Caitlin Clark may be a basketball whiz, but she is making inroads in golf, too.

In July, 2023, Clark made her first golf appearance playing in the pro-am at the John Deere Classic, the PGA Tour stop at TPC Deere Run – a course located near the boarderline of Illinois and Iowa.  Now, on Nov. 13, she’ll be the featured at the pro-am warmup for The Annika, the last event of the Ladies PGA Tour’s regular season at Pelican Golf Club in Bellair, FL.

This is a big deal, as Clark’s popularity has been clearly evident via social media – and not just with basketball fans.

Barry Cronin, the veteran media relations director of the John Deere Classic, believes that Clark’s pro-am round at the John Deere, was the start of something big. She played nine holes with Zach Johnson, then the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, and the other nine with Ludvig Aberg, an up-and-coming PGA Tour star from Sweden.

“That pro-am was the first taste of her super stardom to come,’’ recalled Cronin.  “She was on the (media interview) podium with Zach afterwards and most of the questions went to her. It was like she was the PGA Tour player.  Zach admitted that she was the star of the show that day.’’

Having grown up in DesMoines, Iowa,  and starring for the University of Iowa women’s basketball team, Clark already had a local following at that tournament.

“There were thousands, mostly young girls, wearing her No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes jersey around the course,’’ said Cronin. “She was disappointed in how she played, but clearly she was a competent golfer.’’

Things have changed since then.  Now more than basketball fans in Iowa know about Caitlin Clark.  Her play for the Indiana Fever gave the Women’s National Basketball Association a big boost,  and Clark has learned more about golf.  She’s even dabbled recently with with being a professional golfer in her offseason – perhaps jokingly, perhaps not.

Anyway, Clark’s appearance at the Pelican will boost a 72-hole tournament that is rapidly becoming among the most popular on the LPGA circuit.  She will be paired with tournament host Annika Sorenstam in the pro-am and their honorary caddies will be IndyCar drivers Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson.

Sorenstam, a golfing legend, won’t meet Clark until tournament week, but she’s looking forward to it.

“What she has done is amazing for women’s basketball but also for women’s sports, young girls and women in general,’’ said Sorenstam.  “For her to come out here, it’s awesome that she plays golf.  She really has an interest.  It’s going to draw a lot of attention.’’

Golf-wise, The Annika is a significant event even without Clark.  Two-time champion and world No. 1 Nelly Korda will be there as will Lilia Vu, the defending champion and world’s No. 2-ranked player.  The field will be solid because of its dates.  The following week is the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, one of the biggest money events in women’s golf, at Tiburon in Naples, FL., and the traditional start of the 2025 season is also in the Sunshine State. The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Championship will be played Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at Lake Nona, a club in which Sorenstam is a member.

Clark’s role will supplement — but not overwhelm –The Annika tournament.

“She’s an ambassador for women and sport,’’ said Sorenstam.  “She seems very athletic.  I’m sure she can do anything she puts her mind to. She played quite a bit of golf growing up, and I believe it’s one of her passions when she’s not on the court making three-pointers.’’

Sorenstam is sure Clark will be worth watching as a golfer, not just because she’s a special athlete.

“I’ve only seen her swing on social media,’’ said Sorenstam, “but I’m not so worried about her.  I don’t think she’s worried either.  She’s an athlete.  She’s used to big crowds. I’m sure she’ll shine, no matter what she does. She’s going to do awesome.’’

 

 

Sadly another member of the golfing Ten Broeck family has passed on.

Rick Ten Broeck died at 76 on Oct. 10 after suffering complications from Parkinson’s disearse and dementia.  His younger brother Lance was 67 when he died in April, 2023, in Florida. They were two of the eight children of Willis and Eleanor Ten Broeck, both long-time members of Chicago’s Beverly Country Club .

The Ten Broeck golf saga blossomed in 1968 when older brother Jim won the Illinois State Amateur at Prestwick, in Frankfort.  Rick finished second that day, with Lance serving as his caddie.

Jim also won the club championship as a junior member at Beverly, a South Side private club that is rich in golf history. Jim and Rick played college golf at Arizona State and Lance at Texas.  Rick and Lance outdid Jim  with their golf accompllishments in succeeding years.

Rick, the father of three children, lived in Evergreen Park at the time of his death.  His father Willis was a multiple winner of the Beverly club championship, but Rick won it a whopping 18 times. He also won two Illinois Opens – in 1973 at Barrington Hills during his brief fling in the professional ranks, and in 1981 at Bon Vivant, in Bourbonnais, as a reinstated amateur.  He was also an Illinois Amateur of the Year twice and the Chicago District Golf Association’s senior player-of-the-year in 2005 and 2006.

Lance carried the family name even further golf-wise.  Like Rick he starred in the sport at Brother Rice High School.  Lance’s first big splash on the national scene came at the 1975 U.S. Open at Medinah when – as a 19-year old amateur – he made the cut and tied for 49^th place. He was also an Illinois Open champion, winning at Flossmoor in 1984.

His subsequent stay in the professional ranks was a long one.  He played on the Nationwide, PGA and Champions tours and won the 1984 Magnolia Classic before it was an official PGA Tour event. (It’s now called the Sanderson Farms Championship).

Lance also was a successful caddie.  His Florida neighbor, Jesper Parnivik asked his to carry his bag in the 1999 Greater Greeensboro Open, and Parnevik won the title by two strokes over Jim Furyk. Lance continued to work as a caddie but could also get into some events as a player.  The most noteworthy of those was in the 2009 Valero Texas Open.

He was on Parnevik’s bag in that PGA Tour stop in the morning and then was told he could fill the spot of a player who had withdrawn in the afternoon.  He did it, and posted a score lower than Parnevik’s.

A celebration of Rick Ten Broeck’s life will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Beverly Country Club.

END IT

A month ago Nelly Korda was, arguably, the best story in golf.  She had won six tournaments in a stretch of seven events. Scotty Scheffler was playing great on the men’s side at that time, too, but not quite at Nelly’s pace.

So then what happened?

The next event was the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.  Korda took a 10 on a hole in the first round, and it’s been downhill ever since.

She missed the cut in three straight tournaments, two of which were major championships.  She went home to Florida for some family time with her parents, tennis star brother Sebastian and sister Jessica – a former LPGA star – and her own family.

As Nelly prepared to return to tournament play she was bitten by a dog. That made headlines, too. These are indeed strange times for the best player in women’s golf.

Before teeing off in the Evian Championship in France Korda offered some thoughts on what suddenly happened to her game.

“I’d gone through every emotion possible – and it’s just July – on the golf course,’’ she said.  “I love this game.  I love the bad.  I love the good.  In sports, if you care so deeply about it you’re just going to go through the waves of the roller coaster.’’

She did managed to end the missed cut streak at the Evian last week but finished only in a tie for 26^th place.

“I was a little up and down,’’ she said.  “It was nice to finish birdie-eagle. Hopefully that’ll give me a nice boost into my next event, which is in three weeks.’’

And that next event is the Olympics in Paris, and she is the defending champion.

Korda is looking forward to another Olympic experience, although she won’t be able to share the time with sister Jessica, who has dropped off the LPGA Tour to concentrate on her own family duties. Nelly said it’s “sad’’ that Jessica won’t be with her this time.

“The game humbles you enough, and that’s something I learned a great deal recently,’’ she said.  “I’m really lucky to have the support system I have.  They’re the reason why I’m still here. I’m just super grateful they were in town and we got to hang out and take time for each other.’’

Now that the Evian is over Korda is taking another break. It’s not family time, though.  She’s going to see her best friend in Croatia.

“She’s getting married, but I’ll be missing her wedding for the Solheim Cup, so I’m going to see her and get back to grinding again,’’ said Korda.

The women’s golf competition at the Olympics is Aug. 7-10.  The Solheim Cup – the biggest team event in women’s golf – is Sept. 10-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia.

Korda, just 25, remains No. 1 on the Rolex Rankings. This year she’s experienced all the good things and a most unexpected slump all in a span of seven months.

In a pro career that started in 2017 she has 14 tournament victories and earned nearly $12 million. That’s a solid career already, but Korda has a lot of great golf challenges ahead of her.  It’ll be intriguing to see how she responds.

 

 

 

 

Another book about Tiger Woods?  When I heard about `Tiger, Tiger’ I wondered why. After all, it’s obvious that this once great golfer’s playing career is in obvious decline.

And then I considered the author.  James Patterson is not just one of the most prolific writers over at least the last few decades.  He’s also one of the very, very best.  His work is popular in both the fiction and non-fiction areas.

He’s created some unforgettable characters, most notably in his Alex Cross series. He’s also done true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon and Princess Diana and brought to light the horrendous sex scandal account of Jeffrey Epstein. He’s co-authored novels with, among others, Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton and told his own story in the appropriately named “James Patterson by James Patterson.’’

What else could this guy do?

Well, `Tiger, Tiger’  (Little Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group, littlebrown.com) is – at the very least – the first full-scale Woods biography. The complete title includes “His life as it’s never been told before.’’

A lot of books have been written with Woods as a main character, but nothing from this perspective. Woods’ extraordinary career merits it.

Patterson does it chronologically.  The chapters are very short, usually about five pages. Each begins with a site, a location and a date. It’s 439 pages and you don’t breeze through it in a few sittings. There’s no pictures to break up or enhance the copy. Still, it’s easy reading.

Woods’ relationship with his father, Earl, and his own with his son Charlie, are particularly endearing.

For the avid golfer it stirs all sorts of memories – of Woods’ spectacular victories as well as his human shortcomings and personal health challenges. It’s a very fair appraisal of Woods’ life. There’s no going overboard on the good times – or the bad ones.

 

 

 

BY LEN ZIEHM

JEKYLL ISLAND, Georgia – State parks are a big thing in Georgia, with one in particular standing out — an old place with a sparkling new look.

Needless to say Jekyll Island isn’t your ordinary state park.  There are 600 residents on the island, located on the outskirts of Brunswick off the Intracoastal Waterway near the bigger cities of Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, FL.

Jekyll offers a lot of things – a 22-mile bike and hiking trail, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, the Summer Waves Water Park, The Wharf (a most memorable fun waterfront restaurant), the most enchanting Driftwood  Beach, tennis, croquet and fishing centers, horse stables, a campground, a wide variety of lodging and gift shops and 63 holes of golf.

What Jekyll is really all about, though, is history. There really isn’t another place like it.

Those 63 holes of golf are enticing, but they aren’t part of this report. This is to report on a $25 million renovation that touched most areas of the property.

“ There was a Master Plan put into effect 10-12 years ago,’’ said Kevin Baker, director of sales and marketing for the Jekyll Island Club Resort.  “That included a Convention Center and Beach Village, but it feels different here now because the majority of the big construction is done. A lot of things were completed last year and the Master Plan is pretty much complete now. Just little bits and pieces are still being upgraded.’’

A look back at what Jekyll Island was shows how far it has come.  Fifty of the weathiest families in America combined efforts to create what was considered “the richest, most exclusive and most inaccessible club in the world.’’

It opened in 1888 and because a playground for the rich and famous.  Its early members were J.P. Morgan, William Rockefeller, Vincent Astor, Joseph Pulitzer, William Vanderbilt and Marshall Field. The club became known as a “Southern Haven for America’s Millionaires.’’

With no roads available, those fortunate few arrived by boat and moved around the island in carriages.  Electricity was available on the island before it came to most of the rest of the country. Life was good.

The club had a big clubhouse facing a swimming pool that was 10 feet deep throughout. The Grand Dining Room and Alexander’s lobby bar (named after clubhouse designer Charles A. Alexander)  were the most popular hotspots.

Residents could design and build their own homes or cottages, and they all had different tastes.   The variety of architectural looks added to the beauty of the place.

In addition to the Jekyll Island Club Resort hotel there were 12 cottages back in those days, and three were addressed in the recent renovation. The biggest was the Crane Cottage, built in 1917 by a member who made his fortune in the plumbing industry.  It had 20 guest rooms and 17 baths.  In the renovation it was reduced to 13 guest rooms but remains an almost weekly site for weddings.

The San Souci Cottage, built in 1896, was the country’s first condominium.  J.P. Morgan devised the shared ownership concept, but that’s  just one of a series of milestones at the island. The Federal Reserve System got its start at a secret meeting there in November of 1907, when the club was largely empty, and the first transcontinental phone call was also made from Jekyll in 1915.

Everything was wonderful – until it wasn’t.

The Great Depression started the club’s downfall and World War II speeded up the process.  Members were afraid that German submarines would invade the local waters and they sold their places in droves, bringing an end to what Jekyll calls its “ Club Era.’’

From 1942 to 1948 the place deteriorated slowly and the furniture used by the rich and famous was left in the homes and cottages. It was all taken to a central location in the 1950s as the former owners didn’t want to take it with them.

In 1948 Jekyll went public and was declared a State Park. The old buildings were used by visitors, and some of the old furniture was brought back, but  the flavor of the good old days was missing until recently when 200 guest room at the Jekyll Island Club were upgraded.

“Every single guest room was completely renovated,’’ said Baker. “More color was brought into the rooms.  In the past everything was painted white.  The exterior of the buildings hasn’t changed, but now the colors in the rooms really pop. We maintained the historic rooms.  It was a modern take on history. It’s been more like a coastal eclectic look while honoring the past.’’

The rooms have all been tastefully done following a series of ownership changes. All have fireplaces, and the Grand Dining Room was completely renovated and is serving breakfasts and Sunday buffets.  Dinner dining will resume in the spring.

“By no means is it modern, but it’s very historic.  That’s why people come here,’’ said Baker. “Luxury and style were elevated to a level that it should be.  The guest rooms are now at the level of comfort and style of the luxury hotels, but what makes us special is our history.’’

That is in the spotlight at the Mosaic Museum, which is also the base for daily guided tours.  The tours are great, but visitors can check out all parts of the island on bicycles.  They’re readily available and can go places where automobiles can’t. Boat trips are also available.

You don’t have to stay in the cottages or the historic hotel.  There’s plenty of other lodging  that includes Marriott, Hilton,Westin, Holiday Inn and Days Inn  properties

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is an especially interesting attraction, and it is given extra promotion with stuffed turtles (available for purchase) available in every guest room.

Beach Village gives the island a major attraction entirely separate from the Historic District. Beach Village features the oceanside Eighty Ocean Kitchen and Bar at the Jekyll Ocean Club and a splash pad has been added for youngsters. The Village is also loaded with shops, which makes it an ideal spot to take a relaxing stroll.

Churches are in abundance, too, starting with the Faith Chappel that opened as an interdenominational church for members in 1904. It now offers an Episcopal service and there are also Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist churches.

One thing that you can’t miss are the magnificent trees. The one that stands out is a Plantation Oak.  It’s the biggest and oldest – estimated to be about 350 years old – on the property but there are other eye-catching ones, too.

 

 

 

 

 

Patty Berg, a true golf legend, won 63 professional tournaments from 1937 through 1958 and was the first president of the Ladies PGA Tour.  For much of her career she represented Joe Jemsek’s St. Andrew’s facility in West Chicago but since her heyday the LPGA has been tough for Chicago players.

Berwyn native Nicole Jeray toiled on the tour for three decades. Now teaching at Mistwood, in Romeoville, she had recent success on the Legends of the LPGA senior circuit but hasn’t had a win yet. Another Illinois native, Nancy Scranton from downstate Centralia, captured one of the LPGA major titles — the duMaurier Classic, in 1991.  She had two other LPGA victories and five wins on the Legends Tour.

Otherwise no Illinois player made an impact on the LPGA Tour — until Elizabeth Szokol earned her playing privileges, that is.

Though she lives in Florida now Szokol has solid Illinois roots.  She grew up in Winnetka and was on New Trier’s varsity team for four seasons.  The Trevians finished in the top three of the state high school  tournament every year and won the title in 2010. Then Szokol spent two seasons at Northwestern before transferring to Virginia.

Last July she broke into the LPGA winner’s circle for the first time at the Dow Great Lakes Invitational in Midland, Mich. It was a team event, with Cheyenne Woods as her partner, but that still counts as a win and it meant a lot to Szokol.

“It’s been amazing,’’ she said.  “It was definitely a confidence booster and made the next few years a little bit easier, which is great. It shows me I can compete with the best in the world, and I’m looking forward to doing that.’’

A champion gets more playing opportunities on the LPGA circuit, a perk for winning on most every golf tour. Szokol had a couple of significant wins before turning pro.  She captured the Illinois Women’s State Amateur in 2012 and the Stanford NCAA Regional in 2016 after transferring to Virginia for her last two seasons as a collegiate player.

She also earned a victory on the Epson Tour – the LPGA’s developmental circuit, in 2018. Szokol was hot that entire year, finishing it off with four top-10s in her last five starts to finish fourth on the Epson money list and claim her LPGA playing privileges for the next year.

Injuries have been a problem since then. Knee surgery in December of 2017 slowed her start on the LPGA Tour and she missed the first nine tournaments of the 2022 season with a herniated disc. That issue forced her to not touch a club for 12 weeks and kept her away from the LPGA tournaments for nearly six months. No surgery was needed, just injections and rest.

The reward for her patience and determination was not only the victory. It triggered a return to the form she exhibited in 2021 when she made the cut in 13 of 23 tournaments and earned $530,570 – her best season money-wise. That season was no fluke,

In 2023 she made seven cuts in 12 starts and earned $408,497 to finish 39^th on the season money list. In both of those big years she was among the 60 qualifiers for the CME Group Tour Championship, the season-ending tournament that offers one of the biggest purses in women’s golf – $7 million.

Suffice it to say that Szokol has made it on the LPGA Tour.  She had two other top 10s in 2023.  In March, the second tournament of the season, she shot an opening-round 64 and finished in a tie for eighth at the SBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.  After the win in Michigan she tied for 10^th in the Walmart Northwest Arkansas Championship in September.  Those finishes helped boost Szokol’s LPGA career winnings to more than $1.4 million.

She was also given celebrity status when she shared a promotional role with Annika Sorenstam at a  late-season tournament.  The Annika – a rejuvenated event to honor Sorenstam – was held at the Pelican Club in Belleair, FL.  Szokol, now a Tampa resident, is a Pelican member and her swing coach is Justin Sheehan, the club’s director of golf.

She learned that the Illinois Women’s Amateur had celebrated its 90^th anniversary in the days leading into The Annika tourney. (At that time the Illinois Amateur’s future was in doubt until the Chicago District Golf Association took over the event in December).

“Hopefully that’ll inspire other Illinois girls to come out here (on the LPGA Tour) with me,’’ said Szokol. “When I was young it was great that I had that as a place to play. When I went to college at Virginia I met some teammates, and we had a contingent of players who were wanting to play on the LPGA.  It was helpful  for me to follow in their footsteps.’’

Szokol can attest to the fact that getting to the LPGA won’t be easy.

“Hopefully there’s enough information out there for any girl to get an understanding of it, an understanding of the process,’’  said Szokol.