First played in 1923, the Illinois PGA Championship has basically been The Mike Small Show since 2001. That’s when the Illinois men’s coach captured the title for the first time. He’s won the tournament 11 times in the last 14 years, but next week’s 93rd staging at Medinah’s No. 1 Course will be a little different.

The 54-hole tournament, which begins on Monday, will be the first major event played on the course since Michigan architect Tom Doak’s major renovation was completed.

Not only that, but Small will be returning to the place where his eight-year winning streak in the tournament came to an end in 2011. Then-Midlothian assistant Frank Hohenadel won that year.

“I’m not going to think about losing that streak,’’ said Small, who has won the last two years. “I’m thinking about going for No. 12. I’ll think positive. I’ve played well this time of year. It’s the perfect time of the year for me to play.’’

His coaching duties do cut in to Small’s competitive possibilities but he did win the IPGA’s Dubsdread Classic on Monday, shooting a 4-under-par 68 on the course that hosted the PGA Tour’s Western Open and BMW Championship for 20 years.

The IPGA Championship has been rotated between three sites – Olympia Fields’ South Course, Stonewall Orchard in Gurnee and Medinah No. 1 – in recent years. Small won at Medinah in 2008, but the course is much different now than it was before the renovation. The club professionals got familiar with the IPGA venues, but few have played Medinah No. 1 since Doak completed his work.

That might benefit Medinah teaching pros Travis Johns and Rick Dukelow, both long-time contenders in the IPGA’s big tournaments. Johns was last year’s IPGA Player of the Year. The leader in that point race is Brian Brodell, assistant pro at Mistwood in Romeoville.

The tourney calls for 18 holes on Monday and Tuesday before the field is cut to the low 60 and ties for next Wednesday’s (SEPT 2) final round.

FedEx Cup Playoffs begin

The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs begin Thursday for the season’s top 125 players. Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman goes in at No. 61, Elmhurst’s Mark Wilson at No. 114 and former Northwestern star Luke Donald at No. 119.

They’ll be in the field at The Barclays in New Jersey, which starts on Thursday, but only the top 100 will qualify for the second event – the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston. Chicago’s playoff event, the BMW Championship at Conway Farms in Lake Forest from Sept. 14-20, will take only the top 70 players.

LPGA Legends return to French Lick

The Legends Championship – highlight of the season for the LPGA’s senior players (45 and over) – will return for the third time to Indiana’s French Lick Resort. It’s been reduced from 54 to 36 holes this year, with the tournament rounds on Saturday (AUG 28) and Sunday (AUG 29).

Juli Inkster, the U.S. Solheim Cup captain, will make a rare Legends Tour appearance in the 56-player field on the rugged Pete Dye Course at French Lick. Recently-named World Golf Hall of Famer Laura Davies will also be in the field as will Rosie Jones and JoAnne Carner, who will be inducted into the Legends Hall of Fame at Friday’s Gala.

Laurie Rinker will defend her title on the course that hosted the men’s Senior PGA Championship. A $300,000 prize fund will be on the line for the Legends and there will also be a separate competition for former LPGA stars who are 63 and over.

Speedgolf coming to The Glen

The Glen Club, in Glenview, will host the Speedgolf World Championship Oct. 19-20. It’s a 36-hole competition in which players are judged on both their score and the time required to play their rounds. Eri Crum, a former college teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford, is the defending champion, having won last year at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.

Speedgolf’s premier event will have an elite division for Crum and about 30 other players as well as an amateur competition. Those interested should check out the website — speedgolfinternatinal.com.

This week’s Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., isn’t one of the bigger PGA Tour events but it’s huge for Luke Donald.

The former Northwestern star, who was once No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, needs a good showing to assure himself a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The top 125 players in the season-long point race are eligible for the first of the four playoff events, The Barclays in New Jersey in two weeks. Donald’s ranking climbed from 131 to 124 with a tie for 43rd in last week’s PGA Championship.

“I want to be one of those annoying guys who just gets in to the FedEx Playoffs, has a hot week and then has a chance to win at East Lake,’’ said Donald, whose game has slowly improved after he reunited with long-time swing coach Pat Goss.

Actually, Donald wants to do much more than get into the lucrative postseason series. The third of the four events, the BMW Championship, will be played from Sept. 17-20 on his home course – Conway Farms in Lake Forest.

“I’d love to play at Conway Farms,’’ he said. “It got a good reception from the players (when the BMW moved there in 2013), and they’ve made some great changes since then.’’

Donald had some influence on those upgrades.

“There were a few minor changes on the course,’’ he said, “but they completely changed and much improved the practice facility.’’

If Donald maintains or improves his standings position this week he’ll get into the playoffs. Then he’ll have to play well enough at The Barclays to crack the top 100, who will be eligible for the second playoff event – the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston. The top 70 after that event qualify to play at Conway Farms and the top 30 after that event go to The Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

All four of the no-cut tournaments have an $8.25 million purse and a $10 million payoff awaits the winner of the series, so a ton of money is on the line. Donald said he’d be at Conway — whether he qualifies or not — to participate in fund-raising efforts for the First Tee of Chicago but he’s hopeful that his improved play will continue and he’ll be among the competitors.

“We’re just trying to keep building,’’ he said. “I’ve had a string of steady rounds, lots of 2-, 3-, 4-unders. Now I’m looking for that breakout round to get me going.’’

Here and there

The LPGA Legends Championship. scheduled Aug. 29-30 in French Lick, Ind., has lost the player who shocked the field last year. Sherri Steinhauer shot a 63 – the lowest round, man or woman on the rugged Pete Dye Course – but was deprived of a chance to win the title when the final round was cancelled due to weather problems. A broken ankle will keep Steinhauer out of the field this month.

Five college stars competing in this week’s U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields have been named to the 10-man U.S. Walker Cup team. They are Bryson DeChambeau (Southern Methodist), Beau Hossler (Texas), Lee McCoy (Georgia), Maverick McNealy (Stanford) and Hunter Stewart (Vanderbilt). The other five players on the squad will be announced after the U.S. Amateur ends on Sunday.

Ivanhoe’s Jim Sobb successfully defended his Illinois PGA Senior Championship with a playoff win over Doug Bauman of Biltmore, in Barrington. Richard Tilgham captured the Chicago District Super Senior Amateur at Schaumburg Golf Club.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Qualified amateurs

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

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

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

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

Here and there

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cut day at Western Am

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

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

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

Here and there

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

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

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

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

The Western Golf Association’s premier tournament, the BMW Championship, is still nearly two months away, but the WGA showed off the improvements coming for the third tournament of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs

Tourney site Conway Farms, in Lake Forest, underwent an extensive renovation since hosting the event in 2013 and spectators — 130,000 are expected again – should have an improved experience. Cart paths have been widened throughout the course to improve foot traffic and seating has been improved dramatically.

The size of seating around the 18th green has been doubled and there’s also expanded viewing at Nos. 1, 2, 7, 9, 11 and 17. The Beer Garden, a popular attraction two years ago, will also be doubled in size.

More than anything, though, the work done on the course has opened up vistas for better spectator viewing. Also improving the spectator experience is the establishment of an attendance limit. Vince Pellegrino, the WGA’s senior vice president, tournaments, said attendance will be limited to 27,000 per day. When the tourney was played at Conway two years ago the gallery topped 35,000 on Saturday.

The players will find a major change in the practice facility. It’s been enhanced with a 10,000 square foot putting green, a two-acres practice range and a new short game area. All 18 greens were re-grassed. several new tees were constructed and others re-shaped. New back tees resulted in the lengthening of Nos. 4 and 17.

Strategically, No. 16 – my favorite hole on the course – has two sod-wall bunkers now instead of three and they’ve been moved to the right. This, you’ll remember, was a key hole in 2013 because Jim Furyk made eagle there en route to shooting his record 59.

The tournament dates, Sept. 14-20, are a week later than they were in 2013 with players getting a week off in between the first two playoff events and the last two. The purse has increased slightly, to $8.25 million.

Shuttles from the nearby Metra stations are expected to relieve congestion around the course. The shuttles from the stations to the course are only two minutes. The new general parking area is in Waukegan (Waukegan and Belvidere roads), and shuttles from there will be in the 15-20 minute range.

Pellegrino announced a new event for tournament week. The Evans Scholars Cup will be contested on Monday. It’ll feature teams from 28 clubs and their head professional. Otherwise the schedule is the same as in the past except for the starting times for the first two rounds. Play will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The longstanding major golf championships for Illinois’ best players will be coming fast and furious now.

First up was the 82nd, rain-shortened Illinois Women’s Amateur at Illini Country Club in Springfield. This week the state’s best men are in the same city, but at Panther Creek Country Club, to decide the winner of the 85th Illinois State Amateur conducted by the Chicago District Golf Assn.

That three-day tourney started with 138 players on Tuesday but the climax is Thursday with a 36-hole day for the low 35 and ties after Wednesday’s round.

After this week’s main event comes the men’s Illinois Open, the 54-hole finals of which will be split between Royal Melbourne in Long Grove and Hawthorn Woods Country Club from July 20-22, and the big month concludes with the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open, also played at 54 holes at Mistwood in Romeoville, from July 27-29. The men’s Open will be played for the 66th time, the women’s for the 21st.

Two Big Ten stars, Iowa’s Ray Knoll and Illinois’ Nick Hardy, went four extra holes before Knoll won last year’s Illinois State Amateur at Cantigny, in Wheaton. Both are in this week’s field as is Tee-K Kelly of Wheaton, the 2013 champion who plays at Ohio State.

None could cope with Bloomington’s Alex Burge, who won the 96th Chicago District Amateur, the first big tournament for the amateurs this season. Two veterans should also be in contention at Panther Creek – Illinois Mid-Amateur champion John Ehrgott of Edwards and Taylorville’s Dave Ryan, who made the cut at last month’s U.S. Senior Open.

Ehrgott has made the cut in the last five State Ams and finished in the top 10 in three of them. Ryan, 61, is the oldest player in the field. Youngest is Varun Chopra, 15, of Champaign. Most of the starters were survivors of nine qualifying rounds held around the state from June 8-24. The low round in those eliminations was a 67, posted by Aurora’s John Wright in the first one at Fox Bend, in Oswego.

Panther Creek, a Hale Irwin design that opened in 1992, hosted the LPGA Tour’s State Farm Classic from 2007-11. It’s set up at 7.174 yards for the State Amateur.

Weather dampens Women’s Am

Shawn Rennegarbe, a University of Arkansas player from Addieville posted a 72 in the qualifying round of the Illinois Women’s Amateur and no more golf could be played at Illini Country Club.

Rain wiped out the next three days of play, when the title was to be decided in a match play format. Rennegarbe was one stroke better than Grace Kil of Arlington Heights, Jessica Yuen of Bolingbrook and Maggie Ambrose of Springfield.

Yuen is two-time Illinois high school champion for Nequa Valley. Ambrose plays out of Panther Creek, where this week’s men’s State Am will be played.

Here and there

Mistwood’s Andy Mickelson carded a 7-under-par 64 on Monday to capture the Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Classic in Rockford, the last tuneup for Illinois PGA members before next week’s expanded Illinois Open.

Brad Marek, the 2005 Illinois Amateur champion who played at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and Indiana University, took home an $11,000 first-place check on the Dakotas Tour after shooting rounds of 62, 68 and 69. He leads that mini-tour’s money list.

John Deere Co. has agreed to sponsor the PGA Tour stop held at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis through 2023. The company and tour agreed to a seven-year contract extension during last week’s John Deere Classic.

Mount Prospect’s course, which has been undergoing a lengthy renovation, is scheduled to re-open on Aug. 1.

Northbrook-based KemperSports has added The Bog, in Saukville, Wis., to its management portfolio.

The Champions Tour’s future in Chicago will be in doubt after this week’s Encompass Championship at North Shore Country Club in Glenview. The sponsor won’t renew its three-year contract, which expires after this year’s event, and North Shore is reportedly considering a major renovation project that would likely rule out its return as host venue in 2016.

Still, the 50-and-over circuit will bring its best to Glenview for the 54-hole competition that starts on Friday. Most notably, the popular Fred Couples will return to the field after missing last year with back problems. He was runner-up to Craig Stadler when the tourney made its North Shore debut in 2013.

Also new to the field will be D.A. Weibring, who will be playing in his first tournament of the season. Weibring, limited to only five tournaments last year by back issues, played collegiately at Illinois State and has a long record of success in Illinois pro events. He won the John Deere Classic (under its previous titles) in 1979, 1991 and 1995 before designing the course on which that tournament is now held. He also captured the 1987 Western Open.

Another player with Illinois ties, though, could ready for a breakthrough this week. Jeff Sluman, who has long resided in Hinsdale, is one of only three players — defending champion Tom Lehman and Kenny Perry are the others — who have finished in the top 10 at both of the two Encompass Championships held so far. Sluman tied for third in 2013 and tied for sixth last year.

The only notable absentee is Colin Montomerie, who will be on St. Andrews, Scotland, for his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Montgomerie leads the tour’s Charles Schwab Cup standings but Jeff Maggert, winner of two of this year’s major titles for senior players, will supplant him with a victory at North Shore.

His rivals include 12 players who won major titles on the PGA Tour and seven who captained either Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup teams. The 81 starters will play with amateur partners in the first two rounds; only the pros will compete on Sunday when the $270,000 first-place check from the event’s $1.8 million purse will be handed out.

Spieth, Murray headline show at JDC

Jordan Spieth, already the winner of the Masters and U.S. Open this year, will get back into tournament play at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis on Thursday. That was the scene of Spieth’s first PGA Tour victory in 2013.

While Spieth will be the focal point of the 72-hole tournament that concludes on Sunday, he’ll share the spotlight in Wednesday’s pro-am with actor-comedian Bill Murray. Murray, playing with frequent pro-am partner D.A. Points, has an 8:45 a.m. tee time. Spieth will have his tuneup round in the afternoon.

Come Thursday he’ll begin his last competitive appearance before going after the third leg of golf’s Grand Slam at the British Open next week.

The JDC may have the strongest field in its history as Spieth will be joined by defending champion Brian Harman; Zach Johnson, the winner in 2012; and Steve Stricker, who scored a three-peat from 2009-11. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III is skipping the Encompass to play in the JDC. So is Vijay Singh, who won the JDC in 2003 but hasn’t been back since finishing tied for fourth in his title defense in 2004.

Ten Broeck heads qualifiers

Lance Ten Broeck has had an interesting career in golf. He grew up in Chicago, at Beverly Country Club, and qualified for the 1975 U.S. Open at Medinah when he was still a teen-ager. He went on to earn his PGA Tour card and was a journeyman on the circuit for several years, then became a successful caddie on the circuit while working mainly for Jesper Parnevik.

Now Ten Broeck is back to competing again. On Monday he shared medalist honors in the qualifying round for the Encompass Championship. He shot a 5-under-par 67 at Deerfield golf course to share honors with Geoffrey Sisk of Marshfield, Mass. They were the best among five qualifiers for the tournament proper, which tees off on Friday.

IPGA picks Williams

Carrie Williams, the executive director of the Illinois Junior Golf Assn. the past eight years, will be Michael Miller’s replacement as executive director of the Illinois PGA. Williams revealed her hiring while announcing her resignation from the IJGA.

Miller departed the IPGA after 23 years to become executive director of the PGA’s Southwest Section. Williams was on his staff prior to moving to the IJGA. Jordan Abdel-Haq, the IJGA’s associate executive director, will take over Williams’ duties when she takes her new post on Aug. 25.

Luke Donald and Mark Wilson have long been the prime players with Chicago ties competing on the PGA Tour, and they were in the middle of some behind-the-scenes drama last weekend at the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Ct.

Neither were qualified for the British Open, which is coming up in two weeks at St. Andrews in Scotland, and four places in the year’s third major were on the line at Hartford. Donald, the former Northwestern star who spent 56 weeks as the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer before Rory McIlroy took over in 2012, needed to finish in the top 12 and be among the top four players at Hartford who were not otherwise qualified for the British to earn his spot in this year’s field.

After rounds of 68, 68, 67 and 66 Donald stood in a tie for seventh place overall – but four players not qualified for the British were still on the course. One of them was Wilson, who established a home in Elmhurst several years ago.

A bogey on the last hole had Donald fearing he’d be left out, but Wilson also made bogey on the last hole. In the end Donald, though five strokes behind champion Bubba Watson, landed in a tie for seventh with Bo Van Pelt and Wilson. Among those finishing ahead of them were Brian Harman, who will defend his John Deere Classic title next week; Graham DeLaet and Carl Petterson.

Those three got the first three British Open spots offered at Hartford and Donald got the fourth and final one thanks to having a higher world ranking (68) than either Van Pelt (248) or Wilson (441).

“The Claret Jug brings up a lot of great memories, watching the Open as a kid and obviously some memories playing it as a professional,’’ said Donald. “It’s the major I’d love to win the most, coming from the U.K.’’

Now he’ll get another chance with his game on the upswing again. Donald had two top-five finishes in the British since 2009 and tied for 11th the last time it was played at St. Andrews in 2010. He’ll next play at the Scottish Open, the European PGA Tour stop opposite the John Deere Classic.

Bill Murray in JDC Pro-Am

Actor/ comedian Bill Murray, the best pro-am attraction on the PGA Tour, will play in the John Deere Classic’s Wednesday Pro-Am on July 8. He’ll be paired with D.A. Points, a former University of Illinois golfer from Pekin.

Points and Murray were the sensation of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was formerly the Bing Crosby Pro-Am in California. They won the team title in the two-man event and Points captured the individual crown.

Murray, who grew up in Wilmette and was a caddie at Indian Hill Club, starred in the movie hit CaddieShack – a role that triggered his popularity in the entertainment world.

Illini star Campbell turns pro

Brian Campbell won’t be a factor in the Western Amateur, U.S. Amateur or Walker Cup matches this year. A stalwart on Illinois’ team that won the stroke play portion of the NCAA tournament, Campbell has opted to turn professional. He’ll make his pro debut at the John Deere Classic thanks to a sponsor’s exemption.

One of his Illini teammates, redshirt senior Alex Burge, captured the 96th Chicago District Amateur title last week at Knollwood in Lake Forest. Burge did it by beating Medinah’s Tee-K Kelly, an Ohio State player who won the Illinois State Amateur in 2013.

Burge, from Bloomington, became the first golfer to become both medalist and champion at the CDGA Amateur since Joe Affrunti in 2001. Affrunti also attended Illinois and posted his CDGA sweep at Knollwood.

Maggert is coming to Encompass

Jeff Maggert, who won the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday and won another Champions Tour major at the Regions Tradition earlier in the year, will be in the field at the Encompass Championship at North Shore in Glenview beginning July 10. Other recent commitments include Hale Irwin and Steve Elkington, and former Bears’ center Patrick Mannelly will compete in the two-day, two-man team competition.

Pre-qualifying for the Encompass Championship will be Thursday and the final qualifying round is Monday at Deerfield golf course.

Here and there

The last day for public play at Oak Meadows in Addison is Monday. Then the course will be closed for nearly two years as Aurora architect Greg Martin conducts a massive renovation project.

Olympia Fields is looking for volunteers to help in the staging of the U.S. Amateur next month.

Ruth Lake, in Hinsdale, will host a qualifier for the U.S. Amateur on Monday and the Illinois PGA will conducts its 40th Junior Championship on Monday at Mauh-Nah-Tee- See in Rockford.

One of Chicago’s longest-standing private clubs, Glen Flora in Waukegan, is up for sale. Links Capital Advisors have announced a $2.75 million asking price for the club, which was built in 1911.

Why change a good thing? Jordan Spieth wants to keep his bid for golf’s Grand Slam going. That’s why he was quick to nix a possible schedule change after his victory in the U.S. Open.

Spieth, who has won the Masters and U.S. Open already, will make his last competitive tuneup for next month’s British Open – the third leg of the Grand Slam – in the John Deere Classic July 9-12 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, IL., on the outskirt of the Quad Cities.

The British Open is the following week at St. Andrews in Scotland. Spieth could head to Europe early and pick up a hefty appearance fee by playing in the Scottish Open, which is opposite the JDC, but he’s not planning on doing that. Spieth had long since committed to play in the JDC, but he was asked again now that so much history will be on the line.

“I plan to go (to Scotland) on a charter, the way I’ve done the last two years after the John Deere,’’ said Spieth. “So I won’t be there as early as I was for (the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington), but that’s the same time I got in for the Masters. I don’t think I have to be in early this year. I got in late Sunday night to Augusta.’’

That April week he made the Masters his first victory in a major championship. He’ll have the same preparation time for the British, since the JDC offers non-stop jet service to British qualifiers a few hours after the last putt drops at TPC Deere Run.

Spieth is the youngest U.S. Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923 and the youngest to win two career majors in the same year since Gene Sarazen in 1922. He’s also just the sixth golfer – behind Craig Wood, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year.

Preparing for the Masters at the JDC isn’t unusual since JDC director Clair Peterson arranged for convenient jet travel across the pond. Spieth, who won his first PGA Tour event at the JDC in 2013, is one of about 20 British-eligible players expected compete at TPC Deere Run this year. Louis Oosthuizen, the British winner in 2004, even prepared for his title defense by playing in the JDC the week before.

Spieth should come to this year’s JDC well rested. He’s skipping the next two PGA Tour stops – this week’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut and next week’s Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia.

No golfer has won the modern Grand Slam (Woods held all four titles at one time but over two years). Spieth isn’t ruling it out.

“It’s in the realm of possibility,’’ he said. “(Chambers Bay) was somewhat of a British-style golf course, so are the next two majors. I’ve proven to myself that I can win on a British-style golf course now. Now I take it to the truest British-style course in the world. I’m just excited for the opportunity.’’

JDC touch at Encompass

Unfortunate scheduling has the JDC playing opposite Chicago’s Champions Tour event, the Encompass Championship July 10-12 at North Shore in Glenview, this year. Still, six former JDC champions – D.A. Weibring, David Frost, Scott Hoch, Dan Forsman, Mark Wiebe and Joey Sindelar – are in the Encompass field.

New to the Encompass tourney this year are two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen and former Masters champion Ian Woosnam. Janzen and Woosnam are among eight players competing at North Shore who have already won tournaments on the Champions Tour this season.

Here and there

The 82nd playing of the Illinois Women’s Amateur started on Tuesday with an 18-hole qualifying round to determine flight participants. Match play runs Wednesday through Sunday at Illini Country Club in Springfield.

The 96th Chicago District Amateur concludes its four-day run at Knollwood, in Lake Forest, on Thursday.

Chun An Yu, who moved from Taiwan to Clermont, FL., in January, won the 98th Western Junior at Riverside Golf Club. He triumphed in the first playoff for the title since the tourney switched from match play to stroke play in 1999. Daniel Hudson of Western Springs, who tied for third, was the top Chicago player in the competition.

The last two of the seven qualifying rounds for next month’s Illinois Open are Thursday at Willow Crest in Oak Brook and Monday at Elgin Country Club.

Just 10 months ago Northbrook’s Nick Hardy was shaking off a loss in the final of the Illinois State Amateur and getting ready for his freshman year at the University of Illinois. This week, at 19, he’s playing in the 115th U.S. Open at Washington’s Chambers Bay course.

Hardy won’t be the youngest player in the year’s second major championship. That honor goes to Cole Hammer, a 15-year old high school freshman from Houston. Hammer is the third-youngest player ever to tee off in the Open but Hardy is more battled-hardened.

He blossomed as a freshman for coach Mike Small’s Illini, sharing the Big Ten individual title in May and helping his team finish on top of the leaderboard in the stroke play portion of the NCAA tournament. Small put Hardy in the crucial No. 5 position for the match play portion, and he came through with the victory needed to get the Illini through to the semifinals.

His team’s season ended there, but Hardy wasn’t done. He – along with senior teammate Brian Campbell – survived last week’s sectional qualifying for the Open.

“It’s been a pretty crazy month,’’ said Hardy, after participating in an Illinois Junior Golf Assn. clinic at Valley Lo in Glenview. “I’ve gotten better just being in the positions I have. I’ve learned a lot about myself and a lot about competition. I’ve really grown a lot. I was ready for this.’’

The U.S. Open is, of course, a different animal than playing with the college guys. The best players in the world are at Chambers Bay.

“I’m going to treat it like any other event and not focus on the things around me,’’ said Hardy. “I’ll just try to control what I can control. My goal is to be low amateur, but I’ll be trying to win like everybody else. I’ll focus on the first tee shot, and go from there.’’

That first tee shot comes on Thursday. His practice partners at Chambers Bay included Campbell, who also qualified last year, and PGA Tour veteran D.A. Points, an Illinois alum.

“I’m real excited. I hope this will be one of many (Opens). It not only gives me a chance to try to beat the best players in the world, but also learn from them.’’

This year’s Open had 9,882 entrants from 75 countries, and 156 will tee off at Chambers Bay. Fifty-eight earned their spots in 12 sectional qualifying tournaments. Hardy additionally had to survive an 18-hole local qualifier to play in the sectional.

Only two Open champions – Ken Venturi in 1964 and Orville Moody in 1969 – came through both local and sectional eliminations to win the title. In last year’s Open at Pinehurst, N.C., 25 of the 156 starters were survivors of both eliminations and five of them made the 36-hole cut.

They’ll be there, too

This is an extraordinary U.S. Open from a Chicago area standpoint. Other sectional qualifiers include former world No. 1 Luke Donald, who has played in every Open since 2005; Points, a three-time Illinois State Amateur champion; Glen Ellyn’s Andy Pope, a Web.com Tour player who was the Illinois Junior Golf Assn. Boys Player of the Year in 2001; and Hoopeston’s Michael Davan, who was the Chicago District Amateur champion in 2012.

Davan, like Hardy, qualified for the Open in a sectional at Springfield, Ohio. Davan was the medalist there, shooting 65-67 for the 36 holes. Davan, a 26-year old pro, has been playing on golf’s many mini-tours. Until the sectional he had been one frustrated golfer, missing seven Web.com Tour events as well as the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic by one shot in qualifying tournaments.

“I knew my game was getting close,’’ he said. “I’ve never won a mini-tour event, but I had a chance a few weeks ago and stumbled down the stretch. It’s nice to finally break through and do something like this.’’

In addition to the unusual large contingent of local players the tourney has another Chicago connection. Chambers Bay is managed by Northbrook-based KemperSports.

Here and there

Illinois’ Campbell is one of four sponsor invites for next month’s John Deere Classic. Others are college stars Bryson DeChambeau of Southern Methodist and Lee McCoy of Georgia, both U.S. Open qualifiers, and former No. 1-ranked amateur Patrick Rodgers. Rodgers is getting his fourth sponsor invite to the JDC.

Three winners of major championships – Larry Nelson, Hal Sutton and Lee Janzen – have entered next month’s Encompass Championship at North Shore in Glenview. So has D.A. Weibring, a champion at both Illinois PGA events (former Western Open and JDC). Twenty-three of the top 30 on the Champions Tour money list have committed to play in the tournament.

KemperSports will host the Chambers Bay Challenge at all its member courses during the U.S. Open. Players making a hole-in-one can receive a trip to Chambers, where they’ll get a shot at $1 million on the No. 17 hole.