Twenty club professionals qualified for next week’s PGA Championship at South Carolina’s Kiawah course at a 312-player elimination last month in Florida.  None of the qualifiers were members of the Illinois PGA session, but one of the 20 has deep Chicago area roots.

Brad Marek came out of Hersey High School, in Arlington Heights, where he won a sectional title as a senior in 2002.  He also won the Illinois Junior State Amateur and was the state’s Junior Player of the Year that year and captured the Illinois State Amateur at Crestwicke, in Bloomington, in 2005.

“A junior amateur legend, both in summer events and high school matches,’’ said long-time Hersey coach Dan Caporusso, who is headed to Kiawah to watch Marek play in his first major championship. He earned his spot against the world’s best players by finishing in a tie for eighth at the PGA Professionals Championship, posting a 3-under par 287 over 72 holes on the Wanamaker and Ryder courses at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, FL.

A three-time Academic All-American at Indiana, Marek turned pro in 2008 and was strictly a tournament player through 2017. He won 15 times on various mini-tours and had a couple near-misses in U.S. Open qualifiers but never earned a place in a PGA Tour event.  He did, however, come through in his first try at a PGA Championship berth.

Marek became a member of the PGA of America in 2019 and was eligible for its Professionals Championship for the first time in 2020, but the event was canceled due to pandemic concerns.

“It’s funny,’’ said Marek.  “I’ve been playing my best golf since I stopped playing full time.’’

He’s won five times since then, even though his main job is running a junior golf academy designed for students who want to play college golf.

“There’s quite a bit less pressure than there was when playing full-time was my only source of income,’’ said Marek.  “I’ve been practicing smarter because I don’t have as much time to work on my own game, and I’m enjoying the challenge of it.’’

Marek settled in Berkeley, Calif., in 2015 and teaches at Corica Park in Alameda. He returned to Chicago last week for a full-day session with Garrett Chaussard, the director of instruction at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, and he arrived at Kiawah for the first time on Tuesday – a full week before the tournament tees off on May 21. He’s lined up Clare Langford, a top amateur who lives in Oregon, to be his caddie again.  They teamed up at Florida in April and they’ll have a longer lead-in time time before the second major championship of 2021.

“I’ve heard Kiawah is a special place, and I heard from others who said they got worn out before the event when they played in their first major championship,’’ said Marek. “I’ll work longer the week before the tournament.’’

Caporusso and five other friends from Chicago will be on hand to cheer Marek on at Kiawah, and he plans to file regular reports on Instagram to keep others informed of his progress throughout the tournament.

CANTIGNY SURVIVORS: Two-time Illinois State Amateur champion Tee-K Kelly, of Wheaton, and Roselle’s Dan Stringfellow, a former Illinois prep champion who played collegiately at Auburn, shared honors with 4-under-par 68s at Monday’s U.S. Open local qualifier at Cantigny, in Wheaton.

Michael Schachner, an assistant coach at DePaul, was one shot behind the co-leaders and reigning Illinois Open chapion Bryce Emory, of Aurora and Tyler Isenhart, of Geneva, carded 71^s. They were the only players under par in the second Chicago local.  They’ll bid for played in the Open proper at Torrey Pines, in California, in sectional play next month.

Last of the three Illini local qualifiers will be Monday at Illini Country Club, in Springfield.

HERE AND THERE: Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Northwestern’s Irene Kim have been selected to play in the Arnold Palmer Cup matches at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove on June 11-13…..The Korn Ferry Tour’s Evans Scholars Invitational, coming up May 27-30 at The Glen Club  in Glenview, will have its first presenting sponsor.  First Midwest Bank will have that honor at the $600,000 event….B.J. Paul has been named director of player development at Bolingbrook….Nike golf camps will begin at Mistwood, in Romeoville, on June 7….The Illinois, Notre Dame and Northwestern men’s teams were all assigned to next week’s regional in Oklahoma with the top five teams and top individual going to the NCAA finals the following week at Grayhawk, in Arizona….Grand opening of the Youth Golf Development Center is scheduled for May 24 at Sunset Valley, in Highland Park….The Illinois PGA Foundation has begun a series of clinics for military veterans at Pine Meadow, in Mundelein, and Veterans Memorial, in North Chicago.

 

 

 

 

Mike Small couldn’t compete in last week’s PGA Professionals Championship in Florida – which offers a spot in the field for the PGA Championship coming up in two weeks at Kiawah in South Carolina – for one good reason.  He’s a college coach first and foremost and his Illinois team had to win the Big Ten Championship again.

Though Small was prevented from winning a major individual title for the fourth time, his team got the job done, capturing the Big Ten title for the sixth straight year and 11^th time in the last 12 at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind.

And now comes the good part.

As  as successful as the Illini have been in conference play, they have yet to win the NCAA title and their path to it starts on Wednesday when The Golf Channel announces the regional assignments for the national championship.  The Illini are hoping to be assigned to a May 17-19 regional at Sagamore, in Noblesville, Ind. – a good steppingstone for them to get to the NCAA finals.

Whether they get their preferred close-to-home regional assignment isn’t all that important.  The Illini, enduring an 11-month layoff from competition because of pandemic concerns, still won five tournaments and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the 13^th straight year.

“College golf is very thankful we could play this spring after being on the shelf for so long,’’ said Small, in his 17^th season guiding the Illini. “Winning the Big Ten is always special for the kids. You try to get as many wins as you can.’’

Illinois has a fine indoor facility to use in the winter months but its outdoor course, formerly Stone Creek and now called Atkins, is undergoing a renovation.

“We’re adding 800 yards and redoing all the bunkers and greens,’’ said Small, who expects the work to be completed next spring.  The NCAA finals will be long over by then.

This Illinois team has two solid seniors, Michael Feagles, who won the Big Ten’s Les Bolstad Award for low scoring average this season, and Belgium’s Giovanni Tadioto, who has also been on four straight Big Ten Championship teams.

Adrien DuMont de Chassard, a recruit from Belgium who tied for second individually in the conference tournament, is waiting in the wings to lead next year’s Illini as are junior Tommy Kuhl and sophomore Jerry Ji, a recruit from The Netherlands. They formed a solid starting five throughout the Illini season.

BEST AT DUBS:  Chicago’s first of three local qualifiers for the U.S. Open was dominated by Brian Bullington, a former University of Iowa golfer from Frankfort, on Monday.  He scorched the famed Dubsdread course at Cog Hill, in Palos Park, with a 7-under-par 65.

Four others advanced to sectional play – Jeremy Nevius, of Mountainside, Nev., who shot 67; Elmhurst’s Jordan Less, who plays for Northern Illinois, who posted a 68; and Chicago’s Larry Blatt and Zach Burry, of Appleton, Wis., who carded 70s.  Blatt is a former University of Illinois player.

Cog Hill hosted one of 109 local qualifiers that feed into the finals at Torrey Pines, in California, next month. Cantigny, in Wheaton, will host the next Chicago local qualifier on Monday and the final one in Illinois will be May 17 at Illini Country Club, in Springfield. Most of the local survivors will bid for spots at Torrey Pines in sectionals in Ohio later this month.

HERE AND THERE: Two of the top Midwest golf resorts have named new head professionals.  Mike Weiler, former head pro at Wynstone in Barrington, has taken over at Eagle Ridge in Galena and Ryan Brown, who had been at Eagle Ridge, is now in charge at Grand Geneva, in Wisconsin.  Dave Hallenbeck, who has been at Grand Geneva in various capacities for 48 years ,  is now the resort’s ambassador while planning for his retirement…..Luke Donald, the long-ago Northwestern star and former world No. 1, snapped a streak of 10 straight missed cuts on the PGA Tour with a tie for 54^th place showing in the Valspar Championship on Sunday……Brad Helms, one of the longest-running superintendents in the Chicago area, is retiring.  He’s been on the job at Palatine Hills for the last 39 years…..Abbey Daniel, of Covington , La., and Celine Herbin, of Doral, FL., were the survivors of last week’s qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Open at Kishwaukee, in DeKalb…..Foxford Hills, in Cary, will host a Pars in the Stars tournament teeing off a 7 p.m. on Saturday.

 

 

The first stage for selection to the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame has been completed, and the 27 nominees have been whittled to 10.

Among the finalists are three long-time club professionals – Doug Bauman, of Biltmore in North Barrington; Bruce Patterson, of Butler National in Oak Brook; and Tim O’Neal, of North Shore in Glenview. The Illinois PGA is also represented among the finalists by instructor Gary Pinns, the only player to win the Illinois Open five times; and Mike Miller, the IPGA’s long-time executive director.

Prominent among the other finalists is Jerry Rich, creator of Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove – a venue that has hosted the Solheim Cup, Western Amateur and Western Junior, the NCAA Championships and the Arnold Palmer Cup.  The Palmer event will be return to Rich Harvest in June.

Also in contention are Dr. Randy Kane, turfgrass expert for the Chicago District Golf Association; Dave Ryan, a Taylorville resident who has dominated the Illinois senior competition and won the 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur; nationally-known swing guru Dr. Jim Suttie; and the late Phil Kosin, who founded Chicagoland Golf magazine and the Illinois Women’s Open.

Selections are made every two years. The first induction class into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame was in 1989, and the group now has 85 members. A state-wide selection panel will whittle the current finalists to between three and five on May 25, and the induction ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1 at The Glen Club, in Glenview — the home of the Hall of Fame.

GHIM ON A ROLL: Doug Ghim, the PGA Tour rookie from Arlington Heights, padded his season bank account with a $62,943 payday thanks to a tie for 11^th in last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event.  Ghim, partnered with Justin Suh, climbed four places to No. 70 in the FedEx Cup rankings and he can climb higher with another good showing in this week’s Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbour, FL.

The Valspar was the first event canceled when the pandemic hit last March but this year it has one of its best fields ever.  Englishman Paul Casey is going for a three-peat but he’ll have to beat No. 1 Dustin Johnson, No. 2 Justin Thomas,  Phil Mickelson and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker – all rare entrants into the event. All three Illinois PGA Tour players – Kevin Streelman, Ghim and Luke Donald – are also in the field and Donald (2012) and Streelman (2013) are past winners of the tournament.

A Chicago connection could be worthwhile in the Valspar, as Innisbrook has a Chicago owner (Sheila Johnson) and all four of its courses were designed by legendary Chicago designer Larry Packard.

HERE AND THERE – Fifty players will compete for two spots in the Chicago qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Open tourney on Thursday (APRIL 29) at Kishwaukee, in DeKalb. The survivors advance directly to the June 3-6 finals at Olympic Club in San Francisco…..The first of the local qualifiers for the men’s U.S. Open is Monday (MAY 3) on Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course in Palos Park.  Eight-four players will compete for spots in sectional play….The University of Illinois men’s team notched its fourth team title of the season last week in Ohio State’s Kepler Invitational.  Coach Mike Small’s Illini team goes after its sixth straight Big Ten title and 11^th in the last 12 years beginning Friday at Crooked Stick, in Carmel, Ind….Chris French, playing out of Aldeen, in Rockford, headed three players with Illinois backgrounds to survive the first cut in the 54^th PGA Professionals Championship, which is in progress at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, FL.  French is in a tie for 36^th place through two rounds and is nine shots behind leader Omar Uresti.  Dakun Chang, formerly Twin Orchard in Long Grove but now living in Jupiter, FL., and Andy Mickelson, director of golf at Mistwood in Romeoville,l are tied for 51^st place  and are one stroke behind  French. The tourney ends on Wednesday…..Patrick Lynch, who recently retired after a long career as head professional at Cantigny, in Wheaton, is now the golf event manager at Bolingbrook….Patrick O’Donoghue is the new general manager at Deerpath, in Lake Forest.

 

 

 

 

The PGA Tour’s most unusual tournament has an unusual pairing this week.

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a two-man team event that tees off on Thursday at TPC-Louisiana, with teams competing at best-ball on Thursday and Saturday and using the alternate shot format on Friday and Sunday.

Played for the fourth time this week, it’s the only official team event on the PGA Tour schedule, and it also  includes a “Team Illinois’’ – well, sort of.

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, the Chicago area’s premier PGA Tour player, is paired with Dylan Frittelli, the defending champion in the state’s only annual PGA Tour stop – the John Deere Classic. Frittelli, who played collegiately at Texas, had his professional breakthrough when he won the JDC at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis in 2019.

Frittelli hasn’t made his title defense yet because last year’s much-anticipated 50^th anniversary of the event was canceled due to pandemic concerns. Now that milestone, together with Frittelli’s bid for a repeat title will be played from July 8-11. Both the JDC and the Zurich Classic were canceled in 2020 due to pandemic issues.

Streelman has a frequent competitor in the JDC, but never won it. Frittelli had never finished higher than a tie for 18^th in a PGA Tour event until he won the JDC – a victory that stirred memories of another player who won for the first time in the Quad Cities.

Frittelli was a senior when Jordan Spieth was a freshman at Texas.  Their Longhorn team won the 2012 NCAA title. Spieth immediately turned pro, won the JDC twice along and eventually also captured the  Masters and U.S .Open in 2015 and the British Open in 2017.

“Jordan came in (to Texas) as the most highly recruit player,’’ recalled Frittelli in reflecting on his JDC win.  “He had a chip on his shoulder, and we pushed each other.  I beat him in more tournaments than he beat me at the college level.’’

Both are still Texans, Spieth residing in Dallas and the South African-born Frittelli in Austin. Frittelli had tried to play on both the U.S. and European tours, but the win at the JDC changed that. He’s now an American-based player. His pairing with Streelman for this week’s tourney was announced during last week’s RBC Heritage Classic. Both let good finishes slip away with shaky final rounds on Sunday.

Streelman finished with a 73 and tied for 33^rd place in the Heritage.  Frittelli shot 74 on Sunday and dropped to a tie for 56^th. Both are trying to improve their positions in the FedEx Cup Playoff standings.  Streelman is No. 70 and Frittelli No. 96.

Doug Ghim, the PGA Tour rookie from Arlington Heights, is No. 74 in those standings.  He didn’t fizzle on Sunday in Hilton Head, shooting a 66 to climb 22 spots to a tie for 33^rd with Streelman.  Ghim will also play in New Orleans. His partner will be Justin Suh.

LIPSKY’S ON A ROLE:  David Lipsky may finally have landed himself a spot on the PGA Tour.  Now 32, the Northwestern alum has been the runner-up in the last two tournaments on the PGA’s satellite Korn Ferry Tour.

Now a Las Vegas resident, Lipsky climbed from No. 8 all the way to No. 4 on the Korn Ferry point list thanks to a 65 on Sunday that boosted him 21 places on the tourney leaderboard.  He just needs to stay in the top 25 to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2021-22 season.

Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, a Korn Ferry rookie, also had a strong tournament in finishing in a tie for fifth, but he remained No. 19 in the point standings.

HERE AND THERE: The Chicago District Golf Association has taken over sponsorship of Dave Lockhart’s Golf360 show on NBC Sports Chicago.  It’ll make its season debut on June 5 from Michigan’s Harbor Shores course…..Cog Hill, in Palos Park, has added Top Tracer technology and will soon add lights spectator seats to its driving range..…Heritage Oaks, formerly Sportsman’s in Northbrook, will offer Trackman on its range.  The facility, undergoing a major renovation, is targeted for a late-July opening….. Jeff Sluman, making a rare return to PGA Tour Champions after returning as a Chicago area resident, tied for 24^th in last week’s Chubb’s Classic in Florida.

 

 

This could be a big week for those who follow the Northwestern golf program.  Three former Wildcats’ stars return from a week off during the Masters to take on potential career-changing challenges.

Luke Donald, the greatest player in NU in NU history, will be on the comeback trail at a course that has been good to him in the past and David Lipsky and Dylan  Wu – stars of recent vintage – will be back on the Korn Ferry Tour with  PGA Tour cards hanging in the balance.

Donald, now 43, was the world’s No. 1-ranked player for 55 weeks in 2011 and 2012. Beset by long-time  back problems, he’s now ranked No. 577 after missing nine straight cuts on the PGA Tour but he remains hopeful.  Donald will be in the field at this week’s RBC Heritage Classic, which tees off on Thursday in Hilton Head, S.C., and he also figures to get a start in the Valspar Championship later this month.

If Donald is to regain prominence on the PGA circuit, April could be a key month. He has a great history at both the Heritage and Valspar events, and they could be a springboard in his comeback plans.

Donald never won the Heritage, but he finished second  three times and third twice on the Harbour Town Links course.  His last of 16 second-place finishes on the PGA Tour came at the Heritage in 2017.

His last PGA Tour victory came in 2012 at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead course, the site of the Valspar Championship in two weeks. The event was called the Transitions Championship when Donald won there.

The last staging of the Valspar was at Innisbrook in 2019, when Donald finished in a tie for ninth. He seemed on the way back to regaining his top form then, but it didn’t happen and the Valspar was canceled in 2020 due to pandemic issues.

Born in England and now a long-time resident of  Jupiter, FL., Donald has  over $36 million in career tournament winnings since his graduation from NU in 2001.  He played on four European Ryder Cup teams and in 2011 became the first player to win money titles on both the U.S. and European PGA tours. He has remained close to NU and the Chicago golf community through his many charitable efforts.

In addition to Donald the other two Chicago-connect PGA Tour players —  Kevin Streelman and Doug Ghim – will return to action in the Heritage after sitting out Masters week.

UP-AND-COMING: On the Korn Ferry front, neither Lipsky nor Wu has approached the success that Donald did in his 18-year pro career after leaving Northwestern but they appear on the brink of making it to the PGA circuit. The Korn Ferry  sends its Top 25 to the PGA Tour at the end of the season and Lipsky is No. 8 and Wu No. 20 going into this week’s MGM Resorts Championship in Las Vegas.

Lipsky, 32, was a 2011 NU graduate and Wu, 24, finished up in Evanston in 2018. Lipsky had a shot at winning the last tourney on the Korn Ferry circuit two weeks ago but lost in a playoff to Germany’s Stephan Jaeger.  Wu has had two runner-up finishes on the PGA’s developmental circuit.  They have 16 tournaments left before The Top 25 is determined.

HERE AND THERE: The Golfers on Golf Radio Show begins its 31^st season on Saturday  in a new  time slot – 4 p.m. –on WCPT (820-AM).  Rory Spears, Ed Stevenson and Bill Berger return as the hosts….After two seasons at Illinois Noah Gillard has transferred to Indiana.  From Greenwood Ind., Gillard won the Indiana Amateur and Indiana Amateur Match Play titles in 2020….Mistwood, in Romeoville, will host its Pick Your Pin Scramble on Saturday and will also be the site of the Illinois PGA’s first in-state event of the year, the Pro-Pro-Pro Scramble on Monday, April 19….The popular Friday Night Fish Fry at White Deer Run, in Vernon Hills, will continue through April and May…..Entries are already closed for the first two events on the Chicago District Golf Association schedule, qualifiers for the CDGA Mid- Amateur Championship on April 26 at Maple Meadows, in Wood Dale, and April 28 at Palatine Hills….As for now the June 11-13 Arnold Palmer Cup, an international team event coming to Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, will be closed to the public because of pandemic concerns.

 

 

This week’s golf focus will be entirely on the Masters. No other pro tours are playing, and the Chicago influence at Augusta National will be minimal. Kevin Streelman, Doug Ghim and Luke Donald – the PGA Tour members with Chicago connections – didn’t qualify.

Sunday’s Drive, Chip & Putt national finals staged at Augusta National did have two Chicago qualifiers – Reese Wallace of South Barrington and Logan Keeter of Northbrook.  Reese finished sixth and Logan eighth in the 10-11 age division.

There is one recent round to celebrate, though.  On Sunday Northbrook’s Nick Hardy shot a sizzling 60 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Emerald Coast Classic in Sandestin, FL.  With nines of 30-30, Hardy was 10-under-par on the par-70 Raven Golf Club course.

Hardy, 25, is a rookie on the Korn Ferry circuit, which is a direct feeder to the PGA Tour.  The top 25 on the circuit’s point list at the end of the season get PGA Tour privileges for the 2021-22 season and Hardy stands 19^th at the moment.

Sunday’s round was by far the career  best for the University of Illinois graduate.  His previous low on the Korn Ferry circuit was a 63. The hot round enabled Hardy to climb 47 places on the leaderboard in the final 18 on Sunday, as he finished in a tie for 17^th place.

On the all-important point list, though, he moved up only one spot – from No. 20 to No. 19 in the battle for next season’s PGA Tour cards.

Germany’s Stephan Jaeger, who won the Emerald Classic,  finished eight shots ahead of Hardy.  Jaeger, who was at 14 -under for the 72 holes, needed an extra hole to get the win. He got it when Northwestern alum David Lipsky made bogey on the first hole of a two-man playoff.  That made Jaeger’s par good enough for the victory, his sixth on the Korn Ferry circuit.  In 2017 he captured the Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe.

Hardy, though, got a big boost from his hot round.  Since the season resumed in February he had struggled a bit, making the cut in two of three tournaments prior to the Emerald Coast Classic. He  finished down the leaderboard in both and dropped two places on the point list.

Prior to the resumption of Korn Ferry play, however Hardy survived two of three Monday qualifiers for PGA Tour events and made his chances on the more lucrative premier circuit count.  He won the final spot in a three-man playoff at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and then tied for 14^th in the main event, which meant a $113,850 payday.  He also Monday qualified at Phoenix and tied for 42^nd after a 68-67 start. The money earned in those events help his bank account, but not his Korn Ferry standing. He’ll have to keep playing well to keep his spot in the top 25.

Lipsky (No. 8) and Dylan Wu, another Northwestern alum who is No. 20,  are also in good position to move up to the next level. Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger, at No. 30, is also close to advancing to the PGA Tour with 19 Korn Ferry events remaining. The next is the MGM Resorts Championship, which tees off in Las Vegas on April 15.

The Korn Ferry’s annual Chicago stop,  the Evans Scholars Invitational, begins its four-day run at The Glen Club in Glenview on May 27.

 

 

 

This week’s PGA Tour event, the Valero Texas Open, is the last stop before next week’s Masters and it has some unlikely names in the field.

From the national stage there’s Dustin Johnson and Ricky Fowler.  Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, was a late entry.  Apparently feeling the need for another competitive tuneup after failing to contend in last week’s World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play, Johnson will playing in the Texas stop for the first time since 2015.

Fowler also needs to play well if he’s to keep his streak of Masters appearances alive.  He has played at Augusta every year since 2010 but isn’t qualified for this year’s event yet.

Carlos Sainz Jr., the 2016 Illinois Open champion, will also get back in a PGA Tour event after several years of trying.  He played on the circuit in 2015 but lost his playing privileges for failure to meet money-winning standards. Now he’s a club professional in Houston.

Sainz, who set an Illinois Open scoring record with his five-shot victory at Royal Fox in St. Charles, competed on the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour and also played with limited success on the Canadian and Latinoamerica circuits before entering the club professional ranks last year. He proved he could still play, winning the title in his Texas PGA section to get a spot in the Valero Texas Open.

Born in Chicago and growing up in Elgin, Sainz attended Larkin High School and had great success in the Chicago area before making a run at the big tours following his collegiate days at Mississippi State.  Before his hot tournament at Royal Fox six years ago Sainz lost an Illinois Open title in a playoff and won the now defunct Chicago Open in 2013.

His best finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for ninth in the Sanderson Farms Classic but he last played regularly on any of the pro tours since 2018 when he missed the cut 11 times in 21 events on the PGA’s Korn Ferry circuit.

BROADCASTING CHANGE:  The Golfers on Golf Radio show was to open its 31^st season on Saturday but the host Rory Spears said the show has  opted to move in a new direction from previous Chicago golf show broadasts.

Virtually all have been weekend morning shows over the years, but Golfers on Golf will be an afternoon attraction. It’ll  take a 4 p.m. time slot on WCPT (820-AM) on Saturdays, starting on April 17. Ed Stevenson and Bill Berger return as co-hosts with Spears.

“We could have started the season earlier with a return to our previous station (WNDZ, 750-AM) but the response was overwhelmingly positive to our move to WCPT in 2020, so we decided to stay there in 2021,’’ said Spears.  “This also allows us to keep most of our production crew together and gives us the opportunity to reach a bigger audience, as we’ll be live during the third rounds of PGA Tour events or major championships.’’

STREELMAN SITS: Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, the best of the Chicago area PGA players, decided against taking one more shot at a spot in the Masters in Texas.  He reached the Sweet 16 of last week’s Match Play event before losing to eventual champion Billy Horschel.

His reward for reaching th quarter-finals was $189,000, and that pushed Streelman  over the $1 million mark in winnings for the 2020-21 season. He’s 60^th on the season money list and No. 56 in the Official World Golf Rankings.  The top 50 after the Valero Texas Open qualify for the Masters.

Despite Streelman’s absence, the field in Texas includes three players with Illinois connections – Doug Ghim, Luke Donald and D.A. Points. Former world No. 1 Donald missed his eighth straight cut on the PGA Tour in last week’s secondary stop in the Dominican Republic. Ghim, in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, didn’t compete last week.  He had brief third-round leads in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players events before final round of 81 and 78 dertailed his chances. Points, a PGA Tour veteran, is in the field on a medical exemption.

HERE AND THERE: Golf Now! Chicago is now available in both print and digital versions.  Publisher Cheryl Justak is marking the 19^th year for Chicago’s premier golf destination guide…..The first Augusta National Women’s Amateur, played in 2019 before the pandemic, had three Illinois players in the field.  The second version tees off on Wednesday without any.  It’ll be strong, though, with 28 of the top 30 in the women’s amateur world rankings included in the 85  who will complete the 54-hole event on Saturday as the first attraction of Masters Week…..Like the ANWA, the Drive, Chip & Putt national finals weren’t held when the Masters was last played in November.  The 2020 finals will be staged on  Sunday with Reese Wallace of South Barrington and Logan Keeter of Northbrook representing the Chicago area.

 

This may be the best week of this golf season. At least those who love match play competition will feel that way.

The World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play tees off on Wednesday on  the Pete Dye-designed Austin Country Club course in Texas, .and Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman is in the elite 64-player field. Every player has matches on the first three days.  Then the winners of the 16 four-man groups settle the championship in weekend matches.

With Doug Ghim and Luke Donald not qualified for the event Streelman is the lone player with Chicago ties in the field, and he may be facing his last chance to qualify for the Masters – the first major championship of the season.  It tees off in two weeks at Georgia’s Augusta National.

Streelman will probably have to win either this week or at next week’s Valero Texas Open to get into the Masters field.  A win will get him in, and so will a ranking in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Streelman has struggled to crack the top 50 since the last two tournaments of the 2020 portion of the PGA Tour’s wrap-around season.

He goes into the Match Play at No. 58 in the rankings and the top 50 after the Valero Texas Open make it.

Streelman has had his chances to get the high finish that would propel him up in the rankings.  Last week he was done in by the fearsome Bear Trap – the three-hole stretch on holes 15-17 at PGA National, the Florida site of the Honda Classic. Two are par-3s and the other a par-4, and they may be the toughest stretch on the PGA Tour – at least they were for Streelman last week.

In the first round of the Honda Streelman made bogey on all three holes of the Bear Trap. That put him in trouble, but he made eagle at No. 18 to salvage a 69 and get back into contention. In Round 2 he made a double bogey at No. 15, in the third he had a bogey at the 16^th and on Sunday he made bogey at the 17^th and added to his problems with a finishing bogey on the par-5 18^th.

During his four rounds on the three-hole stretch Streelman made just two birdies, so he was 5-over-par on those holes and the bogey to finish the tournament was a killer, as it dropped Streelman into a tie for 36^th place.

The Match Play represents a good opportunity  to bounce back, though.  Streelman will battle three foreign players – Norway’s Victor Hovland, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger – for the the group’s spot in this weekend’s Sweet 16. At No. 53 Streelman has the highest seed in that group.  Hovland, playing the tournament for the first time, is No. 13, Ancer No. 27 and Wiesberger No. 43.

Sunday’s champion gets $1.82 million from a $10.5 million purse and the last-place finisher receives $35,000.

HERE AND THERE:  Luke Donald will compete in the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship,  the PGA Tour’s alternate event in the Dominican Republic this week, while Doug Ghim is taking the week off…The Golfers on Golf Radio show will begin its 31^st season on April 3 on WNBZ (750-AM)…Foxford Hills, in Cary, has scheduled its Spring Scramble for April 3….Lohman Quitno Architects will begin a $2.5 million renovation of Abbey Springs, in Fontana, WI., in August….Troon Golf has been named to manage Atkins Golf Club in Urbana, the home course of the University of Illinois teams that was formerly called Stone Creek….The Patriot Education Classic has been scheduled for June 1 at Aurora Country Club.

 

 

 

 

Doug Ghim is making progress as a PGA Tour rookie, no doubt about that.

The 24-year old who grew up in Arlington Heights and attended Buffalo Grove High School before graduating from the University of Texas made the cut in five of his six tournaments in 2020, his best finish being a tie for 14^th in the Bermuda Championship.

Most of the top players  competed only spaaringly in those fall events of the PGA’s wrap-around 2020-21 season, but Ghim has been up to their challenge in the 2021 events. In the first seven of those he made the cut in five and had his best finish – a tie for fifth in the American Express Championship in January.

The last two weeks have been more revealing, however.

While his finishes haven’t been great Ghim has learned what it’s like at the top of a PGA Tour leaderboard.  He made it to that lofty position in the third round of both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.  His time at the top in both Florida stops was limited, but at least he got there.

Now Ghim’s problem is staying in contention. Getting in the hunt on “moving day’’ hasn’t been a problem, but finishing the job in Sunday’s final round has.

In the API at Bay Hill he was leading for only a few minutes, and in last week’s Players he was in command for only a few holes. At Bay Hill he got into contention by shooting a 65 in the third round but followed it with  a horrendous 81 in the final round.  The result? A drop of 29 spots on the leaderboard to a tie for 36^th.

The strongest field of the season was on hand last week at The Players, and Ghim came charging on Saturday with a 68 after shooitng a 67 on Friday . He gained the lead on the 14^th hole before surrendering it before the day was out to Lee Westwood, the runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau at Bay Hill.

Ghim wound up with Justin Thomas as his final round playing partner.  They went off in front of the final twosome – DeChambeau and Westwood.  The moment was not lost on Ghim.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m 257^th in the world (rankings),’’ Ghim told the media members gathered around him after the pairings were announced.  “To be associated with that (leaderboard pairing) is an honor and it’s a dream come true.  It’s definitely something that I always thought I could get to, and I’m just grateful to have the chance.’’

The next day Ghim learned, again, how difficult it is to win on the PGA Tour.  He shot 78 and dropped 26 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 29^th.

His two runs at the top of the leaderboard helped Ghim enjoy good paydays –$42,981 at Bay Hill and $96,125 at The Players – but the checks could have been much larger had Ghim held his game together when the pressure was the greatest.

Ghim didn’t look ahead after he held sole possession of the lead with four holes left in Round 3 at The Players.

“My goal was to get to the clubhouse, post a good number, be around the lead,’’ said Ghim.. “ Having the lead is great but it really, really doesn’t matter until you walk off the 18^th hole (with it on Sunday).’’

While most of the tournaments on the PGA Tour have been played without fans, there were noticeable galleries the last two weeks. Ghim, whose parents are from Korea, was paired South Korea’s Sungjae Im the first rwo rounds.

“There was some confusion of who was who when I  played with Sungjae, and that was pretty funny,’’ said Ghim, “but it was great to have the fans back.  It was great to have my first Players be with fans.  It’s just not quite the same experience without a fan base.’’

A year ago The Players event was canceled after the first round when pandemic concerns exploded. More fans will likely know who Ghim is this week when the circuit moves to another Florida stop — the Honda Classic, at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.

As was the case after Bay Hill, Ghim took Sunday’s final round struggles in stride and felt he learned something watching playing partner Thomas  come from behind to grab the victory.  He congratulated Thomas in a tweet after the tournament.

“It was an honor to see it unfold, and can’t wait to draw back on the experience.  Looking forward to being in a similar experience soon,’’ tweeted Ghim.

For the first time this season three Chicago PGA Tour players – Ghim, Kevin Streelman and Luke Donald  — will be in the same event.

 

 

Jerry Rich, the owner of Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, arrived in Florida last week while the Arnold Palmer Invitational was in progress in Orlando and he’s already looking forward to the Arnold Palmer Cup – the first big tournament of the Chicago season.  It’ll be played at Rich Harvest from June 11-13.

“I’m so excited because I’m all about amateur golf,’’ said Rich, who has hosted 52 amateur events at Rich Harvest.  They included the 2015 Arnold  Palmer Cup, the 2015 Western Amateurs and the 2017 NCAA men’s and women’s finals.

Rich believes this 25^th playing of the Arnold Palmer Cup could be his biggest tournament yet. The event matches teams of college stars ,one consisting of players from the United States and other an International squad. Unlike the 2015 playing this one will have men’s and women’s competition.

“I’m hoping the whole city of Chicago will turn out for it,’’ said Rich.  “I expect a lot of spectators because you can’t believe how good these collegiate players are today. These kids are unbelievable.’’

Rich is expecting crowds between 5,000 and 10,000 – much like those on the pro tours so far this year — but believes they could be bigger if pandemic restrictions are reduced.

“With our event being in June, I’m hoping that will be all over,’’ said Rich. “I’ve got space for 10,000 cars and would like to see 30,000 (spectators).’’

TOUR EDGE TIDBITS:  Batavia-based Tour Edge rocked PGA Tour Champions with its recent signing of Bernhard Langer, the circuit’s best player, but it was another Tour Edger — Tom Petrovic — who made the bigger splash in the Cologuard Championshi8p in Arizona last week.

Petrovic made two holes-in-one in the tournament, the first Champions player to accomplish that feat in 17 years.  Both were made with Tour Edge’s Exotics EXS Pro Forged irons. He made his aces at No.16 at Omni Tucson National in Round 1 of the 54-hole event and connected again at No. 14 in Round 2.

Petrovic tied for sixth in the Cologuard event, six strokes behind champion Kevin Sutherland. Langer tied for 14^th.

COUNTDOWN TO AUGUSTA: Reese Wallace, of South Barrington, and Logan Keeter, of Northbrook, had a long wait to get to Augusta National, the site of next month’s  Masters, but now their coveted trip is less than a month away.  They’ll compete in the 2020 finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals on April 4, even with the 2021 qualifying events already in progress.

The two Chicago area youngsters are among the 80 nation-wide who earned spots in the 2020 finals before pandemic concerns forced the Masters to reschedule its tournament from the usual April dates until November.  The club opted to further postpone the Drive, Chip and Putt preliminary, scheduling it before this year’s Masters. The two Chicago qualifiers will compete in the 10-11 age division.

This year’s Drive, Chip and Putt registration opened on March 2 and the elimination process will carry into the fall before the 80 qualifiers for Augusta at the 2022 Masters are determined.

TOUR TALK: Doug Ghim, the PGA Tour rookie from Arlington Heights, was briefly tied for the lead during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational while he was en route to posting a 65.  He faded to an 81 in Sunday’s final round, however and finished in a tie for 36^th place. That meant a $42,381 payday.

Ghim, as well as Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, will be in the field for The Players Championship, which tees off Thursday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, FL. Streelman is coming off a two-week break from tournament play. The Players was halted after one round in 2020 when pandemic concerns kicked in on March 12.  Play didn’t resume until June 11.

Winnetka’s Elizabeth Szokol, Chicago’s only player on the LPGA tour, earned her first check of 2021 in the circuit’s third tournament when she finished tied for 34^th in the Drive On Championship in Ocala, FL., on Sunday. She earned $8,499.

BOOST FOR ESI: The number of spectators at the Chicago area’s only pro tour event of the year is uncertain, but those that do get into the May 27-30 Evans Scholars Invitational won’t have to pay an admission charge.

The PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour event will be back at The Glen Club, in Glenview, with Servpro of Glenview covering the ticket charges.  Servpro specializes in the cleanup and restoration of residential and commercial properties after fire, smoke or water damage and offers a wide range of cleaning services. The tournament proceeds go to the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars Foundation.

HERE AND THERE: Golftec has opened a state-of-the-art instruction and club fitting center in Schaumburg…The Under Armour Junior Tour for boys and girls 6-18 has announced its Chicago spring schedule.  First event is April 11 at Cantigny, in Wheaton.  Other stops are April 17 at Downers Grove, April 25 at Zigfield Troy in Woodridge, May 1 at Cog Hill in Palos Heights, May 15 at Flagg Creek in Countryside and May 22 at Rob Roy in Prospect Heights…..University of Illinois senior Michael Feagles is the Big Ten Golfer of the Week for the second straight w afeekter leading the Illini to victories in their first two tournaments of the year……Troon, a leading club management, development and marketing company, has opened a new corporate office in Chicago.