Author: lenz

LPGA LEGENDS: Final round rainout makes Rinker a champion

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The final round of the LPGA Legends Championship was impacted by weather for the second straight year Sunday, and this time it prevented a ball from being struck.

Anticipating weather problems, Legends officials scheduled a 7:30 a.m. start of play off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees, but a night of rain left the course too wet for play to begin on Sunday morning. Consideration was given to starting play five hours later, perhaps in a shotgun format, but the rain became stronger and fog made visibility difficult. A car accident on the road leading in to the course also was a factor in the decision to shorten the tournament to 36 holes.

That meant that Laurie Rinker, the leader after Saturday’s second round, was declared the champion and the winner of the $60,000 first-place check. She accepted the trophy to a standing ovation in the Dye Course pavilion and had words of wisdom for her brother Lee, a golf professional who will be playing in the Senior PGA Championship on the course next May.

“I texted my brother a picture of the trophy because he’ll be here next year,’’ said Rinker. “Maybe I can give him a tip or two.’’

She might also advise Lee to hire her caddie. Caleb Powers, a local bag-toter who was on her bag for both her tournaments on the Dye Course (they’re pictured together, below).

“He’s the best,’’ said Rinker. “He knows the course better than anybody. He told me where to hit it, and this week I could do it. French Lick’s a very special place. I’ve told people how beautiful it is, and the course is in fabulous shape.’’

Rinker, from Stuart, Fla., was joint runner-up in the first LPGA Legends Championship when Canadian Lorie Kane won the title. Kane had a two-stroke margin after the final round of 2013 was played in cold, rainy weather. She finished in a tie for 17th in her title defense after rounds of 75 and 73.

After two days of great weather rain and fog covered the Pete Dye Course and made the layout After two days of great weather rain and fog made it difficult to even see the Pete Dye Course from the clubhouse.

Sherri Steinhauer was within one stroke of Rinker after 36 holes thanks to a blistering 9-under-par 63 on Saturday. Steinhauer’s round is believed to be the lowest in the Legends’ 14-year history, two better than the 65 Kane shot in the Wendy’s Charity Challenge in 2011. Steinhauer’s runner-up check was for $36,969.

After two days of great weather rain and fog covered the Pete Dye Course and made the layout barely visible from the clubhouse.

Rosie Jones, winner of the Wendy’s Charity Classic in Michigan last Sunday, wound up third after Sunday’s round was cancelled. She was two strokes behind Steinhauer and earned $27,720. The tourney purse was $500,000, the highest on the Legends Tour.

Rinker, who shot 66 in the second round, posted a winning total of 7-under-par 137. It was her third win on the Legends circuit, the others coming in the BJ Charities Pro-Am in 2012 and the Legends Tour Open in 2013.

Rinker’s wins as an LPGA regular came at the Boston Five Classic in 1984 and the Corning (N.Y.) Classic in 1986. She also won the Bridgestone Ladies Open in Japan in 1984 and had three runner-up finishes on the LPGA circuit in 1987. Her brothers, Lee and Larry, are also golf professionals and Laurie teamed with Larry to win the JC Penney Classic in 1985.

Sunday’s cancellation also meant the six-player Super Seniors event was cut from 36 to 18 holes. It ended in a three-way tie for the title based on the 77s shot by Shelley Hamlin, Jane Blalock and Judy Dickinson on Saturday. Each pocketed $750. Blalock, CEO of the Legends Tour, also was inducted into the Legends Hall of Fame as part of the pre-tournament festivities.

LPGA LEGENDS: Steinhauer’s 63 likely a tour record

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – Sherri Steinhauer posted a round for the ages on the LPGA Legends Tour Saturday, but – as good as her 9-under-par 63 was – it wasn’t good enough to give her the lead going into Sunday’s final round of the $500,000 Legends Championship, played on the tricky Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.

Sherri Steinhauer (left) celebrates her 9-under-par round with caddie Lisa DePaulo.

Steinhauer, who posted a 75 in Friday’s first round, made bogey on her first hole Saturday, then reeled off 10 birdies in the last 17 holes for what’s believed to be the lowest round in the 14-year history of the Legends circuit. It’s also the lowest round – male or female – shot in competition on the Dye Course.

Legends’ officials believe the previous low was 65 by Lorie Kane in the 2011 Wendy’s Charity Challenge in Michigan but they wanted to check further before declaring Steinhauer’s round the best in the history of the circuit. It was a career-best for Steinhauer, who shot 64 four times while playing on the LPGA Tour.

All those birdies on Saturday boosted Steinhauer, 51 years old and from Madison, Wis., to 6-under 138 total for the first 36 holes. That left her one stroke behind Laurie Rinker, who posted her 6-under 66 about an hour after Steinhauer finished. They’ll be paired in the final group for Sunday’s final round.

Their closest challenger after 36 holes was Rosie Jones, the co-leader after Round 1. She shot 71 Saturday and is at 4-under 140 heading into the final 18, with a $60,000 first-place prize is on the line. The other first-round leader, Lisa Grimes, is a stroke behind Jones and the only other players under par are Barb Mucha (2-under 142) and Trish Johnson (1-under 143).

“I’m excited for tomorrow,’’ said Rinker, who tied for second last year – two strokes behind champion Kane. “I feel pretty comfortable on this course. You’ve got to play along and take what it gives you. The key is being very patient and take a lot of deep breaths.’’

Steinhauer wasn’t thinking along those lines Saturday. She was made after her bogey at No. 1, then went along for the ride the rest of the way.

“It was quite a day,’’ she said. “I started hitting it close and making the putts. It felt really good, and then you just get out of your own way and keep swinging. I tried to not think about it and just enjoy it.’’

Enjoying it was no problem. She answered the first-hole bogey with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 2, the made birdies from five feet at the fourth, eight feet at the fifth, one foot after a fine chip at the seventh and eight feet at the ninth.

The back side started with birdie putts of 15 feet at No. 10 and four feet at No. 11, but the highlight of the day came two holes later when Steinhauer put a 4-iron second shot from 176 yards to six inches of the cup. She finished her birdie run with a 10-footer at the 14th and a long double-breaker at the 17th. As it turned out, the 10-foot downhill birdie putt that she left short at No. 18 cost her a share of the 36-hole lead.

Using local caddie Caleb Powers for the second straight year, Rinker started Round 2 four strokes better than Steinhauer and was steady throughout. She hit 17 greens in regulation and putted from 60 feet for eagle from the fringe at No. 18. She took three to get in, however, so her lead remained at only one stroke.

“Anything can happen tomorrow,’’ said Steinhauer, who won eight times –twice in major championships, on the LPGA Tour before winning her first Legends tournament at Innisbrook in Florida in 2012.

Her only other Legends win came in last year’s Wendy’s Charity Challenge in Michigan, but Jones kept her from defending her title in that 18-hole event last Sunday.

“It would be nice to add this tournament,’’ said Steinhauer, “but there’s a long way to go. I can’t get ahead of myself.’’

She’s downplaying the significance of winning the Legends’ biggest tournament for another reason, too. Both Steinhauer and her caddie, Lisa DePaulo, have been touched by cancer issues that diminish the significance of what happens to them on the course.

“Lisa and I went to college at Texas,’’ explained Steinhauer. “My mom died of cancer in 2010 and Lisa’s taking care of her mom, who has cancer and isn’t doing very well. A college teammate, Piper Wagner, was also just given less than two months to live. We’re playing for all of them. Golf is just a game, and I’m just out here playing and fortunate to be able to play the game I love.’’

Saturday’s play also included the start of the six-player Super Seniors division for players 63 and over. Jane Blalock, CEO of the Legends Tour and winner of last year’s Super Seniors, is tied for the leader with Judy Dickinson and Shelley Hamlin. All shot 77s on Saturday.

Legends do their part to help children’s hospital

FRENCH LICK, Ind. — Braden Tamosaitis got to roll some putts on the Pete Dye Course on Saturday and also meet many of the players competing in the second round of the LPGA Legends Championship.

Nine-year old Braden Tamosaitis got an up-close-and-personal look at the LPGA Legends Championship.

Braden, age 9, enjoyed the experience thoroughly and the players he touched most certainly did, as well.

“He’s a special little kid,’’ summed up Dave Harner, director of golf at French Lick.

Braden was born with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and Arnold Chiari II malformation. He underwent surgery the day after he was born and again on the second day of his life. Altogether he’s had 17 surgeries, but they haven’t dimmed his spirit for life. He was delighted to report that a couple of putts on the practice green even found the hole.

“He’s a very happy kid, and a better interview than I am,’’ said his father, Kevin, who drove his family over two hours (from Camby, Ind., near Indianapolis) on Friday night so that they could participate in Saturday’s Walk for Riley while the Legends tournament was in progress.

Riley Children’s Hospital at IU Health is the new charity partner with the Legends Championship. The hospital will received a check for $100,000 following Sunday’s final round to continue its work with families dealing with severe health problems.

“French Lick really stepped up,’’ said Kevin Tamosaitis. “We’ve been welcomed with open arms and treated like VIPs.’’

Harner said Riley Children’s Hospital’s involvement developed because `we wanted something everyone in Indiana could identify with and be a part of.’’ Harner knew of Braden and the Riley programs because his own son was involved in the Riley Dance Marathon at Indiana University.

“Riley affects all 92 counties in the state of Indiana plus Kentucky, Illinois and Ohio,’’ said Joe Vezzoso, vice president of hotel operations for French Lick Resort. “This is a win-win for everyone.’’

The Tamosaitis family isn’t new to the special events tied into Riley Hospital. Braden was named Indiana’s 2013 Children’s Miracle Network Champion, and that enabled him to represent the state in a celebratory event in Orlando, Fla., and then take a flight to Washington D.C. where – among other things — he met with President Obama.

Braden’s battle with spina bifida, though, continues. He watched Saturday’s event from a wheelchair near the No. 8 tee and more surgeries at Riley wouldn’t be unexpected.

“He looks forward to them,’’ said his father, “because he gets room service and his friends are there, both patients and doctors. He’s very comfortable there. It’s not like a home-away-from-home; it’s like our other home.’’

Five families from Riley participated in Saturday’s Walk. They were scattered around the course, and those participating in the Walk got to interact the Riley families. That made the Walk all the more special for over 75 youngsters who came from all parts of the area.

“The First Tee of Louisville brought 35 kids,’’ said Harner. “We had them from three years old through high school.’’

Walk participants and the Riley families participated together in an introductory event on the Dye Course putting green, with two of the LPGA competitors – Lorie Kane and Ann-Marie Palli – offered instruction. Then the families went to checkpoints along the course and the Walk for Riley participants took off on a tour of the spectacular, hilly course. They received stickers at each checkpoint and those who covered the full 18 holes received a small gift upon completion of the hike.

LPGA LEGENDS: Co-leaders present a sharp contrast in golf careers

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.’’

The Pete Dye Course is filled with spectacular views, starting with the waterfall at the front gate.

As has been the case in her previous Legends tournaments Grimes has her brother Dave Kluver on her bag. He’s a PGA professional in Arizona who used to caddie for Rex Caldwell and Jim Thorpe on the PGA Tour.

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.

The number of sponsorship signage has nearly tripled for the second staging of the LPGA Legends Championship.

“I remember the greens as being much harder as far as approaches were concerned,’’ said Jones. “This is a little different golf course, and I liked it.’’

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.

Leukemia survivor was a big hit at Legends event

Ashtyn Brown’s final swing at the LPGA Legends Championship may not have produced the desired result, but there’s no doubt she was the star of the show.

As the ambassador for Riley Children’s Hospital at IU Health, Ashtyn was the honorary starter for the 54-hole tournament on Friday. She hooked her tee shot, just a minor distraction in a saga that began in March when the hospital’s partnership with the tournament was announced.

The end result, said French Lick director of golf Dave Harner, was a $100,000 donation to the hospital through tournament activities.

Along the way Ashtyn gave several speeches describing her brutal battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She also went on a media tour with Legends star Rosie Jones and played in Jones’ tournament in Roswell, Ga.

Once the Legends arrived at French Lick Ashtyn was a focal point at Thursday’s pro-am activities as well as the dinner in which she gave one more touching speech to a big gathering in the rotunda of the West Baden Springs Hotel at French Lick Resort.

In the pro-am she was paired with Joanne Carner, the LPGA Hall of Famer, and was the cart partner of Steve Ferguson, chairman of the board of Cook Group. There’s about a 50-year difference in age between Carner and Ashtyn, and their round together didn’t quite last 18 holes because of time constraints involving the Hall of Fame dinner.

“It was just incredible just to be out there with those ladies, especially Joanne,’’ said Ashtyn. “She has so much experience in golf and is a great lady as well. It’s not surprising or shocking how great these people on the Legends Tour are, and my being a golfer myself, you strive to be like them.’’

The Legends event wasn’t the first for Ashtyn in her role with the hospital. She also have speeches in golf-related settings in Indianapolis and at the PGA’s Children’s Miracle Network event in Orlando, Fla.

In all her speeches she related how she was diagnosed with the disease twice. The first was in 1999, and she endured over two years of chemotherapy. Three years later she suffered a relapse and needed another two-plus years of chemo, radiation and a trial medication that proved to be a miracle drug.

At one point, she said, her weight had dropped to 35 pounds and she was given a 10 percent chance to survive. Along the way she lost 10 of her friends along with her doctor to cancer, but Ashtyn beat the odds.

“Through speaking it’s helped me heal, just as much as I want to help other people,’’ she said. “I’ve gone through so much hurt.’’

But she is moving on from those trying days and will check in at the University of Indianapolis on Monday for her senior year. She calls the Legends experience “something I’ll remember forever.’’

In high school in Richmond, Ind., Ashtyn was a member of the state-runner-up girls golf team in her sophomore year and carried golf into college. After two years at Ball State she transferred to Indianapolis and is part of a strong team there. Though she’s a senior academically, she took a redshirt season previously and has two years of athletic eligibility remaining. She plans to make the most of it.

“I want to take my game as far as I can,’’ she said; “I love the game, but realistically I’ve got to get much better than I am now. I want my game to be the best it can be.’’

Blalock sees a bright future for LPGA Legends Tour

FRENCH LICK, Ind. — Jane Blalock and Nancy Lopez will be inducted into the LPGA Legends Hall of Fame on Thursday night. They’ll also oversee ribbon-cutting at the circuit’s new Hall of Fame at the West Baden Springs Hotel.

Steve Ferguson, chairman of the board of the Cook Group, celebrates the opening of LPGA Legends Hall of Fame with inductees (from right) Jane Blalock, Nancy Lopez, Jan Stephenson and Kathy Whitworth.

The big night precedes Friday’s start to the 54-hole LPGA Legends Championship on the spectacular Pete Dye Course here. Both Blalock and Lopez will play in the three-day event, but receiving well-deserved recognition for their golf accomplishments will take precedence.

Lopez has been one of the most popular players ever in women’s golf, having won 48 times on the LPGA Tour before moving on to the Legends circuit. Blalock was a gritty competitor, too, as shown by her 29 LPGA titles and LPGA record for most consecutive cuts made (299) but her efforts off the course overshadow her stellar playing record.

Without Blalock there would likely be no Legends Tour. She, along with 24 other senior players, put in $5,000 apiece to get things started in the 1990s. They didn’t receive much support from LPGA headquarters then but – led by Blalock as chief executive officer – the Legends Tour has carried on.

“Some people think I own it,’’ said Blalock. “I don’t. I just run everything.’’

Nancy Lopez checks out her own memorabilia in the Legends new Hall of Fame.

And, operating with a small staff from her Boston office, she’s run it well.

“Our first real tournament was in Green Bay, Wis., in 2000,’’ recalled Blalock. “It was great. We had 15,000 people a day. I’ll never forget the goose bumps when I arrived there for the first day. We were front-page news. Then the LPGA took notice and became a little more helpful. We were off and running.’’

It hasn’t been the smoothest ride since then. The Green Bay event, which had a $500,000 purse, thrived for three years and another popular tournament in DesMoines had a four-year run. Both had changes in local leadership, though, and didn’t survive.

Still, the circuit managed to put on several events each year and the same players were even more successful in Blalock’s other golf venture – a series of one-day clinics under the banner of LPGA Golf Clinics for Women. The clinic series is in its 24th year and the Legends Tour in its 14th.

This week Blalock revealed some big news for the circuit. Walgreen’s has signed on for two more years to host tournaments in Phoenix and Delray Beach, Fla., and Juli Inkster, winding down her career on the LPGA circuit, has agree to join the Legends for its Handa Cup team event in Mississippi next month. It’ll be played at the Old Waverly course where Inkster won the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open.

Last year the Legends had 11 tournaments. This year there’s seven but the number will be up again next year. Blalock expects to have at least 10 events when the 2015 schedule is announced and the circuit could grow dramatically in subsequent years if the long-discussed U.S. Women’s Senior Open becomes a reality.

The U.S. Golf Assn. is considering creating such a championship, and president Tom O’Toole said meetings with Legends members on the topic at both Phoenix and Pinehurst, N.C., weren’t just “lip service’’ on the USGA’s part. The LPGA is supporting the Legends’ cause as well.

“There were a few different commissioners, and for a time the LPGA didn’t hurt us, but certainly didn’t help us, either,’’ said Blalock. “That’s changing now with Mike Whan (as commissioner). He’s a visionary, a go-getter. He’s got the Symetra Tour in good order and he’s picking up more tournaments for the LPGA. He knew he had to right his own ship, so now we’ll get more support.’’

Famous artist Leroy Nieman captured Jane Blalock in her playing days.

Since the two preliminary meetings with the USGA Blalock said that Whan has asked her “for more ammunition, which I gave him….We put together a powerful document. Now I feel it’s not if (we’ll get a U.S. Women’s Senior Open), but when.’’

“I’m optimistic for the first time,’’ said Blalock, “and I want to get it in 2016 while Lopez is still playing. Can you imagine how much that would help our tour? The LPGA is talking about doing a championship for us, too. I met with Mike Whan in June, and he brought it up.’’

To stimulate more interaction with the USGA the Legends offered invitations to both the winner and runner-up from the U.S. Women’s Amateur to compete in the Legends’ November stop in Florida and both accepted.

One USGA concern was whether there’d be enough senior women willing to compete to make the U.S. Senior Women’s Open a viable championship. Blalock says there are “easily 100’’ who would try just on the pro side and the Legends would provide most of them.

Back in 2000 the circuit called itself the Women’s Senior Golf Tour. Many of its players didn’t like the “senior’’ connotation and then the men’s circuit changed its name from the Senior PGA Tour to the Champions Tour. The led the women to change, too.

“We did some brainstorming,’’ said Blalock, “and feel that Legends is a really good name. It doesn’t mean you have to be old. It denotes quality. It works.’’

LPGA Legends Tour braces for its biggest tournament

A statue of course architect and namesake Pete Dye will greet members of the LPGA Legends Tour when they compete in their biggest tournament this week.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The Legends Championship, which made its debut on the Pete Dye Course here last year, is bigger and better for its second staging. It begins on Friday as the climax to a week of festivities designed to celebrate women’s golf.

The two-day Alice Dye Invitational drew 112 amateur players from throughout the Midwest on Monday and Tuesday, with competition on both the Pete Dye and Donald Ross courses. The Legends day-long clinic on Wednesday drew 58 amateur participants and Thursday’s pro-am will be packed with 195 players.
Sponsorship has also increased significantly.

“This is one of many big events we’ve hosted at French Lick,’’ said director of golf Dave Harner. “We’re rapidly becoming known as a destination for championship golf.’’

Prior to the start of the competition on Friday there’ll be an induction ceremony for the Legends Hall of Fame, which was created for the inaugural event last year. Jan Stephenson and Kathy Whitworth were the first inductees and Mickey Wright, Betsy Rawls, Louise Suggs and Alice Dye were also honored with membership. Wright, Rawls and Suggs won previous LPGA tournaments played at French Lick in the 1950s.

This time, following the induction of Nancy Lopez and Legends co-founder Jane Blalock, there’ll be a ribbon-cutting to open the Legends Hall of Fame at the West Baden Springs Hotel.

The Legends Championship is the only 54-hole event on the 14-year old circuit, but the last three events have all gone beyond regulation.

In May Liselotte Neumann won the Walgreen’s Charity Classic in Arizona in a playoff with Danielle Ammaccapane. In June Barb Moxness won the Judson College & Legends Pro-Am Challenge in Georgia in a playoff with Alicia Dibos.

The Legends Championship was immediately preceded by the Wendy’s Championship Challenge in Michigan, and Rosie Jones defeated Nancy Scranton in a playoff there. It was Jones’ seven win on the Legends circuit and she’s also in the field here.

Canadian Lorie Kane was the first winner of the Legends Championship, and she’ll defend her title. The inaugural Legends Championship was held in late September and finished in cold, rainy weather. Kane posted a 3-under-par 213 total to win by two strokes over Laurie Rinker and Val Skinner on the rugged but spectacular Dye layout.

“Being the inaugural winner was a thrill, but I’m looking forward to playing the course earlier in the summer, compared to last year,’’ said Kane, who earned $60,000 for her victory. This year she’ll be part of a 60-player field that will battle for the biggest purse on the Legends Tour — $500,000.

The tourney also includes a 36-hole Super Seniors Division on Saturday and Sunday. Blalock won that category, for players 63 and over, last year with a 5-over-par 149 total. The tourney will benefit the Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health Foundation.

Next LPGA tourney could be a momentum-builder for Jeray

Nicole Jeray has been toiling on the LPGA Tour since turning pro in 1993, and this week’s Wegmans Classic could be critical to her remaining on the women’s premier circuit.

“I need to play good in Rochester (N.Y.) so I can get up on the money list,’’ she said. “I started the year really well. I made the cut in my first three tournaments. Then I missed a whole bunch in a row by one or two shots.’’

The Berwyn native and Northern Illinois University graduate also struggled in the Illinois Women’s Open, a tourney she won twice, in a return home two weeks ago. As the only LPGA player in the field she settled for a 10th place finish.

Last week, though, could have put Jeray back on a positive career path. After five straight missed cut, she qualified for all 72 holes in the Meijer Classic, a new LPGA event in Grand Rapids, Mich. Jeray finished in a tie for $8th place and her $3,907 check was her best on the circuit since April . Still, Jeray needs more good showings to retain her card for another season and she’s not sure how many more tournaments she’ll be able to play in after the Wegmans.

Heading into the Rochester tourney Jeray is No. 141 on the season money list with $14,777. You have to admire her determination, though. Narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder, slowed her career for a while but she remains Chicago’s only LPGA player. In fact no other local players have even come close to making it in the last three decades.

“That totally surprises me,’’ she said. “I thought there’d be a million players from Chicago. There are a lot of good teachers around (Chicago) and we have the Illinois Junior Golf Assn., too. You’d think something’s missing, but I don’t know what it is.’’

Jeray has made regular returns to the LPGA qualifying school and played on the satellite Symetra Tour, too, compiling career earnings of $253,819. She has no intention of retiring any time soon.

“I still totally enjoy it,’’ she said. “I try on every single shot. I just need one good tournament. You just never know in this game.’’

Sainz makes a splash

Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. had been struggling as a rookie on the Web.com Tour until last week’s Price Cutter Charity Championship in Springfield, Mo. Sainz broke through in a big way there, finishing in a tie for second and winning $44,550.

That payday gave Sainz winnings of $63,471 on the PGA Tour’s satellite circuit and boosted him to 68th on the money list. He had missed the cut in four straight events and six of seven before a 20-under-par performance left him joint runner-up and one stroke behind champion Cameron Percy. Sainz shot 66-65-67 in the last three rounds.

Sainz had a strong finish in the 2013 season. He won an event on the Canadian PGA Tour, lost the Illinois Open title in a playoff at The Glen Club in Glenview and then won the Chicago Open at Cantigny in Wheaton in his final events before a successful showing in the PGA qualifying school.

If he can finish in the top 25 on the Web.com money circuit he’ll be on the PGA Tour in 2015. This week’s Web.com event is the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville, Tenn.

Here and there

Teams consisting of the top seniors in the Illinois PGA and Chicago District Golf Assn. will battle for the Thompson Cup on Wednesday at Chicago’s Ridge Country Club. The CDGA will also conduct its second Super Seniors Championship at Kankakee that day.

The LPGA Legends Championship, at French Lick Resort in Indiana, follows last week’s PGA Championship into the Louisville area this week. The 54-hole event, which begins on Friday, is the biggest event on the LPGA’s senior circuit. It’ll be preceded by the induction of Nancy Lopez and Legends co-founder Jane Blalock into the tour’s Hall of Fame. Ribbon-cutting for the Hall, at the West Baden Springs Hotel, will follow the induction ceremonies on Thursday night.

Qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur will be held on Monday at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

PGA: McIlroy shines brightest — even with a finish in darkness

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.

PGA: Fowler looms as best bet to overtake McIlroy

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s certainly not a case of Rory McIlroy being unable to win his third straight tournament and second major championship in a row on Sunday. The world’s No. 1-ranked golfer owns a one-stroke lead going into the final round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The challenge of closing out another tournament, though, is a bit different this time.

“The leaderboard is the most jam-packed it’s been since the final round of the Masters,’’ said Rickie Fowler, who is two shots behind McIlroy. “It’s there for the taking, for sure.’’

But if it’s not McIlroy taking it, then who?

He’ll play in the final twosome with Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, the surprise of Round 3 with his 6-under-par 65. He’s one shot behind McIlroy’s 14-under 200 total for the first 54 holes.

Wiesberger, though, is playing in the last group of a major for the first time. Prior to this week the only time he made a cut in a major was in 2013, when he tied for 64th in the British Open. Wiesberger will feel the pressure – just like he has in the past.

“I’ve never played well in the majors,’’ he said. “I’ve played well in other bigger events in Europe and won a couple, but that’s not the same. (A major) is on a different level.’’

Fowler’s final round playing partner, Phil Mickelson, is the most experienced of McIlroy’s challengers. He has wins in the Masters, British Open and PGA but has had a sub-par season. Saturday’s 67 followed a 62 in the last round of the Bridgestone Invitational last week. Those two encouraging rounds may have put him Mickelson back on the right track. He’s three behind the leader.

“It’s so fun for me to be back in the thick of it, to have a chance, to be in contention heading into Sunday,’’ said Mickelson. “I don’t have to get up a six o’clock in the morning to tee off. That’s a nice change.’’

Eighteen players are within six shots of the lead. Among the others are Australian Jason Day, who’s tied with Mickelson; Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson, Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan. They’re all established stars, and Mahan’s 65 matched Wiesberger for the low round on Saturday.

The best bet to slow down McIlroy, though, is Fowler. He’s been the best player in the first three majors – though he didn’t win any of them. He tied for fifth in the Masters, which was won by Bubba Watson, and was joint second at both the U.S. Open, which was taken by Martin Kaymer, and the British, which went to McIlroy.

Fowler loves the pairing with Mickelson in the next-to-the-last group.

“I’m in a great position for tomorrow,’’ said Fowler. “ Phil and I are going to have some fun. If we get off to good starts we can feed off each other.’’

The near-misses in the year’s pervious majors also bode well for Fowler’s chances. He feels his time will come – maybe on Sunday.

“I expect to feel more comfortable than I did in the last two majors, ‘’ he said. “The past three majors were building blocks. Now I’ve got to go out and get one.’’

Fowler’s game was solid on Saturday – a bogey-free 67 – but he didn’t get all he could out of it.

“I was swinging very well,’’ he said. “I had a lot of good looks for birdies, especially on the back nine. I made great swings, but nothing went in. I’d just like that the putts that didn’t go in today can go in tomorrow.’’

As for McIlroy, who held one-stroke lead after both 36 and 54 holes, Fowler knows he’ll be tough to beat.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence, and he’s not going to back up,’’ said Fowler. “Being patient is key. I’ve got to go shot for shot.’’

McIlroy stayed patient on Saturday. He one-putted nine of the last 12 greens while Wiesberger, Fowler and Mickelson were making runs at him. At one point five players (including Ryan Palmer) were tied with him for the lead.

“I feel like I’m in the best position I can be going into tomorrow,’’ said McIlroy. “I would rather be the guy that’s being chased and have that shot advantage than not. It’s going to be a shootout. The conditions are soft. Guys are going to make birdies and you know you’re going to have to make birdies as well if you’re going to win.’’