawthorn Woods, in 2018. The clubs are roughly 60 miles apart.

That tournament is part of a new partnership between the PGA of America and LPGA. It was held for the first time this year at Westchester Country Club in New York and it’ll be played at Sahalee, in Washington, in 2016. Inbee Park has won the event the last three years.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – long known as the LPGA Championship since its first staging in 1955 — is considered one of the major events for LPGA players. Usually events of such prominence are either held annually at the same site or are moved around the country. Playing back-to-back in the same area is highly unusual.

“I know that those two clubs will do an incredible job hosting the major championship for the women,’’ said Kerry Haigh, chief championships officer for the PGA of America. “This will be a special moment in time for the LPGA and women’s golf in the Chicago area.’’

“There could be some great efficiencies in going to Chicago in back to back years,’’ offered Pete Bevacqua, chief executive officer of the PGA of America. “The clubs obviously have a great relationship working together to make sure that we deliver a wonderful experience in 2017, and that same group of people, plus more, can come out and experience it again in 2018. We can use that really to the advantage of the championship.’’

Suddenly Chicago has become a hotspot for women’s golf, with the International Crown bringing the world’s top players a year ahead of the two individual majors.

The women will also be playing on courses that have already hosted men’s majors. Olympia Fields most recently hosted the men’s U.S. Open in 2003 and Kemper Lakes hosted the PGA Championship in 1989. Both are private clubs, but Kemper was a public venue when the late Payne Stewart won the PGA there.

The biggest women’s event played at Kemper Lakes also came in its public phase. The 92nd U.S. Women’s Amateur was played there in 1992 and future Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam was the runner-up to Vicki Goetze in that one.