Michelle Wie’s days as a young phenom are over. In her early years she did things very few women players ever did, competing against the best women in her mid-teenage years and later taking on the men in a few PGA Tour events that included two appearances in the John Deere Classic.

With five wins on the LPGA Tour including this year in Singapore and the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014, Wie is a veteran player and the memories of those news-making early challenges are fading.

One of Wie’s first young phenom appearances was at Kemper Lakes, when she played in the now defunct U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in 2001. Wie was just 11 years old.

“If I said I remember this golf course I would be lying,’’ she said while awaiting her 12th appearance in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “I have a lot of great memories, except for the golf course, so I don’t know if having played here before will benefit me or not. But it is a fun fact.’’

While Wie doesn’t remember what Kemper looked like 17 years ago when it was still a public course, she does like what she’s seen in this week’s practice rounds.

“Those finishing holes are amazing,’’ she said. “They’re going to be a great challenge coming in, but it’s a great golf course overall.’’

AGELESS: Juli Inkster, at 58, is the oldest player in the field at Kemper Lakes, and she’s on a mission. Though she has won 31 tournaments and seven major championships during her LPGA career, it’d be a huge surprise if she won this week.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Inkster became the first champion of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open next month at Chicago Golf Club, however. In fact, Inkster and Scotland’s Trish Johnson figure to be the top contenders in the new tournament.

“I haven’t been playing great this year, but I’m starting to play better,’’ said Inkster. “I’m looking forward to that tournament, and I’m very excited. To win any USGA title is a feather in your cap, but to win the first one would be really nice. That tournament is 10 years too late. I wish the Patty Sheehans, Joanne Carners and Kathy Whitworths would all have a chance to compete. But, it is a step in the right direction.’’

Inkster is playing Kemper Lakes for the first time in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and she’ll get her first look at Chicago Golf Club next week.

NO ANNIKA, BUT….The legendary Annika Sorenstam, who stepped away from tournament golf 10 years ago, won’t be at Kemper Lakes where she had been the runner-up in the 1992 U.S. Amateur. Sorenstam’s sister Carlotta, however, will be one of eight LPGA teaching pros in the field.

Heading that group is Wendy Doolan, who won last year’s LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals National Championship. The others include Dr. Alison Curdt, who is a dual member of the PGA and LPGA teaching divisions. She tied for 71st competing against men in the PGA National Professionals Championship last week and became the third woman to complete all 72 holes of that tournament.

SAY CHEESE: Ariya Jutanugarn, the U.S. Women’s Open champion and No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has an unusual pre-shot routine that is well worth watching. She stands behind the ball and smiles before stepping up and hitting it. Her performance instructors, Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, suggested it.

“I’ve been doing this for three years already,’’ said Jutanugarn. `I want to create a happy feeling before the shot. I not only just smile, but I also feel something.’’

CLUBBING: The Illinois PGA will host a Women’s Team Skills Challenge event on Thursday at Twin Orchard Country Club in Long Grove in conjunction with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Four-player teams from Biltmore, Cantigny, Cog Hill, Harborside International, Onwentsia, Ridgemoor, Ruth Lake, Sportsman’s and Twin Orchard (which will field two teams) will compete in a format similar to the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship the PGA conducts for young golfers.

HOT DOG!!! Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, which is hosting the 118th Women’s Western Amateur this week, has another big event coming up even before it stages next month’s Illinois Women’s Open. The club will try to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest continuous line of cooked hot dogs as part of its Fourth of July celebration.

The record is 1,157 feet by Nakakyusa Kubota of Japan. Mistwood will partner with Chicago-based Vienna Beef, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The hot dogs will be lined up along Mistwood’s par-5 third hole.

The champion will defend at this week’s 64th KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes. There was some doubt about that when Danielle Kang pulled out after 11 holes at the Meijer Classic in Michigan two weeks ago, citing only “personal reasons.’’

Last week Kang didn’t seem ready for a major title defense either. She was 1-over-par after two rounds of the Walmart Southwest Arkansas Classic and missed the cut.

Kang explained herself Tuesday after completing her pro-am round on the Kildeer course that previously hosted the men’s PGA Championship in 1989. She was basically just “worn out’’ after a fourth place finish in the U.S. Women’s Open three weeks ago.

“I pulled a muscle briefly, so I wasn’t feeling that great at the start of that week,’’ Kang said of the WD during the first round in Michigan. “I didn’t want to say that because I just wanted to come back to being 100 percent before I told people that I have not been feeling well. The U.S. Open is so emotional, and I’m so dramatic.’’

Kang said the brief muscle pull came when she hit a shot out of the rough in Michigan. She tried to play through the discomfort but quickly decided “there was no point. I would rather just rest and give my body a break.’’

So that’s what she did, and that apparently did the trick.

“I’m good now. I just needed to sleep,’’ said Kang. “I hibernated. After I WD-ed I slept 18 hours, 20 hours and 11 hours. I only got up to eat one meal a day. I was so tired. I don’t know why,’’

Her play in Tuesday’s rain-hampered pro-am suggests the recovery is complete. She led her team to a 15-under-par 57, which was the best score in the morning wave. Thunderstorms delayed play in both the morning and afternoon.

Last year Kang, winner of back-to-back U.S. Amateurs in 2010 and 2011, held off Canadian Brooke Henderson to win her first LPGA tournament at Olympia Fields – and it was one of the circuit’s five majors, no less.

Henderson, on the other hand, has been great in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She tied for fifth after getting a sponsor’s exemption in 2015, became the youngest player (at 18) to win the title in 2016 and lost by one stroke to Kang last year.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Henderson this year, either. She was a late withdrawal from the U.S. Women’s Open after learning of the death of her grandfather, finished way down in a tie for 44th place in Michigan and didn’t play in the Southwest Arkansas Classic. She did, however, score a repeat win in a two-day team event — the CVS Health Charity Classic, which included some PGA Tour players. It ended on Monday.

“Last week was a bit different,’’ said Henderson. I took a week off and was able to rest a couple days,’’ she said. “The CVS Health Charity Classic was a lot of fun. It’s exciting to play against the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and the best on the LPGA Tour. It’s always a fun challenge.’’

Her pro-am pairing was also fun on Tuesday. She took her first look at Kemper Lakes in the company of Scott Ozanus, chairman of KPMG’s America region; KPMG ambassador Condoleezza Rice and Aramark president Eric Foss.

“The golf course is incredible,’’ said Henderson. “It’s beautiful. It’s quite wet, but it’s in really good condition. It’ll set up for a very challenging and fun week for all of us.’’

Players will get their last pre-tournament look at the 6,741-yard par-72 course in Wednesday’s practice rounds. Feature event on site Wednesday is the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit. Keynote speakers are Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State; KPMG chairman and chief executive officer Lynne Doughtie and retired U.S. Navy Admiral Michelle Howard.

Three Olympians –figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Maia Shibutani and hockey player Hilary Knight — will also be featured in a panel discussion.

Sabrina Bonanno of Norridge and Jessica Yuen of Bolingbrook were dominant golfers in the Illinois high school ranks and have been solid college players. Starting Tuesday, however, they’ll be experiencing something new and different as far as competition goes.

Both are in the select 120-player field in the 118th Women’s Western Amateur at Mistwood in Romeoville. The field includes players from 25 states and seven foreign countries, and they range in age from 15 to 57 – the oldest being Ellen Port of St. Louis who has six U.S. Golf Association national titles to her credit.

Port will also be in the field at the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton next month. That tournament concludes a hectic month featuring three big-time women’s events in the Chicago area. The first is the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which tees off on Thursday at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.

Though both are in the Western Amateur for the first time, Bonanno and Yuen rank among the most promising young players in the field.

A recent graduate of Arkansas-Little Rock, Bonanno won an Illinois high school title and finished second three times while at Ridgewood. Yuen, a junior-to-be at the University of Missouri, won two Illinois high school titles and was second her other two years at Nequa Valley.

Bonanno is coming off a stunning win in the Illinois Women’s State Amateur at Aldeen in Rockford. No player in the 85-year history of state tourney has dominated the event the way Bonanno did. She was medalist in stroke play qualifying, shooting a 67, and none of her matches went beyond the 15th hole.

That performance, coupled with her collegiate status, suggests the 22-year old might be ready to turn professional after this week’s prestigious event ends on Saturday. While not ruling that out, Bonanno isn’t in a hurry to make that dramatic lifestyle change.

“I’m going back to college to get my Masters in Business Administration,’’ she said. “I want to get my game where I’m shooting in the 60s, and I’m up and down right now. I know I can play at that level, but right now I’m not sure if I’m ready.’’

Her plans after the Women’s Western Am suggest she’s not. Rather than play in her first Illinois Women’s Open, also held at Mistwood in July, she’s going to Europe for a vacation and the only golf it’ll include is time spent watching the British Open.

When she returns she’ll attempt to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, then return to Arkansas-Little Rock and work on her game in addition to studying for that Masters. Professional golf can wait.

“There’s so much more golf you can play as an amateur,’’ she said. “I’d like to play in some pro tournaments as an amateur and then make a decision.’’

Yuen, who will also play in the Illinois Women’s Open for the fifth straight year, still has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining. She has one big advantage on every other player in the Western Amateur field. None know Mistwood as well as she does. Her home is 20 minutes away and she’s worked with four members of Mistwood’s teaching staff over the years.

“ I grew up playing it my entire life,’’ she said. “I’m real comfortable here. That should help me out this week.’’

One of the biggest amateur events for women, the Women’s Western Amateur has a new format this year. The starters will play 36 holes on Tuesday and Wednesday to decide the 32 qualifiers for match play, which begins on Thursday. There’ll be no secondary flights in match play, as there have been in recent years.

Scott Cassin has been the tournament director of previous eight Web.com Tour events played at Chicago golf courses, and he never had to experience a sudden death playoff — until Sunday, that is.

Chase Wright, in what might be the last playing of the Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club, rolled in a five-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Alex Prugh to win the $108,000 first prize.

Not only that, but Wright’s 72-hole score of 17-under-par 271 was the lowest winning score posted in the three years the $600,000 tourney was played at Ivanhoe. Max Homa, in 2016, and Stephen Jaeger last year were 13-under in their victories.

Wright notched his first win in four seasons on the PGA Tour’s alternate circuit. It could be a life-changer, as Wright moved from No. 35 to fifth on the Web.com money list. He looms a good bet to finish the season in the circuit’s top 25, and those players advance to the PGA Tour in 2019.

“It’s a great feeling,’’ said Wright, who is from Muncie, Ind., and played college golf at Indiana. “I’m proud that I hung in there. I probably knew this was going to happen all day. I just didn’t want to beat myself.’’

He didn’t do that, and Wright claimed that a two-putt from 80 feet for par on the par-3 17th hole “won me the tournament.’’

Actually it didn’t. Both Wright and Prugh singed the cup with birdie putts on the last hole of regulation play. Both also made pars on the first playoff hole and hit great approaches into the same hole – Ivanhoe’s No. 18 – on the second. Prugh’s stopped 12 feet from the cup, and he missed his birdie putt. Wright then made his five-footer for the win.

Wright’s first win in 83 Web.com starts came in his second playoff of the week. He was also in one for a berth in next week’s U.S. Open in a sectional qualifier at Ridgewood, N.J., last Monday. Wright didn’t win that one and learned later that his status as an alternate won’t be good enough to get into the field when play begins at Shinnecock Hills in New York on Thursday.

No problem there. Wright was happier to get a win that will have a more lasting effect on his career than just one that would get him into one big tournament.

After two decent seasons on the Web.com circuit Wright struggled last season. He had to drop down to the Canada’s McKenzie Tour, but got a win there. That helped him regain his status as a Web.com regular.

Now, thanks to Sunday’s strong finishes, both Wright and Prugh are in great position to advance to the PGA Tour next season. Prugh moved up from 61st to 23rd on the money list.

Whether Wright can defend the title he won Sunday, however, is doubtful. Rust-Oleum’s three-year contract as a tournament sponsor concluded on Sunday and no agreement has been reached on an extension. Contributing to the unlikelihood of the tournament returning is the retirement of Tom Reed on April 30. An Ivanhoe member, Reed was the Rust-Oleum president when the tournament was created.

The Web.com Tour has had a sporadic tenure in Chicago. Kemper Lakes hosted the first event in 2002 and the tourney moved to The Glen Club, in Glenview, the following year. It was contested there through 2008 as either the LaSalle Bank Open or Bank of American Open.

Rust-Oleum’s run featured three days of good weather before Sunday’s conclusion produced a forecast of inclement weather. Play was started at 8 a.m. in threesomes off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees and the lift, clean and place policy was invoked. It had only minimal impact on the local players who made the cut.

Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger dropped six places from the start of play and finished in a tie for 22nd place. That dropped him from 38th to 40th on the all-important money list.

Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, playing his first tournament as a professional, tied for 33rd with – among others – fellow University of Illinois alum Scott Langley.

Langley, maintaining his No. 2 ranking on the circuit money list, was sailing along with his best round of the week until his last hole. Then he put two balls in the water and took a triple bogey eight, but still finished ahead of money leader Sungjae Im of South Korea.

Hardy, happy with going all four rounds in his pro debut, will get another Web.com start in two weeks at the Lincoln Land Championship at Panther Creek in Springfield, Ill., thanks to another sponsor’s exemption. Then he’ll utilize two invites to PGA Tour events – the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Conn., and the John Deere Classic in downstate Silvis, Ill.

Nothing much went according to form in Saturday’s third round of the Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club, and it’ll be much the same on Sunday – at least at the start of the final round.

The probability of inclement weather led tournament organizers to schedule play in threesomes off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Rounds will start between 8 and 10 a.m. as opposed to the usual starts off No. 1 and the 54-hole leaders beginning their rounds at mid-day.

“It’ll be fine,’’ insisted Kyle Jones, who took over the tournament lead from playing partner Maverick McNealy. “It’ll be nice getting done at a good time.’’

The trophy presentation, as well as the awarding of the $108,000 first place check is planned for 3 p.m., and Jones isn’t the only one with a chance. Jones, at 15-under-par 201 after his 68 on Saturday, is one swing ahead of Christian Bland and two ahead of both Justin Lower and Chase Wright.

If any of those four win on Sunday it’ll be a surprise. Jones, who played collegiately at Baylor, is 67th on the Web.com Tour money list. Brand is 124th, Lower is 50th and Wright 35th. None are near the top 25, the dividing line to determine who secures spots on the PGA Tour in 2019, but a strong finish on Sunday could change that.

Jones was in the final pairing in Round 3 with 36-hole front-runner McNealy, the former collegiate hotshot for Stanford. After shooting 64 in the second round McNealy shot 73 in the third and enters the final round in a tie for ninth.

The names at the top of the leaderboard were also reflective of what happened to the four local hopefuls. None of them improved their position from the second to the third round. Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger dropped 12 places, into a tie for 16th. Nick Hardy fell 18 spots , into a tie for 40th. Scott Langley, the former NCAA champion from Illinois who is No. 2 on the Web.com money list, fell 14 places to a tie for 51st and Deerfield’s Vince India dropped 13 places into a tie for 65th.

Still, all four could improve enough to claim a good paycheck on Sunday based on the wild leaderboard changes on Saturdays.

Jones, who doesn’t even have a top-20 on the PGA’s alternate circuit this year, is holding the 54-hole lead for the first time.

“I’m excited, but I’ll try not to think about it too much because it might get into my head,’’ said Jones. He’ll be paired with Brand and Lower in the final threesome off the No. 1 tee. Brand and Lower are frequent practice partners who travel from tournament to tournament together.

“We’re in separate hotels this week, but he’s one of my best friends out here,’’ said Brand. “The secret to finding a good road trip buddy is not wanting to strangle each other, and he’s easy to get along with. We’ll have fun, but he wants to beat me more than anybody else on tour. We have our money games on Tuesdays, and there’s a lot of good trash-talking going on.’’

Saturday’s play did produce some low scores. Ryan Yip, a Canadian who played collegiately at Kent State, was low man with an 8-under-par 64. Brand carded a 65 as did Bill Kennerly, who is tied for fifth with Yip.

“It was a great day,’’ said Brand. “Ivanhoe played great, and the sun came out for us. When I woke up I wasn’t sure that would happen, but the course is in phenomenal shape.’’

Brand had one semi-miraculous shot. He hooked his drive into the trees at No. 10 but hooked a 7-iron second shot from 200 yards to 10 feet of the cup and proceeded to roll in the birdie putt.

Yip had one, too – a holed out bunker shot for birdie at No. 14.

“I had one foot in the bunker and one out, and I was falling backwards,’’ said Yip. “I was just trying to get the ball on the green.’’

Former Masters champions don’t usually play in Web.com Tour events like this week’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club. Mike Weir, the Canadian left-handed golfer who won the 2003 Masters, made it a point of coming this year, however, and Friday he was glad he did.

“Other than the Canadian Open I probably won’t play in any more PGA Tour events,’’ said Weir. “I would have probably gotten into Memphis (the PGA Tour’s St. Jude Classic) this week, but I wanted to come here.’’

His first round on Thursday was nothing special, a 1-under-par 71, but Weir climbed the leaderboard in a hurry on Friday after posting a 5-under 67. Weir’s 6-under 138 total left him six strokes behind leader Maverick McNealy midway through the $600,000 championship.

McNealy shot the low round of the tournament so far – a 64 – on Friday. His leading challengers include Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger, who is tied for fourth and four shots back after his 66 in the second round. None of the finalists, though, are as intriguing as the veteran Weir, who has played only sparingly – and without much success – the last few years.

“I played a lot better today,’’ said Weir. “Yesterday I just didn’t hit enough fairways. Today I hit every fairway. That was the key to the round.’’

Weir, 47, got into the field at Ivanhoe on a special exemption saved for players nearing their eligibility for PGA Tour Champions – the 50-and-over circuit. The closer to 50 a former major champion is, the more opportunities he’ll have on the PGA’s alternative circuit.

“I’m still a couple years away. I haven’t played a lot of golf in the last couple of years, but I want to stay sharp and I still love to compete,’’ said Weir. “I turn 48 next May. Then I can play a more full schedule on theWeeb.com. That would be the goal if I don’t get my card.’’

Weir, who has won $27 million in PGA Tour events, played in only four tournaments on the premier circuit this year, missing the cut in three and finishing tied for 73rd in the Domincan Republic in March.

That’s a long way from his status in the game just a few years ago. Weir was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for 110 weeks between 2001 and 2005. He won eight times during his years on the PGA Tour, the last coming at the 2007 Fry’s Electronics Open, but his play tailed off after he suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow in 2010.

“I had some tough years when I was battling through injuries from 2010 through 2015,’’ said Weir. “That was a difficult time for me, but the last couple of years it’s been pretty easy. I’m enjoying being around these young guys. I’m enjoying my golf a lot more than I ever have.’’

Especially on Friday, when his round included seven birdies.

“Today is progress,’’ said Weir. “That’s a good sign. My mindset is to get out here and compete. I can still find my way around a golf course, and when I’m out here I want to win, so it’s nice to be in the mix here.’’

Weir isn’t the only former major champion in the field at Ivanhoe. Shaun Micheel, who won the PGA Championship in 2003, is just two strokes behind Weir and was well under the cut line of 3-under-par 141 through the first two rounds.

More than anything, though, the Rust-Oleum Championship is a place to help young stars work their way onto the PGA Tour, and Hopfinger improved his case for cracking the top 25 on the Web.com money list. The top 25 at season’s end get PGA Tour cards. Hopfinger was No. 38 at the start of the week but will move up significantly if he continues his second-round play in the weekend rounds.

Hopfinger will have company from three other Chicago players in the final 36 holes. Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, making his professional debut, climbed 57 places into a tie for 22nd after shooting a 67 on Friday.

Scott Langley, another former University of Illinois golfer who is No. 2 on the Web.com Tour’s season money list, and Deerfield’s Vince India, who got into the field as a sponsor’s exemption, also made the cut.

The 156 starters in Thursday’s $600,000 Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club included six Chicago area players and two more who played collegiately at Illinois. None were a threat to first-round leaders Andrew Novak, of Raleigh, N.C., He claimed the 18-hole lead with a 7-under par 65.

However, four of the locals got off to solid starts. Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. posted a 3-under-par 69 and Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger, Deerfield’s Vince India and Libertyville’s Michael Schachner shot 2-under 70s.

Schachner, an Ivanhoe member, and India got into the field on sponsor exemptions and were late starters.

Sainz, who is tied for 17th place after Round 1, made birdies on four of the first six holes. He and Hopfinger are former Illinois Open champions in contention to earn PGA Tour cards for 2019.

Schachner, an Ivanhoe member and mini-tour player, was the surprise of the day while playing in the last group to tee off. India,, a college teammate of Hopfinger’s at Iowa, is a former Web.com Tour regular who has had trouble getting into tournaments this season. That trio is tied for 39th place.

Hopfinger, standing No. 38 on the Web.com Tour money list, has the best chance to advance to the main circuit at the moment. The top 25 at the end of the season advance. Sainz is down at No. 91, but coming into the portion of the season where he historically has played his best.

“I’m looking forward to the summer,’’ said Sainz. “We’re in the middle of our season now and have next week off. Then we have 11 tournaments in a row. I don’t know if I’ll play all 11, but you never know. I played 14 in a row in 2014.’’

Hopfinger was just one stroke ahead of Sainz in the fall qualifying school. Hopfinger earned full Web.com Tour privileges. Sainz had to play well in the early season chances he got. He was first alternate in the season opener before getting a chance to play.

“I was one shot out of full,’’ said Sainz, “but I got into two of the first four events based on how I finished at Q-School. Some players who tied me (in Q=School) didn’t get into anything. Then I had a top 10 (actually a tie for eighth in Colombia) and that pretty much gave me (playing) status for the rest of the year.’’

Sainz spent one unsuccessful season on the PGA Tour but could be on his way back now that he will get starts on the top alternative circuit.

“I’m happy to be on this tour again,’’ he said. “I’ve started to play some good golf. Though my scores aren’t always reflecting it, we’re on the right track.’’

Hopfinger is playing his fifth tournament in a row and had his second top-10 of the year two weeks ago at Nashville. He’s not sure how much more money he’ll need to win to make it to the PGA Tour for the first time.

“The goal is to finish in the top 25,’’ he said. “You just try to play good golf every day. That’s all you can do. You can’t think about how much you have to make.’’

As for the other locals, things didn’t go so well. Northbrook’s Nick Hardy posted a so-so 72 in his first professional round after completing his outstanding collegiate career at Illinois. A five-foot birdie putt on the final hole lifted Hardy’s spirits for Friday’s second round, when he is in the last group off the tee at 2:15 p.m.

“I didn’t have my best stuff,’’ Hardy said of Round 1. “I’m just happy to get the first round out of the way.’’

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, coming to Kemper Lakes in Kildeer from June 26 to July 1, is the biggest golf tournament coming to the Chicago area this season and it figures to be the biggest for many years to come.

Formerly called the LPGA Championship, this tournament is – with the U.S. Women’s Open – the top event on the premier women’s tour. It’s big, no doubt about it.

The men have a PGA Tour Champions major, the Constellation Senior Players Championship, coming to Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park in July at the same time the U.S. Golf Association brings its first U.S. Senior Women’s Open to Chicago Golf Club. Neither carries the historical significance that the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship does.

And, sad to say, neither the PGA of America, the U.S. Golf Association, the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions or the LPGA have any of their major tournaments scheduled in Chicago in future years. Such big events are generally scheduled many years in advance so it’s appropriate to savor this one coming to Kemper Lakes this month.

There’s some interesting symmetry involved in the connection of this tournament with this club. In 1989, when Kemper Lakes was just 10 years old, the club landed the men’s PGA Championship – the most prestigious event Kemper has ever held. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will come close.

Kemper was a young, public venue in 1989. Now, 29 years later, Kemper has landed another long-prestigious championship in similar circumstances. Kemper doesn’t have much of a track record in women’s golf. The club, now private, has never hosted a women’s professional tournament. The only thing remotely close on the women’s front was the 1992 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

So, a primer is in order. Here’s what you need to know to fully appreciate this upcoming KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

For starters, the KPMG event is the second-longest running tournament in women’s golf, having been founded in 1955. The U.S. Women’s Open is the only older one, having been first played in 1946. To put both in perspective, the LPGA Tour itself played its first season in 1950.

Three tournaments in the LPGA’s inaugural season were played in the Chicago area. The Chicago Weathervane Open, a 36-hole tournament, was played in May at Skycrest Country Club (now Twin Orchard in Long Grove). Louise Suggs won the $750 first prize. In July of that year there were two events at Tam O’Shanter in Niles. Babe Zaharias won both the All-American Open and World Championship, events staged by innovative golf promoter George S. May.

The U.S. Women’s Open made its debut in 1946, with Chicago-based Patty Berg the champion. The LPGA Championship was first played nine years later, when Beverly Hanson took home a $1,200 first prize from a $6,000 purse at Orchard Ridge in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Neither the U.S. Women’s Open nor LPGA Championship have stopped much in Chicago, making this month’s tournament a rare treat. The Open came to LaGrange Country Club in 1974 and 1981, with Sandra Haynie and Pat Bradley the champions. It didn’t return until 2000 when Australian Karrie Webb was the winner at the Merit Club, in Libertyville.

The LPGA Championship wasn’t played in these parts until last year, when Olympia Fields was the site of Danielle Kang’s first professional victory. In an unusual bit of scheduling the tourney was scheduled in the Chicago area two years in a row, Kemper landing this year’s event. The tourney goes to Hazeltine, in Minnesota, in 2019 and Aronomink, in Pennsylvania, in 2020.

Under LPGA management the tourney bounced around the country with only one major controversy. That came in 2005 when the organization’s professionals-only policy was altered so that 15-year old Michelle Wie could compete, a move designed to spur attendance and media attention. Many of the professionals objected, though Wie proved she could compete by finishing the runner-up to Annika Sorenstam.

Wie turned pro in October of that year and the professionals-only policy was restored for the 2006 LPGA Championship. Wie will also be in the field at Kemper Lakes and – unlike most every other player in the field – has tournament experience on the course. When she was just 11 Wie competed in the 2001 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Kemper.

A longer-lasting change impacted the tourney in 2015, when management was shifted from the LPGA Tour to the PGA of America and KPMG was included in the title. The sponsorship and management change has bolstered the tournament, and a record purse of $3,650,000 will be on the line at Kemper Lakes. The champion will receive $547,000, up from the $525,000 that Kang picked up for winning at Olympia.

It’s been a long time between Kemper Lakes’ hosting of the men’s and women’s PGA Championships but one tournament official was involved with both.

Kerry Haigh, chief championships officer for the PGA of America,
worked on the tournament for Northbrook-based KemperSports in 1988 and 1989 after spending four years with the LPGA. His role in golf got much bigger after that, when he joined the PGA of America.

“I know how wonderful the women PGA players are. They’re incredible,’’ said Haigh following a two-day planning session at Kemper Lakes seven weeks before the tournament proper. “Their overall fitness and dedication are comparable to the men’s tour.’’

He feels Kemper will be comparable to the much older Olympia Fields as a venue for the tournament.

“Olympia Fields was outstanding,’’ said Haigh “There are more trees there, and it was a wonderful test of golf. Kemper Lakes has a lot more water. It comes into play on six or seven holes. It’s a more modern course and, in its own way, could be more difficult and challenging than Olympia Fields.’’

Haigh remembers Kemper Lakes from 29 years ago, when the top men battled for the PGA Championship there and the late Payne Stewart emerged the champion.

“It’s matured beautifully,’’ he said. “The bunkers are significantly more in play now, and they’re more penal. It’s a really good test and the greens can make it really difficult.’’

PALM HARBOR, Florida – The Valspar Championship, the PGA Tour stop that tees off here on Thursday (TODAY) has its best field ever. Tiger Woods and Rory McElroy are here for the first time and Jordan Spieth is also on hand.

Oh, yes. Dylan Meyer is here, too. While his Illini teammates were competing in a collegiate event in Las Vegas Meyer was preparing to challenge the PGA Tour stars. He was invited off his win in a collegiate tournament that Valspar also sponsors.

“I’m ready to feel what it’s going to be like on the first tee box on Thursday,’’ said Meyer, who missed the cut in last year’s John Deere Classic – first PGA Tour start. “With Tiger and these guys it’s a bigger event, but I’ve got to keep it in perspective. This is just a good gauge for me to see where I’m. I don’t have to prove anything now.’’

But he will as soon as his last collegiate season is over.

“I’m hopefully going to be out here the next couple months after graduation,’’ he said. “I’m building up for that but feeling great about the season for the school. I’m going to keep working with Coach (Mike) Small after I’ve graduated. That’s going to be a big thing for me.’’

A change of scene for Tiger

Woods last played the famed Copperhead course when Innisbrook Resort hosted a mixed team event called the JC Penney Classic. Copperhead has been renovated since then and golf in general has changed, according to Woods.

“That was 22 years ago,’’ said Woods. “It was a different game. I had a long driver, maybe 44 inches. Half the guys were using persimmon woods and balata balls were the No. 1 ball out here.’’

Woods was 20 years old then. He’s 42 now and confident he can play two weeks in a row in his latest comeback event. He finished in a promising tie for 12th at the Honda Classic two weeks ago in his last start.

He’s played only 10 tournament rounds this season and another Florida tournament, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, is on tap for next week at Bay Hill in Orlando. That could be his final competitive tuneup event for next month’s Masters — the year’s first major championship. Woods missed that tournament three of the last four years because of injuries.

McIlroy eyes career Slam

McIlroy is also here to get ready for the Masters – the only one of golf’s four majors that he hasn’t won. He spent two days playing the Augusta National course before coming here.

“I’m totally ready,’’ he said. “I’d be happy to go to Augusta tomorrow and play and feel like I have a good chance.’’

McIlroy is the first of three players who have a shot at a career Grand Slam this year. Phil Mickelson, who won the Mexico Championship on Sunday, still needs to win the U.S. Open and Spieth’s resume is without a PGA Championship. Mickelson isn’t in the Valspar field.

“Golf is really helped with the three of us looking for the Slam, Tiger coming back, Justin Thomas playing so well and DJ (Dustin Johnson) being the No. 1 player in the world. I’m glad to be in the conversation.’’

Shades of 2015?

Spieth won the Valspar title in 2015, and that triggered a huge year for him. He followed with victories in the Masters and U.S. Open, then captured the John Deere Classic for the second time and concluded the year by taking The Tour Championship.

“This tournament brings really good vibes that can do a lot of good for me going forward,’’ said Spieth. “We’re in a very similar position to 2015 at this very moment. I really consider the Masters the start of the season with anything leading into it a preparation for the Masters.’’

Local flavor

Chicago’s two best PGA Tour players, Luke Donald and Kevin Streetman, are in the Valspar field. Donald won the Valspar in 2012 during a stretch in which he had top-six finishes in four consecutive years. Streelman won in 2013.

Streelman is coming off a two-week break and is 10-for-10 in surviving the 36-hole cut in the 2017-18 season. Though both are past Valspar champions neither played in Wednesday’s pro-am.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida – Tiger Woods made a last-minute decision to enter this week’s Honda Classic, the PGA Tour stop closest to his home in nearby Jupiter, FL. He didn’t have much of a choice, though.

The Masters is only six weeks away, and being ready for it has been Woods’ main goal in this latest of his comeback attempts, and he certainly isn’t ready now.

“I need tournament reps,’’ he declared after playing in Wednesday’s pro-am at PGA National. That’s why he filed his entry into the Honda Classic last Friday — the same day he shot 76 and missed the cut at the Genesis Open at Riviera, in California.

Justin Thomas, the world’s No. 4-ranked player, was paired with Woods for the first two rounds at Riviera and saw up close what it means to the PGA Tour when Woods plays – even if he isn’t playing well.

“It was just bizarre because those first two days there was so many people and then, on Saturday, there was nobody,’’ said Thomas. “Rory (McIlroy) and I were walking up to the tee and we’re like, `Where is everybody?’ Does he really bring that many people?’’

Apparently Woods does. Rickie Fowler, who begins his Honda title defense on Thursday, called Woods “the biggest draw we have….It doesn’t matter if it’s pro-am day, or Thursday, Friday, whatever. He’s got the biggest crowd no matter what.’’

Woods, 42, hasn’t played much since his fourth back surgery. He tied for ninth in an 18-man field at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December, tied for 23rd in the Farmers Insurance Open at California’s Torrey Pines in January and missed the cut at Genesis Open, an event that benefits Woods’ foundation.

He stayed around through its Sunday finish, then returned to Florida in time to be named a vice captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team this week. Wednesday’s pro-am round was his first at PGA National – one of the most penal courses on the PGA Tour – in four years.

Though his home is only about 13 miles away Woods has played in the Honda Classic only four times and didn’t finish in his last start in 2014 when back problems forced him to withdraw. His best showing here was a tie for second in 2012.

“It’s good to have him here this week,’’ said Fowler, also a Jupiter resident. “I’m hoping he plays well. He’s sleeping in his own bed, so he should be all right.’’

“I’m starting to get that feeling again of playing tournament golf, where each and every shot counts,’’ said Woods. “I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m in catchup mode. I’m just learning how to play tournament golf again.’’

Here and there

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, who is skipping the Honda Classic, ran his streak of cuts made to 10 since the start of the PGA Tour season at the Genesis Open. He finished tied for 41st after winning the pro-am title with partner Larry Fitzgerald the week before at Pebble Beach. Meanwhile Luke Donald, the former Northwestern star and another Jupiter resident, made his first PGA Tour cut of 2018 in the Genesis Open. He finished tied for 37th and is also playing at PGA National.

The Chicago Golf Show, a fixture since 1984, returns to the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont on Friday for a three-day run. Hours are noon-7 p.m. on Friday, 9:30-6 on Saturday and 9:30-4 on Sunday. Three former Bears – Emery Moorhead, Jim Morrissey and Otis Wilson — will get lessons from Illinois PGA members and trick shot artist Peter Longo will also entertain visitors. In addition to the 350 golf-related exhibits each visitor will get a ticket for a free round of golf at one of the 15 area courses managed by GolfVisions.

The rise in senior women’s golf apparently won’t involve legendary Annika Sorenstam. She revealed last week that her family will move to Lake Tahoe for a year while their Florida home is being renovated. Sorenstam bypassed last year’s first Senior LPGA Championship in French Lick, Ind., and she isn’t old enough to play in this July’s inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club. Sorenstam isn’t sure if she’ll attend the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June at Kemper Lakes, in Kildeer, either. “Maybe for TV,’’ she said, “but with my family I’ve got my hands full and am very content with my life. I don’t see a void (from lack of competitive play).’’ Sorenstam’s last tournament was in 2008.

PGA Tour Champions, which ended its Florida swing last Sunday, had Chicago storylines in both its tournaments here. Chicago’s Lance Ten Broeck led the qualifying round at the Boca Raton Championship and last week former Barrington star Gary Hallberg, in the Chubb Classic field in Naples on a sponsor’s exemption, opened with a bogey and then carded nine birdies on his way to a 65 that left him a shot off the first-round lead. He finished 70-72 to get a tie for 15th.