Sainz and Small could only finish in a five-way for third place in the last major event of the local golf season, however. Andy Ruthkoski of Muskegon, Mich., nabbed the title, beating Lewis University graduate Casey Pyne, of Bloomington, with a 10-foot birdie putt to conclude a two-hole sudden death playoff.

Windy conditions hampered scoring on the final day of the 54-hole test. Ruthkoski and Pyne, who played on the Dakotas Tour this year, were the only players to finish under par. Both posted 2-under 214 totals before going to extra holes. Pyne and Small had the best scores of the final round with 4-under 68s.

Small, who won a record 11th Illinois PGA Championship in August and celebrated his Illini’s climb to the No. 1 national ranking in collegiate golf last week, saw his hopes evaporate with a double bogey at No. 16. Sainz, playing in the last group, shared the lead several times until his drive at No. 18 found water in front of the green.

“A bad shot at the wrong time,’’ said Sainz. “I don’t usually hit driver on that hole. I got a little too aggressive.’’

A 2005 Michigan State graduate, Ruthkoski grabbed the lead with great chip shots that set up birdies at Nos. 11 and 12. He hit a pitching wedge from 103 yards to one foot for the first one and chipped to within inches from 44 yards out for the second, then endured a long wait before he could claim the $10,000 first prize.

The Chicago Open, revived as a fundraiser for the Illinois Junior Golf Assn. last year, was played for the 25th time since its first staging in 1914. Its champions when the event was part of a more loosely organized PGA Tour included Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Ken Venturi. Luke Donald also won it while still an amateur.

“I really like looking at the trophy and seeing the names that have won it,’’ said Ruthkoski. “It’s an honor to have my name with them.’’

Ruthkoski has played in six PGA Tour events and earned money in three of them, but hasn’t cashed a check on that circuit since 2009. He was invited to the Chicago Open by virtue of repeating as winner of the Michigan PGA Tournament of Champions in July.

WEST POINT, MS. – Given the Americans’ lack of success in the last three Ryder Cup matches and the last two Solheim Cups, Sunday’s U.S. victory in the ISPS Handa Cup represented a breath of fresh air.

The U.S. had struggled in the previous two Handa Cups, the premier team event put on by the LPGA Legends Tour. After six straight victories the World teams managed a tie with the U.S. in 2012 and its first victory in 2013.

This year’s ninth staging was up for grabs after the teams battled to a 12-12 tie after Saturday’s best ball and alternate shot matches. In Sunday’s 12 singles matches, however, it was a different story. The U.S. got the better of those, winning 28-20 to take a 7-1-1 edge in the series.

Both teams sent out their big guns early. Reigning Scottish Open champion Trish Johnson was 5-under-par on the front nine en route to winning the day’s first match against Laurie Rinker, winner of the Legends Championship last month.

Beth Daniel put the U.S. ahead with a win over Lorie Kane in Match 2 and the third – a much anticipated duel between Juli Inkster, in her first Legends competition at age 54, and England’s Laura Davies was an epic.

Davies was 1-up before her tee shot went left at No. 9 and ended up a lost ball. She took a bogey to Inkster’s birdie, and Inkster never trailed again. She matched Johnson as the best player of the final day, touring Old Waverly Golf Club in 5-under par.

“I had a lot of chances,’’ said Inkster after catching fire on the same course on which she won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1999. “I had three-putted for bogey at the fifth and three-putted for double bogey at the seventh, so Laura owed me a little and I made some putts on the back nine. It all works out.’’

Inkster was delighted with her visit to the Legends and may play another event before the year is out.

“I enjoyed playing. I had a blast hanging out with the gals I grew up with and went to college with and played a lot of golf with. It’s been a lot of fun. I’d love to come back if they invited me back.’’

That’s certain to happen, and Inkster said she might play in November’s 36-hole Walgreen’s Charities Championship in Florida if she doesn’t make the field for an LPGA stop in Japan.

Inkster’s win over Davies gave the U.S. a 16-14 lead, and the groups playing behind them couldn’t keep pace. The U.S. seemed headed for victory at that point, though, leading in six of the remaining nine matches and standing all square in two others.

The World team got within 19-17 after more matches were completed but Pat Bradley’s gutty double bogey on the last hole, which netted a point for a tied match with Alison Nicholas, kept the U.S. comfortably in front at 24-18.

“If ever there was a good double bogey, that was it,’’ said Bradley. “I wanted to show all the youngsters here that you should never give up.’’

She didn’t, and Sherri Steinhauer clinched the Cup for the U.S. in the next match with a dramatic 30-foot putt on the last hole against Alicia Dibos.

“I remember some advice I received when we were way down,’’ said Steinhauer. “Get your point, get your point, get your point! My goal was just to get my point.’’

Steinhauer hadn’t played a competitive round since getting a bad break in August’s Legends Championship at French Lick, in Indiana. She shot a course record 63 in the second round at the challenging Pete Dye Course to get within striking distance of leader Rinker, but the final round was rained out and Rinker was declared the champion.

Since that near miss Steinhauer suffered torn cartilage in her ribs and wasn’t sure if she could play at Old Waverly.

“I was so excited to come here,’’ she said. “This was all about playing as a team, and our team just jelled. Any time you play for your country you want to play well.’’

The last two matches couldn’t affect the team outcome, and both Old Waverly owner George Bryan and Legends chief executive office Jane Blalock said they’d welcome a return to the beautiful Mississippi club.

“I hope it happens,’’ said World captain Sally Little, despite admitting “their team beat ours at our best.’’

“It’s been a fun week,’’ said U.S. captain Nancy Lopez. “This competition was special. Our team played its heart out. We had to really play well.’’

WEST POINT, MS. – Juli Inkster received a rude welcome in her debut on the LPGA Legends Tour on Saturday.

Winner of seven major titles in a Hall of Fame career on the LPGA circuit, Inkster partnered with Meg Mallon in both of her matches in the ninth annual ISPS Handa Cup at Old Waverly Golf Club – the site of Inkster’s first win in the U.S. Women’s Open in 1999.

The Inkster-Mallon team drew the World team’s premier pairing, Laura Davies and Trish Johnson, and the U.S. pair was no match for them. In fact, no team was in the first day of the two-day competition that concludes with 12 singles matches on Sunday.

Davies and Johnson were 5-under-par in winning their best ball match with Inkster and Mallon on Old Waverly’s front nine. Matchups were shuffled for the afternoon nine-hole matches, played in a modified alternate shot format.

The format change didn’t cool off the Davies-Johnson team. They were also 5-under in polishing off the U.S. team of Val Skinner and Rosie Jones in the last match of the day. The result created a 12-12 tie, meaning today’s singles matches will decide who gets the Handa Cup.

Davies, Johnson and eight other members of the current World team also played last year, when the U.S. was beaten for the first time. The U.S. still leads the series 6-1-1, but the World squad has a draw and victory in the last two.

Inkster and Mallon recovered from their morning defeat to defeat Liselotte Neumann and Alicia Dibos in the first match of the afternoon session. The U.S. trailed 7-5 after the morning session and the Inkster-Mallon effort was a springboard to tying up the competition at the end of the day.

Davies and Johnson have been factors on more than just the Legends circuit, for players who have reached their 45th birthday, this season. The long-hitting Davies finished in the top 10 at the Women’s British Open and Johnson won the Scottish Open.

That dynamic duo was broken up for singles play, but World captain Sally Little put them in prominent positions for the final day of the competition as well. Little had first choice in the pairings decisions for Sunday, and she opted to send Johnson out first.

U.S. captain Nancy Lopez will send Laurie Rinker against Johnson. Lopez then named Beth Daniel for the second match, where she’ll face Lorie Kane. Little came back with Davies in the third match. Her opponent? Inkster.

That could be the match of the day, as the World squad hopes to retain the Cup with a strong singles showing much like it produced last year in a 27-21 win at Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn.

Daniel was sent out first by then-U.S. captain Joanne Carner against Davies last year. Daniel took a stirring victory, but the World squad was better the rest of the way.

Notably absent from last year’s winning World side is Australian Jan Stephenson, who rolled in the 30-foot putt on the final green in the next-to-the-last match to clinch her team’s first Cup win. Stephenson is here, but pulled out of the competition on Friday due to a wrist injury.

Dawn Coe Jones, who is Little’s assistant captain, stepped into the lineup as Stephenson’s replacement and was a factor in Day 1. Playing with different partners, her teams earned points for halving both of their matches. Last year Jones was scheduled to play but came up with an injury. She helped her team win by working as a caddie instead.

WEST POINT, MS. — This week in golf isn’t all about the Ryder Cup. The LPGA Legends Tour will have its premier team event, the ISPS Handa Cup, going on at the same time.

After losing the first six meetings the Internationals managed a 24-24 tie at Reunion Resort in Orlando, FL., in 2012.

That wasn’t good enough to claim the cup, named after Dr. Haruhisa Handa, a Japanese businessman and philanthropist, but the Internationals managed their breakthrough win last year, taking a 27-21 victory at Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn.

That didn’t sit well with Nancy Lopez, who was on the losing side as a player last year and will captain the U.S. in this Handa Cup.

“My team is ready to win back the Handa Cup,’’ she said. “I’m mad. I’m tired of this. We have a great team, and we’re not going to let (the Europeans) celebrate.’’

Sally Little, captain of the Internationals, isn’t so sure.

“It’s going to be a heckuva go,’’ she said. “Winning last year moved our team to the next level.’’

Like Lopez, Little is serving as captain for the first time. Sweden’s Pia Nilsson captained the winning European side last year while Joanne Carner completed her second year directing the U.S. side. Kathy Whitworth handled those duties during the U.S. victory run from 2006 to 2011.

The captains aren’t the only thing that’s different this time.

Old Waverly, a beautiful facility that hosted the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2006 U.S. Mid Amateur, should be a more familiar venue for the U.S. players – especially a most notable one. Juli Inkster, who won that U.S. Women’s Open at Old Waverly, is making her Legends debut at the Handa Cup after enjoying a brilliant career on the LPGA circuit. The Legends is for players who have reached their 45th birthday.

Also known as the Country Club of Mississippi, Old Waverly was co-designed by Jerry Pate and Bob Cupp. The course opened in 1988 and a second course, to be designed by Gil Hanse, is in the planning stages.

Joining Inkster on the 12-player U.S. team are Pat Bradley, Beth Daniel, Christa Johnson, Rosie Jones, Meg Mallon, Barb Mucha, Laurie Rinker, Nancy Scranton, Val Skinner, Sherri Steinhauer and Sherri Turner. Elaine Crosby is Lopez’ co-captain..

The Internationals roster features Helen Alfredsson, Jane Crafter, Laura Davies, Alicia Dibos, Wendy Doolan, Trish Johnson, Lorie Kane, Jenny Lidback, Liselotte Neumann, Allison Nicholas, Mieko Nomura and Jan Stephenson. Little’s co-captain is Dawn Coe-Jones.

Inkster is one of three U.S. players who weren’t part of last year’s team, the others being Mallon and Skinner. Mallon, though, has played in the Handa Cup in the past. Doolan is the lone newcomer on the International side.

In the biggest early season Legends events of the year Neumann won the Walgreen’s Charity Classic, Jones took the Wendy’s Charity Challenge and Rinker was the titlist in the Legends Championship. Trish Johnson also won a big one, taking the Ladies Scottish Open in August.

Players on both sides played practice rounds at Old Waverly on Thursday morning, and participants in Friday’s Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Pro-Am tuned up on the course in the afternoon. Opening ceremonies are on tap for Thursday evening and pairings for Saturday’s team matches will be announced afterwards.

Saturday’s program calls for nine holes of alternate shot competition in the morning and nine holes of best ball in the afternoon. Twelve singles matches are on tap for Sunday to conclude the competition. The singles pairings will be announced after Saturday’s play is concluded and closing ceremonies will be held after the last putt drops on Sunday.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – There’s a tie at the top of the leaderboard after Round 1 of the LPGA Legends Championship, and the co-leaders couldn’t be much more different.

Rosie Jones and Lisa Grimes both covered the Pete Dye Course in 3-under-par 69. Jones is one of the stalwarts on the Legends circuit and won last week’s Wendy’s Charity Challenge in Jackson, Mich. Grimes is playing in only her fourth Legends event.

Only three other players bettered par on the first 18 of the $500,000 championship that pays $60,000 to the champion on Sunday. Barb Mucha is one stroke off the lead and 2-under for the tournament./ Danielle Ammaccapane and Laurie Rinker, who tied for second last year, are another shot back.

Ammaccapane’s sister Dina set the women’s course record of 64 in the first round last year. Rinker tied for second with Val Skinner in 2013, two shots behind champion Lorie Kane. Kane struggled with a 3-over 75 in the first round of her title defense on Friday.

Though the careers of Jones and Grimes are much different, they both found ways to make birdies on Friday. Grimes, an early starter, highlighted her round with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th but then gave the stroke back with a three-putt bogey on the next hole.

Grimes didn’t compete in last year’s Legends Championship because it conflicted with a qualifying round for the LPGA Teaching Division Championship. Grimes, a full-time teacher, lives seven months of the year in Arizona and teaches at Gold Canyon, near Phoenix. She lives the other five months in Minnesota and is director of instruction at Alexandria Country Club, the same course where Champions Tour standout Tom Lehman grew up.

“Teaching is my passion, but I still enjoy playing,’’ said Grimes, who has won the Minnesota Women’s Open several times and played part-time on both the LPGA circuit and its Futures (now Symetra) Tour. She finished top-10 in two of her three previous appearances on the Legends Tour.

“It’s great to have something to play in after you’re done on the (LPGA) tour,’’ said Grimes. “I still have the drive to play, but it’s not fun to play with those 25-year-olds.’’

Jones, by contrast, won 13 times on the LPGA Tour and took her seventh Legends title in a sudden death playoff with Nancy Scranton on Sunday. She finished tied for seventh in last year’s Legends Championship. The 3-under 69 she posted on Friday matched her winning score in the 18-hole event at Country Club of Jackson in Michigan on Sunday. She claimed that title with a victory over Nancy Scranton thanks to a 25-foot putt on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.

“Any time you play this golf course under par you’ve got to feel good about yourself,’’ said Jones. “I’m feeling confident about my game. My ball-striking is as good as it’s been in the last couple years.’’

Last year’s inaugural Legends Championship was played in September, and the weather wasn’t as picture-perfect as it was on Friday.

Jones had Grimes as a target all day long and caught her thanks to a hot front nine. Jones fell out of the lead with a three-putt bogey at No. 10 but went back into a tie at the top thanks to an eight-foot downhill birdie putt at No. 13.

The tourney had one late withdrawal when Pat Bradley pulled out, citing illness. The field resumes play at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Friday’s starters will be joined by six Super Seniors who will play a 36-hole competition of their own. Jane Blalock, CEO of the Legends Tour, won last year’s Super Seniors event and will go after a repeat after being inducted into the circuit’s Hall of Fame on Thursday night.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No major golf tournament ever ended quite like the 96th PGA Championship did on Sunday.

The finish came in darkness with players from the last two twosomes clustered around the 18th green playing much like a foursome would. There could have been some controversy, but both Phil Mickelson nor Rickie Fowler steered clear of that after Rory McIlroy won his third straight tournament and second major title in a row.

“This is just incredible. I didn’t think in my wildest dreams I’d have a summer like this one,’’ a jubilant McIlroy said after beating Mickelson by one shot and Fowler by two with a 16-under-par 268 total for the 72 holes at Valhalla Golf Club.

A 1-hour 50-minute morning rain delay caused major problems for all involved – the players, PGA of America tournament organizations and those in the huge, swarming galleries that splashed their way through muddy spots throughout the course.

Just finishing play appeared doubtful after the delay. McIlroy was to tee off in the last group at 2:55 p.m. (Eastern time). Instead he started his round at 4:20. Because the course was so wet there were frequent delays as players sought rulings for unplayable lies. The last twosome needed 2 hours 20 minutes to play nine holes.

McIlroy, considered one of the game’s fastest players, won on patience as much as anything else. First Ernie Els and then Henrik Stenson made runs at home by shooting 5-under-par 30s on the front nine.

They backed up on the back nine, but Fowler and Mickelson, playing in the twosome immediately in front of McIlroy, never did. They had a shot as late as the strange final hole.

Play was delayed on the 18th tee as players hurried to finish before play would be called by darkness. McIlroy produced his key birdie at No. 17, hitting a 9-iron bunker shot on the par-4 to 12 feet. That put him two shots in front of Fowler and Mickelson, who couldn’t tee off on the last hole before McIlroy arrived there.

They hit there shots and headed down the fairway when tournament officials chased them down to ask if McIlroy and his partner, Austrian Berndt Wiesberger, could hit their tee shots before Fowler and Mickelson hit their second shots on the par-5. They agreed, believing that to be common courtesy, then were asked to allow the same procedure to be allowed after their second shots.

“The original plan was to let them hit their tee shots, but we weren’t planning on them also hitting their approach shots,’’ said Fowler. “We wanted to put pressure on Rory, but he was playing pretty solid golf.’’

Mickelson’s second shot ended just short of the green and Fowler’s found the front of the green. Then McIlroy hit his second shot into a green-side bunker. Mickelson nearly holed his chip shot for eagle. Fowler’s putt went five feet past the cup. They finished out their rounds, Mickelson making birdie to cut the gap on McIlroy to one shot and Fowler lipping out his birdie putt to end in a tie with Stenson for third.

McIlroy escaped the bunker and two-putted for par from 20 feet. Had Mickelson’s chip or Fowler’s first putt dropped, the competitive dynamics would have been far different for McIlroy. He thanked Mickelson and Fowler for their patience.

“I wanted to play up as a foursome,’’ said McIlroy. “That was a nice show of sportsmanship and class by those guys.’’

Mickelson was clearly not pleased with the group finish and said PGA Tour policy would have called for only the ahead-of-schedule tee shot by McIlroy to be permitted.

“But it’s not a big deal,’’ said Mickelson. “It gave everyone a chance to finish, and we did just in the nick of time.’’

Had there been a tie after 72 holes the leaders would have had to return on Monday morning for a three-hole total score playoff.

McIlroy could also have refused to play if he deemed it too dark to continue, but he didn’t want that.

“I wanted to finish this thing and get out of here,’’ he said.

The weird finish came in the aftermath of his wins in the British Open in July and the Bridgestone Invitational earlier this month. McIlroy, 25, won the PGA for the second time, the first in 2012, and also has a win in the U.S. Open. Sunday’s victory made him the third-youngest player to win four majors, following Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. He’ll go for the career Grand Slam at next April’s Masters – the first major of 2015.