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…
Author: lenz
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…
Rory’s career Grand Slam bid should overshadow Tiger’s return at the Masters
The Masters tournament always offers a variety of pre-tournament story lines, but the 79th version of the year’s first major championship that tees off on Thursday has more than usual. For one, Tiger Woods is playing again. Beset by back problems, he received a warm welcome when he arrived at Augusta National this week to…
IT ZIEHMS TO ME: “The Squeeze” will be fun for golf movie-goers
Phil Mickelson called the soon-to-be-released “The Squeeze’’ as “the best golf movie ever.’’ That’s a stretch when you put it beside my two favorites – the first version of “CaddieShack’’ and “The Greatest Game Ever Played.’’’ “The Squeeze,’’ however, certainly provided a lot of fun for the audience at its Chicago premier showing in Skokie…
IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Masters will trigger another big year at Reynolds Plantation
GREENSBORO, Ga. – A Ritz-Carlton situated in a small town in central Georgia? At first that seemed hard to imagine. Then again, Greensboro – located off Interstate 20 midway between Atlanta (it’s 75 miles from the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport) and Augusta — isn’t your usual small town by any means. That explains why Ritz-Carlton has…
IT ZIEHMS TO ME: A nice dilemma for Myrtle Beach golfers
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – An embarrassment of riches. That’s what I’ve always felt about this unique golf mecca. There is a potential problem for those many who make return trips, however. You find a favorite course (or two or three) and there’s many times a tendency to just play them on each visit. To do…
Illinois Open gets a major facelift
The Illinois PGA, in an effort to stimulate more entries in its biggest annual tournament, announced major changes in the Illinois Open on Friday. For the first time the finals in the 65-year old tournament will be played at two sites – Royal Melbourne in Long Grove and Hawthorn Woods Country Club. The field will…
IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Florida’s Historic Coast courses offer variety, affordability
PALM COAST, FL. – Our three-month stay in this ocean-side community between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach was much different than our previous three winters, spent in Sarasota, Naples and Port St. Lucie. In this case, “different’’ means generally better golf-wise with one notable exception. We played lots of golf in cold (50 degrees), windy…
It’s Show-time, not snow time, for Chicago’s golfers
This weekend’s 32nd annual Chicago Golf Show will be highlighted by Lee Trevino’s two appearances on Saturday, but much more will be going on than that during the event’s three-day run at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. Winner of six major championships and 29 tournaments on the PGA Tour, Trevino will be joined by…
IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Florida Historic Golf Trail is something special
Golf trails are nothing new. Courses and clubs have formed marketing partnerships for years with varying degrees of impact. In the United States alone there are at least 50 trails. Texas has five separate of them. Colorado Golf Trails is one marketing entity, but it promotes 10 different trails within that state, and some of…