The Illinois Golf Hall of Fame inducts new members every two years, and the next class of six inductees joining the select group will be honored at Friday’s ceremonies at The Glen Club, in Glenview.

While Illinois has hardly been rich in PGA Tour players, the 21^st induction class has two who made it to golf’s premier circuit. Bob Zender made it after winning the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in 1971, and he was a regular on the circuit through 1982. David Ogrin arrived in 1983 and played until 2000, then spent parts of two seasons on PGA Tour Champions.

Professional golf was a lot different during their competitive careers. Tournament purses were much smaller when Zender played, but he had 10 top-10 finishes with a tie for third in the Greater Milwaukee Open his best result.

Zender, though, made his mark even before his big splash in PGA Tour qualifying.  He was a three-time Illinois State Amateur champion and collegiate All-American while at Purdue. Then he pulled off a three-peat in the Illinois PGA Championship, winning titles in 1976-78.  Now 82, Zender also shot a 62 at Chicago’s Ridgemoor Country Club – a mark the stands alongside Ben Hogan as the course record.

Ogrin, now 67 and directing his own golf academy in Texas, made 507 PGA Tour starts and pulled off a most memorable victory.  Tiger Woods was trying to earn his PGA Tour card in the final months of the 1996 season to avoid going to Qualifying School.  Woods succeeded on that, but he couldn’t handle Ogrin in a final round duel at the Texas Open.

While Ogrin made that one his lone PGA Tour victory, he lost two other tournaments in playoffs and won two other unofficial events.  He beat Nick Faldo at the Deposit Guarantee Classic in 1987 and teamed with Ted Schultz to win the Chrysler Classic team event in 1989.

Like Zender, Ogrin was a dominant player in the Illinois ranks before hitting the big time. He won both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open in 1980. He also won the Chicago District Amateur in back-to-back years (1979-80) and the Illinois high school title in 1976 before moving on to Texas A&M.

Ogrin and his sister Alicia were both Illinois State Amateur champions. They developed their golf skills primarily at Bonnie Brook Golf Club after their mother Bertha was elected to the Waukegan Park Board.

“I took full advantage of that privilege,’’ admitted Ogrin.  “I’d play 18, 27, 36 holes a day.  Then I’d also caddie a lot for my dad (Albin).  I started playing when I was 7, and I got in a lot of golf – but not supervised golf.’’

Ogrin and wife Sharon, long-time Texas residents, have three daughters and a son whose name underscores their connection to Chicago.  His name is Clark Addison and, yes, David remains a diehard Cubs’ fan.

Friday’s other inductees include Steve Skinner, the chief executive officer of Northbrook-based KemperSports, and Dan Dinelli, a third-generation golf course superintendent who has directed the operation at North Shore Country Club, in Glenview, for 36 years.

Skinner has played a pivotal role in shaping modern facility management with his portfolio including high profile work at such places as Oregon’s Bandon Dunes, Wisconsin’s Sand Valley and Florida’s Streamsong. He’s also a founder of the First Tee of Greater Chicago.

The other inductees are Horace McDougal, a pioneer for racial integration in golf, and Joe Roseman, who built the first lighted par-3 course in the Chicago area in the 1930s.

McDougal played at Northwestern, co-founded the Windy City Golf Association and played in the first Negro National Open in 1926. Roseman was an inventive force in early American golf, making contributions in course design, construction and equipment.

Andy Svoboda had the reputation of being a very good player when he took the head professional’s job at Butler National in Oak Brook in 2024, and the former PGA Tour player continues to prove it.

Svoboda earned the Illinois PGA Bernardi Player of the Year honor in his first year on the job, and now he’s two-for-two. An eagle on the last hole of the last of the section’s last of four major championships wasn’t good enough for Svoboda to win the IPGA Players Championship at Biltmore, in Barrington. He finished third, behind champion Tim Streng, of the Wildcat Golf Academy, and Brian Carroll, of The Hawk in St. Charles.

The third-place finish, though, gave Svoboda enough points to edge Carroll for Player of the Year. Even with three stroke play wins and a solo second finish in the Illinois Open Svoboda needed the strong finish to overhaul Carroll in the season-long point race.

“I love to compete. I enjoy the adrenaline when you’re in the hunt because it gives me extra focus,’’ said Svoboda.  “Brian played really well, and it’s crazy when you think about the span of the season coming down to one round. I was definitely trying to win the tournament, but Player of the Year was in the back of my mind.  I’m really happy I got it done.’’

PGA TOUR – Two of Chicago’s members in golf’s premier circuit – Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman and Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim – were in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.  It was the first of the fall tournaments that wrap up the season.

Streelman, who missed six months of the season after having knee surgery in March, tied for 48^th and Ghim, who struggled in with a 78 in the final round, fell to a tie for 55^th.

KORN FERRY TOUR – Adrien Dumont de Chassart had a fast start as a professional after starring at Illinois.  He promptly earned playing privileges on the PGA’s Korn Ferry circuit, then won his first tournament and was runner-up in a playoff loss in the second.  That burst led to him moving up to the PGA Tour but he lasted for just a season.

Dumont de Chassart was back on the Korn Ferry circuit this year but he can still go low.  He had a sizzling 61-61 start in the Compliance Solutions Championship in Oklahoma last week and won the circuit’s last regular season tournament by seven shots on Sunday. He’ll bid for a return to the PGA Tour at this week’s Korn Ferry Finals in French Lick, Ind

LPGA – Winnetka’s Elizabeth Szokol, the only Chicago area player on the women’s circuit,  tied for 35^th in last week’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii. That boosted her to No. 89 in the Race to the CME Globe. The top 60 in the LPGA’s season-long point race qualify for the season-ending $11 million championship Nov. 20-23 in Florida.

Szokol has six tournaments left — and one on her home course at The Pelican in Florida – to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

The Ryder Cup, which ended so dramatically in New York on Sunday, ended as a great day for Northwestern alum Luke Donald.  He became the first European captain to lead back-to-back victories since Tony Jacklin in 1985 and 1987.

Donald’s immediate response was that he won’t be attempting a three-peat in 2027, but time will tell.

Meanwhile, there were some other noteworthy fall developments from an Illinois perspective.

Brandon Holtz, a reinstated amateur from Bloomington, won the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. The 38-year old former basketball player at Illinois State, playing in his first U.S. Golf Association national championship, defeated Jeg Coughlin, of Dublin, Ohio, 3 and 2 in the title match at Arizona’s Troon Country Club.

Tour Edge, the Batavia-based equipment manufacturer known for its contingent of star players on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, launched the first-ever golf ball in its 40-year history.  The Exotics ball will be available at retailers nationwide beginning on Oct. 28.

Mike Troy captured the Illinois PGA Senior Players Championship with a four-stroke win at Flossmoor. It was his second senior  IPGA major win, the first coming in the 2020 Senior Match Play Championship.

Taylorville’s Dave Ryan added to his dominance within the senior ranks with his fourth win in the Illinois State Senior Amateur at Bloomington Country Club.  Since his first victory in that event  when he was 55 years old Ryan – now 71 — added wins in the U.S. Senior Amateur and three in the Chicago District Senior Amateur.

HOLTZ, was a mini-tour player after his four years as a collegiate basketball player for the Redbirds. He got his amateur status back in 2024 and now works as a realtor.  He’s the second ISU athlete to win a USGA title, the first being Todd Mitchell in the 2019 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball.  Mitchell was also the U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up 17 years ago.

After focusing on golf Holtz contended in several Illinois Opens. With his win in Arizona he now has exemptions to the 2026 and 2027 U.S. Mid Amateurs at famous courses — Merion, in Pennsylvania, and Oak Hilll, in New York.  He also can play in next year’s U.S. Open at Shinneock Hils, also in New York, and will likely get an invitation into next year’s  Masters at Augusta National.

TOUR EDGE founder and chief executive officer David Glod called his company’s entrance into the ball market “a monumental step.’’

“After four decades of relentless innovation in golf clubs and bags we’re applying the same commitment to golf balls,’’ said Glod.

“People are going to ask, ‘Why Tour Edge, and why now?’’ said Tour Edge president Tim Clarke, who long headed the golf division at Wilson.  “This creates an exciting first touchpoint for other golfers to experience our performance.’’

HERE AND THERE: Biggest event remaining on the Chicago calender is the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony at The Glen Club in Glenview on Oct. 17. The 21^st induction class inductees are KemperSports chief executive officer Steve Skinner; Dan Dinelli, course superintendent at North Shore Country Club for 36 years;  former PGA Tour players Bob Zender and David Ogrin; Joe Roseman, who designed and constructed courses throughout the Chicago area in the 1930s; and Horace Mc Dougal, a former Northwestern golfer in 1923 who pioneered racial integration in the sport.

This week it’s Bethpage Black’s turn to host the Ryder Cup.  The New York public course will join Chicago’s Medinah and five other U.S. course that  have been sites for the Ryder Cup as well as the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

Medinah had its turn to host the Ryder Cup in  2012, and it was a debacle for the home team.  The American squad collapsed in the singles matches on the final day and was a 14 ½-13 1/2 loser to the Europeans.  One of Europe’s playing stalwarts that year was Northwestern alum Luke Donald, who will captain the Euros for the second straight time at Bethpage.

While the sides do battle this week staffers will be preparing Medinah for next year’s President’s Cup there. The President’s Cup is a biennial event with a similar team format as the Ryder, but not the prestige.  Instead of the Europeans, an International team will battle the American stars in the Presidents Cup and that series has been onesided. The U.S. has won the last 10 meetings and holds a 13-1-1 edge in the series.

Still, Joie Chitwood, executive director of Medinah’s Presidents Cup, is predicting “the biggest event in our 30-year history. We’ve already sold 80 of our 122 suites.’’

The event is Sept. 22-27, 2026, but preparation work has long been underway. General admission tickets went on sale Sept. 9 and a check presentation of $250,000 was made to the newly-opened DuPage County Crisis Recovery Center on behalf of the 2026 Presidents Cup on Sept. 16.

Next in  the pre-event promotion will be Oct. 6-9 when captains Geoff Ogilvy if the International side and Brandt Snedeker of the American side gather at Medinah and downtown locations.  The biggest event will be Oct. 8 at Soldier Field when the captains compete in a 100-yard shot contest with the actual Presidents Cup the target.

Though he’s the visiting team captain, the Australian Ogilvy is more familiar with Medinah’s recently renovated course than most anyone else.  A former U.S. Open champion, Ogilvy resides near Scottsdale, Arizona and supervised the year-long renovation that was completed a year ago.

“Geoff doing the renovation gives us a fantastic story line,’’ said Chitwood.  “Whether it’ll be an advantage for his team I don’t know, but he did a fantastic job.  It’ll be a great match play event.  For something like this it takes the right market – and Chicago has a phenomenal market – and a fantastic course.  The renovation was fantastic.  I’ve never seen such energy.  The recipe for success is there.’’

Just how big attendance might be is still in doubt but Chitwood said the number will be announced soon.

“We’re very close on determining our capacity,’’ he said.  “We’ve securited a ton of parking lots.’’

Medinah, which opened in 1924, is no stranger to big tournament competition. In addition to the Ryder Cup it has hosted three Western Opens, three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and – most recently – the 2019 BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup Playoff event on the PGA Tour. For details on the Presidents Cup visit PresidentsCup.com.

Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League climaxed their seasons last weekend, but –at least arguably – the biggest event of the year is coming up next month.  The Ryder Cup matches are Sept. 26-28 at Bethpage Black, in New York, and that puts Northwestern alum Luke Donald in the spotlight again.

Donald captained the European team to victory in Italy in 2023 and he’ll announce his six captain’s picks for this staging on Sept. 2, well after U.S. captain Keegan Bradley fills out his team. Roster choices traditionally trigger an intense buildup of interest before each Ryder Cup.

Bradley’s automatically qualified selections were Scottie Scheffler, J.C. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau. Bradley announces his six captain’s choices today (WEDNESDAY), and the suspense is building.  It’s even possible that Bradley could pick himself, which would make him the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

“I wish he was alive and I could call him,’’ Bradley said after Sunday’s Tour Championship concluded at Atlanta’s East Lake – the Ryder Cup site in 1963. “I think he’d have some great advice for me.’’

Well, golf was different when Palmer was a playing captain.  The Ryder Cup wasn’t as popular then, and there were no captain’s picks.  The entire teams were chosen on a point system.

Donald learned his automatically qualified six players after last weekend’s British Masters.  They were Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, and Rasmus Hojgaard. Hojgaard’s twin brother, Nicolai, helped the Euros win two years ago but is a longshot to be among Donald’s picks.

HAIL THE CHAMPS: Just as the pro tours were wrapping up their seasons, so were local tournament organizers.

Brian Carroll, the head professional at The Hawk in St. Charles,  became a three-time winner of the Illinois PGA Championship on Tuesday at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club.

Carroll, who won titles in 2022 and 2024,  fired a final round 66 to earn a one-stroke victory over first-round leader Jeff Kellen, of North Shore in Glenview.  Carroll was at 4-under-par 138 in the event that was shifted from 54 to 36 holes this year.

Kellen, who shot 71 on Tuesday, finished one stroke back in second place and Mike Troy, of Troy’s par-3 Course, was at 2-under 140 to finish solo third.

Earlier Roy Biancalana won the IPGA’s Super Senior Open at Pine Meadow, in Mundelein, and Lake Forest’s Max Scodro captured the Illinois State Mid-Amateur at Inverness.

Biancalana, who teaches at The Hawk in St. Charles, opened with a 64, then went on to a four-stroke win over Lakewood’s  Doug Bauman. It was Biancalana’s fourth victory in the Super Senior event, which was first held in 2011.  Biancalana’s other titles came in 2020, 2021 and 2023.  St. Charles’ Dave Esler, the defending champion, tied for third and shared low amateur honors with Crystal Lake’s Mike Karney.

“I’m getting older, so how much longer can I keep on winning this thing?’’ wondered Biancalana, who was at 9-under-par 135 for the 36-holes.  “I put a lot of pressure on myself with my 64 – my lowest competitive round in recent years.  It was hard to battle the thought of  ‘If you lose this tournament after a 64 you’re a choker.’ You have to win after shooting a score like that, but it’s not easy.’’

Scodro,  who won the Illinois Open in 2012, bounced back from a one-shot loss to Will Hickey, of Burr Ridge, in the Mid-Am two years ago.  This time Scodro carded a 3-under-par 69 in the final round to win by one over Jack Watson, of Lincolnshire , and Dan Stringfellow, of Roselle. Scodro was at 5-under-par 211 for his 54 holes.

COMING UP NEXT:  The Chicago tournament calendar focuses on the collegiate and high school seasons now with three big events on tap on the collegiate side in September.  Northwestern will have both its men’s and women’s teams in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup Sept. 15-17 at Shoreacres, in Lake Bluff.  The Illinois men will host the Fighting Illini Invitational Sept. 19-21 at Olympia Fields and Northwestern’s men will stage the Windon Memorial at Knollwood, in Lake Forest, Sept. 29-30.

CHARITABLE SIDE:  The Illinois PGA will hold its annual Birdies for Charity event Sept. 2 at River Forest Country Club.   The 90-hole event put on by the area’s club professionals has raised over $4.3 million for various charities in the past.

SENIOR WOMEN: Three Chicago area players were in last week’s U.S. Senior Women’s Open in California. Lake Forest’s Jamie Fischer did the best, tying for 41^st .  Becky Morgan, of Wales, was the champion with a 7-under-par 285 score for 72 holes.  Juli Inkster was six strokes back in second place and Annika Sorenstam tied for eighth.

The Illinois PGA hasn’t been afraid to make changes to its tournaments – especially the biggest ones.

First the section opened its Illinois Women’s Open to out-of-state players because, said IPGA executive director Carrie Williams, “We wanted the strongest field it could be.’’ So did the staff at long-time tourney site Mistwood Golf Club, in Romeoville.

Not only did the field get stronger, it also got bigger.  This year’s IWO had over 100 entries for its 30^th anniversary staging.

The men’s version of the Illinois Open took a recent change, too. Long limited to Illinois residents, the field now permits players who grew up in the state or attended college here. That led to University of Illinois alum Michael Feagles winning this year and long-time PGA Tour and Champions Tour member Gary Hallberg competing again after he moved back to Barrington after residing for years in Colorado.

Hallberg was an Illinois Open winner twice.  Another past champion, Carlos Sainz Jr., was also back in the field.  He now lives and works in Texas.

Again, the field got stronger and the policy change allowed for the participation of players now living in other states and competing on the PGA’s Latin American and Canadian tours.

“Making that change wasn’t easy, but its is the best thing for the event,’’ said Williams.

And to think that years ago  just the participation of PGA Tour players and long-time Chicago area residents Bob Zender and Rick Dalpos created controversy — especially after both won IPGA Section Championships.

Well, that event – first played in 1923 — will undergo an even more radical change next week when Chicago’s Beverly Country Club is the host site. The IPGA Championship had  long been contested at 54 holes.  This year’s it’ll be over only 36 holes with 18 on Monday and 18 more on Tuesday  (AUGUST 25-26).

“A little more than half of the PGA sections are doing that,’’ said Williams. “It helps us getting the field and the sites. More pros can play and we don’t have to ask a club to give up its course for three days, just two. We think that will open us up to go to more high-profile facilities.’’

Beverly is certainly one of those.  Heading the field there will be defending champion Brian Carroll and 14-time winner Mike Small, head coach of the University of Illinois men’s team.  Carroll, head professional at The Hawk in St. Charles, won titles in 2022 and 2024 and the last of Small’s victories were in 2020 and 2023. Butler National’s Andy Svoboda, the low pro at the last two Illinois Opens and leader in the IPGA’s Sam Bernardi Player of the Year standings, also looms a strong contender.

FROM THE TOURS: Both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League conclude their seasons this weekend.  The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs end with The Tour Championship on Sunday in Atlanta.

The top 30 on the point list after last week’s BMW Championship in Maryland will battle in the season-ender, and it’ll have a most appropriate change in format.  Gone are the handicaps that were used in recent years.  Now all 30 players start the 72-hole test at zero.

Jon Rahm retained his LIV Individual Championship on Sunday in Indiana, but it had a strange ending.  Rahm, who won the title last year at Bolingbrook, didn’t win a tournament this season while his nearest rival, Joaquin Niemann, won five.  That discrepancy would suggest a change in the season-long point structure is in order.

LIV now has committed sites and dates for eight of its 14 tournaments in 2026.  The circuit announced the return to The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind., even before last week’s event was over.  Chicago hosted two LIV events at Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, and the last two at Bolingbrook.  No word yet on whether the Saudi-backed circuit will be back in 2026.

HERE AND THERE: Only one LIV golfer, Bryson DeChambeau, was among the six automatic selections to the U.S. Ryder Cup team. The others were PGA Tour members Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Harris English, Russell Henley and Xander Schauffele. Keegan Bradley will announce his six captain’s pix after The Tour Championship.

The Illinois Super Senior Open concludes its two-day run on Wednesday at Pine Meadow, in Mundelein.

Last week’s LIV/Chicago tourney at Bolingbrook Golf Club set the stage for this week’s LIV Individual Championship at the Club of Chatham Hills in Indianapolis.  Last year Bolingbrook hosted that tournament with Jon Rahm winning.

Rahm has a mathematical chance to win the top prize again after finishing tied for second at Bolingbrook. He gained ground on front-runner Joaquin Niemann, who tied for 17^th after piling up five early season wins.

Niemann takes a 12.27 point lead on Rahm into Indianapolis. He has 206.43 points to Rahm’s 196.16. No other player can break into the top two in the standings at Indianapolis.  To win again Rahm would have to finish at least in a tie for seventh.  Niemann needs a second-place finish even if Rahm wins.

LIV has confirmed a return to two of its U.S. markets in 2026, but Bolingbrook and Chicago weren’t among them.  The circuit will play in Virginia and Washington D.C. and LIV also confirmed returns to Riyadh, Saudia Arabia for the season opener Feb. 5-7; Adelaide, Australia; Mexico City, the United Kingdom and Singapore.  There will be some course changes at those sites, still to be announced,  and a new tournament is scheduled in South Africa.

Those confirmations account for half of the 2026 season with two weeks left in this one.

Bolingbrook hosted LIV the last two years after Rich Harvest, in Sugar Grove, was the site the first two years of the circuit’s existence. The players liked Bolingbrook, especially the attendance there this year.

“Chicago has such great sports fans, with the way they responded to the tournament,’’ said Phil Mickelson.

ILLINOIS OPEN AFTERMATH: Last week’s Illinois Open presented by Troon was a big hit in its first staging at Kemper Lakes, in Kildeer. Troon manages Kemper Lakes now and also made a large contribution to the purse. No site is set for next year’s tourney, though.

Carrie Williams, the Illinois PGA executive director, said the first-round setup of 7,497 yards may have been the longest in the 76-year history of the tournament. In the final round the tee at No.18 was moved up to 287 yards, making it a rare drive-able par-4.

“We wanted to show off the full experience at Kemper Lakes,’’ she said. “Ideally we would like Kemper Lakes to be an anchor site.  We’d come  every two-three years, It wouldn’t be a representative state open if we didn’t travel a little.’’

FEDEX CUP UPDATE:  The Western Golf Association conducts its BMW Championship, second event of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, beginning on Thursday at Caves Valley in Maryland.

The 50-man field includes Illinois alums Thomas Detry and Brian Campbell.  Both need to climb into the top 30 on the FedEx point list to play in the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta next week. Detry stands 36^th and Campbell 39^th.  Campbell won the John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour stop, in July.

HERE AND THERE: Marty Schiene, who won three Illinois Opens in his tournament-playing days in the 1990s, has retired as the men’s coach at DePaul.  His replacement is Ryan Jamison, a DePaul alum who spent the last five years as a PGA Tour caddie for, among others, Akshay Bhatia and Brandon Wu.

Northern Illinois has named Ryan Stefko as the assistant to both men’s coach John Carlson and women’s coach Kim Keiser.

Jerry Rich has announced that Jasmine Ly, one of NIU’s top players, has become an ambassador for his Kids Golf Foundation.  Ly played in 45 tournaments for the Huskies and was the first NIU golfer to win the Mid American Conference women’s title.

Next big event on the Chicago District Golf Association schedule in the 33^rd Illinois State Mid-Amateur Aug. 18-19 at Inverness. Qualifying for the Illinois State Senior Amateur begins the same day play concludes at Inverness. The Illinois PGA will conduct the Illinois Super Senior Open Aug.19-20 at Pine Meadow, in Mundelein.

The GolfPass Academy will bring its clinic program at Chicago’s Harborside International on Aug. 21.  Lauren Thompsosn, former co-host of Golf Channel’s Morning Drive, will be the host.