Author: lenz

BOOK REPORT: An All-Star contribution to baseball history

 

Randall Sullivan’s “The First All-Star Game’’ (Atlantic Monthly Press) is aptly named.  It is the story of the first baseball game between the stars of the National and American leagues that was played in 1933 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.

(As you might guess we’re venturing away from golf again to spotlight some outstanding writing in other areas).

Sullivan focuses on just that first game, which was billed as “The Game of the Century.’’ It was to be a one-time thing as a highlight of the World’s Fair in Chicago but the game – as well as Sullivan’s book – have turned out to be much more than that.

Now known as the Mid-Summer Classic, this year’s 96th version of the annual game will be played July 14 with the Philadelphia Phillies hosting at Citizens Bank Park.

Sullivan certainly told the story of the first one, created by Arch Ward.  Ward was the sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, and had to convince the leaders of both the National and American leagues that such a game was a good idea.  Not everyone thought that way. The U.S. and the sport of baseball were at a crossroads at that time.

Chicago baseball needed an image improvement after one of its two teams, the White Sox, were caught in a gambling scandal involving the fixing of the 1919 World Series. The country was reeling from more than that, with Germany’s Adolph Hitler and Italy’s Benito Mussolini getting their nations poised for what would become World War II.

Thankfully, Sullivan wrote much more than a book about one baseball game.  His turned into an historical account of a critical period in American history, and baseball had some stars – most notably Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig – who gave the sport some needed positive attention.

Sullivan, in his 496-page masterpiece, covered the national news starting with an assasination attempt on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt before weaving in the tales of more than just Ruth and Gehrig on the baseball side.

The book found space for such divergent names as Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Al Capone, Charles Lindbergh, Bonnie & Clyde, Hack Wilson, Lefty Grove, Jimmy Foxx, Bill Dickey, Charley Gehringer, Gabby Hartnett, Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott and Frankie Frisch.  The list could go on and on.

I enjoy baseball, but am not a diehard fan.  Still, this was a hard book to put down. A few tidbits that were particularly interesting:

Connie Mack has always been considered one of the very best managers in baseball.  However, he had a losing record (3,731 wins against 3,948 losses in 53 seasons as a manager.  That record, according to Sullivan, should also include 76 games that ended in ties.

Babe Ruth was at the end of his playing career when he homered in the first All-Star Game, but he was still the sport’s most popular player. Ruth grew up an adopted orphan and was extremely popular with black players who weren’t allowed in the major leagues at that time.  There were plenty of exhibition games involving the top black teams, though, and Ruth was the most frequent participant among major leaguers.  According to Sullivan there was widespread speculation that Ruth was of mixed race.

Gehrig and Ruth with teammates on the Yankees with widely different personalities. According to this book they  didn’t talk to each other for two years after having a feud, but that ended on the day Gehrig was honored in an emotional tribute at Yankee Stadium after his playing career ended following a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Gehrig told the crowd “I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth.’’ Then Ruth, reportedly sobbing, rushed forward to embrace him.

Ruth’s career didn’t end happily, either.  He badly wanted to finish it as manager of the Yankees but it didn’t happen.  Before the 1935 season started Ruth asked Yankee leaders Jacob Ruppert and Ed Barrow if Joe McCarthy would return as manager. They confirmed McCarthy would stay in that role, meaning Ruth wouldn’t get it.  “That’s all I wanted to hear,’’ said Ruth, who stormed out of the meeting and was given his release by the team. He passed away in 1948.

“The First All-Star Game’’ is an extremely well-researched book filled with considerable episodes of that era that had nothing to do with baseball.  A book well worth reading, sports fan or not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NCAA hopes are on the line for Illini, NU golfers

 

The national championships in Division I college golf are on the line the next two weeks, and — in these parts, at least – it’s all about Illinois and Northwestern.

Coach Emily Fletcher’s NU women are the defending champion on the women’s side.  They won their first title last year at Omni LaCosta Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., and chase a repeat there beginning on Friday (MAY 22).

Fletcher’s team is in the finals for the fourth straight year, and standout Diana Lee has played on all four teams.  Last year’s scored a dramatic win over Stanford in the match play climax to the event.

While this year’s team made it back to LaCosta the Wildcats aren’t a good bet to repeat.  They finished fourth in the Michigan Regional — trailing Southern California, Ohio State and Duke – and that came after a 10th place finish in the 18-team Big Ten tournament.

The men will decide their national champion at LaCosta as soon as the women conclude theirs on May 27 but both the Illini and Wildcat men have to survive the 54-hole Georgia Regional, which concludes its three-day run on Wednesday, to get to LaCosta.  Illinois went in as the regional’s No. 2 seed and NU as No. 8.

U.S. OPEN:  The last of the three 18-hole local qualifiers in Illinois are over, and the last one – at Flossmoor Country Club – had a most unusual survivor.  Chicago’s Campbell Wolf shot a 1-under-par 71 to share medalist honors with amateur Dujuan Snyman of South Africa.

Wolf was born and raised in Pennsylvania but his game started getting good at not just one Illinois college but two.  He started at DePaul, saw improvement in two seasons with the Blue Demons and decided to transfer to East Tennessee State.  After two seasons there he opted to use his COVID season for a final year of college eligibility at Northern Illinois.

“I had a different college experience than most, but I wouldn’t change it,’’ said Wolf.  “I learned what it takes to play at the top levels of the sport, and it gave me confidence that I’d be able to do that.’’

So, Wolf stuck around Chicago and is now the director of events and an instructor at The Warehouse Golf Club in Burr Ridge. Now comes the hard part.  He has to survive one of the  36-hole final qualifiers to make it into the 156-man field for the Open proper June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills, in New York.

PETER DE YOUNG: The long-time. tournament director of the Western Open has passed on in Pinehurst, N.C.  He was 78.

DeYoung directed the Western from 1977 to 1993. The PGA Tour event shifted from Butler National, in Oak Brook, to Cog Hill, in Lemont, during DeYoung’s time on the job.

He later had leadership roles with two other Chicago pro tour events — the Ameritech Senior Open on PGA Tour Champions and the LaSalle Bank Open on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour.  DeYoung also developed the Nike Winter Nationals junior event after moving to Pinehurst.

HERE AND THERE: Robert Dofflemyer, of Loves Park, won the first Chicago District Golf Association tournament of the season – the CDGA Mid-Amateur at Glen Flora, in Waukegan.  The CDGA’s second big event, the Senior Amateur, concludes its four-day run at Hawthorn Woods on Thursday (MAY 21).  The quarterfinals and semifinals are on Wednesday (TODAY) and the championship match on Thursday….The second event of the Illinois PGA’s Open Series will be played at Flossmoor on Wednesday (TODAY).

 

Svoboda gets his first big IPGA victory

Andy Svoboda (left) celebrates his victory in the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship with Mistwood’s Andy Mickelson. (Nick Novelli Photo)

The 108th PGA Championship – second of the year’s four major tournaments – tees off Thursday at Aronimink, in Pennsylvania, but the Illinois Section of the PGA crowned the first winner of its four majors last week and it was significant.

Andy Svoboda was an immediate contender since joining the IPGA in 2024 after being named head professional at Butler National, in Oak Brook. He was last year’s IPGA Player of the Year, but in his previous two seasons he had yet to win one of the local majors. He played in seven of them and had two runner-up finishes and was in the top three five times.

The winless streak ended in last week’s first major of 2026, the IPGA Match Play Championship at Butterfield, in Oak Brook. Svoboda, now representing Elevation Golf, held off four-time winner and defending champion Jim Billiter, of Ivanhoe Club, 2 and 1 in the title match.

“It was awesome to finally get a win in these majors,’’ said the 46-year old Svoboda, who had success on both the Korn Ferry and PGA tours before joining the club professional ranks. “I’d been close.  I’d been in the final a couple years ago and just couldn’t get it done.  I had to call a penalty on myself late in that match, which was unfortunate.’’

This time Svoboda stormed into the final with some dazzling performances. He was 8-under par through 15 holes in eliminating Jeff Kellen, of North Shore of Glenview, in the quarterfinals and 5-under through 17 holes in ousting Brian Carroll, of The Hawk in St. Charles, in the semifinals.

“I had an incredible week,’’ said Svoboda.  “I played some unbelievable golf and made a ton of birdies but had some tough matches, including those with Jeff and Brian.’’

ON TO ARONIMINK:  No Illinois PGA players will be among the 20 club professionals in the national PGA Championship teeing off Thursday, but that field does include Northwestern alums Luke Donald and David Lipsky  and Illinois alum Thomas Detry.

Detry is one of 11 LIV Tour players competing at Aronimink.  There’ll be 15 past champions including defender Scottie Scheffler in a field that includes players from 29 states and 26 countries.

HERE AND THERE: Illinois is the No. 2 seed and Northwestern is No. 8 in the NCAA regional hosted by the University of Georgia beginning on Monday (MAY 18). The top five teams advance to the NCAA finals at Omni LaCosta in California May 29-June 3.

Brandt Snedeker, who will captain the U.S. team in September’s Presidents Cup matches at Medinah, won his first PGA Tour event in eight seasons last Sunday at the Myrtle Beach Classic. Snedeker, 45, earned a berth in the PGA Championship with his win, and that changed his plans for this week.  He had planned to spend a few days at Medinah dealing with Presidents Cup issues but will be at Aronimink instead.

The 11th Chicago District Mid-Amateur will wrap up its three-day run today (WEDNESDAY, MAY 13) with the championship match at Glen Flora in Waukegan.

TPC Deere Run, again the site of Illinois’ only PGA Tour event in July, will host the NAIA college event this week. It concludes on Friday (MAY 15).

University of Illinois golfer Max Herendeen was named for the second straight year to Team USA for the Arnold Palmer Cup matches.  They’ll be played in Ireland in July.

 

 

 

BOOK(S) REPORT: Both Tiger, Rory get special attention this time

Gavin Newsham’s “Project Tiger” (left) and Alan Shipnuck’s “Rory”  provide a great one-two punch for golf readers.

 

Two books on prominent golfers — “Tiger Project’’ by Gavin Newsham and “RORY’’ by Alan Shipnuck – came out very close together earlier this year.  Both were somewhat updated when they were released, as Tiger Woods had since been involved in another auto-related catastrophe and Rory McIlroy was about to repeat as a Masters champion.

That didn’t really matter, as both books were well researched and pertinent to the golf world specifically and the much wider world of sports in general.  The books ideally should be read consecutively to be fully appreciated, with Tiger going first.

I wasn’t excited when “Project Tiger’’ arrived in the mail.  Another book on the brilliant golfer with serious personal issues, really?!

This one, though, was presented with a fresh perspective. Newsham’s creation (Diversion Books) detailed Woods’ upbringing and the cover promised “A searing indictment of Tiger Woods’ father.’’

That seemed a bit of a stretch to me, though the Woods had – to put it mildly — “a unique father-son relationship.’’ Earl Woods seemed to be wanting his son to be a world-changing savior even more than just a great golfer.

The early years of that project made for interesting reading, with the racial issues they  faced particularly poignant.  Newsham interviewed Tiger’s coaches, classmates, girlfriends and fellow competitors in describing how he was molded in those early years.

The McIlroy book made for more interesting reading, probably because the material in “Rory’’ (Avid Reader Press and Simon & Shuster) was fresher.  McIlroy is the next great golf star, and Shipnuck’s biography was was both interesting and revealing.

Here was a young boy growing up in Northern Ireland with a much different parenting style than Woods. Father Gerry had grown up in public housing in Belfast. He worked as the manager of a bar who made ends meet by taking a variety of other jobs – one of which even called for cleaning toilets. Mother Rosie worked nights in a factory while Rory was growing up. Both worked to give McIlroy the opportunity to fully develop his golf skills.

As was the case with “Tiger Project’’ I take issue with a phrase on the book cover. It promised “The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar.’’

Shipnuck  went beyond golf, even providing inside looks at McIlroy’s various girlfriend issues and recounting a spicy conversation during a U.S. Open in which McIlroy took issue with the money Shipnuck would receive for writing the book.

All in all, two thought-provoking books – both in the 300-page range — on subjects that figure to merit such in depth treatment for many years to come.

 

 

 

Two-tourney week brings Illinois PGA players together

This week’s two PGA Tour stops are the final warmups for the year’s second major tournament – the PGA Championship. The top stars will be at the Truist Championship at Quail Valley, in Charlotte, N.C., which tees off on Thursday.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the runner-up in his last three tournaments, won’t be there but Cameron Young – the winner of the Cadillac Championship last week – and Rory McIlroy, winner of the Masters the last two years, will.

The PGA’s under card event, the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic at The Dunes Club in North Carolina and also tees off on Thursday. Itis unique, though.  It represents one of the few times the bulk of the Illinois-connected tour players will be playing in the same tournament.

Illinois alum Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim, Northbrook’s Nick (also an Illinois alum), Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman and Northwestern alum Dylan Wu  are all in the field.

Hardy and Wu have spent most of this season on the Korn Ferry Tour.  Dumont de Chassart was on the developmental circuit last year but earn his PGA Tour card for 2026 after finishing in the top 20 on the Korn Ferry circuit in 2025.

Streelman, 47, has made 407 cuts and is a two-time winner on the premier circuit since earning his PGA Tour card in 2008 but surgery to repair a torn meniscus has cut into his playing time the last two years.

No doubt all would prefer to play in the Truist this week . It has a $20 million purse while only $4 million will be on the line at Myrtle Beach. That tournament, though, does have one very big name.  Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka is paying the price for defecting to the LIV Tour. Though a past PGA Championship winner, he was given only alternate’s status in the Truist so opted to take a spot at Myrtle Beach rather than sit out this week.

U.S. OPEN: University of Illinois alum Jackson Buchanan dominated the second of three local qualifiers, shooting a 7-under-par 64 on Monday at Illini Country Club in Springfield.  Illini hosted a local Open elimination for the 45th consecutive year, and Buchanan  had a six-stroke edge on runner-up Luke Gannon of downstate Monticello.

Buchanan, from Dacula, Ga., qualified for last year’s U.S. Open and missed the 36-hole cut. He’s been playing on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. The third and final Chicago area local qualifier with be at Flossmoor Country Club on May 11.

COLLEGE:  The Illinois men’s team, ranked No. 12 nationally, gets its NCAA regional assignment at 1 p.m. Wednesday on The Golf Channel.  Coach Mike Small’s Illini, runner-up to UCLA last weekend in the Big Ten Championship at Pumpkin Ridge, in Oregon, will be in the NCAA tourney for the 18th consecutive year.

The men’s regionals are May 18-20 at six sites, the closest being on Ohio State’s course in Columbus. The finals are May 29-June 6 at Omni LaCosta Resort, in California.

NCAA regional assignments are already set for the women’s teams. Illinois is headed for the Stanford course in California and Northwestern will play in Ann Arbor, Mich.,  Both those regionals begin a three-day run on May 13.  The women’s finals will also be played at LaCosta, from May 22-27.

WESTERN GOLF: The Western Golf Association has selected five future sites for its Western Amateur tournament, and four of them are in the Chicago area – Knollwood (Lake Forest), 2027), Conway Farms (Lake Forest), 2029, Glen View Club (2030) and Skokie (Glencoe), 2032.

Baltimore Country Club will host in 2028. This year’s Western Am is at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club from July 27 to Aug. 1.

 

 

 

TRAVEL: South Dakota’s Terry Redlin Art Center is a special place

The Terry Redlin Art Center has three floors of the works of one of America’s most popular artists.

 

WATERTOWN, South Dakota – This is our latest proof that we can enjoy destinations that don’t involve golf.  We hadn’t been to South Dakota since 2015 , the last time highlighted by a stop to see the iconic Mount Rushmore.

This time we made a side trip from a family gathering in Marshall, Minnesota, to check out the Terry Redlin Art Center – a 90-minute drive over the South Dakota state line to the  late artist’s home town (population about 22,000).

Redlin was twice selected as America’s Most Popular Artist in the 1990s in a U.S. Art Magazine poll of the nation’s art galleries.  Redlin Art Center was a gift from the late artist to his town. It contains over 160 of his original oil paintings, the best known probably being “2 am Feeding,’’  which depicts Redlin as a young father struggling to feed a new-born baby.

This painting, called “2 a.m. Feeding,” may be Terry Redlin’s best known work.

There’s a lot more to enjoy, as Redlin specialized in outdoor themes and wildlife. Redlin, who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident when he was 15, worked until 2007 when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  Redlin died in a retirement home in Watertown in 2016 at the age of 78.

The Redlin Art Center opened in 1997 and features a video presentation of the artist in which he gives insights into his creations, especially an eight-painting series entitled “An American Portrait.’’  He drew from his own memories and  called it “the biggest project I’ll ever do.’’

Rural outdoor scenes  and wildlife were Terry Redlin’s specialty as an artist.

Redlin had over 50 paintings in the works at the time of his death and the Art Center commemorated the 10th anniversary of his passing by sharing a collection of his unfinished works in April of 2026.

The Art Center offers self-guided tours of three floors of his art. It’s all well-displayed and is accompanied by the Redlin story that celebrates life’s simple pleasures in a place of peace and tranquility. And – a real bargain – there is no admission charge.

There’s three exclusive shops at the Center offering Redlin’s fine art prints, special gifts and unique home décor. For more information on this special place check the website redlinart.com.

Supplementing our most enjoyable visit was a lunch at The Grainery, a restaurant across the street from the Center. We requested a dish symbolic of South Dakota and came up with Tator Tot Hot Dish. It did not disappoint.

This is called Tater Tot Hot Dish. It a delicious South Dakota specialty at The Grainery Restaurant.

 

Illinois prep champion tops U.S. Open local qualifier

 

Last week’s first of three Illinois local qualifiers for the U.S. Open hardly went according to form.

Evanston amateur Lester Low, the reigning Illinois high school champion,  posted the best score – a 7-under-par 65 at Stonewall Orchard, in Gurnee, and that was two strokes better than veteran tour player Andy Svoboda, the head professional at Butler National in Oak Brook.

Svoboda, who came to Butler in 2024, was the Illinois PGA’s Player of the Year the last two years.  Now 46, Svoboda qualified for five U.S. Opens and won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Low, 16, shot 65-72  as a sophomore en route to winning last year’s prep title at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington.  Evanston was the team runner-up the last two years and Lester’s brother Kieran was also part of the team.  Kieran will be a freshman at Boston College in the fall. Both brothers were grant recipients from the U.S. Golf Association for its National Development Program.

The Stonewall Orchard local advanced four players to the final Open qualifying stage, and another amateur – Ben Patel, of North Aurora – joined Low and Svoboda in advancing. The 36-hole final stage qualifiers will be held around the country between May 18 and June 8 to determine the 156 starters in the Open proper June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills in New York.

PGA TOUR: Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim, partnered with Jeffrey Kang, tied for sixth in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.  It was Ghim’s best finish of the season, produced his best payday of the year ($185,250) and boosted his FedEx Cup ranking 20 positions to No. 114.

Northbrook’s Nick Hardy paired with Davis Riley to finish in a tie for 20th.  Hardy and Riley won the event in 2023. Hardy has spent this season on the Korn Ferry Tour where he made four cuts in six starts.

SENIOR PGA: Fifteen players advanced to the final qualifier for the U.S. Senior Open, to be played July 2-5 at Scioto in Ohio. Mike Carbray, of Glen Ellyn; amateur Glenn Przybylski,  Frankfort; Andy Walker, Phoenix, Ariz; and Bradley Lanning, Horotonville, WI., all shot 2-over-par 74 – the low score in a local qualifier at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.

Roy Biancalana, of St. Charles, earned the last qualifying spot in the final qualifier at Kemper by surviving a four-man playoff involving players who posted 77s.

HERE AND THERE: Both Illinois tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule – the Memorial Health Championship, June 25-28 at Panther Creek in Springfield and the Evans Scholars Invitational  July 23-26 at The Glen Club in Glenview — will be part of the new four-event $100,000 bonus pool called Route 66 Cup. The player topping the point list after the four events will get $66,000.

The Presidents Cup has, in partnership with the George and Cindy Rusu Family Foundation, contributed $150,000 to the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans. The Presidents Cup  will be played Sept. 22-27 at Medinah Country Club, and the donation  is part of a commitment to invest in local communities and build a lasting legacy for the event.

The Western Golf Association has announced a one-year agreement with Inspire 11, establishing the business and technology consulting firm as the presenting sponsor of the 124th Western Amateur at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club from July 27 to Aug. 1.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame induction class of 2027.  Application forms are available on the Illinois PGA website.

 

Stonewall Orchard is an early host for U.S. Open local qualifiers

 

This month’s Masters was the first of the year’s four major championships and – with just a 91-player field – was the smallest of those events.  The biggest of the majors is the U.S. Open which officially started on Monday (APRIL 20) with the first of 109 local qualifiers.

Illinois will again have three such eliminations,  the first of which is April 22 at Stonewall Orchard, in Grayslake. The other two are at Illini Country Club, in Springfield, on May 4 and May 11 at Flossmoor Country Club.

Stonewall, an Arthur Hills design, previously hosted Open qualifiers in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2015.  The course has also hosted qualifiers for the Korn Ferry Tour six times. This year’s Open elimination tees off at 8 a.m. with 78 players battling for four berths in the final qualifiers.

Illini CC was founded in 1906 and its course was designed by Tom Bendelow.  A prolific architect, his other creations include the original No. 3 course at Medinah Country Club. Illini will host a U.S. Open local for the 45th consecutive year.

The Open is a massive annual event, and this year’s version had 10,201 entrants.  That’s one less than the record turnout set last year when the 72-hole finals were held at Oakmont, in Pennsylvania. It’s the fifth time the entries have topped 10,000.

This year’s entrants ranged in age from 13-year old Californian Niko Ameredes, a two-time finalist in the Drive, Chip & Putt competition, to 71-year old New York club professional Mike Caporale. Entries came from all 50 states and 49 foreign countries.

The 126th playing of the U.S. Open concludes June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills, a New York layout which is similarly rich in history as Oakmont, but there will be lots of competition between now and then as the field is determined.

Entrants must either be declared professionals or amateurs with a handicap index not exceeding 0.4.  Only 51 entrants are currently exempt from full qualifying thanks to past performances. One is two-time Open winner Brooks Koepka who was the champion the last time the finals were played at Shinnecock in 2018.

Another is Brandon Holtz, a 39-year old former Illinois State basketball player who works in real estate in Bloomington, IL.  He received exemptions to both the Masters and U.S. Open after winning last year’s U.S. Mid- Amateur title.  Holtz missed the 36-hole cut at the Masters.

Most all of the others must survive qualifying events to be among the156 players who get to tee off at Shinnecock.   The local eliminations will determine who qualifies for the thirteen 36-hole final qualifiers, staged in 10 U.S. locations, England, Japan and Canada between May 18 and June 8. None of those will be played in Illinois.

HERE AND THERE: Including the three U.S. Open locals the Chicago District Golf Association will conduct 21 qualifiers for U.S. Golf Association championships this year. Next is the one for the U.S. Senior Open. It’s on April 27 at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.

The Illinois PGA Open Series begins on April 27 at the Glen Club in Glenview.

With coach Mike Small competing in last weekend’s Senior PGA Championship in Florida his University of Illinois team concluded its regular season with a second-place finish in the Hoosier Collegiate in Indiana. An Illini player, Freddie Turnell, was the individual champion while Kansas State took the team crown. Illinois begins postseason play at the Big Ten Championships May 1-3 at Pumpkin Ridge in Oregon.  Illinois has won the title 14 times in the last 17 years.

 

 

Illini coach Mike Small takes a crack at the Senior PGA tourney

 

IN SELECT COMPANY: Illinois men’s coach Mike Small (right) was paired with two former major champions in the first round of the Senior PGA Championship.  Henrik Stenson (left) won the 2016 British Open and John Daly captured titles in both the 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 British Open. Stenson shot 72, Daly 73 and Small 79.  (Joy Sarver Photos)

BRADENTON, FL. –Playing on any PGA Tour is no easy task.  Neither is coaching at the major college level.  Very few have done both, but Mike Small continues to both coach the University of Illinois men’s team and compete on PGA Tour Champions when possible.

This week is one of those rare times when it’s possible. Small is in the field for the 86th Senior PGA Championship at the Concession Club, It teed off on Thursday while his Illini were concluding their regular season in Indiana’s Hoosier Collegiate. His assistants are coaching the team in that tournament.“They’re excited and my team needs a break from me,’’ said Small. “Our administration was fine with it.’’

Small will return as coach for the biggest events of the college season.  The Big Ten championships, which the Illini have won 13 times in his 25 seasons as head coach, are May 1-3 and NCAA tournament play begins May 18. The Illini have reached the NCAA tournament 16 of the last 17 years and won seven regional titles.

This year’s team won three tournaments and is ranked No. 10 in one national collegiate poll and No. 12 in the other.

Big John Daly and Mike Small (left) were affable playing partners in the Senior PGA Championship. Daly was allowed to ride a cart because of osteoarthritis in his right knee.

While Small has survived cuts in 15 of 34 PGA Tour events and 18 of 19 Champions Tour starts since he began coaching, he has played in the Senior PGA only once.  He missed the cut at Harbor Shores in Michigan in 2022.

“It was always played opposite the national (NCAA) championships,’’ said Small.  “This year there was a date change.’’

Small qualified for a spot in the field by finishing 25th in the PGA National Club Professional Championship.  He’ll go head-to-head with the best 50-and-over professionals beginning on Thursday at Concession, a Jack Nicklaus design that will host the event through 2028.

Illinois won the Big Ten title in 1988 when Small and Steve Stricker were the team’s stars. They stood up at each other’s weddings, then both spent time on the PGA Tour before Small turned to coaching.

Stricker, now one of the best senior tour pros, also qualified for the Senior PGA but withdrew on Sunday.

Small has won 14 Illinois PGA titles, four Illinois Opens and three Illinois Senior Opens. He also won three times in the PGA National Professional Championship and was low professional at two PGA Championships, but a few years have passed since then.  He’s 60 now and figures to be rusty in a field that includes tournament-tough stars like Stewart Cink, John Daly, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Vijay Singh.

Thursday’s first-round leaders were Brian Gay, Steve Allan, Bernhard Langer and Miguel Angel Jiminez.  All shot 6-under-par 66.

“I’ve been hitting balls for a week,’’  said Small, “but the first practice round (at Concession on Monday) was the first time I walked 18 holes since last summer.’’

HERE AND THERE: Countryside, in Mundelein, will host the first qualifying round for the 11th Chicago District Mid-Amateur Championship on Tuesday (APRIL 21).

KemperSports has taken over the management duties at Village Greens of Woodridge.

The CDGA has announced that the Chicago Adaptive Open, scheduled for June at Fox Bend, in Oswego, already has a full field of 84 players. Fox Bend will host through 2030 and Illinois Bone & Joint Institute will be the sponsor.

Pinseeker Media will sponsor Dave Lockhart’s Golf 360 when the long-running TV show begins broadcasting in June. Dan Roan will host.

Stewart Cink (left). with two wins and a runner-up in his last four starts, and Z;ach Johnson, in his first major on the Champions Tour, are among the crowd favorites at Concession. Cink opened with a 69 and Johnson with a 73.  Defending champion Angel Cabrera shot a whopping 81.

 

 

 

 

This Masters may lack its usual star power, but look out for Bryson

Bryson DeChambeau has been a big hit in Illinois. After winning the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields he notched a PGA Tour win at the John Deere Classic in 2017 (left) and another in LIV Golf/Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms in 2023 (right). After U.S. Open wins in 2020 and 2024 he’s ready to win this week’s Masters. (Joy Sarver Photos)

 

 

The Masters starts its 90th anniversary staging on Thursday.  This major championship in Augusta, Ga., always gets world-wide attention, but this one may not get as much as most of the others – and for good reasons.

Tiger Woods won’t be playing.  Neither will Phil Mickelson.  It’s the first time since 1994 that both of those popular stars will miss the Masters, Woods because of a recent auto accident and Mickelson because of  a“serious medical issue’’ that has limited his competition to only one event of the five played on the LIV Golf Tour this season. Woods has won the Masters five times, Mickelson has three titles, and both will be missed.

Another factor is that Scottie Scheffler, a two-time champion and the game’s No. 1-ranked player, has had an uncharacteristically slow start to this season.  He had seemed distracted, which could be unstandable given that his wife was pregnant.  Scheffler announced the birth of their second son, Remy, on Sunday though the birth was on March 27. Scheffler missed the last three weeks of tournaments on the PGA Tour and may be rusty.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is coming off a three-week layoff and he didn’t finish in the top-20 in his two starts in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (T24) and The Players (T22).

And then there’s Rory McIlroy, whose win in the 2025 Masters completed his dramatic completion of golf’s Grand Slam.  His start to the 2026 season was not ideal.  He’s made only four starts and one of those was a withdrawal at the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he developed a sore back.  McIlroy’s last start was at The Players and he could do no better than a tie for 46th when that tourney ended on March 15.

That leaves quite a few top stars in limbo, so this staging can’t possibly come close to the first one I covered in person.  The 1986 staging is marking the 40th anniversary of what may be the most memorable Masters.  Jack Nicklaus won his record sixth title at the age of 46, making him the oldest winner in tournament history.

Somebody will win the 90th Masters on Sunday, however.  It’s an annual rite of spring to pick the champion and I’ve done it three times – Fred Couples in 1992, Scheffler in 2022 and McIlroy last year.

This one figures to be a battle of the hottest current players on both men’s tours – Bryson DeChambeau of the LIV circuit and Matt Fitzpatrick on the PGA Tour side.  DeChambeau won his last two LIV starts and Fitzpatrick had a runner-up finish, then a win in the Valspar Championship.  Neither played last week, and neither has won a Masters.

I’m making DeChambeau my choice this week. His best finishes in the Masters were in the last two years – a tie for sixth in 2024 and a tie for fifth last year.

A couple others rate an outside chance – England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who earned his first PGA Tour win at last year’s Tour Championship on a Georgia course (East Lake), and J.J. Spaun, who won last year’s U.S. Open with a 64-foot putt on the final green at Oakmont. Spaun also captured last Sunday’s Valero Texas Open so has some good momentum going in his favor.

LOCAL HOPEFUL: While no Illinois-connected PGA Tour players qualified for this year’s Masters, the field will include Brandon Holtz.  The former Illinois State basketball player, now 39, works in real estate in Bloomington.  After contending in several Illinois Opens Holtz qualified for the Masters by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur title last September in Arizona.  Jeff Holtz, Brandon’s now 65-year old father, was his bag-toter in the U.S. Mid-Amateur win and will also be on the bag at Augusta National.

BITS: Two Chicago area qualifiers did well in the Drive Chip & Putt finals, an annual prelude to the Masters. Patricia Kittivat, of Schaumburg, finished second in the Girls 7-9 category and Hinsdale’s Carter Bird tied for third in the Boys 14-15.

Northwestern’s Diana Lee tied for 19th in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, another pre-Masters attraction.  She was 2-under-par for that tourney’s 54-holes and was even par in the final round – the only one of the three played on the Augusta National course.

Andrew Langan, of Winnetka, is the new chairman of the Western Golf Association. He’s been a member of the WGA’s board of directors since 2016.