FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The Senior PGA Championship has been played for 75 years and only four players have successfully defended a title. Colin Montgomerie could be the fifth on Sunday. The Scotsman enjoyed a solid career on the European and PGA Tours but never won a major title. That changed when he joined the…
Author: lenz
Lehman leads, Beck, Sluman survive on tricky Dye course
FRENCH LICK, Ind. – Scores were much higher than usual over the first two rounds of the 76th Senior PGA Championship at the Pete Dye Course, but not all the Champions Tour players were suffering. Tom Lehman, who will defend his title in July’s Encompass Championship at North Shore in Glenview, claimed the 36-hole lead…
French Lick major precedes North Shore title defense for Lehman
Tom Lehman, a long-time star on the Champions Tour, had plenty on his mind when he visited North Shore Country Club in Glenview this week. He’ll defend his title in the Encompass Championship there in July. Before the title defense, however, Lehman will compete in three major championships on the popular circuit for 50-and-over players….
Billiter survives a week of surprises at IPGA Match Play
Jim Billiter, a 10-year assistant pro at the Merit Club in Libertyville, won the 64th Illinois PGA Match Play Championship on Monday, climaxing a week in which nothing went as expected at Kemper Lakes in Long Grove. The first major tournament of the Chicago season figured to be another duel between Curtis Malm, the head…
HERE AND THERE: French Lick dominates in hosting senior majors
Dave Harner, director of golf at the French Lick Resort in southern Indiana, looked for a big event to spotlight the stunning Pete Dye Course when it opened for play in 2009. He ended up establishing the premier event for the LPGA’s Legends Tour – the only 54-hole event on the circuit for women professionals…
NU women take on NCAA, Women’s Open challenges
The long road to the U.S. Open tournaments begins this week, and the prospects couldn’t be brighter for the Northwestern women’s team. Coach Emily Fletcher’s squad won its second Big Ten title in three years earlier this month and earned the school’s third straight berth in the NCAA finals with a runner-up finish in last…
Malm goes after a four-peat in IPGA Match Play tourney
Now things get serious on the Chicago golf scene. The Illinois PGA conducts the first of its four major championships beginning on Monday at Kemper Lakes in Long Grove with Curtis Malm again the focal point. Malm, in his second season as head professional at White Eagle in Naperville, will go after his fourth straight…
HERE AND THERE: PGA happy with Harbor Shores’ changes
Golf courses generally get toughened up before they are used for a major professional tournament. That wasn’t the case at Harbor Shores, the Jack Nicklaus design in Benton Harbor, Mich., however. Harbor Shores has already hosted the Senior PGA Championship twice and has already been awarded that plum for 2016 and 2018. It’ll play differently…
After four years Affrunti is still a PGA Tour rookie
Joe Affrunti’s rookie season on the PGA Tour started in 2011. A year earlier the 2004 Illinois Open champion from Crystal Lake had earned his PGA Tour playing privileges off his performance on the satellite Web.com Tour. Now, four years later, Affrunti’s rookie PGA season remains a work in progress. It all has to do…
Brunswick gets into golf with its new indoor putting green
Lake Forest-based Brunswick Corporation has had a rich history in producing sports equipment, starting with billiards tables back in 1845. Prominent in the bowling industry from 1890 until its exit last year, the company remains a leader in boating and fitness equipment as well as billiards and table tennis. Brunswick’s latest venture is into golf,…