The Constellation Senior Players Championship, in progress at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, could be the last major golf championship in the Chicago area for quite awhile. None of the pro tours have such a tournament scheduled here after the last putt drops at Exmoor on Sunday.

On PGA Tour Champions, however, majors are a little different. The 50-and-over circuit holds five of them each year. They’re 72-hole events, while most of the regular tour stops are 54 holes.

The scheduling of them is also on the weird side. This is what Scott McCarron, defending champion in the Senior Players, calls “Major Season.’’

The Senior Players is the middle major in a three-tournament stretch. David Toms won the U.S. Senior Open two weeks ago and the tour didn’t have a tournament the following week. The circuit is also idle for a week after the Senior Players before another major, the Senior British Open, tees off. No other pro tour schedules like that.

“I think it’s great,’’ said McCarron. “I love playing four-day events. I love playing where they get the golf courses tough, so it’s great to play three in six weeks basically. It’s a lot of fun for us.’’

Scott Parel had the most fun on Friday, shooting a 6-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead midway through the championship. Parel, at 11-under-par 133, leads Brandt Jobe and Jeff Maggert by one stroke and some of the circuit’s more high-profile stars – McCarron among them – are in a seven-way tie for fourth, two shots back.

Maggert dropped out of a share for the lead when he finished his round with a three-putt bogey at No. 18 on Friday. McCarron also lost a shot – and a share of second place – with a bogey at the last.

“When you make a bogey on the last hole with a sand wedge (for your approach), that’s really disappointing,’’ said McCarron. “But I’m in the mix, so it’s all right.’’

Among those joining McCarron at 9-under are Kenny Perry, the co-first-round leader with Illinois coach Mike Small; Bernhard Langer, the man McCarron upset in last year’s tournament at Caves Valley in Maryland; and the always dangerous Vijay Singh.

Small dropped into a tie for 11th after shooting a 71. Langer had won the Senior Players three years in a row before finishing second to McCarron last year. Now they could duel again in the final 36 holes at Exmoor.

If Parel hangs on to win it would be a surprise. He came to golf late, after working 10 years in the computer industry. He didn’t play college golf and didn’t turn pro until he was 31 years old.. An early starter on Friday, he didn’t think his score would hold up for the lead after his round was over – but it did.

“If the conditions stay the same you’re going to have to shoot the same kind of scores that I’ve shot the last two days to have a chance to win,’’ said Parel. “The course is in perfect shape. The greens are perfect. So guys are going to make a lot of birdies out there.’’

McCarron likes the course but doesn’t feel his defending champion status means much.

“Defending champion doesn’t mean much unless you’re coming back to the same golf course you won at,’’ he said. “Then you have some good positive vibes. Exmoor was a completely new golf course to me and a lot of guys.’’

He’s been battling a sore right ankle that will require surgery when the season is over.

“It’ll be on the ligament that goes right through the ankle. They’ll reattach it,’’ he said. “It doesn’t bother me playing golf. It just bothers me walking. Now it’s starting to bother me under the ball of the foot, so pushing off is difficult. I’m limping around, but that’s the way it goes.’’

Friday’s low score was a 64 by Peter Lonard, who climbed from a tie for 46th place into a tie for 15th. Fifty-six of the 78 starters are under par for the first 36 holes. Today’s play starts at 8 a.m. with Parel, Jobe and Maggert going off last at 10 a.m.

Illinois coach Mike Small started Friday’s second round of the Constellation Senior Players Championship in a tie for the lead and then made birdies on his first two holes. The good times didn’t last for long, however.

Small dropped back after that and finished with a 71. That didn’t knock him out of contention going into the weekend rounds at Exmoor Country Club, but the focus shifted – for awhile at least – to how his Illini stars of the last four seasons are doing in their first two months as touring pros.

Dylan Meyer earned over $200,000 in his first two starts and Nick Hardy made the cut in all four of his tournaments. Both will play on the weekend at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic after getting into the field on sponsor exemptions.

“Dylan is one of the most talented players I’ve ever coached and Nick is probably the biggest grinder and the most competitive player I’ve ever coached,’’ said Small, “so between those two guys they’ve got a good future.’’

Meyer was in Champaign last weekend and worked with Small on his putting before heading to the John Deere.

“I watched them (on TV) last night and keep tabs on the guys. They know that,’’ said Small. “We keep in touch.’’

As for his own playing future at least Small is having no trouble getting into tournaments. He is playing at Exmoor because he squeezed into the top 70 on PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup money list. He needed to hole a chip shot on his last hole in his last tournament in Madison, Wis., to do it.

That got him into the major at Exmoor and – because he was a top-10 finisher in Madison – he can also play in the 3M tournament in Minnesota after that.

Then comes the Illinois Open, which Small has won four times, and the Illinois PGA Championship, which Small has won a record 12 times. The Illinois PGA Championship ends on the day classes resume in Champaign. After that Small’s strictly a coach again, but he believes his tournament play now helps his recruiting.

“I’m going out to the U.S. Junior next week for three days,’’ he said. “What better conversation piece for recruits than this: I played with Bernhard (Langer) the Saturday of the tournament in Wisconsin, and that was a great learning experience for me. What better way for a coach to still be learning, still growing?’’

As far as playing goes he has no goals.

“If I still have fun doing it, if I still get nervous and still get a little anxiety, that’s good,’’ he said. “I’ve had a heckuva run. Golf has been very good to me. If I can do this for three or four more years and still be competitive I’ll do it. If I’m not competitive I won’t.’’

Scotland’s Trish Johnson is the only woman to have won a major senior tournament. She won the only one – the first Senior LPGA Championship last fall – and she got off to a good start on making it two-for-two in Thursday’s first round of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton.

She’s not leading, though. Elaine Crosby, a late starter, posted a 3-under-par 70 to claim a one-stroke lead on Johnson, Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann and England’s Laura Davies. Crosby, 60, plays on The Legends Tour.

Johnson, who led wire to wire in the Senior LPGA Championship at Indiana’s French Lick Resort, won’t be able to go wire to wire at Chicago Golf Club, and Crosby, a former member of the LPGA Tour who lives in Jackson, Mich., wasn’t her only problem in the first round. Johnson encountered a couple things that were unnerving.

For one, though she was in the second threesome to tee off, there was a wait at the first tee. Opening ceremonies involved remarks by Mike Davis, executive director of the U.S. Golf Association, and a stirring rendition of The National Anthem by Grammy winner Heather Headley. Then came the opening tee shot by JoAnne Carner, a ready-made photo op for fans who stood four-deep at 7 a.m. to celebrate the long-awaited national championship for women 50 and over.

“A 20-minute wait or so on the first tee, it was quite nerve-racking, to be honest,’’ said Johnson after posting her 71.

Then there was the pin position at the par-3 10th hole. Johnson put her tee shot on the 136-yard hole on the back of the green, then rolled her downhill putt past the cup, off the green and into a bunker. Playing partner Helen Alfredsson of Sweden did the same thing and so did former U.S. Women’s Open champions Pat Bradley and Amy Alcott.

“If you’re behind the flag you cannot stop it. You’ve got to be either short or to the side,’’ said Johnson, who apparently is learning fast about America’s first 18-hole course that is hosting its 12th U.S. Golf Association championship but only the second for women. The first was the U.S. Women’s Amateur way back in 1903.

Chicago Golf Club offered a look this week’s players don’t see very much. Spectators can walk with them in the fairways. There are no gallery ropes, just directional markers around the greens.

That’s not the only difference from her first major win at French Lick, a Pete Dye design.

“French Lick is harder than this course,’’ said Johnson. “The fairways here are a lot wider. French Lick’s aren’t at all; You can hardly see any of them. And here it’s four rounds walking, which is not something you do on The Legends Tour.

Crosby qualified for this Senior Open at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, shooting a 72 to earn one of the five spots offered there. A big supporter of The Legends Tour, she has hosted its Wendy’s Charity Classic tournament for the last 16 years.

“Hopefully The Legends will gain momentum from this Senior Open,’’ said Crosby. “It’ll show that we can play. We may not have a lot of tournaments, but we do have a lot of pro-ams and we’re really good at those.’’

Davies – one of the expected contenders — finished her round in style, making eagle on the 18th hole. She hit a good drive on the 425-yard par-5 and put a 7-iron approach from 168 yards to 10 feet. She played with Juli Inkster and Neumann, and they’ll be paired again in today’s second round.

Neumann and Davies go way back. They played together in 1979 in the European Junior Championship. Inkster, the third member of the threesome, is still active on the LPGA Tour but she couldn’t keep up with the two Europeans. Poor putting has hampered her much of this season, but that wasn’t the problem on Thursday.

“I hit the ball like crap,’’ she said. “I drove really bad and played defensive all day. I hit maybe four fairways with my driver, and that’s been my best club all year. But it could have been a lot worse. I’m just excited that I actually putted pretty good.’’

So did Jamie Fischer, the director of instruction at Conway Farms. A qualifier for the tournament at her home club, Fischer started the finals with a 1-over-74 and is tied for 11th place after Round 1.

Carner, the star of the show at the first tee in early morning, made birdie on the last hole to shoot her age – a 79.

So far the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open has been a feel-good story — the long-overdue creation of a national championship for women golfers who have passed their 50th birthday.

They’re delighted the U.S. Golf Association added the event to its schedule, and it’s brought a lot of former professional and amateur competitors together again. In fact, the atmosphere at Chicago Golf Club over the last three days even resembled a high school reunion, especially at Tuesday night’s players’ dinner.

“It was a lot of people just having fun, meeting old acquaintances, catching up with people,’’ said Juli Inkster, one of the favorites to be at the top of the leaderboard after the regulation 72 holes wrap up on Sunday at the Wheaton layout that became America’s first 18-hole course in 1893.

Now the socializing is over, and it’s down to business with the challenge of becoming the first champion of the USGA’s newest national championship on the line for 120 players from the original entry of 462. The finalists will tee off starting at 7 a.m., with JoAnne Carner having the honor of smacking the first tee shot.

Carner had a brilliant amateur and professional career. She won an NCAA title, a U.S. Junior crown, five U.S. Amateurs, two U.S. Opens and 43 Ladies PGA tournaments. She deserves the honor of hitting the first ball, but Carner is 79 now and her chances of winning this week are slim and none.

She has fought recent hip problems and spent 2 ½ weeks of the last month on a boat trip to the Bahamas. That’s hardly conducive to good preparation for a big tournament. Still, Carner walked 18-hole practice rounds the last three days in 90-degree heat, and said with a grin “I’m always ready. I’ve been waiting 29 years for this. I was hoping I’d still be alive to play in it.’’

Carner will probably do just fine, but there figures to be just four main challenges for the coveted title. Inkster is one, mainly because she still plays frequently against the young stars on the LPGA circuit.

Hampered by putting problems, she hasn’t had a good year, though. Inkster shot 79-77 and missed the cut in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes, in Kildeer, two weeks ago. She is switching back to a cross-handed putting grip this week after using a claw most of the season.

“My path was bad,’’ she said. “I don’t know how you get into these funks, but I do.’’

She been working with her club professional husband Brian to correct the problem, but the results haven’t been encouraging so far.

“He’s been drinking a lot this week, poor guy,’’ quipped Inkster.

The member of the favorite foursome who would seem to be the best bet to win is Scotland’s Trish Johnson, mainly because she was the winner of the only previous major championship for senior women. She led wire to wire in the Senior LPGA Championship last fall at French Lick Resort in Indiana. Johnson also won a Legends event in Washington this year.

Two other foreign players – Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann and England’s Laura Davies – are the other members of the favored foursome. Neumann, winner of 13 LPGA titles and 11 European Tour events, has also won three times on the Legends Tour, for LPGA stars of the past who have reached their 45th birthday.

Davies, a World Golf Hall of Famers, has remained competitive on the LPGA Tour. She is Inkster’s favorite to win this week.

“I don’t know about being the favorite,’’ said Davies, “but the USGA is taking this seriously because it’s an inaugural event. It’s the real deal. The USGA has done the players proud, and hopefully now we’ll do them proud with our performances on the course.’’

Though that foursome appears to be the class of the field, there are some other interesting possibilities.

Jane Blalock is the founder of the Legends Tour, and Suzy Whaley will soon become the first female president of the PGA of America. Blalock got in the field as a sponsor’s exemption and Whaley survived sectional qualifying. So did Kay Cockerill, a former LPGA player who converted into a tournament analyst for The Golf Channel.

Cockerill will have her husband Danny as her caddie. He was on her bag during Cockerill’s years on the LPGA Tour but hasn’t carried since Kay’s failed attempt at a U.S. Open qualifying round in 2006.

There is also a sister duo in the field. Hollis Stacy was a three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion. Her sister, Martha Leach won a U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. The last time they played together in a tournament was in 1990, at the U.S. Open.

It isn’t that Mike Small hasn’t gotten into big golf tournaments before. The super successful men’s coach at the University of Illinois has remained a competitive player in large part by taking advantage of sponsor’s exemptions.

Small didn’t get an invitation to this week’s Constellation Senior Players Championship, which tees off at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park on Thursday, however. It’s the third of the season’s five major events on PGA Tour Champions, and the only way Small could get into the field was by making it into the top 70 on the circuit’s Charles Schwab Cup money list.

“This is real special because you have to qualify to get in,’’ said Small. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to play. Majors are always something you get up for….majors are different.’’

So, at the same time that Dylan Meyer and Nick Hardy – the stars of Small’s Illini teams of the last four seasons – are playing in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in downstate Silvis, Ill., on sponsor exemptions the coach will be part of the strongest field of the season on the 50-and-over tour.

Small made it off his performances in three tournaments in which he received sponsor invites. He used those three starts to earn $103,895. That moved him to No. 68 on the Schwab Cup money list.

“I knew I had to have a top 10 finish in Wisconsin (the American Family Insurance Classic in Madison) to make the field,’’ said Small.

He barely made it thanks to a tie for 10th in a tournament organized by Steve Stricker that ended on June 24. Small and Stricker were teammates on Illini teams in the 1980s.

Two weeks before his strong finish in Wisconsin Small tied for ninth in the Principal Charity Classic in Iowa and he also had a tie for 24th in the Cologuard Classic in Arizona in March. Small learned that his spot in the Senior Players field was official while he was on the Exmoor course over the weekend.

“It’s always fun to play in front of Chicago fans,’’ said Small. “I played in the Western Open many times when it was at Cog Hill, and being at Exmoor is going to be a semi-home game for me. We have a lot of Illinois alumni and friends who are members at Exmoor. I’m excited to go up there to compete.’’

Vince Pellegrino, vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association – the manager of this Senior Players event, is excited, too.

“Mike’s well-known and respected throughout the Midwest, and we expect his presence to add an extra energy level and excitement to the championship,’’ said Pellegrino.

Interestingly, Stricker – one of the top players on PGA Tour Champions – will skip this major to compete in the John Deere Classic instead. He’s a three-time winner of that event. Davis Love III, who is also eligible to compete on the 50-and-over circuit, will also play in the JDC, in part because that tournament gave a sponsor’s exemption to his son Dru.

The Western Golf Association had planned to hold its Western Amateur championship at Exmoor this year, but the club campaigned for the senior major over two years ago and was successful. So, the Western Amateur will tee off later this month at Sunset Ridge, in Northfield, and Exmoor will serve as that tournament’s host at a later date.

Exmoor is one of Chicago’s most historic golf venues. The club was founded in 1896 and is the third oldest in Illinois behind Wheaton’s Chicago Golf Club (1893) and Lake Forest’s Onwentsia (1895). Chicago Golf Club will host the inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Open at the same time the Constellation Senior Players Championship is in progress.

Charles Blair Macdonald, founder of Chicago Golf Club, also designed Exmoor’s original nine-hole course. Donald Ross turned it into an 18-hole course in 1915 and architect Ron Prichard completed a renovation of the course in 2003.

Forty-one of the 78 players in this week’s field were expected to check in on Monday and the rest can practice on the course on Tuesday. Gates open to the public for Wednesday’s pro-am before four days of tournament play begin on Thursday.

Golf was a different game when Pat Bradley won the ultimate title available to her, the U.S. Women’s Open. She did it at LaGrange Country Club in 1981, coming from three strokes behind in the last round to post a 66 and beat out Beth Daniel and Kathy Whitworth. It was the crowning achievement in Bradley’s Hall of Fame career.

“I went back 25 years later and played the course from the same yardage,’’ said Bradley. “But I found the ball and equipment had changed. I didn’t have metal woods back then. I had persimmon. In today’s world the equipment and balls are much stronger. We weren’t fitted for our clubs. If it felt good, we’d take it.’’

Bradley played her last U.S. Open at Merit Club, in Libertyville, in 2000 but she never stopped competing. Her last event on the LPGA tour was the 2004 Dinah Shore Championship, when she was 53 years old and a World Golf Hall of Famer for 13 years.

“Even that was stretching it,’’ said Bradley. “A lot of us hung on longer than we should have beause we knew that when it was over it was really over.’’

Eventually The Legends Tour was created for players who had reached their 45th birthday. That meant Bradley could compete in a few tournaments each year but it wasn’t the same as the men’s immediately popular Senior PGA Tour (now called PGA Tour Champions).

This week, though, the past merges with the present for Bradley. She’s part of the 120-player field for the inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Open, which tees off on Thursday at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton. The U.S. Golf Association’s newest national championship will be played on America’s first 18-hole course. There’s something special about that.

“I’ve been waiting for this Open for 17 years. I wish it was 17 years ago, but it’s here now and I’m grateful,’’ said Bradley, now 67.

There are other special things playing into Bradley’s golf career now. The rest of the golf world was slow to show respect for the players of her era, but last fall the LPGA scheduled its first event for its former stars — the Senior LPGA Championship at Indiana’s French Lick Resort. That meant the end of The Legends Championship, but a bigger and better event was put in its place.

And, what was once the LPGA Championship is now called the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – an event played at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer two weeks ago. The PGA of America took over management of that tournament from the women’s group three years ago and made it bigger and better.

Bradley’s nephew, Keegan Bradley – every bit the fierce competitor his aunt is – won the men’s PGA Championship in 2011. That’s a source of family pride, too, but it took far too much time for the women’s game to catch up to the men’s.

The PGA has held its men’s Senior Championship since 1937 and the PGA Tour has had its senior circuit, now called PGA Tour Champions, since 1980. That same year the USGA conducted its first U.S. Senior Open for men.

PGA Tour Champions will also be playing in Chicago on the same days as the U.S. Women’s Senior Open this week. It’ll hold its Constellation Senior Players Championship at Exmoor, in Highland Park.

Schedule conflicts aside, at least the women will finally get their chance. Unlike the Senior LPGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Senior Open is a walking-only event for those who have reached their 50th birthday. Also, unlike the LPGA, this national championship had nation-wide qualifying rounds. Entries hit 462, with this week’s field comprised of players (like Bradley) invited off past performance with those who survived the qualifiers.

The walking-only requirement has ruled out several LPGA stars of the past, most notably Nancy Lopez who has undergone knee replacement surgery. Lopez will be on hand as a starter.

Bradley, though, won’t be there for ceremonial purposes. She is serious about competing and has contacted her former swing instructor, Gail Davis, to sharpen her short game. Davis, now 81 years old, is living in Garland, Tex. She was an LPGA player in the 1960s. Bradley has also re-connected with Bob Rotella, her psychologist.

“We’re trying hard, and we’ve had a great run-up to the tournament,’’ said Bradley. “We’re very excited, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. We’re going to make history here.’’

The favorites would seem to be Scotland’s Trish Johnson, who won the first Senior LPGA Championship; Juli Inkster, who still competes on the LPGA Tour; and England’s long-hitting Laura Davies, who needs a win to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

“This is a huge event for Laura,’’ said Bradley.

It’s also a big event for Chicago Golf Club, which has hosted 11 USGA championships. The club last opened its doors to the public for a tournament in 2005, when the Walker Cup matches were played there.

“The USGA really found a beauty for this tournament,’’ said Bradley. “This course will be fair, whether you’re a short hitter or a Laura Davies hitter.’’

The field will play 18-hole rounds on Thursday and Friday, and the low 50 including ties will play 36 more holes on the weekend to determine the first U.S. Women’s Senior Open champion.

Watching the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship wrap up on Sunday created good vibes for Steve Jouzapaitis, the owner of Kemper Lakes. What was once one of America’s most prominent golf venues could be again, following a successful staging of a major championship.

“I expected more issues and things to address, but everything was so smooth,’’ said Jouzapaitis. “We got a lot of compliments from the PGA this week. I think we delivered.’’

Kemper’s tournament resume was created in its days as a public course from 1979 to 2004, when the four-year transition to a private facility began. The club hosted the men’s PGA Championship – its biggest event – in 1989.

Since turning private the club’s only tournament was the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship, which has been played each May. The success of this KPMG Women’s PGA Championship might change that.

Jouzapaitis was particularly pleased by an on-air comment by NBC announcer Dan Hicks, who called Kemper “one of the most spectacular golf venues in the world.’’

“Kemper Lakes is back,’’ said Jouzapaitis. “We got real good press, and we will keep our options open to host something in the future. We’re glad to be back in the spotlight, in front of the public.’’

First possibility might be the 2021 BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup Playoff event for members of the PGA Tour. The Western Golf Association alternates sites of that event with Chicago courses hosting every other year. It’ll be at Aronimink, in Philadelphia, in September and then will be played at Medinah in 2019. No site is set beyond that, as BMW’s sponsorship agreement will expire after the Medinah tournament.

Frustration for Henderson

Brooke Henderson, the 21–year old Canadian, had another strong finish in the KPMG tournament – a tie for sixth – but she wasn’t a happy camper.

Henderson started the final round in second place, three strokes behind leader So Yeon Ryu, and was out of contention for good after making three bogeys in the first six holes. Her day got worse from there before it got better. At. No. 11 Henderson left a shot in the rough and broke her wedge in half when she slammed it on the turf. She got her lone birdie at No. 17 and finished with a 2-over-par 74.

In her previous three appearances in the tourney Henderson finished fifth in 2015 after getting into the field on a sponsor’s exemption, won the title in 2016 and finished as the runner-up last year at Olympia Fields.

Bring on the Crown

Final seedings as well as the players who will participate in the third UL International Crown competition will be announced today (MONDAY) but host Korea and the U.S. will be the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. The eight-team event will be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon City from Oct. 4-7. Each team has four players, all chosen off the Rolex World Rankings at the conclusion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The first International Crown was played at Caves Valley in Maryland in 2014 with Spain winning. The U.S. won the last competition in 2016 at Merit Club in Libertyville. Two members of that U.S. team – Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr – are already assured places on this year’s team and they’re excited about defending the title.

“It’ll be massive in Korea,’’ said Thompson. “We’ll get a lot of people out there watching us. It’ll be a great two weeks. Golf is huge over there.’’

Thompson plans to stay in Korea to compete in the Hana Bank Championship the week after the Crown.

“It’s a great format and a great event,’’ said Kerr. “It certainly has grown over the two times that we’ve had it, and being in Korea is going to take it to a whole new level. It’s going to be huge, huge, huge.’’

Too little, too late

Thompson, the best American player wth a No. 3 Rolex World Ranking, got it going on Sunday when she played holes four through seven in birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle. She made three bogeys after that and settled for a 68 and a tie for 15th.

The battle for the fourth and final spot on the U.S. team for the UL International Crown will apparently go to Michelle Wie, who held it going into the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She finished the 72 holes at even par after a 2-under 71 on Sunday and was in a tie for 28th. Danielle Kang, the tourney’s defending champion and Wie’s challenger for the final spot on Team USA, finished with a 73 and was two strokes behind Wie in the tournament and tied for 33rd.

Moving on

The LPGA Tour resumes its season on Thursday with the $2 million Thornberry Classic, a 72-hole event in Oneida, Wis. The KPMG Women’s PGA Classic will be played next at Hazeltine, in Chaska, Minn. The last of the many major events held there was the Ryder Cup of 2016.

Next major for LPGA players is the Ricoh Women’s British Open from Aug. 2-5. Its purse of $3,250,000 is $400,000 less than that awarded after Sunday’s event at Kemper Lakes.

The possibility is remote, but China’s Shanshan Feng – in a tie for 54th place at the start of Saturday’s third round of the 64th KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – could still win the title on Sunday and regain her place as the No. 1-ranked player in women’s golf.

Feng demonstrated on Saturday what one good round can do for a player in the third of the five major annual championships on the Ladies PGA Tour. She shot a 5-under-par 67 and was in a tie for ninth place after she turned in her scorecard.

“I just had a very good day,’’ said Feng, who has spent time in the No. 1 spot in the Rolex World Rankings but was No. 4 before a ball was hit at Kemper Lakes.

Feng was two strokes inside the cutline after the first two rounds, which meant a fairly early tee time on Saturday. That turned out to be a big advantage in her pairing with Australian veteran Karrie Webb, winner of the last U.S. Women’s Open played in the Chicago area – at Merit Club in Libertyville 18 years ago.

“We were lucky because we got the front nine done without all the heat,’’ said Feng. “After we made the turn it was horrible. It was so hot, and the breeze was hot. My caddie felt so bad that he actually had another caddie walking outside of the ropes with us. He thought maybe he would pass out, but he didn’t.’’

The backup bag-toter, identified by Feng as “Cheeseburger Chad,’’ didn’t need to pick up her bag as Feng – 2-over-par after 36 holes – got to 3-under 213 for 54 holes.

A travel dilemma

Nelly Korda didn’t know what to do after finishing a disappointing first 36 holes on Friday morning. Missing the cut seeming a distinct possibility.

“I guessed I’d be going to look at flights to get back home (Florida),’’ she said. “I’m glad we didn’t, but it was a bit nerve wracking.’’

The third round, which lasted over 13 hours, finally ended after 8 p.m. with the last players needing over five hours to complete their 18 holes. Korda had to wait until all of them were finished to be assured she had survived the cut right on the number – 3-over-par 147. The wait was worth it, as Korda drew one of the first tee times on Saturday and shot 68 when conditions – in her words — “weren’t as tough.’’

“There were some low scores out there, and I’m just happy that I got it done,’’ she said. Her playing partner, pregnant American star Stacy Lewis, benefitted, too. She shot a 70 to get into a tie for 36th when she finished.

A new No. 1?

Inbee Park’s failure to survive the 36-hole cut at Kemper Lakes means that there will be a new No. 1-ranked player in the Rolex World Rankings after the last putt drops on Sunday.

No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn, No. 3 Lexi Thompson, Feng and No. 5 So Yeon Ryu all have a chance at being No. 1 by late Sunday afternoon. Jutanugarn, Thompson and Feng would all get the top spot with a win.

Thompson could get it with a runner-up finish if Jutanugarn finishes third or worse. Feng must win to move up and Ryu could be No. 1 by winning if Jutanugarn finishes third or worse.

Jutanugarn, Feng and Ryu have all been No. 1 at some point. Jutanugarn held the top spot for two weeks last year. Feng owned it for 23 weeks between November, 2013, and April of this year. Ryu was No. 1 for 19 weeks in 2017. Thompson has been as high as No. 2 but has yet to claim the top spot.

Baltusrol lands 2023 tourney

The PGA of America announced Saturday that Baltusrol, in New Jersey, will host the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2023. The event goes to Hazeltine, in Minnesota, next year and to Aronimink, in the Philadelphia area, in 2020. No sites have been assigned for 2021 or 2022.

Baltusrol also landed the men’s PGA Championship in 2029. The club’s Lower Course has hosted one previous women’s major championship – the 1961 U.S. Women’s Open, which was won by Mickey Wright. It has hosted the men’s PGA twice – in 2005 when Phil Mickelson won the title and in 2016 when Jimmy Walker was the winner.

The next men’s PGA, the 100th playing of the championship, will be at Bellerive in St. Louis in August. It’ll be the last time the tournament is held in the fall. The PGA of America will move it to May in 2019.

Danielle Kang began the defense of her title in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Thursday in less than impressive fashion. She shot 73 at soggy Kemper Lakes, and it was not a pretty site.

At one point Kang was doubled over in pain, the cause of which she suspected was the waffles she had for breakfast.

“I tried to keep it under wraps the whole day, but I had a really bad stomachache before I even teed off,’’ said Kang. “I threw up after nine and just kept trying to not feel it.’’

She wasn’t all too successful at that, and it didn’t help that she was paired with Inbee Park and Ariya Jutanugarn, the Nos. 1- and 2-ranked players in the world. Jutanugarn shot 72 and Park matched Kang’s 73.

“We had the (TV) camera following us all day, and I didn’t want to throw up on camera,’’ she said. “I went to the Port-a-Potty a couple times to do it, but the Port-a-Potties are so gross. What are you going to do? It’s not the food, it’s me. I’m just really sensitive. I don’t eat eggs, I don’t eat sausages because I’ve gotten food poisoning off of those. I just don’t feel good. I think it’s just some crap that I ate this morning.’’

While her stomach was sub-par, Kang didn’t feel her golf game was.

“I’m hitting the ball great, so I hope I feel better for the next three days,’’ she said. “I should feel better by tomorrow.’’

WHO’S NO. 1?: The top spot in the Rolex World Rankings is on the line this week and any one of five players could be No. 1 after the last putt drops on Sunday. One is So Yeon Ryu, who is currently No. 5. Last year she moved into the top spot during KPMG Women’s PGA Championship week at Olympia Fields.

“When I was No. 1 I didn’t realize how much pressure I was under,’’ said Ryu, “After I dropped in the ranking I realized there was a lot, but it was definitely worth it. As a professional golfer it’s a huge honor to become the No. 1 player in the world. I really want to get back to that position. Hopefully I’m going to win this tournament and become No. 1 again.’’

The four players ahead of Ryu are fellow Korean Park, Jutanugarn of Thailand, American Lexi Thompson and Shanshan Feng of China.

RAIN, RAIN STAY AWAY: Veteran Brittany Lincicome had no complaints with the Kemper Lakes course, even though it showed the effects of the recent heavy rains.

“I wish we wouldn’t have gotten all that rain because it would have been cool to see it play more firm and fast but, again, being a long hitter, the longer the better for me,’’ said Lincicome. `The course is in great shape. There’s not very many divots, the greens are rolling pure and the rough is nice and thick. I love it.’’

She’s a happy camper as far as things are going off the course as well.

“Just the way they’re treating us in the clubhouse and dining, it’s a wonderful week,’’ she said. “I wish we had way more of these events.’’

Here and there

Thursday’s first round of the Web.com Tour’s Land of Lincoln Championship at Panther Creek in Springfield was good for Chicago players. Nick Hardy and Carlos Sainz Jr. shot 65s and are tied for sixth place and Brad Hopfinger carded a 68 and is tied for 35th.

This is a year for unfortunate tournament scheduling, not just in Chicago where the KPMG tourney goes head-to-head with the Women’s Western Amateur, but nationally as well. The women’s event isn’t the only major on tap this week. The U.S. Senior Open, conducted by the U.S. Golf Association, also teed off on Thursday at The Broadmoor in Colorado. Four Chicago players are competing – Champions Tour veteran Jeff Sluman plus pros Roy Biancalana and Gary March and amateur Glenn Przbylski, all survivors of the nation-wide qualifying rounds.

A record round was recorded during the 36-hole stroke play qualifying at the 118th Women’s Western Amateur, which is in progress at Mistwood in Romeoville. Emilee Hoffman of Folsom, Calif., carded a 7-under-par 65, which tied the Mistwood women’s record set by Aimee Neff en route to her victory in the 2008 Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open. Hoffman, who also matched the tournament’s stroke play record set by Carol Semple Thompson in 1991 at Firethorn in Nebraska, was the Mistwood medalist. Match play there runs through Saturday.