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…
Author: lenz
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,…
Conway Farms isn’t quite ready to unveil its major facelift
Consider the Chicago golf season in full swing – almost. Of the area’s primary tournament venues only Conway Farms, the private facility in Lake Forest that will host the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship in September, isn’t taking golfers yet. It’s not expected to open until mid-May The finishing touches are being put on a major…
Winning Masters’ Par-3 contest was a just reward for Streelman
Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman won the traditional Par-3 Contest that precedes the Masters tournament on Wednesday. That’s not necessarily a good thing, because players consider winning the Par-3 a bad omen. No Par-3 winner has ever gone on to win the Masters. In Streelman’s case, though, things might turn out differently. He didn’t take his participation…
Streelman, Donald get ready for another Masters
The golf season must really be upon us now. The Masters tournament – a sure sign of spring – is just a week away and two of Illinois’ PGA Tour players are assured spots in the field. Kevin Streelman got in by virtue of his dramatic win – a record seven straight birdies to finish…