Author: lenz

Ghim gets another crack at success in the U.S. Open

Doug Ghim got some good news this week.  The U.S. Golf Association made the PGA Tour player from Arlington Heights one of the 156 official starters in the 125th U.S. Open, which tees off on Thursday at Pennsylvania’s Oakmont course.

Rugged Oakmont is a frequent U.S. Open site, and that was undoubtedly a big factor in the USGA accepting a record 10,202 entries at the April 9 deadline.  Hopefuls were whittled to 156 after 110 local qualifiers and 13 final qualifiers. The latter included 36-hole competitions in Canada, England and Japan in addition to the 10 held across the U.S.

Ghim, as a PGA Tour member, didn’t have to play in a local elimination and chose to enter the final qualifier in Dallas.  He wound up in a seven-players-for-one-spot playoff for the final Oakmont berth available there.

This week, with players starting to arrive at Oakmont, the USGA announced the last seven who would be elevated to the field following late withdrawals and the completion of other qualification procedures. Ghim was one of the lucky ones.

Ghim, 29, attended Buffalo Grove High School but — preferring to focus on national amateur events — played only one season of high school golf. After starring at the University of Texas, where he won the Big Hogan Award as the best male college golfer in 2018, Ghim was runner-up in the 2017 U.S. Amateur, then turned pro and earned his PGA Tour card in 2020.

While he’s earned $7.6 million Ghim has yet to win on golf’s premier circuit. This year he’s made the cut in 10 of his 15 starts and finished in the top 25 in three events.

A long-time Las Vegas resident since turning pro Ghim will make his second appearance in the U.S. Open proper at Oakmont.  He missed the cut in his only other start in 2018.

A SMALL WORLD:  With Mike Small dominant for decades as both a player and coach Illinois golf has frequently seemed like a “Small world.’’ This time it’s a little different.

Mark Small, who plays out of Prestwick in Frankfort, won the 23rd Illinois State Senior Amateur last week.  It was his first win in a Chicago District Golf Association-administered event in 29 years.  Small won the Illinois State Amateur in 1996 but he’s contended many times between his big wins.

Mark Small, now 61, was in the top 10 of the last four Illinois State Senior Amateurs.  He was runner-up last year and gave Mike Small a scare in the Illinois Senior Open two years ago.

“There is going to come a time where I can’t do this anymore,’’ said Mark Small.  “But while I can, it sure is fun.’’

Mike Small isn’t exactly out of this picture, though.  The University of Illinois men’s coach has two of his former players competing in this week’s U.S. Open.  Thomas Detry and Brian Campbell qualified by winning PGA Tour events this year and current Illini player Jackson Buchanan also got in by sharing top honors in the qualifying event in Atlanta.

Buchanan qualified for last year’s Open at Pinehurst, N.C., but missed the cut.  He’ll make his professional debut at Oakmont.

FAST STARTER:  Elizabeth Szokol, Chicago’s only player on the Ladies PGA Tour, shared the first round lead at last week’s ShopRite Classic after posting a 63. She tailed off with rounds of 69 and 74 and wound up in a tie for 20th place.

Szokol grew up in Winnetka,  played on New Trier’s 2010 state championship team and was the Illinois Women’s State Amateur champion in 2012.  That tourney will start its three-day run on Monday at The Grove, in Long Grove and it’ll have a new  look since Szokol won it.

The CDGA is now conducting the tournament and has incorporated a Mid-Amateur component to the 54-hole event. Players who have reached their 25th birthday can play for the title in the 36-hole Mid- Am division.  If any finish among the top 20 and ties after 36 holes they’ll also be eligible to play the third round with the chance to win the IWSA title.

 

 

Dan Roan is back on the TV golf beat

Dave Lockhart (left) and TV veteran Dan Roan will lead the show on Golf 360 this season.

 

 

For 38 years Dan Roan was a most-respected sports anchor and reporter at WGN-TV. He retired three years ago – but now he’s back on the airwaves.

Roan was coaxed back to the broadcast world by Dave Lockhart, producer of the Golf 360 TV show, which debuted for its 10th season this week on Marquee Sports Network – the home of the Cubs.

“It’s only four shows – not time-consuming at all,’’ said Roan, but it might seem like more than that. Each show will be broadcast several times each month during the golf season. The broadcast times will be posted on the Golf 360 website.

“For the first show my role was minimal.  Dave did a lot of research for it,’’ said Roan.“But I’m always excited to talk about golf in Chicagoland and beyond.  It’s going to be a lot of fun.’’

Roan will host the show and Patrick Mannelly, the former Bears’ center who has been a Golf 360 regular since 2017, will be co-host. Billy Fitzgerald director of instruction at Beverly Country Club, is also part of the program.

“Dan brings professionalism and passion for the game of golf that truly comes through on the screen,’’ said Lockhart.  “ His fans from the WGN days will be happy lo see him back on the air.’’

Roan doesn’t just discuss golf on the airwaves.  He also played the game quite well.  He played on both the golf and basketball teams at Illinois State. While he “didn’t play much,’’ he was a college golf teammate of D.A. Weibring, a three-time winner of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic and also the designer of the course it’s played on – TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis.

Now 72, the long-time Elmhurst resident remains a regular at Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course and now brings two of his four grandchildren out with him.

“When I retired I expected to play more,’’  said Roan.  “My handicap is skyrocketing, so I’m trying to figure that out right now.’’

That handicap was 0.2 last summer and is now up to 3.7.  That doesn’t detract from a memorable round Roan shot back in 2017 at Chicago Highlands with Mike Munro, who also has a broad  background in local golf.  Roan had a 63, which included a hole-in-one en route to a 30 on the back nine.   “It was pretty crazy at the time,’’ admitted Roan.

Since retirement Roan has also stayed involved in the game in more than a playing capacity.  He was named a director for the Chicago District Golf Association and was part of the crew at last summer’s Chicago Adaptive Open.

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: John Deere, sponsor of Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, has signed a multi-year extension to continue as title sponsor through 2030.  The JDC sponsorship started in 1998, and this year’s event will be played July 3-6.

The tournament, meanwhile, announced three sponsor exemptions to the tourney – NCAA champion Michael La Sasso of Mississippi, No. 2-ranked amateur Jackson Koivun of Auburn and No. 3-ranked Ben James of Virginia.

U.S. OPEN:  Monday was the last qualifiers for this month’s U.S. Open, with 36-hole eliminations at 10 sites. Only University of Illinois golfer Jackson Buchanan, who tied for first in the qualifier in Atlanta, survived among the Illinois-connected players competing. He was 18-under-par at Piedmont Driving Club. PGA regular Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights might make the field at Oakmont, in Pennsylvania.  He was the last man out in a seven-for-one playoff for the last of seven Open berths in Dallas on May 19 and could advance as the first alternate.

HERE AND THERE:  Brad Kay, of Arlington Heights, qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, to be played at The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, June 26-29.  Kay was also the defending champion in the 23rd Chicago District Senior Amateur, which concludes its four-day run on Thursday at Briar Ridge, in Schererville, Ind.

Illinois sophomore Max Herendeen has been named to Team USA for this week’s Palmer Cup matches in South Carolina and the Illini women’s team has landed transfer Tavia Burgess,  who just completed her freshman year at Morehead State.

The Illinois PGA’s 36-hole Assistants Championship will be decided on Monday at Bryn Mawr, in Chicago.

 

 

 

 

Welcoming PGA players is nothing new for Quail Hollow’s Davenport

In any business this is a rarity.

Quail Hollow Club, the PGA Championship venue for the second time, opened its  course in 1960 and has had only two golf professionals.  The current one, Scott Davenport, has held the job since 1999.

“It’s a good place to work,’’ said Davenport. “Johnny Harris and his family have been very pro-golf professional.  They’ve been great supporters of me and the entire staff at the club. I’ve been incredibly lucky.  My vocation and avocation are one in the same. Nobody deserves it so good.’’

Make no mistake, though.  Being the head professional at Quail Hollow is no small task.  Davenport — now 69, married and the father of two daughters – has a big job

James Harris, Johnny’s father, owned the property and gathered some friends in Charlotte to start the club in 1959.  The course opened in 1960 and hosted the Kemper Open from 1969-79 and the World Series Invitational from 1980-89 before Davenport got there.

He arrived 40 years after the club opened and succeeded Jim Hood as its head professional. Davenport  still calls Quail Hollow “a small private club, ‘’  but since his arrival it  has  hosted two PGA Championships after being revived as  a PGA Tour site in 2003.

The PGA returned first with the Wachovia Championship, then in 2009 it became the Wells Fargo Championship.  That ended last year and Truist, a Charlotte bank, will start a six-year run as title sponsor in 2026.

“We’ve been in professional golf a long time,’’ said Davenport.  “Our members have been in favor of doing that.  Back in 2003 Quail Hollow was a very nice place, but now it’s on the national stage.  I don’t see that changing.  Charlotte, and the Carolinas, have been very supportive, just as our members have.’’

Hosting big-time golf events isn’t just a one-week deal each year. Each requires lengthy planning time,   and the host professional is always in the thick of it.

“The preparation is as much fun as anything,’’ said Davenport.  “We want to make it a memorable event for all involved, from players to spectators. It’s an ongoing deal to make things better.’’

Though the goals are the same, Davenport’s  role is different when the tournament shifts from being a regular tour event to a major championship.

“For me, we’re much more involved with the tournament during the week of the tour event than we are with the PGA,’’ he said.  “Our tour events are well-attended, but a major is a whole different level. The PGA is so enormous. In the PGA Tour events we do the merchandising, and our tent is 5,000 square feet. The one for this PGA is maybe 100,000.  The whole event is that way.’’

Quail Hollow’s first PGA was in 2017.  The club also hosted the President’s Cup in 2022.

We’re almost like competitors in the regular tour events.  We want a great event for the spectators,’’ said Davenport, “and our course is so unbelievably spectator friendly. It’s so close to the clubhouse.  It’s almost impossible to get more than one hole away from the clubhouse. There’s a lot of trees.  It’s an easy walk.  There’s elevation change, but not that much.’’

Davenport never qualified for the PGA Championship as a player. He grew up in Alabama and the Pittsburgh suburbs and played a year of college golf at Houston, then transferred to Furman.  After graduation he went directly into the club pro ranks in 1978 as an assistant to Hank Johnson at North River Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, Ala. — the home to Golf Digest’s VIP schools.

While there he spent time with some of golf’s great teaching names – Bob Toski, Sam Snead, Davis Love Jr., Peter Kostis and Jim Flick.

Stints at clubs in Arizona and Florida followed before Davenport moved to Sea Island Club in Georgia.  He arrived in the aftermath of the deaths of professionals Love, Jimmy Hodges and John Popa in a1988 plane crash and stayed there for a decade.

“The circumstances were incredibly unfortunate, but Jack Lumpkin and I tried to follow through on the learning center Davis  ( Davis Love Jr., son of PGA tour veteran Davis Love III) envisioned before he was killed,’’ said Davenport.

Then it was on to Quail Hollow where Davenport  thrived under the leadership of its president, Johnny Harris.  Davenport still enjoys playing, and does most of it with Quail Hollow members. They include Jim Nantz, the renowned golf TV broadcaster, and one of the PGA Tour mainstays, Webb Simpson, has had a residence near the seventh tee.

Davenport has seen Quail Hollow’s course, originally designed by George Cobb, changed several times during his years as head professional through modifications made by architect Tom Fazio.

With Harris leading the way there’s always been an ongoing effort to keep up with Augusta National, the annual site of the Masters tournament. Harris is an Augusta National member.

“They set the standard.  We can’t compare with those guys,’’ said Davenport.  “They’re so unbelievably good, and they have more disposable income than we’ve got, but every year we’re trying to make it better.’’

Since 2003 Quail Hollow has seen some great champions perform well.  Justin Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship and Rory McIlroy won four Wells Fargo  events there.  Among others who earned titles at Quail Hollow include Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Brian Harman, Max Homa and Wyndham Clark.

As for his best personal memories Davenport doesn’t single out any of the tournaments played at Quail Hollow.  Instead he cites a dinner.

“There have been a lot of highlights, but they used to do a Champions dinner like Augusta National does (the week of each Masters tournament),’’ said Davenport.  “The PGA used to host the players and others from the club.  It was really neat to be a part of that dinner.’’

 

 

Zender, Ogrin top Illinois Golf Hall of Fame selections

The selection process is over for the next induction class into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame and two of the six to made it were PGA Tour regulars after being early survivors of the qualifying school format.

Bob Zender came first.  After winning the Illinois State Amateur three times and earning All-American status at Purdue Zender won the 1971 PGA Tour qualifying tournament and played on the circuit for a decade.  During that time he found time to win three consecutive Illinois PGA Championships (1976-78) and match Ben Hogan’s course record of 62 at Chicago’s Ridgemoor Golf Club.

David Ogrin followed him after an amateur career highlighted by victories in both the Illinois Amateur and Illinois Open in 1980. The Waukegan product had more success on the PGA Tour than Zender did, notching 32 top-10 finishes and winning the 1996 Texas Open when he outdueled Tiger Woods down the stretch in Woods’ first professional season. Ogrin, now a successful golf instructor in Texas, also had a tie for 10th in the 1997 U.S. Open.

The 21st induction class will be added to the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame at The Glen Club in Glenview on Oct. 17.

Joining Zender and Ogrin will be Dan Dinelli, course superintendent at North Shore Country Club for 36 years and one of the nation’s leading turfgrass experts; Steve Skinner, chief executive officer at KemperSports who played a pivotal role in shaping modern facility management; Horace McDougal, a Chicago native and Northwestern golfer in 1923 who emerged a pioneer for racial integration in the sport; and Joe Roseman, whose contributions spanned course design and construction.  Roseman designed courses across the Chicago area and built the first lighted par-3 course in the 1930s.

NCAA WRAPUP: Northwestern’s women won the NCAA title under the direction of coach Emily Fletcher in dramatic fashion, beating No. 1-ranked Stanford 3-2 in the final match  after Stanford had won the stroke play portion by 27 shots.

The Illinois men finished 18th in stroke play and didn’t make it into the top 15 for the final round.  Illini sophomore Max Herendeen, however, qualified for the final round as an individual not on a non-advancing team. He finished tied for 27th among 81 players.

Both Illinois teams announced major signings for next season.  The men landed Dane Huddleston, a transfer from Utah State, and the women added Alexis Meyers, who led Glenbrook North to the last two state championships and was second as an individual.  She also won the Illinois State Junior by seven strokes.

Huddleston, from Woodland, Wash., will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Illini.  He won five tournaments including the Western Athletic Assn. title at Utah State this season.

HERE AND THERE:  Illinois alum Nick Hardy had his best finish on the PGA Tour this season with a tie for 11th at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. That may have triggered a breakthrough for the 29-year old Northbrook product  who has been struggling this season after joining the PGA Tour in 2018. He missed the cut in his first six starts and nine of his first time but now has played all four rounds in three of his last five.

Elmhurst’s Jordan Less became the first player to win titles in both the Chicago District Amateur (2019) and CDGA Mid-Amateur. Less played professionally for three seasons before regaining his amateur status.  He won his Mid-Am at Kemper Lakes.

The 35th playing of the Thompson Cup matches, pitting the the top senior players from the Illinois PGA and Chicago District, will be held on Thursday (MAY 29) at Ridge, in Chicago.

The 23rd CDGA Senior Amateur begins its four-day run on Monday (JUNE 2) at Briar Ridge, in Schererville, Ind.

While there are no local players in the field, the U.S. Women’s Open will kick off its four-day run at Wisconsin’s Erin Hills on Thursday (MAY 29).

 

 

 

Historic Homestead Resort offers a lot more than golf

The iconic 1766 topiary at the garden in front of Homestead’s main entrance reflects the resort’s durability over 250 years of quality service to its guests. (Photos by Joy Sarver)

HOT SPRINGS, Va. – Our return to the Omni Homestead Resort & Spa was long overdue. We first visited in 2014, and a lot has changed at America’s first resort since then.

Eleven years ago our report was all about golf, and that was appropriate.  Homestead was where the legendary Sam Snead first started playing golf.  He had worked at the resort’s Cascade course, one of the best layouts in the country, and its other 18-holer, dubbed The Old Course, offered an historic photo op.  The No. 1 hole is the longest continuous first hole in American golf.  That’s still the case.

Four years after our first visit Homestead began a massive restoration.  That was understandable, as Homestead dates back to 1766. That’s 10 years before the birth of the United States.

Homestead’s shopping corridor offers a promenade of  unique boutiques and a Virginia wine-tasting experience.

Twenty-four of the 47 sitting U.S. Presidents have visited Homestead, starting with the first one.  George Washington passed through the area as early as 1755.  Thomas Jefferson, the third president, loved the hot springs, which he felt alleviated his problems with “rheumatism.’’

The first president to play golf there was William McKinley in 1899.  William Howard Taft, one of the most avid golfers among the early presidents, had a three-month stay in 1908.  Another, Woodrow Wilson, played there with his second wife while they were there on their honeymoon. The last to visit was George W. Bush in 2015, a stay in which he played both the Cascades and Old Course. The Homestead has always been rich in history.

Homestead’s tower was added in 1929 and has become the trademark of the resort ever since.

In recent years, though, it has undergone a restoration that’s been priced at $170 million. Starting in 2018, the restoration touched most every phase of the resort from the Great Hall to the guest rooms to the bath houses, and the transformation has been impressive.

The 483-room resort has a two-acre water park, eight restaurants, skiing facilities for winter guests and equestrian activities. More unusual amenities include axe-throwing, falconry, shooting club, fly-fishing and Cascade Gorge hikes — which are particularly popular.

While it is old, historic and big (spanning over 2,000 acres), the Homestead is  also beautiful throughout. A National Historic Landmark, the restoration meticulously revitalized the grandeur from its rich past.

The early presidents liked the beauty and climate of the Allegheny Mountains, and paintings of all 24 who visited adorn the walls of Homestead’s Presidential Lounge.

 

As for the golf, it was touched only minimally in the restoration.  The pro shop at The Old Course was moved and down-sized a bit and the historic first tee area was  expanded and the commemorative marker upgraded. It’s a favorite for golf history buffs.

The tee was part of an original six-hole course in 1892 and it wasn’t touched when the course was expanded to nine holes in 1896.  Architect Donald Ross later redesigned the course in 1913 to create 18 holes and Rees Jones refined his work in 1994. The original No. 1, however, has always remained the starting hole.

Anthony Pusey (left) and Lee Peery have seen lots of changes at Homestead. Pusey is standing on the new million-dollar carpet in the Great Hall and Peery is in front of Rubino’s, now a restaurant at the Cascades pro shop. It  originally was the home of Jacob Rubino, which was built in 1895.

Cascades, designed by William S. Flynn, has also had a centennial, having opened in 1924. It’s a championship course regularly ranked among the country’s top public courses. It will host the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Sept. 13-18 this year and the men’s U.S. Senior Amateur in 2029.  After those events the course will have been the site of 10 U.S. Golf Association national championships.  Only 11 courses have hosted more than that.

Snead was a fixture at Cascades when he was developing his extraordinary golf skills.  He worked at the Old Course starting in 1929, then moved to Cascades as the head professional until becoming a touring pro in 1934.

The first hole of the Old Course has been spruced up to spotlight its historic significance.

His namesake restaurant, located near the resort but not part of Homestead, was closed several months ago.  Snead also moved his base to the nearby Greenbrier Resort eventually, but Homestead’s resort address is still on Sam Snead Highway.

“Yes, he went to Greenbrier,’’ said Anthony Pusey, a fourth generation Homestead staffer who is now Maitre d’ of the Great Hall. “But we still say  he’s ours.’’

Lee Peery, who grew up in Hot Springs and  has worked at the Cascades for 45 years, has written a book — “The Cascades…If Only The Greens Could Talk’’ –  and it includes more than a few anecdotes from Snead’s years spent there. As soon as we left the resort we ordered the book.  Can’t wait to read it.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: THE OMNIHOMESTEAD.COM

With a pleasant setting in the Allegheny Mountains, Homestead is located near the Virginia-West Virginia line.

 

 

Donald can still be a great player — occasionally

Last week’s PGA Championship at North Carolina’s Quail Hollow had its surprises.  None of the 20 club professionals survived the 36-hole cut.  Neither did established stars Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry.

One who did play all 72 holes was also surprising.  Luke Donald, the long ago Northwestern star, had missed cuts in all five of his starts on the PGA Tour this season and was over par in every one except the team event in New Orleans.

Donald shot a 4-under-par bogey-free 67 in the first round at Quail Hollow and got into a tie for third place.

“Where I am in my career, I’m obviously very grateful to the PGA of America for giving me an invitation to play,’’ said Donald.  “I was there only because I’m captain of the European Ryder Cup Team.  I wouldn’t be in the field otherwise.’’

Donald’s hot first round created an interesting side issue.  He was a shot of ahead of Keegan Bradley, who will be Donald’s opposing captain in September’s Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage Black in New York. Bradley, 38, didn’t need an invitation. He’s a solid player on the PGA Tour, missing only one cut in his 11 starts prior to the PGA.

“Keegan is top 20 in the world.  He can have one good week out here, win, and he’s absolutely in the conversation of being a playing captain,’’ said Donald.  “That’s not quite in my future, but we live very close together.  I see where he practices and he practices very hard.  He’s still one of the top players in the world.’’

Donald, 47, was one of those, too, before back problems slowed him down.  He graduated from Northwestern in 2001 and – despite never winning a major championship – climbed to No. 1 in the world in 2011 and held that spot for 40 weeks.  He also remained active in the Chicago golf community while retaining  NU director of golf Pat Goss as his swing coach. Donald’s best finish in a major was also in Chicago — a tie for third in the 2006 PGA at Medinah.

The Donald vs. Bradley competition at Quail Hollow didn’t last long.  Bradley finished at 4-under-par and in a tie for eighth place.  Donald struggled in with 74-73-76 to finish at 6-over-par and tied for 60th.  Champion Scottie Scheffler was at 11-under in his five-shot victory.

As a Ryder Cup captain Donald was superb in the Europeans’ last win in Italy after being a second choice.  Sweden’s Henrik Stenson was picked, then dropped after he jumped to the LIV Tour.  Donald was the backup pick and retained the job for the upcoming team competition.

Now living in Jupiter, FL., Donald has changed a bit since being the winning captain in golf’s premier team event.

“Well, I’m still 5-9, not hitting it far enough,’’ he said.  “As a player not much has changed.  I still like to work on my game, and it gets harder the older you get.  As a captain I had some doubts whether I could fulfill that role when I was given the call (in 2022).  Certainly in the last three years I’ve learned a lot about myself.  I’ve learned a lot about leadership, how to come out of my natural introvertness.  It’s only helped me as a person and helped me understand myself a little bit better.’’

The LIV Tour remains an issue as far as team selections are concerned for this year’s Ryder Cup.

“I do not get involved with the politics of that,’’ said Donald, but he wants the 12 best players available to him at Bethpage and that would mean LIV players Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton – and possibly Sergio Garcia – would have to be declared eligible for selection.

Even without them Donald will field a good team.

“It’s always nice when potential guys on your team are up there every week playing against the strongest fields in golf,’’ said Donald.  “At the Masters we had obviously Rory (champion Rory McIlroy), Justin (Rose), Ludvig (Aberg).  Then there’s Shane (Lowry) and Sepp (Straka). The players always seem to elevate their games in Ryder Cup years, and I love the momentum we have so far.’’

 

 

Billiter is Illinois PGA’s match play champion again

 

The PGA Championship, second major event of the PGA Tour season, claims the national golf spotlight on Thursday at Quail Hollow, in Charlotte, N.C., but the Illinois Section of the PGA staged its first of four majors last week and it produced a result for the local record books.

Jim Billiter, of Ivanhoe Club, won the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship for the fourth time at Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook, and that put him in some very select company in the history of Illinois golf.

The IPGA first conducted a match play championship in 1952.  Since then only three players in 73 years have won more titles than Billiter. Bob Harris, who played out of Sunset Ridge in Northfield, remains the event’s dominant player with six titles.  He accumulated them consecutively, from 1958 to 1963.

Bill Ogden, of North Shore in Glenview, won the inaugural playing of the event, then waited 15 years to win for the second time in 1967.  He also took the crown in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

The other five-time winner was Bob Ackerman, who worked at Aurora Country Club.  His wins came between 1985 and 1995.

Billiter had a 10-year gap between his first win, in 2015, and his most recent victory. It was a mlld surprise, in that Billiter was the No. 12 seed at Butterfield and had last won the tournament in 2021. Though he won the 2015 IPGA Championship, an event conducted at stroke play, Billiter’s competitive reputation comes in match play.

Since earning his Class A PGA membership in 2009 he has appeared in 17 IPGA Match Play Championships and advanced to the third round or further in 11. He made it past the quarterfinals six times and never lost a match in the semifinal or championship rounds.

“It’s always special to win this event,’’ said Billiter. “I’ve always thought that I was a better match play player than a stroke play player because you have to think differently.  Butterfield is an amazing place, and I especially love it because there is almost no out-of-bounds to the right. To come through so many tough matches and lift the trophy again, it’s incredibly rewarding.’’

Making his feat more notable was the fact that he wasn’t at full strength.

“I’m dealing with a torn labrum,’’ he said.  “I can swing, but I just can’t swing as fast.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to play much this season.  We’ll keep pushing through the rest of the season and get it fixed in the offseason.’’

Billiter didn’t have much trouble in the final, where he defeated North Shore’s David Krzepicki 5 and 3. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches were much tougher. Billiter rallied from three down with eight holes to play to beat David Paeglow of Kishwaukee  in DeKalb 2-up.

In the semis Billiter drew Frank Hohenadel, of Mistwood in Romeoville.  Hohenadel had beaten Billiter in a 20-hole match in the third round in 2024, but this time Billiter prevailed 3 and 2.

HERE AND THERE:  The Chicago area didn’t have a player in the 156-man official starting field at the PGA Championship, but one might still get in.  Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim was the No. 7 alternate, but four players dropped out after arriving at Quail Hollow, lifting Ghim to the No. 3 alternate. He’s had a decent season so far, making eight of 12 cuts and earning $538,587.

Northbrook-based KemperSports has taken over the management of McHenry Golf Club.  It’s Kemper’s 12th property in Chicago and third private club, following Royal Melbourne and Hawthorne Woods.  McHenry opened in 1922 and is noted as the place where the first metal wood was designed. Gary Adams, son of long-time McHenry head pro Vale Adams, designed the club and founded TaylorMade, the equipment manufacturer now based in California.

The first championship of the Chicago District Golf Association’s 112th season concludes  Wednesday f fhs  CDGA Mid-Amateur Championship at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.

TruSpec Golf, a leading custom club fitter and club builder, has opened a second Chicago  location at The Golf Practice academy in Lisle. The other is in Highland Park. TruSpec has 40 studios nation-wide.

 

 

There’s one course that stands out among others at Myrtle Beach

General manager Kurtis Kuhn shows off Pine Lakes’ original building from the Myrtle Beach Hall of Fame Garden.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – This is a given.  If you’re in search of a golf destination Myrtle Beach will never let you down. So many courses, an oceanfront location for beach goers,  lots of other entertainment options, lodging and dining options. It’s all there.

I’ve made annual trips to MB for about 15 years and played multiple rounds each time. One question I’ve regular gotten is `What’s the best course there?’ and my answer is always the same — `Probably the last course I played there.’

We attacked that issue a little differently this year during a Golf Travel Writers of America stay that involved playing three of the best layouts in Founders Group International, Myrtle Beach’s largest golf course ownership group.  Founders has 21 courses spread over 18 facilities and also owns MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com, the leading provider for stay-and-play golf packages and online tee times in the area.

This time we won’t be tricked into considering what course is “the best.’’ Instead we’ll focus on which is the “most important.’’

That’s easy.  It’s Pine Lakes.

Without Pine Lakes there wouldn’t be a Myrtle Beach as we know it, and plans are underway to underscore that at the course’s centennial celebration in 2027.

No. 14, a par-4 with a backdrop of nearby buildings, may be Pine Lakes’ best known hole. (Joy Sarver Photos)

“We have a fun year coming up,’’ said Kurtis Kuhn, Pine Lakes general manager.  “We’re still working on a lot of things, but we’ll try to market it more as Myrtle Beach turning 100.  The celebration won’t just be about us but about Myrtle Beach golf.’’

Parts of Pine Lakes’ past have been reported, but more will be revealed in the next couple years. For now it’s a public course with 275 golfing members. There’s also some social members, but Pine Lakes has never had a famous player as its representative or hosted a particularly big tournament.  And, the course has no real estate component.

“In the beginning it probably was private,’’ said Kuhn. “We may have a membership push, but Pine Lakes will never be fully private. Anybody can play here.’’

Pine Lakes is the oldest course among Myrtle Beach’s courses.  It opened in 1927, and the second one, the Dunes Golf  & Beach Club, didn’t open until 1948. The community once had over 100 courses, but now the number is back in double digits thanks to a changing economy.

In its early years Pine Lakes wasn’t Pine Lakes. It was called Ocean Forest and was connected to the Ocean Forest Hotel.  The course’s name was changed after the hotel was demolished.

Originally designed by Robert White,  a Scotsman who was also the first president of the PGA of America and co-founder of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.  He also built the first putting green on the White House lawn.

Pine Hills’ logo and the cover of Sports Illustrated’s first issue play a big part in the club’s history.

As the oldest course in Myrtle Beach Pine Lakes had its big moments, if not big tournaments.  Sports Illustrated magazine was created in a meeting in the Pine Hills clubhouse in 1954. The club also won a well-publicized legal dispute over its logo with clothes designer Ralph Lauren. Now Pine Lakes doubles as the site of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.

And that’s all been done as a public course.  Kuhn appreciates that fact, but isn’t awed by it.

“If you want a true private course the only one (in MB) is The Dunes Club,’’ he said, “but there are packages available where people can still play there.  That’s just the nature of Myrtle Beach.’’

As for Pine Lakes, the old club was appropriately dubbed “the Granddaddy’’ long ago. It’s thrived through constantly changing times, and we found the course perhaps the best conditioned one we’ve played in Myrtle Beach – and that’s even after a trying year in which the area dealt with snow in late January and threatening forest fires.

“An interesting year weather-wise,’’ said Kuhn, “but Pines Lakes isn’t going anywhere.  We’ve seen a lot of courses get sold for homes, but this place will be a golf course for a very long time.’’

He has his own opinion as to why the club has thrived.

“It’s the history,’’ he said.  “It started what Myrtle Beach is today.  There’s no place like it.’’

Kings North has 43 bunkers on just one hole, and they’ll have white sand when its renovation is completed.

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT to Pine Lakes, it’s hard to leave Myrtle Beach without keeping up with some of its other significant courses.

Kings North, at Myrtle Beach National, was the most interesting on this trip. The three-course property was built by the  Arnold Palmer Group in the 1970s and Palmer was on hand for the Kings North renovation in 1994. Now Founders wants to elevate the course’s profile.

Brandon Johnson, a designer with a most fertile imagination, is with the Palmer group.  He finished a renovation of Kings North’s front nine that was stunning.  Now the back side is getting his attention.  Given the extent of his work on the front side, one wonders what surprises he’ll unveil on the back.

General manager Ryan Ruddy won’t give many details, but the white sand used on the front side will be used on the back and the 18th hole will be toned down.  It has a stunning 43 bunkers now.  Ruddy says “they’ll be reduced…they’re a maintenance nightmare. But there’ll be a lot more of the waste area.’’

General manager Tom VanHoogen (left) and head professional Shane Peters guide a busy place at Grande Dunes.

GRANDE DUNES, the last course built in Myrtle Beach in 2000, has become one of Founders’ most popular courses.  It underwent its own extensive renovation three years ago.

The original course was designed by Roger Rulewich and John Harvey, who worked with Rulewich on the original design and construction, renovated the greens – largest in the area – back to their original size and also worked on every bunker.

“We wanted to bring Grande Dunes back to its original roots,’’ said Tom VanHoogan, the general manager.  “After 20 years we wanted to revitalize it.  But the clubhouse may have been the biggest thing. Now it’s very inviting for golfers, and it’s been brightened up.’’

The pro shop grew by 400 feet, an indoor-outdoor bar was added and outdoor seating expanded.

A greatly enlarged pro shop was the highlight of the most recent renovation at Grande Dunes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Euros might have a rare advantage in the ’26 Presidents Cup

The Presidents Cup, played every two years between the top PGA Tour players from the U.S. and a select team of International stars from all parts of the world except Europe, hasn’t created much excitement since its debut in 1994. The U.S. holds a 13-1-1 edge in the series.

Medinah hosts the next staging, in September of 2026, and it’ll have an intriguing twist.  The opposing captain of the International squad, Australian Geoff Ogilvy, will know the course better than his U.S. counterpart, Brandt Snedeker. Ogilvy and Snedeker were named to their respective posts last week.

Snedeker played for the U.S. in the 2013 Presidents Cup and was on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2012 and 2016. He was an assistant captain for the U.S. in the 2024 Presidents Cup and is a vice captain on this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team, which takes on Europe at New York’s Bethpage Black this Sepember.

Ogilvy played for the International side three times and has been a captain’s assistant for the Internationals in the last four Presidents Cups, so both know all about team golf. Ogilvy, however, knows all about Medinah’s No. 3 course.  His Australian-based design firm, OCM, oversaw the renovation of the historic layout, a two-year project.

The new Medinah No. 3 re-opened last summer.  It has larger greens, scale bunkering, wide fairways and a new routing than the old No. 3. Snedeker saw it for the first time in a walk-around last week.

“Geoff did a great piece of work,’’ said Snedeker – but Snedeker is going to change it for the 2026 Presidents Cup.

“We’re going to redo the routing a bit,’’ he said.  “Hole 4 will be the first hole.  That way, the routing is going to be a little bit different.  Geoff is going to have intimate knowledge of this course.  He has his fingerprints all over it.  He knows it better than anybody is going to know it.  That’s something we’re going to have to deal with.’’

Ogilvy downplays his apparent advantage.

“This may be a little advantage pre-tournament,’’ he said, “but by the time we get to Thursday morning (of tournament week) it will be pretty nullified. Touring professionals can learn a course really quickly. By the time we tee off I imagine the U.S. team will have it pretty well worked out.’’

HERE AND THERE: Next week’s PGA Championship at North Carolina’s Quail Hollow almost had a Chicago connected player in the field.  Andy Svoboda, head professional at Butler National, and Dakun Chang, the Illinois PGA Player of the Year in 2018 when he worked at Twin Orchard, tied for 20th in last week’s PGA Professional Championship in Florida but were eliminated in a four-for-one playoff for the final spot at Quail Hollow. The top 20 in the Profesional Championship earned spots at Quail Hollow.

The IPGA Match Player Championship,  first of the Illinois Section’s four major events, concludes its four-day run on Thursday at Butterfield, in Oak Brook.

Illinois’ rivals in the May 12-14 regional at Atkins Golf Club in Urbana include two teams ranked ahead of the No. 14 Illini nationally – No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 10 North Carolina.  Marquette and Illinois State are also in the 14-team field that sends the top five teams to the NCAA finals May 23-28 at Omni LaCosta in California.

The fifth annual Jackson T. Stephens Cup will be played at Shoreacres, in Lake Bluff, Sept. 15-17.  The event, named after a former chairman of Georgia’s Augusta National, features 12 men’s and women’s collegiate teams plus individuals from the U.S. Military Service Academies and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  Northwestern will have teams in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

Illinois senior Jackson Buchanan has been named the winner of  the Byron Nelson Award, which cites academic and community excellence in addition to golf performance. Buchanan shot a 5-under-par 67 on Monday and shared low Wheaton’s Tee-K Kelly and Aurora’s Bryce Emory in a U.S. Open local qualifier at Briar Ridge in Schererville, Ind.

 

 

 

 

Illini golfers switch attention to hosting an NCAA regional

 

Coach Mike Small’s University of Illinois men’s team, scheduled to host one of six NCAA regional tournaments, will find out the other schools in the field on Wednesday’s Selection Show on The Golf Channel.

The Illini, ranked No. 13 in the collegiate polls, will join other hopefuls for the NCAA finals from May 12-14 at Atkins Golf Club in Urbana.

Illinois will be going into another NCAA appearance coming off a rare season in which they did not rule the Big Ten tournament. Small’s teams had won 13 of the previous 15 league titles but came up short last weekend at Baltimore Country Club, losing by a stroke to UCLA.

The Illini had a six-stroke lead entering Sunday’s final round and were eight ahead of UCLA.

“We just didn’t grab ahold of it and close it out, and that’s what happens sometimes,’’ said Small. “Come-from-behind wins happen frequently in college golf, especially with tough conditions coupled with young teams.  Strong teams hold their ground at the end. We didn’t, and UCLA took advantage of it. When adversity hit we didn’t hold our ground with our short games and our putters.’’

Freshman Jake Birdwell,playing in the last group of the day in his first tournament of the season in the Illini scoring lineup, gave his team a chance.  He made birdie on the 17th hole to keep Illinois’ title hopes alive and his birdie try on the final hole would have put the Illini in a tie for the lead.  That putt missed to the left, leaving the Illini in the runner-up spot.

Birdwell, though, tied for third as an individual with a 3-under-par 207 for 54 holes. The Illini have advanced to the NCAA finals 17 times in Small’s 25 seasons as head coach  and won eight regional titles in the last 11 years.

The Illinois women’s team is also in NCAA regional play and is the No. 8 seed in the Ohio State Regional, which runs May 13-17.  The Northwestern women are the No. 2 seed in the Oklahoma Regional.

HERE AND THERE: A day after the Big Ten tourney ended Mike Small was competing in the first event of the new Illinois PGA Open Series at White Eagle, in Naperville.  Starting in the last group off the tee, he finished in an eight-way tie for third place.  Anthony Albano, of Park Ridge, was the only player under par among the 96 competitors, making five birdies en route to a 1-under 71.  Joey Ranieri, of Zionsville, Ind., was one stroke back.

Matthew Rion, of Vernon Hills;  Paul Schlimm, of Chicago; and Callan Fahey of Wheaton were among the survivors of the first of three U.S. Open local qualifiers conducted by the Chicago District Golf Assn.  The other two are May 5, at Briar Ridge in Schererville, Ind., and May 12 at Illini Country Club in Springfield. Survivors of the locals advance to sectional play.

Two Northwestern alums, David Lipsky and Dylan Wu, tied for fourth in last week’s PGA Tour stop – the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.  They were three strokes behind winners Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin and three ahead of the celebrity pairing of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.