Author: lenz

PGA women’s event will have an unusual two-year run at Chicago courses

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.

Sand Valley is taking shape — and it’ll be good. You can count on that!

Once a dense forest, Sand Valley is looking more and more like a beautiful golf course.

ROME, Wis. – Given the popularity of Bandon Dunes, Mike Keiser’s venture into Oregon, it was inevitable that golfers would be closely watching the progress at Sand Valley in this somewhat remote corner of Wisconsin. I know. I was one of them.

Now I’ve visited the place, a much-anticipated stop before the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Golf won’t be played here until probably late next summer, and then it’ll basically be done by the Founders – those who stepped forward early to help in the financing of the first of what could eventually be five courses on the 1,700-acre property.

Michael Keiser Jr. project manager at Sand Valley and Mike’s son, is targeting a grand opening of the first course the day after Wisconsin’s first-ever U.S. Open is played at Erin Hills – a course not far away – in June of 2017. And then, look out!

The Keiser involvement understandably created immediate excitement in the project, but now you can see the first course taking shape. It was designed by the well-respected architectural team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. Seven holes have been grassed and at lest six more will be before the fall is over.

Michael Keiser Jr. (center) and Jacki Koll, Sand Valley’s first employe, gave me a tour of the first nine holes.

In the early days it might have been difficult to envision what the place would look like, but that’s not the case now. A walk of the first nine holes – much of it still through the sand that dominates the property – is enticing. This course will be good.

No. 4 is going to be a never-ending par-5. No. 8 looks like the best hole at this point – a tricky uphill par-3 with a big, big green. Beyond that you have to use your imagination, just as Coore and Crenshaw already have.

Keiser’s initial purchase was for 1,500 acres, and he had the option to acquire 800 more. Even before the first course design was completed Keiser acquired 200 more acres because the Coore-Crenshaw team felt a certain chunk of the property was needed to create the course that team wanted.

It took some time to uncover this property, and the Keisers weren’t even looking for it.

“We didn’t seek a project in Wisconsin,’’ said Michael Keiser Jr. “The search for this took eight years.’’

The challenge that this hole will present is obvious.

Craig Haltom did the searching and called it to the Keisers’ attention. Josh Lesnik, of Chicago-based KemperSports, checked it out on Keiser’s behalf. The project took off from there.

“Then our search took about five minutes,’’ said Keiser. “We’re here for the terrain and the landscapes. They’re as good as anything we’ve seen. It’s really a heathland in the heartland of America. It makes our project different. And we have all the space in the world.’’

Haltom, who works for Oliphant Golf – the managing firm for eight Wisconsin courses, had been looking for awhile. He explained how he found what is now Sand Valley.

“It came at the end of a dozen sites,’’ he said. “You could tell right away that it might work with its 100-foot tall dunes. Then it was all covered in trees. You couldn’t see very far. We cleared 750 acres of trees (for the Coore-Crenshaw course). There were trees every four-five feet.’’

The tree clearing started in late February of 2014. Then Coore-Crenshaw got creative.

Haltom took over management of Lawsonia, a long-established course in Green Lake while still spending considerable time managing the construction effort at San Valley. Chicago’s Jens Jensen is the landscape architect for the project and Chicago’s Field Museum is also involved in it. Rob Duhm moved from Michigan’s Kingsley Club to become the course superintendent. They have already shown how nicely grass can grow on sand. The tees and fairways have varieties of fescue and the greens a bentgrass.

A couple things to note: there is no natural water on the property – there is a four-acre man-made lake beside the No. 9 green – and there won’t be any cart paths. No need for them, because – like Bandon Dunes – Sand Valley will have only walking-only courses. There’ll be caddies and pull carts.

There’s no signage at Sand Valley yet, but his road will eventually lead golfers to a memorable round.

That’s the same policy that’s in effect at both Whistling Straits and Erin Hills. Keiser doesn’t think the hike will be a brutal one. It figures to be less taxing that Erin Hills, for sure, and probably less demanding than Whistling Straits as well.

“From tee to green it’s tight,’’ said Keiser. “The distance is four and a half miles. It’s a 6,800-yard walk with undulations. We think it’ll be a very pleasant walk.’’

There’s zero chance the walking-only policy will be changed. Keiser is adamant about that.

“Golf was meant, as a sport, to be walking with your friends,’’ he said. `We love speed-walking, going around in two and a half hours. That’s how we’re supposed to enjoy golf, and we have the luxury of not having to design around cart paths. You’d have to factor them into the design and that can handcuff architects somewhat.’’

Sand Valley won’t be a one-course wonder. That was assured when David Kidd began work on a second course. It isn’t expected to open until a year after the Coore-Crenshaw layout is completed.

“What Erin Hills and Kohler have done for the state of Wisconsin is just amazing,’’ said Keiser. “We’re thrilled just to be part of that.’’

This four-acre man-made lake near the No. 9 green won’t be much of a water hazard.

This Western Amateur was filled with the unexpected

Spectator march was ongoing at the tense Western Amateur final at Rich Harvest.

Dawson Armstrong and Aaron Wise were unlikely finalists – maybe even Sweet 16 qualifiers – when the Western Amateur teed off at Rich Harvest Farms last week. Then again, nothing much was usual in the 113th playing of the championship put on by the Western Golf Assn.

Armstrong earned the title with a miracle bunker shot on Saturday after eliminating two of the pre-tourney favorites – 2013 champion Jordan Niebrugge and this year’s medalist, Robby Shelton – in match play.

Wise, barely past his freshman year at the University of Oregon, set the course record with a 64 in the stroke play portion of the five-day tournament and had to finish the event carrying his own bag the last six holes. His caddie, 2013 Western Junior champion Colin Morikawa, had to leave after 14 holes of the title match to catch a flight home to California.

“That didn’t make a difference,’’ said Wise, who endured 72 holes of stroke play plus three matches and most of the fourth with Morikawa on his bag.

Finally it’s over. Champion Dawson Armstrong celebrates his dramatic victory.

What did make a difference – and a huge one – was Armstrong’s play in the clutch. A student at little Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tenn., Armstrong was one-down going to the 18th hole of the championship match. He stayed alive when Wise three-putted to lose the hole.

That sent the match to sudden death, and it ended dramatically at the par-5 second hole. Wise was safely on the green in two shots and facing a 25-footer for eagle. Armstrong, for the second time in the match, put his second shot into a greenside bunker. His caddie – for the first time in about five years — was his father Dale, a veteran of golf’s mini-tours who played nine times in the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School.

“When we got to the ball my Dad said that I’d hit a lot of great shots, but none had gone in,’’ said Armstrong. His next one did, the ball diving into the cup after one bounce.

Dawson and Dale Armstrong made a great father/son and golfer/caddie combination in the Western Amateur.

“I knew Aaron would make birdie. I knew it would have to be a lucky shot – and it was,’’ said Armstrong. “As soon as it went in the pain in my stomach went away. My stomach started cramping up on me as soon as we finished the first (playoff) hole.’’

“An incredible shot,’’ admitted Wise. “There wasn’t much I could do about that one. I had a putt for eagle to focus on.’’

He couldn’t connect, however, and that brought an end to the tournament in which neither Niebrugge, the low amateur in this year’s British Open, nor defending champion Beau Hossler were around at the finish. They, along with Wise and Shelton, will be back for the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields in two weeks.

Armstrong wasn’t among the qualifiers for that one, but he was a giant-killer at Rich Harvest. His 2 and 1 win over Shelton in Saturday morning’s semifinals was as big as his upset of Niebrugge in Friday’s quarterfinals. Armstrong also had a big shot against Shelton, a chip-in for birdie at No. 13.

Wise had an easier time in the morning. He was 4-up on a fellow California resident Jake Knapp at the turn before putting him away 4 and 2.

After a five-day endurance test at Rich Harvest the scoreboard said it all.

Knapp finds two ways to win matches in Western Am

There won’t be any player with local ties in Saturday’s conclusion to the Western Amateur. Charlie Danielson, the University of Illinois stalwart, was eliminated in Friday’s Round of 16 matches at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

With Danielson out, the coveted title in the 113th playing of the championship will go to one of four college stars – Alabama’s Robbie Shelton, Lipscomb’s Dawson Armstrong, Oregon’s Aaron Wise or UCLA’s Jake Knapp.

Shelton, medalist in the 72-hole stroke play portion of the competition, meets Dawson and Wise meets Knapp in semifinals matches, which begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The winners meet for the title in the afternoon.

Wise set the course record with an 8-under-par 64 on Wednesday in the second round of stroke play. If Shelton wins the title he’d be the first medalist to also rule in match play since Chris Williams in 2012. Knapp could come in tired. He needed 24 holes to survive his quarterfinal match with Texas’ Gavin Hall and eliminated Danielson in the morning.

Danielson’s ouster ended another Illini bid for the Western crown. Last year the Illini had three players reach the Round of 16 – Danielson, Brian Campbell and Nick Hardy. Both Campbell, who has since turned professional, and Hardy, a soon-to-be sophomore from Northbrook, both made the cut at the U.S. Open in June. Hardy didn’t survive this year’s first cut in the stroke play portion of the Western Am.

That left Danielson, who is about to enter his senior season for coach Mike Small’s Illini powerhouse. He contended for medalist honors in the 72-hole stroke play competition held Tuesday through Thursday until he was thwarted by a bogey on his last hole.

His loss in match play, however, had little to do with his own performance. Knapp was just too good. Danielson didn’t make a bogey, but still lost 3 and 2. Knapp put Danielson behind for good when he made a hole-in-one at the third hole.

“Hats off to Jake Knapp. He played unbelievable,’’ said Danielson. “There wasn’t much I could do. He makes a hole-in-one and then reels off four birdies after that. He kept sticking it and making his putts.’’

Danielson, who is from Osceola, Wis., won’t hurry off, however. He’s also a qualifier for the U.S. Amateur, which begins on Aug.17 at Olympia Fields.

“I might try to get to Whistling Straits (the Wisconsin course that hosts the PGA Championship next week), but mainly I’ll hang out in this area,’’ said Danielson. “The U.S. Amateur is a great chance to play against the best players, just like here.’’

Danielson was hoping for two high finishes in the big Chicago area events to convince U.S. coach Spider Miller that he belongs on the Walker Cup team for upcoming matches against Europe. Miller scouted prospective candidates for his team this week in a visit to Rich Harvest.

“I know I’ve got to play better, but I’ve got one more week,’’ said Danielson. “I’ll just practice and prepare.’’

Danielson, though, has probably played the Western Amateur for the last time. With no Walker Cup in 2016 to use as an incentive to remain an amateur, Danielson plans to turn pro after his senior year at Illinois.

Western Am could have best field yet at Rich Harvest

They keep getting bigger. Within the last month the men’s and women’s Illinois State Amateurs have been played. Then came the men’s Illinois Open, and the Illinois Women’s Open concludes its 54-hole run on Wednesday at Mistwood, in Romeoville.

Next week’s tournament offering is even more prestigious. The 113th Western Amateur takes over Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, with the first tee shots scheduled for Tuesday following a practice day for all of the 156 competitors.

The Western Amateur, conducted by the Chicago-based Western Golf Assn., is a stepping stone to professional stardom. Its list of champions includes Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Lanny Wadkins, Andy North, Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Tiger Woods.

Stamina is as much a requirement as shot-making in the Western Am. The entire field plays 18-hole rounds on the first two days of the tournament and only the low 44 and ties remain after that. They’ll play 36 holes on Thursday, Aug. 6, with the low 16 moving on to the match play portion of the event. There’ll be two rounds of matches on Friday, Aug. 7, and Saturday, Aug. 8 before the champion is crowned.

Last year the winner was Beau Hossler, a junior at the University of Texas who has already qualified for three U.S. Opens. He won his Western title at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club and got an early look at Rich Harvest while helping a U.S. team of collegiate stars defeat Europe in June’s Palmer Cup matches there.

He’ll have to beat a flock of great amateurs to repeat, among them Texas teammate Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights – last year’s Western Amateur medalist – and University of Illinois stalwarts Nick Hardy and Charlie Danielson.

The 2013 Western Am champion, Jordan Niebrugge, is also in the field and is NCAA champion Bryson DeChambeau. Niebrugge was low amateur at the British Open earlier this month.

Seven of last year’s Sweet Sixteen at Beverly are back as are six other Palmer Cup participants.

That star-studded turnout is a delight to Jerry Rich, the Rich Harvest creator who has done more than anyone else in bringing big tournaments to Chicago in recent years.

“The caliber of talent in this field is truly remarkable,’’ said Rich. “We’re honored to host the future of professional golf.’’

Play begins at 7 a.m. off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees next Tuesday and Wednesday. Both tees will also be used for the double round on Thursday, Aug. 6. Match play rounds will start at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7 and Saturday, Aug. 8. Semifinals are at 8 a.m. and the championship match at 2 p.m. on the final day. There’s no admission charge on any day of the tournament.

Qualified amateurs

Nine Illinois golfers have qualified for the U.S. Amateur, to be played Aug. 17-23 at Olympia Fields. The group is headed by recently-crowned Illinois Open champion David Cooke, who led a qualifying session at Royal Country Club of Long Grove. Also advancing to Olympia Fields from there were Ethan Farnam of Crystal Lake and Jordan Wetsch of St. Charles.

Others headed to Olympia Fields are two-time Illinois Amateur champion Todd Mitchell of Bloomington; Chicago District Amateur titlist Alex Burge, of Bloomington; Daniel Hudson, Western Springs; Andrew Price, Lake Bluff; Dan Stringfellow, Roselle; and Mack Foster, of downstate Knoxville.

Stephanie Miller, a junior at Illinois from Elgin, qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, coming up Aug. 10-16 in Portland, Ore. She shot 3-under-par 68 to finish second in a qualifying session at Sportsman’s, in Northbrook.

Shawn Rennegarbe, the medalist at the rain-shortened Illinois State Women’s Amateur, also qualified. The Addieville resident who plays at Arknasas survived an elimination at Dayton, Ohio.

Here and there

Royal Fox, in St. Charles, will host the Illinois PGA Assistants Championship on Monday.

The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct qualifiers for the Illinois State Mid-Amateur Championship on Tuesday at Balmoral Woods in Crete, next Wednesday at Ironwood in Normal and Thursday, Aug. 5 at Palatine Hills. Finals are Aug. 25-26 at Flossmoor Country Club.

The Schaumburg Parks Foundation’s Links Technology Outing on Aug. 12 has a unique feature. Taste on the Tee will be a feature of it, with foods and beverages provided on virtually every hole.

Western Am players — especially a Wise guy — go low at Rich Harvest

The sense of urgency arrived for the first time at the 113th playing of the Western Amateur on Wednesday, and that was evident with some of the scores posted at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

Most of the 156 starters were eliminated after Wednesday’s second round, as only the low 44 and ties advanced to Thursday’s 36-conclusion of the stroke play portion of the championship. Four rounds of match play follow before the champion is crowned on Saturday.

Wednesday’s play was highlighted by a course record 64 by 19-year old Aaron Wise, a sophomore to be at the University of Oregon from Lake Elsinore, Calif. Wise had to go low after shooting 76 in Tuesday’s opening round. He started the second round in a tie for 96th place and ended it in a tie for ninth.

“When you drive in the fairway you can attack these pins,’’ said Wise. “(On Tuesday) I was hacking it out of the trees and pushes. I had a lot of 60- to 100-yard shots where I needed to get up and down for par. That was the difference.’’

Wise, who was hitting the fairways with his tee shots on Wednesday, won the Pacific Coast Amateur on his school’s home course at Eugene Country Club last week. He got off to a fast start Wednesday (four-under-par after five holes) and continued his charge from there, though he did make one bogey along the way.

His 8-under-par effort was three better than the course record at the start of the day. Five players had posted that score since 2007, with Dawson Armstrong of Nashville, Tenn., and Jose Mendez of Costa Rica shooting their 67s on Tuesday.

Before Wise posted his score the course record was lowered to 66 by recently-crowned Illinois Open champion David Cooke of Lisle and Australian Harrison Endycott. Armstrong, though, also shot 66 later in the day and ended as the 36-hole leader at 11-under 133.

Taylor Funk, son of PGA and Champions Tour veteran Fred Funk, and University of Illinois golfer Charlie Danielson hit the halfway point of stroke play two shots behind Armstrong. Funk, who captured the Southern Amateur this summer, was one of five University of Texas players in the starting field at Rich Harvest.

Among the others were defending champion Beau Hossler and Doug Ghim, last year’s stroke play medalist from Arlington Heights. Neither survived the 36-hole cut. The only Chicago area survivor was Roselle’s Dan Stringfellow, a Medinah member who plays collegiately at Auburn.

“It was one of those weeks where I needed to make putts, and they wouldn’t go in,’’ said Ghim. “Now I’ve got a lot of extra time to work on my putting for my next big tournament in two weeks.’’

That would be the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields. Wise is among the many competing at Rich Harvest who have also qualified to play at Olympia Fields.

Re-opened Glenview Park, Mount Prospect courses are better than ever

Here’s a good indication that golf in Chicago has withstood some tough economic times.

Two well-established park district courses that had undergone costly renovations re-opened on consecutive days last week. Glenview Park’s course renovation was a $5.3 million project and another $1.2 million was spent to upgrade the clubhouse. Construction on Mount Prospect’s course renovation was reported at $7.1 million.

Glenview Park’s course dates back to 1920, and the Glenview Park District has operated it since 1955. Mount Prospect’s layout also started as a private facility in 1926 and Mount Prospect Park District has operated the course since 1961.

The Arlington Heights Park District is also renovating its Arlington Lakes course – a $2.4 million project that is projected to be completed in July, 2016. That course was closed in June. So was Oak Meadows, owned by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. This will likely turn out more costly than any of the others, as Aurora architect Greg Martin must deal with flooding issues in addition to renovating the course. He expects only four of the current holes to remain and 1,500 trees to come down before the project is completed in the spring of 2017.

As for Glenview Park and Mount Prospect, both were in need of upgrades. Libertyville architect Rick Jacobson supervised the Glenview project and St. Charles architect David Esler directed the work at Mount Prospect. Both courses were land-locked, so lengthening of either wasn’t possible.

Mount Prospect will look more different to returning golfers. Esler’s work included a re-design of the back nine — which now has five new holes — to create a much-expanded learning center. The old range had but six hitting stations. The new, double-ended range has 25 and there’s also a 15,000 square foot short-game area an 18-hole putting course that is spread over 17,000 square feet.

Glenview Park improved its clubhouse while the course renovation was in progress. Jacobson, who grew up within a mile of the course, created more movement in the fairways to improve storm-water management for both the course and the surrounding area. He also reconstructed the greens, tees and bunkers.

Both courses are instituting the cart-path-only policy for players wishing to ride during their rounds in an effort to facilitate the grow-in periods needed to complete the renovations. Both courses, however, are ideal for walkers.

Cut day at Western Am

The 156-man starting field for the 113th Western Amateur championship at Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, will be cut drastically on Wednesday.

Only the low 44 and ties will continue in the grueling championship that concludes on Saturday. University of Texas junior Beau Hossler is the defending champion but he has a long road ahead if he’s to become the first repeat winner since Justin Leonard in 1992-93.

The Western Am requires 72 holes of match play followed by four matches before a champion is crowned. Stroke play ends with a 36-hole session on Thursday. The top 16 advance to the match play portion of the event, with two rounds of matches scheduled for Friday and the semifinals and final on Saturday. Admission and parking are free.

Here and there

The PGA Tour has given the John Deere Classic potentially difficult dates for 2016. The JDC will be played Aug. 8-14, opposite the Olympic Games in Brazil. Golf will be contested in the Olympics for the first time since 1904. The JDC has been played in July, the week before the British Open, in recent years.

Tim Streng, representing the Wildcat Golf Academy, was a five-shot winner in the Illinois PGA Assistants Championship on Monday at Royal Fox in St. Charles. He posted a 4-under-par 138 total over 36 holes to edge Andy Mickelson, of Mistwood in Romeoville, for the title.

Dave Ryan, of Taylorville, successfully defended his title in last week’s Chicago District Golf Assn. Senior Amateur at Merit Club in Libertyville. Ryan defended Lake Forest’s Craig Sopko 3 and 2 in the championship match.

The Illinois PGA Senior Championship is next Monday and Tuesday (AUG 10-11) at Whisper Creek, in Huntley.

Who says golfers need to carry their clubs in a bag?

Just choose your club, pick out your shaft, put the club together and swing away!

What would be your reaction be if a playing partner arrived at the first tee with a full set of golf clubs, but no golf bag?

That’s what happened to me when long-time friend Brett Detterbeck arrived with a backpack – much like the type that high school students use to carry their books. A big difference, though. In it was a full set of clubs, with the shafts separated from the clubheads.

Brett assembled his clubs as we went along, screwing the shafts into the clubheads. I can’t say they helped his play in a Couples Scramble event put on by the staff at Cantigny, in Wheaton, but they looked and felt like golf clubs when you swung them.

Brett Detterbeck’s golf equipped was streamlined for an event at Cantigny.

One of Brett’s Glen Ellyn neighbors, Pat Brady, brought the clubs to his attention. Brady was one of three founders of an Atlanta-based equipment manufacturer called the DV8 Sports. The company was founded in 2009.
Its website reports that Brady has 13 patents to his name with six more pending. He’s not a golfer, the website is quick to declare. But he is an inventor and an investor who has done well in other fields.

Is the DV8 Sports product good? Is it bad? I can’t say one way or the other, but it is most interesting. Its clubs are certainly easier to transport than the standard bag of clubs. I’m told they can even be carry-ons at airports.

Backpack loaded, it’s time to hit the links.

Golf has always stirred the creative juices of golfers and non-golfers alike. I’ve seen some really weird gear at shows and pro shops over the years, some of it even laughable, but these clubs make more sense than many of the other products I’ve seen. Apparently others felt so, too, because other players in the outing were curious enough to take a look. None needed an invitation to take a peek. They just wanted to find out what the product was all about.

This new product led to a discussion with Patrick Lynch, the head professional at Cantigny. He reported being contacted recently by a company that makes bicycles that players can use to transport their clubs around the course during a round. Lynch was curious enough to welcome a closer look. I would be, too.

Illinois amateur golf is at its best since the 1980s

The Illinois State Amateur was played for the 85th time in July, and this time it was more than a golf tournament. It was a showcase.

If nothing else, we should take away one thing from this State Am: the state of amateur golf in Illinois is at its highest level in many, many years. Frankly, I don’t think the caliber of play is quite at the level it was in the 1980s when the stars of the show were Gary Hallberg, Lance Ten Broeck, Gary Pinns, David Ogrin, Roy Biancalana and Jerry Haas – but it’s getting there.

Those guys went on to do a lot of good things at the next level (Hallberg, Ten Broeck and Ogrin even won on the PGA Tour) and I suspect members of the current cast of characters will do so as well.

Tee-K Kelly, for instance, has already done something that Ten Broeck, Pinns and Biancalana couldn’t do. He won the Illinois State Amateur a second time at Panther Creek in Springfield, his first win coming in 2013 at Aldeen in Rockford. Only 15 players have won the State Am multiple times, the most prominent being D.A. Points. Now a solid PGA Tour regular, Points ruled the state’s amateurs in 1995, 1998 and 1999.

Kelly was the first since Todd Mitchell’s completion of a back-to-back in 2003 to win a second title. It’ll be interesting to see where Kelly’s golf career goes from here. He played well in another big event this summer, finishing second to Bloomington’s Alex Burge in the Chicago District Amateur. Kelly has only the Western Amateur at Rich Harvest Farms left on his summer schedule, but a senior season at Ohio State awaits for the Medinah member.

I’m intrigued by more than Kelly, however. At the top of my list is Ray Knoll, soon to be a junior at Iowa. What’s with those Hawkeyes anyway? Knoll won the State Am last year, succeeding Iowa players Vince India and Brad Hopfinger as former champions. And Brian Bullington of Frankfort was the first-round leader this year after shooting a 66.

Knoll couldn’t defend his title, but showed his abounding promise in the final round when he let it all hang out and shot a course record 8-under-par 63. That is generally believed to be the lowest round shot in the State Am, records being sketchy from some past years.

Not only did he shoot that one low round, he also posted what’s believed to be the first albatross in the history of the tournament. The ability to pull off big shots is there, no doubt about it.

Knoll saw his title defense evaporate after shooting a 75 in the morning 18 holes of the 36-hole final day at Panther Creek. Making six birdies in the first 11 holes in the afternoon, all from the four to 10-foot range, Knoll climbed the leaderboard but saved his best for No. 15, a 576-yard par-5.

“Going to the last round I knew I didn’t have a chance to win, but I was playing good and just tried to be aggressive,’’ he said. So, at No. 15 he blasted a “perfect’’ drive, then studied the possibility of going for the green with his second.

“I didn’t know what my yardage was because my rangefinder died when I was on the 10th hole,’’ he said. “I stepped it off from the 200-yard marker and found the yardage was 267 yards plus three more to the pin. I hit a high draw with my 3-wood and swung a little harder because that distance was a little out of my range.’’

Well, actually it wasn’t. His ball landed on the front of the green, bounced once and rolled into the hole. It was his second albatross, the first coming on a 6-iron shot from 191 yards while playing an informal round with his father at Hickory Ridge in Carbondale. This one elevated Knoll to under-par status for the tournament and into a tie for sixth place. That’s got to get your attention.

Knoll’s hot round took the spotlight away from Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, who is coming off a terrific freshman year at Illinois and matched the Panther Creek record of 65 before Knoll topped him. Hardy also made the cut in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, so he’s going places, for sure. Watch for him in both the Western and U.S. Amateurs this month, to say nothing of future years.

And Hardy isn’t the only young phenom in the state ranks. The State Am was a coming out part of sorts for 18-year old Conor Dore. Rarely do Chicago city residents surface in big state-wide tournaments, but Dore did. He led the State Am by four strokes entering the final round and had a putt to win at Panther Creek on the last hole of regulation but left a 30-foot birdie try short. Then he lost the title in a playoff with Kelly.

The near-miss by Dore, just out of Whitney Young High School, was reminiscent of Quinlan Prchal’s showing just out of high school in the 2012 State Am. Prchal, from Glenview, won the title at Kokopelli, in Carbondale, before heading to his freshman year at Princeton. He tied for 16th at Panther Creek, by the way, so he’s still very much in the mix for future stardom.

Dore’s tournament schedule has been almost entirely in the junior ranks so far. That’s what college coaches had advised him to do. But he did step out once last year at age 17 and led a qualifying session for the Illinois Open. He missed the cut in the tournament proper, but his strong showing in the State Amateur – he led for most of the final round — was eye-opening.

I’d class Hardy and Dore, who is headed to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, as the very young in this era of players with so much promise. A couple with a little more seasoning who are worth noting are Alex Burge, a redshirt senior in coach Mike Small’s powerhouse program at Illinois, and Bullington, a recent Iowa grad.

Hardy wound up third at Panther Creek while Burge was fourth and Bullington tied for sixth.

Illinois Open benefitted from new format

Strange? Memorable? Different? Those are all apt descriptions for the 66th playing of the Illinois Open.

My first year covering the Illinois Open was in 1975 – the last year in which the Illinois PGA and Chicago District Golf Assn. were joint managers of the event — and I’ve been to virtually every championship since then.

It was inevitable that this one would be different than all the others. The Illinois PGA had announced months earlier that the finals would be contested at two sites for the first time and qualifiers for it would number 258 instead of the previous 156.

Those changes were made to bolster sagging entry numbers, and they accomplished that goal. The entry number of 498 was up 20 percent from 2014 but, understandably, it didn’t approach the 700-plus that signed up for some of the championships in the 1990s.

Not everyone liked the two-sites format for the final 54 holes. Royal Melbourne, in Long Grove, and Hawthorn Woods Country Club were close together location-wise but the scores were anything but similar.

The first round scores at Royal Melbourne were record lows. David Lawrence, a mini-tour player from Moline, shot a course and tournament record 62 and Northbrook amateur Nick Hardy, Conway Farms pro Matt Slowinski and Web.com Tour player Vince India posted 66s. The next day they went to Hawthorn Woods, and Lawrence and Slowinski shot 80s and Hardy 81. India dropped back, too, but only to 71.

None won after play was all at Royal Melbourne for the final round, though India came close. He was the runner-up to amateur David Cooke – but the difference wasn’t very close. Cooke’s five-shot victory margin was the highest since Gary Hallberg’s win at Elgin Country Club in 1977.

“Hawthorn Woods was quite a bit longer – close to 7,100 yards,’’ said India. “There were a lot of good par-4s over there and the par-3s were tough. Plus, there was a lot of wind and nothing to protect you. It felt like it was blowing harder than it really was.’’

Cooke started the tournament at Hawthorn Woods, shooting 71, then played at Royal Melbourne in back-to-back rounds and carded 65-63. His 199 total was 16 under par.

“When I found out that I had back-to-back grounds there I thought that would be a good thing,’’ said Cooke. “Both are amazing golf courses, but they have a different style.’’

The story of his victory was captivating for much more than his low scores. He became the first amateur to win the title since Brad Benjamin in 2009. Hallberg, who went on to a solid career as a touring pro, was also an amateur when he won 38 years earlier.

Cooke’s win, though, was more about family than it was about history. Last Dec. 23 he lost his younger brother Chad, a 20-year old basketball player at Charleston Southern. He passed away from an apparent heart disorder while playing in a pickup basketball game.

“He was a strong encourager of everybody,’’ said Cooke. “I knew he’d want me to keep playing. I tried to focus on that and think about positives. I have great memories of my little brother. I wish more than anything that we could have him back.’’

Chad was occasionally David’s caddie in tournaments. His older brother Jay, 34, came from his home in South Carolina to work as David’s caddie in the Illinois Open and they were followed by their parents, grandparents and other family members and friends who walked with them in the final round.

“It was an emotional win,’’ said Cooke, who will enter his senior year at North Carolina State in the fall. “It’s been a rough last year, and it meant a lot to me and my older brother that everyone was here.’’

Cooke grew up in Bolingbrook and worked several summers at Bolingbrook Golf Club while getting his game ready for college golf. His family moved to Lisle several months before the Illinois Open. Cooke had never led a tournament over night until he shared a one-stroke lead with Brad Marek of Arlington Heights heading into the final round of the Illinois Open.

“There were nerves on the first tee,’’ Cooke admitted, but they went away quickly when Cooke hit a pitching wedge from 144 yards to six feet and then rolled in a putt for eagle at No. 1. He made birdies on the next three holes as well and coasted from there.

Cooke had been in the next-to-the-last group in the final round of the Illinois Open in 2012 and 2013, partnering with India on one of those occasions, but he fizzled down the stretch both times. He didn’t play in the event in 2014 and basically had only India as a challenger in the final round.

“David played great,’’ said India. “I certainly played fine. I shot 5-under, but what are you going to do?’’
India shot 67 but did claim the $12,500 check for being low pro, and that was a big plus. He struggled as a Web.com Tour rookie in 2014 – though his season included a stunning 61 in U.S. Open local qualifying. India started this season with six tournaments on the PGA’s Latino America Tour.

The University of Iowa product finally got a Web.com Tour start at Cleveland and finished in a tie for 24th. After that he made four of five cuts, so his career as a tour player is on the upswing. The strong showing in the Illinois Open came after India caught a red-eye flight from California on Sunday night in time to make a 2 p.m. tee time in the first round at Royal Melbourne the next day.

Cooke also has aspirations of turning pro after college, and the Illinois Open win was encouraging.

“It was a big motivator for me,’’ said Cooke. “It showed me I could compete with pros. It helps me know that I’m on the right path.’’

Cooke’s round wasn’t the best of the day in the final round. Early starter Matt Weber, an Indiana University sophomore from Hinsdale, posted a 62 to tie Lawrence’s course record but he finished in a tie for 13th place.