Jordan Spieth was just a kid – albeit a very promising golfer – when he played in the John Deere Classic for the first time in 2013.

To say he took advantage of the opportunity is putting it mildly.  Not only did he win the title in the only annual PGA Tour event left in Illinois, his win was the stuff of legends and the golf community in the Quad Cities area – which embraces Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa – never forgot.

After missing the tournament the last nine years, Spieth returns to the JDC this week. The event begins its 72-hole run on Thursday (TOMORROW) at TPC Deere Run in Silvis.

Spieth was 19 when he won his first title in the John Deere Classic. After barely a year of college golf at Texas he had one runner-up finish and six other top-10s in his first PGA Tour season – but Spieth didn’t win until he got to TPC Deere Run.

Then he holed a 44-foot bunker shot for birdie on the last hole of regulation play – his fifth birdie in six holes – to get into a playoff.  A tense six holes later he  knocked off defending champion  and Iowa favorite Zach Johnson and Canadian David Hearn to  become only the fourth teen-ager to win on the PGA Tour, and the first since 1931.

The Spieth story didn’t end there.  He was no one-day  wonder, winning 11 tournaments in his first four years on tour including three major championships.  After finishing seventh in his title defense in 2014 Spieth won the JDC in another  playoff in 2015 — a season he which he also won both the Masters and U.S. Open.

And then Spieth moved on from the event that got his pro career off to such a great start.

“There’s no shortage of playing opportunities,’’ said Andrew Lehman, who replaced Clair Peterson as JDC tournament director in 2023.  “A player will play in 18 to 24 tournament a year and he’ll have 40 to choose from.’’

Spieth chose the JDC only once since his last appearance, but that didn’t work out well.  He was on the grounds but withdrew because of an injury without teeing off. The JDC staff never gave up on bringing Spieth back, however.

“We never stopped trying,’’ said Lehman. “A lot of people felt he’d never be back, but we kept working with him and his team. This year we worked with them for two-three months, but I thought it wasn’t going to happen because it was taking so long and we weren’t hearing anything.  Then (about two weeks ago) they called and said that he had committed.  We’re super excited. He’s the main guy on our sponsor visits that people always asked about.’’

Signature events — big money, small field, no-cut tournaments put on by the PGA Tour as part of its battle with the LIV Tour – were a threat to smaller tournaments.  The JDC doesn’t have Signature status, but the tournament has coped with that dilemma.

“It’s been a tumultuous 18 months in the game of professional golf,’’ said Lehman, “but the last two years have worked in our favor.’’

This year the last of eight Signature events was the Travelers, in Connecticut.  It was played two weeks before the JDC, and only the British Open (July 18-21) is left among the sport’s four majors. That left the JDC with a good week to get top players.

Spieth wasn’t the only one to fit it into its schedule.  Jason Day is back after making just a few appearances in the Quad Cities early in his career.  Sepp Straka is the defending champion.

“Our field this year is the deepest we’ve ever been,’’ said Lehman.  “It’s hard to put a field together, especially when you throw in a holiday with it (the first round coincides with Thursday’s Fourth of July). But the dates this year benefitted us.’’

CDGA Amateur final

Winnetka’s Tyler Greeenspahn, a 19-year old Southern California student, was two-down with two holes to play in the 36-hole championship match of the 104^th Chicago District Amateur but he rallied to beat Roselle’s Dan Stringfellow, a Medinah member, on the third hole of a sudden death playoff at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club.

Jarrett Fultz, of Queen City, Ariz., was the overall champion at the Chicago Adaptive Open on Cog Hill’s No. 3 course.  Fultz, 23, was born with cerebral palsy that impacts his putting stroke but he shot 77-71 in the tournament rounds.  Ryanne Jackson, of Madeira Beach, FL, was the women’s overall winner and Kirk Holmberg, of Hutchinson, KS., was the senior overall champion.

Andy Svoboda, the new head pro at Butler National in Oak Brook, has been named to the 10-man U.S. team for the 31^st PGA Cup matches against Great Britain and Ireland Sept. 10-15 at Sunriver, in Oregon.

 

 

Marty Neal, the Libertyville Township Highway Commissioner, has long been an avid golfer. Now 61, he’s been playing for 40 years – and that’s since he lost his right hand after it got caught in a meat-grinder when he was 15.

On May 10 he made his first hole-in-one when his tee shot on the 11^th hole at Shepherd’s Crook, in Zion, fell into the cup.  That was a thrill, but not nearly as excited as Neal felt after learning about the inaugural Chicago Adaptive Open.

Created by the Chicago District Golf Association with guidance from Jonathan Snyder, head of the Chicago-based United States Adaptive Golf Alliance, the event will bring together the world’s best golfers with physical and intellectuual disabilities on Cog Hill’s No. 3 course in Lemont this weekend.

There will be 53 competitors, 49 of them men and 20 in the senior category.  They’ll have a practice round on Friday (JUNE 28) and tournament rounds Saturday and Sunday (JUNE 29-30). The tournament rounds will start at 10:10 a.m. both days.

Adaptive golf is growing, and the Chicago event on one of that city’s premier courses, is further evidence of that.

The Cog Hill complex has 72 holes and its No. 4 course, Dubsdread, was the long-time site of the Western Open and hosted a variety of competitions including the U.S. Amateur and BMW Championship. Now the facility will  host one of the first Adaptive tournaments on Dubsdread’s companion course.

Neal, son of the late Libertyville mayor Paul Ryan, has a handicap index of 16 —  not too shabby for a senior player who swings a club with just his left arm.  He plays in a weekly league and frequents suburban courses like Countryside and Pine Meadow, in Mundelein; White Deer Run, in Vernon Hills; and Lake Bluff.

The Chicago Adaptive Open will be an entirely different golf experience, however. Neal promptly paid the $200 entry fee,  went through an elaborate registration process with the European  Handicapped Golf Association,  lined up two sons and his older brother to be his caddies and then took the adventure even further.

“I’m just a regular guy, an average golfer who – on a good day – can shoot in the high 80s or low 90s,’’ said Neal.  “It’ll be so cool to meet someone who is good at golf who has a disability like mine, but I’m also a research participant at the Shirley Ryan Rehabilitating Lab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago).’’

He also serves as a model for students learning to build prosthetics in a Masters program at Northwestern University. He wanted to connect the CDGA, the Shirley Ryan Lab and Northwestern, figuring that all three parties would want to have a presence in the Chicago Adaptive Open. He’ll wear Shirley Ryan apparel in the competition.

The competition will be serious stuff, too.   The event a $15,000 purse, which Snyder says marks the first time prize money will be part of an adaptive golf competition.  The first three finishers in each of 17 sports classifications will get cash prizes. Adaptive events are on the rise since the U.S. Golf Association created a national championship a couple years ago.  Some states, notably Georgia and Indiana, also have their own competitions.

Competitive categories are based on impairment, such as lower limb, arm and visual. Adaptive golf already has its celebrity competitors who are expected at Cog Hill.  Dennis Walters is a World Golf Hall of Famer who has his own television show.  Paralyzed from the waist down he’ll compete in the seated golfers category.

Ryanne Jackson, from Florida, was the overall women’s champion at the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open, staged at Pinehurst – the North Carolina base for the recent U.S. Open. Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of 19, she competed collegiately at Eastern Illinois.

Evan Mathias, born with congenital defects to both legs, has been on prosthetics since he was one year old.  He won the Indiana Adaptive Championship in May, shooting 5-under-par golf over 36 holes and then taking the title in a four-hole playoff.

HERE AND THERE: The Evanston Wilmette Golf Course Association and Kemper Sports have announced the rebranding of Canal Shores, a 100-year old par-60 course that is being upgraded in preparation for a re-opening in 2025.  The course will be renamed The Evans at Canal Shores, underscoring its connection to the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars Foundation.

David Paeglow, head professional at Kishwaukee in DeKalb, captured the Illinois Senior Open for the second time.  He was the only player under par, posting a 2-under 142 over 36 holes at Hawthorn Woods. Next stop for him is this week’s U.S. Senior Open in Newport, R.I.

Parker Sands, of Edmond, Okla., captured the 106^th playing of the Western Junior at Ruth Lake, in Hinsdale.  Sand won by six strokes after posting a 72-hole scored of 10-under-par 270

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Illinois Women’s State Amateur had been conducted by the downstate-based Illinois Women’s Golf Association for 90 years before the IWGA – beset by a loss of members – turned the event over to the Chicago District Golf Association this year.

While the site remained at The Grove, in Long Grove, the shift in leadership produced a significant boost to women’s golf in the state.

The CDGA changed the format from match play to a 54-hole stroke play event, and last week’s tourney produced a wire-to-wire winner in Buffalo Grove’s Haeri Lee. The 24-year old Drake University alum posted rounds of 72, 70 and 76, and her 2-over-par 218 was good for a one-stroke win over Geneva’s Sarah Arnold.

Not only did Lee benefit from the format change, her reward for winning was upgraded, too.  An exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur, coming up Aug. 5-11 at Southern Hills in Oklahoma, was also part of the winner’s prize and that was a major incentive in getting Lee to enter. In past years the field for the national tourney was decided only in a series of nation-wide qualifiers.

“It’s been a long-time goal of mine,’’ said Lee.  “I was always kind of close, but I was struggling the last few years, and this was a confidence boost. I’m super excited, and super happy.’’

Now the Women’s State Am has become a more demanding test than the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open, in which both pros and amateurs compete together.  The 29^th IWO, coming up July 22-23 at Mistwood in Romeoveille, is played at only 36 holes.

While Lee never surrendered the lead in the Amateur, she did have to survive a final-round charge by playing partner Arnold, who made four birdies in a five-hole stretch to pull into a share of the lead with five holes left in regulation.

Arnold, who plays collegiately at Western Kentucky, won the State Am in 2019 and 2023.  She is the only multiple-winner  since Kerry Postillion won the last of her five titles in 2007.

RADIX CUP ROUT:  The Illinois PGA’s top players walloped the Chicago District’s amateur stars 16-2 in the 62^nd playing of the Radix Cup matches at Oak Park Country Club.  It was the largest margin of victory in the series and gave the IPGA a 38-22-2 lead in the rivalry.

This Radix Cup was special, as the professionals honored long-time Oak Park head pro Steve Dunning, who passed away less than a week before last week’s competition.  Carson Solien, the club’s host pro, was part of the IPGA victory and honored Dunning.

“We’ll miss him,’’ said Solien.  “He was an integral part of Oak Park, and a great guy.’’ The American flag behind the clubhouse flew at half staff in Dunning’s memory during the competition.

HERE AND THERE: Samantha Brown, of Westfield, Ind., had been eliminated in the Round of 16 the last two years in the Women’s Western Junior, but not this year.  She defeated Texan Isabel Emanuels in the final at Hinsdale Golf Club.  Both players earned exemptions into the Women’s Western Amateur, coming to Onwentsia in Lake Forest July 15-20.

Kevin Flack of Mauh-Nah-Tee-See, in Rockford, led wire to wire in winning his fourth title in the Illinois PGA Assistants Championship on his home course. He had also won the title in 2019, 2021 and 2022.  Flack, Kevin Healy of Beverly and Matthew Rion of Briarwood all qualified for the national Assistants event in Florida in November.

The 104^th Chicago District Amateur begins its four-day run on Monday (JUNE 24)   at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club.

Arlington Lakes will accept 40 teams into its Patriot Cup, a two-person gross scramble to be played on the Fourth of July.

 

 

 

In most years there are two, maybe three, Illinois-connected players in the finals of the U.S. Open.  This year, for the 124^th Open that tees off on Thursday  in Pinehurst, N.C., there will be four such players among the 156 starters.

Interestingly, though, none of them are among the area’s regular PGA Tour players. The four range in age from 22 to 44 and three are products of the University of Illinois’ powerhouse program. The other is a club professional who took a job in the area in March.

Just getting on the tee sheet for a U.S. Open is a commendable accomplishment, as only declared professionals or amateurs with a handicap index that does not exceed 0.4 can enter.  Even with those stringent requirements a record 10,187 entered last year.

While some players are exempted into the final field through past peformances most had to survive 109 local qualifying rounds held around the country and then get through one of the thirteen 36-hole final qualifiers held in the U.S., England, Japan and Canada.

Two of the four local participants survived both stages of qualifiers, and only two players in tournament history have done that and gone on to win the coveted title – Ken Venturi in 1964 and Orville Moody in 1969.

Here are this year’s Illinois-connected participants at Pinehurst:

JACKSON BUCHANAN – This 22-year old University of Illinois junior earned a spot in his first U.S. Open proper by shooting 64-67 in the final qualifier in his native Georgia.  Buchanan shared medalist honors in that event and has been a great player for the Illini for three years. He was Big Ten player-of-the-year in helping Illinois win the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship. As a sophomore, he was the NCAA runner-up in the individual competition.

BRIAN CAMPBELL – This 31-year old Californian was playing for the Illini when he finished as low amateur (tied for 27^th place) in the 2015 U.S. Open at Washington’s Chambers Bay.  He also qualified for the Open proper when it was played at Pinehurst in 2014 but didn’t survive the 36-hole cut.  Since turning pro in 2015 he has been a regular on the Korn Ferry Tour.

THOMAS DETRY – Also 31, Detry grew up in Belgium before Illini coach Mike Small recruited him. He got into this week’s field off his position in the top 60 point leaders in the Official World Golf Rankings. Detry climbed into that level with a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship last month. He was the Big Ten champion in 2016 after representing Belgium in three World Amateur Team Championships and Europe in the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup. He’s played in two previous U.S. Opens, tying for 49^th at New York’s Winged Foot in 2020 and missing the cut at California’s Torrey Pines in 2021.

ANDY SVOBODA – Named the new head professional at Butler National in Oak Brook in March, the 44-year old graduate of St. John’s University advanced to his sixth U.S. Open by shooting 68-65 at a New Jersey qualifier.  Svoboda had more that $1 million in winnings on both the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours before switching to the club professional ranks. He missed the cut in five of his six previous Opens, surviving all 72 holes en route to a tie for 71^st in 2008. He was  in last year’s Open field at Los Angeles Country Club, his first appearance in the finals since 2013. This year qualified for the PGA Championship and was runner-up in the Illinois PGA March Play Championship.

HERE AND THERE: The 91^st Illinois Women’s State Amateur runs through Thursday at The Grove in Long Grove. The Chicago District Golf Association is conducting the event for the first time, replacing the Illinois Women’s Golf Association which ran the event for 90 years.

The 62^nd Radix Cup matches between the top professionals in the Illinois PGA and top amateurs of the CDGA will be held Thursday at Oak Park Country Club.  The IPGA leads the series 37-22-2.

Brad Key, an Arlington Heights resident and Ivanhoe Club member, won the 21^st CDGA Senior Championship at Kishwaukee, in DeKalb.

The Women’s Western Junior runs through Friday at Hinsdale Golf Club, and the Western Junior for boys begins its four-day run at Ruth Lake on Monday. The Illinois Senior Open is Monday and Tuesday at Hawthorn Woods.

 

 

 

 

It may have been coincidental, but two of the Chicago area’s most prominent public golf facilities made announcements on the same day last week that will have a big impact on the area’s golf community.

At Cantigny, in Wheaton, it was the ground-breaking  for an extraordinary three-year redo. At Cog Hill, in Lemont, it was the resumption  of play at what has been the area’s most consistent tournament site.

Cantigny first.

Park Ridge-based course architect Todd Quitno  just began a three-year project to upgrade the 35-year old 27-hole facility that has been particularly notable for its commitment to growing the game through its Youth Links layout.  It won’t be touched in the renovation and – because Cantigny is blessed with 27 holes – its regulars will always have an 18-hole layout available.

Hillside, the shortest of Cantigny’s three nines, will undergo its renovation this year with Woodside and Lakeside combining on the 18-hole scorecard.  Woodside gets its upgrades in 2025 and Lakeside in 2026. Cantigny has hosted five Illinois State Amateurs, but the next scheduled one will be pushed back two years, to 2026.

Quito has taken on major projects at other Chicago area facilities, the Bridges of Poplar Creen, Schaumburg, Chevy Chase and Tam O’Shanter perhaps the most notable. Cantigny was designed by Roger Packard and Andy North with Wadsworth handling the construction process. Wadsworth will also be working with Quitno.

“(Quitno and colleagues) won’t do anything crazy,’’ said Cantigny general manager Terry Hanley.  “We will have a timeless golf course.’’

“Cantigny has been committed to delivering an exceptional golf experience while growing the game,’’ said Steve Skinner, chief executive officer of KemperSports, which manages the facility.  “The renovation reiterates that commitment to maintaining Cantigny as one of the best courses in the Chicago area and the country.’’

At Cog Hill’s 72-hole complex the famed Dubsdread course is back in play.  The Jemsek family closed it early last season and has opened it about two months late this year to allow for its first renovation since 2008.  That one was done by world renowned architect Rees Jones with  associate Greg Muirhead overseeing the project.  Muirhead directed this one.

Dubsdread opened in 1964 and was the site of the 1997 U.S. Amateur and two U.S. Public Links Championships.  The Western Open was played there from 1991 to 2006 and Dubs was also the site of four BMW Championships after the Western Golf Association opted to conduct a FedEx Cup Playoff event that was moved around the country.

A goal of the latest renovation was to make Dubsdread “more player friendly for the daily golfer.’’ That was done through the rebuilding of 89 bunkers, the shifting of fairway bunkers throughout the course and the addition of chipping areas on four holes.

HERE AND THERE:  The John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, has announced the entries of Patrick Cantlay and Jason Day – two PGA Tour mainstays who have rarely been in attendance at the JDC in the past.  This year’s version is July 4-7 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis.

Andy Svoboda, the new head pro at Butler National in Oak Brook, earned a place in the upcoming U.S. Open with a third-place finish in a final qualifier in Summit, N.J.  Two University of Illinois products also advanced to the Open proper at Pinehurst.  Jackson Buchanan, a member of the current Illini team, was co-medalist in Alpharetta, Ga., and alum Brian Campbell tied for second at Durham, N.C.

The Western Golf Association holds the first of its six championships next week.  The Women’s Western Junior, first played in 1920, begins its five-day run at Hinsdale Golf Club and the boys version – the Western Junior – is the following week at another Hinsdale club, Ruth Lake.

Illinois PGA seniors defeated the Chicago District team 3-2 in the 34^th annual Thompson Cup matches last week at Chicago’s Ridge Country Club.  The 22^nd CDGA Senior Amateur ends its four-day run tomorrow  at Kishwaukee in DeKalb.

The Illinois PGA resumes tournament play with its Assistants Championship on Monday at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See, in Rockford.

 

 

 

 

Illinois is one of those few states to have both a PGA Tour and a LIV Tour tournament this year.  The friction between the two circuits is still there, but Sepp Straka downplayed it during the John Deere Classic’s annual Champions Day in Rock Island last week.

Straka will defend his title in Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour stop at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis July 1-7.

Elevated tournaments are trending on the PGA Tour as a response to the bigger purses, smaller fields and no-cut events on the Saudi-backed LIV circuit.  The JDC isn’t one of the elevated PGA stops. It remains a 156-player shootout with a cut after 36 holes and $8 million in prize money, a big drop from the PGA’s elevated events that offer purses in the $20 million range.

The LIV Tour, which also has prize funds in the $20 million range, returns for its third straight year on Sept. 13-15 but at a new site, Bolingbrook Golf Club replacing Rich Harvest Farms.  This year’s event will be the LIV’s season individual championship.

Negotiations between the PGA and LIV meanwhile remain in limbo and an agreement seems even more distant now that two members of the PGA’s negotiating group quit the board in frustration recently.

“It’s more sad for the golf fans than for us (players),’’ said Straka. “Hopefully things get moved a little bit, but it is a pretty slow process and I wouldn’t expect anything to happen in the next few months.’’

Don’t feel sorry for the JDC, however. In fact, Straka believes there should be more tournaments like it.

“The Tour needs more than elevated events,’’ he said.  “None of the stars ever started playing in elevated events when they first came out.  Very few of them had that status.  Stars are created by playing well in these tournaments (like the JDC) and moving up through the ranks. That’s why a lot of  guys still come to this one.  It’s a special place.’’

Straka was the star of last year’s JDC.  He had the gallery on 59-watch until he hit his approach to the final green into the water, leading to a double bogey.  He still won by two shots for his second PGA victory.  He won the last Honda Classic in Florida in 2022 before that tourney changed sponsors.

Last year Straka was runner-up in the British Open behind another former JDC winner, Brian Harman, and he also played on Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team. One of his Euro teammates, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, finished fourth in last year’s JDC.

Straka, who grew up in Austria before playing collegiately at Georgia, plans to play for Austria again in the Paris Olympics this summer. This year he tied for 16^th in both The Players and Masters before missing the cut at the PGA Championship.

U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN: Red hot Nelly Korda, the LPGA’s No. 1-ranked player with six wins in her last seven starts,  will have challenges from two Chicago-connected players when Pennyslvania’s Lancaster Country Club hosts the 72-hole event beginning tomorrow (THURSDAY, MAY 30).

Both Elizabeth Szokol, of Winnetka, and Caroline Smith, of Inverness, survived qualifying tournaments to earn spots in the field.   Szokol is a regular on the LPGA Tour and teamed with Cheyenne Knight to win the circuit’s Dow Great Lakes Invitational last year.

Smith, an amateur, qualified at Briarwood, in Deerfield.  She started her collegiate career at Wake Forest, then transferred to Indiana and helped the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten title in 26 years with a tie for fourth finish as an individual.

HERE AND THERE: Two Chicago area teaching professionals – Jamie Fischer of Conway Farms and Nicole Jeray of Mistwood – finished tied for 11^th and tied for 28^th respectively in the LPGA Senior Championship in Utah.

Mt. Prospect’s Joe Cermak won the ninth Chicago District Mid-Amateur title at Elgin Country Club last week.  Cermak is director of admissions and assistant golf coach at St. Patrick’s, his high school alma mater.

Ground-breaking for a multi-year renovation of the 27 holes at Cantigny, in Wheaton, will be held at 9 a.m. tomorrow (THURSDAY, MAY 30).

Nancy Towers, of Downers Grove, was an early qualifier for the U.S. Adaptive Open, a championship for the world’s best golfers with disabilities.  She advanced through an Indiana qualifying event.  The main event is July 8-10 in Kansas.

 

 

Mike Small has had better teams than his current one at the University of Illinois.  Several of them, including last year’s veteran squad, even came close to winning the NCAA title but couldn’t finish the job.

The current Illini did make it to the NCAA finals, which begin a week-long run on Friday (MAY 24) at LaCosta in Carlsbad, Calif., despite being dethroned as Big Ten champions by Northwestern  two weeks ago.  That ended a record eight-year conference  title run by the Illini, but they bounced back in a hurry.

Last week Small’s 17^th Illini team won the NCAA’s Stanford Regional, the sixth such title under Small’ direction.

Northwestern, meanwhile, saw its season come to an end with the Wildcats finishing 12^th in the 13-team North Carolina Regional, but Notre Dame will join Illinois at LaCosta after finishing third in the Texas Regional.

Illinois, though ranked No. 18 nationally and seeded third in its regional,  dominated the field at Stanford, winning by eight strokes over top-seeded Florida State. The Illini qualified for the NCAA finals for the 15^th time in the last 16 years.

“This is just another step and progression in our yearly goals,’’ said Small. “We’ll enjoy it as a team, then get ready for the next piece of the puzzle.’’

Max Herendeen, a freshman, won his first collegiate tournament by leading wire-to-wire at Stanford.  He finished the 54-hole regional at 13-under-par 197 and became the fifth Illinois golfer to claim medalist honors at a regional.  Brian Campbell, now on the Korn Ferry Tour, won twice and Nick Hardy, Michael Feagles and Luke Guthrie also took titles.

“Max keeps improving and growing,’’ said Small. “He handled himself like a champion.  He hit it really solid, but the way he handled his emotions and focus is what made it fun to watch,’’

Illinois had three players in the top 10 at Stanford, and that balance bodes well for the team’s chances for another run at the national title.

“We had a total team effort from top to bottom (at the regional),’’ said Small. “Illinois golf has always prided itself on each man doing his job and this was a perfect example of that. This shows what’s possible when we play from strength and play solid, fundamental golf.’’

IN MEMORIAM: The Chicago golf community  lost two of its most popular members recently with the passing of Ed Posh and Bill Berger.

Posh, from West Chicago, was the first head professional at Village Links of Glen Ellyn and served in that post until 1995 when he assumed emeritus status.   Upon his retirement a scholarship fund was established in his honor and 118 students have benefitted from $1,240,000 in grants over the years.

Berger, from Franklin Park, was a lifetime member of the PGA and former touring professional.  He had been a co-host on the Golfers on Golf Radio show for the past 16 years. Posh was 94 and Berger 87.

HERE AND THERE:  Thomas Detry, the Belgian golfer who played for Illinois from 2012-16, tied for fourth in the PGA Championship at Kentucky’s Valhalla on Sunday. Andy Svoboda, the new head professional at Butler National in Oak Brook, couldn’t keep his early-season hot streak going at the PGA.  He missed the 36-hole cut there but was named to the PGA Cup team.

The first championship of the Chicago District Golf Association’s 111^th season concludes today (WEDNESDAY) when the ninth CDGA Mid-Amateur’s title match is played at Elgin Country Club.

Long-time Chicago area club professional Tim Govern has been named the new head pro at Rolling Green in Arlington Heights.

Chicago-connected tour players Luke Donald and Doug Ghim survived the PGA’s 36-hole cut.  Former Northwestern and European Ryder Cup captain Donald had missed the cut in all four of his starts this season until finishing tied for 68^th  at Valhalla.  Ghim, from Arlington Heights, tied for 35^th – his best finish in a major championship since turning pro in 2018.

 

 

 

Next week’s PGA Championship is the second of golf’s four major tournaments of 2024, and it’ll be extremely significant from a Chicago perspective.

Two present Chicago area club professionals – Andy Svoboda of Butler National and Jeff Kellen of North Shore – earned spots in the field by finishing in the top 20 at last week’s PGA Professionals Championship in Texas.

And that’s not all.  A third player with strong Illinois ties, Brad Marek, also cracked the top 20 and earned his second appearance in the PGA.  Marek grew up in Arlington Heights, attended Hersey High School and won the Illinois State Junior in 2002 and the Illinois State Amateur in 2005. He turned pro in 2008 after playing collegiately at Indiana.

Svoboda tied for second in the PGA Professionals Championship at Fields Ranch, in Frisco,  TX,  Marek tied for sixth and Kellen tied for eighth.  That tourney had a 312-player field, with all the participants having survived PGA sectional qualifiers. Now they’ll match skills with the world’s best touring professionals.

The experience is nothing new for Marek, who has been working in  since California since 2015.  In 2021 he qualified after a top-20 finish in the PGA Professionals event, then he made the cut in the PGA Championship at Kiawah, in South Carolina.

At Kiawah Marek finished 78^th, beating two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, who finished 80^th, in a year when such luminaries as Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott and Justin Thomas didn’t survive the 36-hole cut.

The Svoboda-Kellen scenario is interesting as well.  Kellen switched head professional jobs, moving from Butler, in Oak Brook, to North Shore, in Glenview, during the winter.  Svoboda, who had been the Connecticut PGA Player of the Year in 2023, was hired at Butler in March.

While a Chicago newcomer, Svoboda is a seasoned tournament player.  Now 44, he topped $1 million in winnings on both the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours. He was a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry and runner-up at the PGA Tour stop in New Orleans. Like Kellen, he’ll be playing in the PGA Championship for the first time.

“It’s a dream come true,’’ said Svoboda.  “(The Professionals Championship) was a great week on an amazing golf course with amazing competition.  It was fun to play at the new home of the PGA of America.’’

Svoboda will be in the field for the Illinois PGA’s first of four majors this week.  The IPGA Match Play began its three-day run on Tuesday at Bull Valley, in Woodstock.

For Kellen making it to Valhalla was even more special.  He did it with his father serving as his caddie in Texas.

“I’m so proud to be a PGA member,’’ said Kellen.  “This was a wild week with all the weather delays, but I was able to buckle down and play some good golf.’’

Getting two Illinois Section members into the PGA Championship is a rarity.  The last time it happened was in 2004 when Roy Biancalana and Mike Small made it.

HERE AND THERE —  Illinois’ Jackson Buchanan has been named joint winner of the Big Ten Player of the Year honor after a ballot review.  He shares the honor with Purdue’s Herman Sekne. The Illini have had a Big Ten Player of the Year for four straight years.

NCAA men’s regional play begins on Monday (MAY 13) with Illinois in the Stanford Regional.  Big Ten champion Northwestern will be in the North Carolina Regional and Notre Dame in the Texas Regional.  Two Illinois State golfers, Valentin Peugnet and Alex McCulla, will compete as individuals in the Purdue Regional.

Jason Day has entered July’s John Deere Classic.  He started his PGA Tour career there in 2006 but hasn’t played in Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event since 2011.

Illinois third, and last, U.S. Open local qualifier will be held Monday (MAY 13) at Illini Country Club in Springfield.  It’ll have 84 players competing for five spots in the final qualifying stage.  Illini CC will be hosting a local for the 45^th consecutive year, or every year since the U.S. Golf Assn. has held such qualifiers.  No other club in the country can make that claim.

The Golfers on Golf Radio show kicked off its 34^th season last week on WNDZ (750-AM).  The longest-running golf radio show in Chicago history has a new starting time – 9 a.m., on Saturdays.  It has three co-hosts at the moment – Rory Spears, Ed Stevenson and Len Ziehm —  with Bill Berger fighting a battle with cancer.