Author: lenz

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Iowa’s Spirit Hollow is a true `hidden gem’

BURLINGTON, Iowa –I guess I’ll always be looking for golf’s so-called `hidden gems’ – great courses that are off the beaten path.

Too often, though, I find that these courses are more hidden than they are gems. That’s not true when it comes to Spirit Hollow, though. This is a true hidden gem in an Iowa town of about 30,000 that is just a few miles over the Illinois border. I’d heard good things about it for years and finally paid a visit during July’s John Deere Classic week.

Designed by Libertville architect Rick Jacobson, Spirit Hollow opened in 2000. It’s been a busy place that will soon get busier. Eventually, I suspect, it might even get knocked off the `hidden gem’ list.

Head professional Erin Strieck worked at Eagle Ridge and Fyre Lake before enjoying the views at Spirit Hollow.

Already Spirit Hollow hosted the Iowa Amateur in 2000 and 2012 and was the site of the last men’s National Junior College Athletic Assn. Division I championship. It’ll host the GolfWeek Challenge, which draws 15 of the top college teams, in September. Those are big events in a town that isn’t close to a bigger city. (The Quad Cities, when the PGA Tour’s JDC is played annually, are a 75-minute drive away and Western Illinois University is the closest big college).

Burlington businessman Randy Winegard has done wonderful things with Spirit Hollow and more will become self-evident soon. Eight lodge rooms are under construction, so – possibly as soon as August – Spirit Hollow will be able to offer exclusive stay-and-play packages on the premises.

“It’ll make you feel like you’re staying at your own lodge,’’ said head professional Erin Strieck, who knows her way around the Illinois-Iowa golf scene. She held a similar job at Eagle Ridge in Galena, Ill., for 15 years and then spent two more at Fyre Lake, a Nicklaus Design Group project now operating in Sherrard, Ill.

The Spirit Hollow clubhouse is in the midst of a major renovation.

Lodging isn’t all that’s coming in what will end up as about a $1 million renovation. There’ll also be a new bar and grill in the clubhouse and a stand-alone pavilion will be constructed near the driving range to host outings and other big events.

Spirit Hollow already has other entertainment options available to its visitors. The Catfish Bend Inn, four miles away, has a casino, water park and two restaurants and is a good place for adult get-aways, business gatherings and family vacations. And now the golf alternative – already quite good – is getting a boost.

Does this fake wolf scare you? It apparently keeps the geese away from Spirit Hollow’s No. 6 hole.

“We’re lucky to have an owner who wants to take Spirit Hollow to the next level in achieving excellence,’’ said Strieck. “Our ultimate goal is Top 100 (in the various course ratings) and No. 1 in Iowa. With the addition of the lodging rooms, and as the place matures, that’s definitely within our reach.’’

I don’t doubt that for a minute, but more about the course facilities. Spirit Hollow may be the best buy in the Midwest now — $35 for seniors with cart included seven days a week. The clubhouse has an indoor hitting facility that allows for winter practice, and having music playing on a big practice range offers a nice, somewhat unusual twist.

Finding your way to the No. 9 green isn’t easy. This great par-4 is my favorite hole at Spirit Hollow.

Jacobson, who got his start in golf architecture working for Jack Nicklaus, formed his own company in 1991. He’s done a lot of work in China lately, but his creations in the Chicago area include two real good ones – Strawberry Creek in Kenosha and Bowes Creek in Elgin. Spirit Hollow ranks at least on par with those. He’s also done renovation work at such quality places as Kemper Lakes, North Shore, Bob O’Link, Oak Park, Cantigny and Sunset Ridge. That should speak volumes about what you can expect if you visit Spirit Hollow.

The staff there is also notable. In addition to Strieck, the general manager is Jim Wyffels. He was superintendent at The General at Eagle Ridge before moving on to Fyre Lake and then Spirit Hollow.

There are lots of good holes at Spirit Hollow. You don’t forget No. 6, a 445-yard par-4 where some extremely realistic-looking “wolves’’ serve as decoys to keep geese off the green and away from the pond that fronts the putting surface.

None of the holes, however, are more memorable than No. 9 – a short dogleg right par-4. A stream runs in front of the long, elevated green and a waterfall – though not really in play – provides an added attraction. Play the hole from the right tee – 266 yards from the front one, or longer tests from 321, 365 or 410 yards — and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a challenge as much fun as this one.

JDC: Johnson, Stricker can’t keep up with Harman

SILVIS, IL. – Local heroes Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker were in the hunt and the weather couldn’t have been better. That assured the John Deere Classic its best year for attendance and revenue since tournament director Clair Peterson invited Michelle Wie to spice up the field eight years ago.

Johnson and Stricker, though, couldn’t deliver when the $846,000 first prize was on the line. Brian Harman (below, celebrating his qualification for the British Open), stood the tallest on Sunday — even though the third-year left-handed hitting pro from Georgia measures just 5-foot-7.

Harman didn’t have the resume that three-time winner Stricker had built up, nor could his compare with Johnson, who won here in 2012 and finished as the runner-up for the third time on Sunday. Harman, who started the tournament with a No. 115 world ranking, had never even led one round of a PGA Tour event until this week.

All that didn’t matter once the final round firing began. Starting the day with a one-stroke lead on Stricker and playing in the final twosome for the first time on the PGA Tour, Harman showed he was up to the task early. He put his second shot on the par-5 second hole to four feet and made the eagle putt.

Stricker had the dubious honor of watching Harman the rest of the way, and he could produce no better than a one-over-par 72 to finish in a tie for 11th. Johnson, playing four groups behind Harman, got home in 64, best round of the day. It was two better than Harman in the final round but one shy of matching him over 72 holes.

Harman, who finished at 22-under-par 262, strung three straight birdies in a crucial stretch from holes 14 through 16. Three in front after that last birdie putt dropped, he nursed the lead through the last two holes.

“He’s fierce. There’s not a whole lot of fear there,’’ Johnson said of Harman. “He might be a small guy stature-wise, but there’s nothing small about him in his golf game.’’

Harman was paired with Johnson in the JDC’s final round two years ago when Johnson emerged the champion and Harman tied for 19th in his first JDC. They’ve practiced together occasionally since then in St. Simon’s Island, S.C.

“My guess is he probably learned a little bit when we played together two years ago and now he’s applying it,’’ said Johnson. “He’s had some low numbers….He’s always been known as a gritty player who plays pretty simple golf. To me it was just a matter of time. What we saw today is totally indicative of a lot of hard work and perseverance.’’

Harman admitted the previous pairing with Johnson had long-term benefits, but more went into this breakthrough win.

“At the beginning of the year I tried to imitate too many other players,’’ he said. “Then I decided I should just try to be a better version of myself.’’

That didn’t always work. He missed the cut at the Greenbrier Classic in his last tournament and made a 10-hour drive back to Georgia for practice and a thoughtful day on the beach before regrouping in the Quad Cities.

Harman was 11-under-par on the par-5s this week, and TPC Deere Run has only three of them. The U.S. Junior Amateur champion in 2003, he had gone 88 starts without a win on the PGA Tour. His best results prior to Sunday were two third-place finishes.

“I’ve had a lot of chances this year, and I learned from all those chances,’’ said Harman, whose perks from winning included a berth in this week’s British Open. “I just had to be able to close it out, especially with Zach playing such a good round. Pulling it out was pretty cool.’’

Both Harman and Johnson had caddie issues during the week. Johnson’s regular bag-toter, Damon Green, was playing in the U.S. Senior Open but Johnson said that didn’t affect the outcome. Harman’s caddie, Scott Tway, became ill during Thursday’s first round and Jay Hatch, a high school coach in Davenport, Iowa, carried the final 12 holes. Tway resumed his duties in the second round and finished the tournament.

Harman became the sixth University of Georgia golfer to win on the PGA Tour this year and is the 21st first-time winner in the JDC’s 44-year history.

JDC: Hot threesome is combined 24-under; Brown posts 61

SILVIS, IL. – If ever there was a day for low scoring it was in Saturday’s third round of the John Deere Classic. The course was softened by an overnight downpour, and the lift, clean and place rule was put into effect. Only a light breeze factored into the playing conditions on what has been one of the easiest course on the PGA Tour over the years.

Only one threesome, though, really took the ideal conditions to heart. Scott Brown, Jhonattan Vegas and Daniel Summerhays started the day in the middle of the pack and climbed the leaderboard fast.

Brown posted the best round of the week, a 10-under-par 61 that matched the low round on the PGA Tour in 2014 and was the lowest third round in JDC history. Vegas, in danger of losing his playing privileges after enduring shoulder surgery, carded a 63 and Summerhays included two eagles in a round of 65. One of those eagles came off the shot of the day – an approach that caromed off a Shot Link tower behind the No. 5 green and rolled into the cup.

“Best eagle I’ve ever seen,’’ said Vegas, who got the party started with birdies on the first three holes. As a group the threesome was 24 under par and had a best ball of 57 on the par-71 course.

Brown, whose only PGA Tour victory came at last year’s Puerto Rico Open, made 10 birdies and was surprised that there weren’t more low scores.

“Scores are always low here,’’ said Brown, “and the course was drier than I thought it would be. We could have played the ball down easily.’’

Brown was on 59 watch after going to 9-under with a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 15. He had another 10-footer for eagle at the par-5 17th but misfired and, though he tapped in for birdie, his chances at become the seventh player in PGA Tour history to dip under 60 were gone.

The 44-year old tournament didn’t have two such hot scores in a round since Paul Goydos shot 59 and Steve Stricker 60 in the first round in 2010. Like Vegas, Goydos has been playing on a medical exemption and this JDC could be his last tournament on the PGA Tour if he doesn’t finish high in Sunday’s final round.

Vegas, who had shoulder surgery in February of 2012, has three tournaments left on his medical exemption status. He needs to earn $281,000 in those events to keep his PGA Tour card and could get it with a high finish on Sunday.

“I’m trying to win a golf tournament. That’s my mentality,’’ said Vegas. “I’ll just play golf and whatever happens, happens.’’

As good as they were on Saturday, Brown and Vegas have plenty of work to do if they’re to claim the $846,000 winner’s check on Sunday. Brian Harman, a left-handed golfer, and three-time winner Stricker were almost as good as they were on Saturday in landing spots in the final twosome of the final round. It’ll be Harman’s first experience in a final group pairing on the PGA Tour.

Bolstered by eagle puts of 29 feet at No. 2 and 47 feet at No. 17, Harman carded a 6-under 65 on Saturday to open a one-shot lead on Stricker, who shot 64. Harman is at 17-under 196 through 54 holes. Brown is solo third, another shot back, and Vegas is in a tie for eighth.

Third-round co-leaders Zach Johnson and William McGirt shot 69s and dropped into a four-way tie for fourth. Defending champion Jordan Spieth shot 67 and is tied for 14th. Spieth is six shots off the lead, the same deficit he faced after 54 holes last year before he took the title in a three-man five-hole playoff.

JDC: Zach’s at the top of the leader board again

SILVIS, IL. – The John Deere Classic isn’t Zach Johnson’s personal showcase. It just seems that way at times.

Johnson, from Cedar Rapids, has long been Iowa’s premier touring pro. He got his start thanks to sponsor exemptions offered by the JDC and he used them well at his closest hometown tournament .

Eventually Johnson won the 2007 Masters became a member of the JDC’s board of directors. This year he landed a sponsorship agreement with the event and, — oh, yes – he’s also playing well at TPC Deere Run again. Johnson won the JDC for the first time in 2012 when he snapped Steve Stricker’s three-year winning streak.

Last year he didn’t win the JDC (19-year old Jordan Spieth did), but Johnson did capture Illinois’ other PGA Tour stop of 2013 — the BMW Championship at Conway Farms in Lake Forest. The year’s it appears he could be back at the top of the JDC leaderboard when the $4.7 million tourney concludes on Sunday.

Johnson gained a share of the first-round lead after shooting a 63 on Thursday. He added a 67 in Friday’s second round to hit the midway point in the tourney in a tie for the lead with William McGirt. Both are at 12-under-par 130 and one stroke ahead of Johnson Wagner, Steven Bowditch and Brian Harman.

“Once again, a pretty solid day,’’ said Johnson. “There were a lot of positives all around. I’m just really comfortable here.’’

There’s an eerie similarity to Johnson’s effort this week and the year of his victory here. Two years ago his regular caddie, Damon Green, was given the week off so he could play in the U.S. Senior Open. Green qualified for the Senior Open again this year, so he’s competing in Tulsa, Okla., instead of being on Johnson’s bag.

So far, no problem. Two years ago Johnson used his swing coach, Mike Bender. This time he borrowed Matt Kuchar’s bag-toter, Lance Bennett. The results were still good, as Johnson enter the weekend three strokes ahead of Stricker and five in front of defending champion Spieth.

“It definitely feels different. An integral part of my team is not with me,’’ said Johnson. “But Lance has adapted to me. He could caddie for anybody. ‘’

The field was cut after Friday’s round, and among those failing to qualify for the weekend rounds was the tourney’s Cinderella story. Raymond Knoll, a Naperville North graduate who will begin his sophomore season at Iowa in the fall, earned a place in the field by shooting a 7-under-par 65 in Monday’s qualifying round at Pinnacle Country Club in nearby Milan.

Knoll, 18, couldn’t keep the good times going, shooting 74-71 to miss the cut in his first PGA Tour event. His Iowa teammate, Steven Ihm, did make it to the weekend, however. So did the other two amateurs in the field, Stanford’s NCAA champion Cameron Beckman and Oklahoma State’s Jordan Niebrugge, who will defend his Western Amateur title at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club later this month.

Due to the threat of severe weather in the Quad Cities, Saturday’s rounds will start off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees.

Can Niebrugge match Spieth’s feat at JDC?

There’s an interesting combination in the field for this week’s John Deere Classic, the only PGA Tour event played in Illinois in 2014.

Steve Stricker, who considers himself semi-retired because he plays only a limited tournament schedule, has long been a JDC mainstay. He became the 44-year old tourney’s only three-peat winner when he ruled in 2009-11,

Jordan Niebrugge, meanwhile, will be one of the youngest players in the 156-man starting field. The 20-year old junior at Oklahoma State University is in the field on a sponsor’s exemption after a dazzling 2013 season in which he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links title, the Wisconsin Amateur, the Wisconsin Match Play Championship and the Western Amateur.

Stricker, 47, and the 6-4 Niebrugge are both from Wisconsin. One’s a fading star on the circuit, the other a promising newcomer. They met at the Masters in April and played a practice round together.

After the JDC ends on Sunday Stricker will decide whether to get on the tourney’s charter jet to the British Open and Niebrugge will step up preparations for his title defense at the Western Amateur, which will be played a Chicago’s Beverly Country Club from July 28-Aug. 2.

Going to the British wasn’t a major consideration for Stricker going in to last week’s Greenbrier Classic, but he said he’d consider it if he was playing well. After contending for three round he struggled to a final round 74 at the Greenbrier and tied for 35th place. He’s finished in the JDC top 10 seven times in the last 10 years.

Niebrugge, from the Milwaukee suburb of Mequon, will be playing in his first PGA Tour event at the JDC. After missing the cut at the Masters he’s sure the connection with Stricker will help.

“I’ve looked up to him,’’ said Niebrugge. “He played Wisconsin golf, so it was cool to get to play with him. He’s such a down-to-earth guy, and a family guy. I’ve been around him two or three times, and I’ve learned a lot from him every time I’ve been with him.’’

Niebrugge has even hit balls at Stricker’s winter practice building near Madison with Dennis Tiziani, Stricker’s longtime instructor and father-in-law, on hand to consult.

“You’re able to play golf in the snow,’’ said Niebrugge. “I’ve been there a lot. It’s a little building that’s probably got 10-12 hitting stalls, and it’s heated with mats. There’s a driving range out in the distance.’’

The No. 4-ranked amateur in the world, Niebrugge will be trying to replicate what Jordan Spieth did at last year’s JDC. Spieth, in his rookie pro season, became only the fourth player under 20 to win on the PGA Tour and the youngest since Ralph Guldahl won the Santa Monica Open in 1931. Spieth continued his stellar play and is ranked No. 10 in the world going into his first title defense on the PGA Tour.

The 72-hole, $4.7 million tourney begins on Thursday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, which in on the outskirts of Moline. Sunday’s champion gets $846,000.

Another State Am at Cantigny

Next up on a busy tournament calendar is the 84th Illinois State Amateur, which tees off next Tuesday at Cantigny, in Wheaton. Cantigny, celebrating its 25th anniversary, will host the event for the fourth time and first since 2008.

Tee-K Kelly, a Wheaton resident who plays for Ohio State, is the defending champion. The winner last year at Aldeen, in Rockford, he heads a field of 136 players. Most earned their places in the 10 state-wide qualifying rounds.

All qualifiers will play 18 holes Tuesday and Wednesday, July 16. The low 35 and ties after 36 holes or any player within 10 shots of the lead will compete over the final 36 holes, all to be played on Thursday, July 17.

Here and there

Brian Carroll, of Royal Hawk in St. Charles, was a three-shot winner of Monday’s Village Links of Glen Ellyn Classic for Illinois PGA members after shooting a 7-under-par 65. The IPGA’s National Car Renal Pro-Am is on tap for next Monday at Chicago Highlands, in Westchester.

The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct a qualifying round for the U.S. Amateur on Friday at Heritage Bluffs in Channahon.

Eddie Fernandes, who trains at The Catalyst golf facilities in the Chicago area, won a regional qualifier for the ReMax World Long Drive Championship in Orlando, FL.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Woods won’t have White Eagle record for long

Sooner rather than later one of Tiger Woods’ longest-standing course records will be broken. I suspect it won’t take long. Curtis Malm just needs to find someone willing to play the championship tees with him at White Eagle Golf Club.

No one plays back there these days on White Eagle’s Red-White rotation of nines that comprise its championship course. (Another course record of 64 was set by member Ron Potter in 1998 using the regular tees).

Woods was still an amateur in the mid-1990s when he shot 4-under-par 68 while in town to play in the Western Open. Malm, the Illinois PGA Player-of-the-Year the last two seasons, became White Eagle’s head professional last winter and certainly has the game to take Woods’ name off the record books – and you can be sure he’ll be trying to do just that.

White Eagle players face a shot towards the clubhouse to finish their rounds.
In the meantime, White Eagle is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. It’s a vibrant private club located in Naperville on the Aurora border that has a tournament history that shouldn’t be forgotten.

The club was created amidst cornfields for its opening in 1989. Just three years later its Red-White nines were used for the LPGA Chicago Sun-Times Shootout. The tourney was first held the year before at Oak Brook Golf Club, when Martha Nause produced one of the greatest finishes in LPGA history to win the title.

Nause finished birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle, holing out from the fairway on the last hole to beat Kris Monaghan by one stroke in the LPGA’s first return to Chicago in 18 years. The LPGA had a Chicago stop in its first season of 1950, but was a very sporadic visitor after that. Though the U.S. Women’s Open was played at LaGrange Country Club in 1974 and 1981, the last LPGA Tour stop before the Sun-Times Shootout was in 1973 – the Child & Family Service Open at Midlane, in Wadsworth.

As exciting as Nause’s win at Oak Brook was, the tourney profile was definitely elevated by the move to White Eagle – the first Arnold Palmer-designed course in Illinois.

White Eagle hosted in 1992, when Dottie Mochrie won the title. (She was married then, but later assumed her maiden name of Pepper and went on to a career as a top TV golf analyst).

The Sun-Times’ role as title sponsor ended after the 1993 tourney, won by a relative unknown in Cindy Schreyer, and Peter Fleming – best known as John McEnroe’s doubles partner on the tennis circuit – was the leader in keeping the event alive in 1994. The tourney was renamed the Chicago Challenge, and Jane Geddes was the champion.

Sponsorship was hard to come by after that, but the successful three-year run at White Eagle led to Chicago getting the U.S. Women’s Open again in 2000 (Karrie Wood winning at the Merit Club in Libertyville) and another LPGA Tour stop. The Kellogg-Keebler Classic was played at Stonebridge, in Aurora, from 2002-04 and it had high-profile champions in Annika Sorenstam (2002, 2003) and Webb (2004).

White Eagle hasn’t needed big tournaments to thrive since then. It added its Blue nine in 1996, making it one of the few private facilities in Chicago with more than 18 holes. A few years ago a golf simulator was added for use in the winter. The club has 75 players in its busy junior program, a caddie program that employs 40-45 youngsters, clay courts for tennis buffs and a swimming program that has participants from beyond the club membership.

The Chicago District Golf Association’s Sunshine Through Golf program also is a six-week visitor during the summer and the club hosts about 80 weddings and 20 corporate outings each year.

Malm’s arrival suggests a significant competitive event might be in the club’s future again, but only time will tell. For now club leadership is planning a renovation process that will strictly focus on enhancing the golf experiences for its members and guests. Part of the 25th anniversary celebration included an outing that featured Greg Huigens (photo below at right), who was both the men’s champion and men’s senior champion at White Eagle in 2013. Joining us the the celebration outing are Chicagoland Golf publisher Val Russell (left) and club historian Chip Wagner (second from left).

JDC may have had humble beginnings — but look at PGA Tour stop now!

The John Deere Classic wasn’t always the John Deere Classic. Illinois’ only visit from the PGA Tour in 2014 had a modest beginning. For starters, it was called the Quad Cities Open and was only a satellite event on the circuit in 1971.

That first event was played on 6501-yard Crow Valley Country Club in Bettendorf, Iowa. Deane Beman – later to become the PGA Tour commissioner – took home a check for $5,000 for winning the first tournament, and Crow Valley got the attention of some prospective home buyers who purchased property around the course.

Things didn’t change much the next year. Beman won again (but this time his check was for $20,000) and there were more home owners around Crow Valley. Beman played one more year, finishing in a tie for sixth in 1973, and Crow Valley hosted two more times, Sam Adams winning in 1973 and Dave Stockton in 1974.

That’s how it all began. The tourney moved to Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, IL., the next year and remained until 1999. During its stay there the tourney had a variety of names – the Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad City Open from 1975-79, the Quad Cities Open again from 1980-81, the Miller High-Life Quad Cities Open from 1982-84, the Lite Quad Cities Open in 1985, Hardee’s Golf Classic from 1986-94, the Quad City Classic from 1995-98 and – finally – the John Deere Classic.

Going back to Crow Valley and Oakwood is always fun. I’ve played both, most recently Oakwood last month. Both are still very nice private clubs, but TPC Deere Run was a big factor in taking the tournament to a new level.

John Deere, the official Golf Course Equipment Supplier of the PGA Tour, became the title sponsor of the tournament in 1999 and the tourney moved to TPC John Deere Run the following year.

For years the tournament, in one of the smallest markets on the PGA Tour, carried on with its future in limbo. That’s no longer the case. Now it’s one of the biggest success stories on the circuit.

The JDC will be held for 44th straight year from July 7-13 with a $4.7 million purse and no worries about the quality of its field. The tourney at first had September dates, in the days before the FedEx Cup playoffs. Lots of top players were reluctant to play after August’s PGA Championship in those days.

Then the JDC was moved to July, but in a time slot a week before the British Open. Many players opted to use JDC week for rest and more leisurely travel across the pond until JDC director Clair Peterson hired a jet to fly them directly to the British Open site a few hours after the last putt dropped at TPC Deere Run.

Peterson made that innovative move seven years ago, and the field has been solid ever since. This year’s has the most exciting young player in golf, 20-year old Jordan Spieth, as its defending champion and popular past champions Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson return as well.

TPC Deere Run is located in Silvis, IL. Like Oakwood, the course is on the outskirts of the Quad Cities – officially comprised of Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa.

Those Mississippi River towns roughly two hours west of Chicago have a combined 375,000 residents. Last year’s John Deere Classic helped raise $6.3 million for 467 charities in the Quad Cities area, ranking it first overall on the PGA Tour in per capital contributions. Since 1971 the tournament has helped raise $55.38 million for charity. Golf has indeed been good to the people of the Quad Cities.

“We’re so fortunate to have a golf course like this and an operation like this,’’ said Peterson. “Deere Run is one of the great venues on the Tour.’’

This year there was one significant change in the ranks. Alex Stuedemann is now the head superintendent, replacing Paul Grogan who has moved into retirement but is still involved.

Otherwise, it’s efficient business as usual with Laura “Divot’’ Ekizian heading the 1,400 tournament volunteers for a staff that is headed by Peterson, director of sales and operation Sally Welvaert, assistant tournament director Andrew Lehman, office manager Vickie McWhorter, administrative assistant Sara Stalf, Birdies for Charity leader Kristy Kethcham Jackson and Amy Orendorff, manager of charity development and services.

“This is truly a team of professionals, and they’re passionate about what they do and they’re committed to doing it the right way,’’ said Ekizian. “Within the PGA Tour ranks they’re respected for the results they bring year in and year out.’’

Peterson’s jet will fly to the British Open again, this time to Royal Liverpool, and his longstanding sponsor exemption policy has bolstered the tournament as well.

`We have a proud history of giving elite young players an opportunity to test their games against the highest level of competition,’’ he said. “By doing so, the tournament gives its loyal fans a glimpse of the PGA Tour’s future stars.’’

Provide a helping hand to a young player in need, and he’ll tend to remember that kindness down the road. That was never more evident this year, when Spieth prepared to defend his first PGA Tour title. He had received a sponsor’s exemption in 2012 when Johnson emerged the JDC champion.

Spieth would have received another invitation last year had he needed it, but he got into the 156-man field off his own record and the 19-year old went on to become the youngest winner of a top-level professional tour event in the last 80 years. He outplayed Johnson and Canadian David Hearn in a five-hole playoff after holing a bunker shot on the last hole of regulation play to stay in contention.

“There’s no way I win last year without that opportunity the year before,’’ said Spieth. “There’s no way that I’m able to feel comfortable and make the adjustment on the PGA Tour so quickly without the few starts I was given….This is just a very, very special tournament close to my heart, not because I won. It already was before that. This tournament just does it right. I love coming to the Quad Cities. There’s nowhere that has people this nice.’’

Johnson, a JDC sponsor exemption in 2002 and 2003, is on the tournament board of directors and has sponsorship from the tournament. Others who received invites to play in the Quad Cities include Justin Leonard (1994), Tiger Woods (1996), Matt Kuchar (2001), Jason Day (2006) and Patrick Reed (2013). Their careers have blossomed, and this year Peterson has given exemptions to four college stars – Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers and Cameron Wilson, Oklahoma State’s Jordan Niebrugge and Iowa’s Steven Ihm.

Rodgers is the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur. Wilson, ranked No. 2, won this year’s NCAA individual championship.

Troyanovich, the 2012 champion, could be first Mistwood player to win IWO

July will be a huge tournament month for Chicago’s best golfers, but especially for the women.

The biggest spectator event for the women comes first – the new International Crown at Caves Valley in Owings Mills, Md., from July 21-27. This is big for Chicago in particular, because the international team event’s second staging – and maybe more after that – will be played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove in 2016. Get familiar with the event now, and you’ll be a big fan when it comes to Chicago. But more on that later.

The day after the International Crown ends the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open will tee off at Mistwood, in Romeoville. It’ll be the tourney’s 20th anniversary, and the 16th year it has been played at Mistwood.

Interestingly, Illinois golfers haven’t fared so well in their premier state championship and a Mistwood player has never won.

In fact, players from Michigan have won five of the last six titles. Jenna Pearson’s second IWO win in 2011 was the only victory by an Illinois golfer in that period, though Berwyn LPGA Tour player Nicole Jeray went to a playoff last year, losing to Elise Swartout, and Burr Ridge amateur Samantha Postillion did the same in 2012 when Samantha Troyanovich claimed the crown.

This year’s July 28-30 staging could be different – sort of. It all depends on how Troyanovich fares. Her story is an interesting one.

Troyanovich was a Michigan amateur and recent graduate of Tulane University when she took the 2012 title. That automatically made her a Mistwood member, but Troyanovich didn’t take advantage of the perk offered by owner Jim McWethy immediately.

“I took a year off from golf to get my Masters in accounting,’’ said Troyanovich. “I wanted to get that done first.’’

That mission accomplished, Troyanovich left Michigan in search of a career in professional golf. She worked during the winter with Jim Suttie, the well-regarded instructor who teaches at Mistwood, during the winter in Naples, Fla.

After that she took up residence in Naperville in May so she could work with Mike Baldwin, who directs Mistwood’s upscale new Performance Center.

“I needed to work with Mike,’’ she said. “He’s my coach, and I’m a full member (at Mistwood) and it’s my job from 9:30 to 5. It’s a perfect setup.’’

Troyanovich turned pro in January and competed on the Suncoast Tour. Since then she’s had trouble getting into tournaments. She has very limited status on the LPGA’s Symetra Tour and has entered LPGA and U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers and competed in the Michigan Women’s Open. The IWO on her home course, though, could be her best bet of the year for a career breakthrough before she enters the first stage of LPGA Qualifying School in California next month.

“The first time I played the Illinois Women’s Open it was a shot in the dark. I had no idea what it’d be like,’’ she said. Now she does.

WATCHING THE CROWN: Though Rich Harvest won’t host the global team event until 2016 owner Jerry Rich and his staff are already making the competition something special. They’ve developed a series of watch parties, much like the Blackhawks put on at various locations during their long run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Fans of the various countries will have a location where they can watch the competition live.

One will be held from July 25-27 on a jumbotron at the Sugar Grove Corn Boil. Others are scheduled on July 26 at the City Gate Center in Naperville and the Stonegate Conference Center in Hoffman Estates. Rich Harvest members and their guests will have their own version on the final day of this year’s Crown, on July 27.

More such parties are in the planning stages, and details on all of them will be announced soon. They’ll provide a new dimension to what is already the most unique new event in tournament golf.

REMEMBERING PAYNE: This year marks the 25th anniversary of Payne Stewart’s first win in a major championship. The breakthrough came at the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes and the Kildeer club, which went private in 2003, celebrated that occasion as well as its own 35th anniversary with a Payne Stewart Legacy Night during the week of the Encompass Championship.

Peter Jacobsen, the most entertaining golfer off the course, was featured as the current winner of the Payne Stewart Award. Among other things, he voiced strong support for Kemper to return as a major tournament venue.

The Stewart Legacy Night also was the last event for Janet Dobson, the club’s general manager. She announced her retirement after 35 years at the club and John Hosteland was promoted from head professional to GM as Dobson’s replacement.

MOVEMENT AT MEDINAH: The No. 3 course at Medinah Country Club got plenty of attention in recent years as it was prepared for U.S. Opens, PGA Championships and the 2012 Ryder Cup. That was understandable, but it also worked to the club’s disadvantage.

The demand for play on No. 3 made it difficult for members to get tee times, but that won’t be a problem any longer. Renovation work on the No. 1 course started the day after the Ryder Cup ended and it was opened for play in July. Michigan architect Tom Doak supervised the renovation, the end result being his first creation in Illinois.

No. 1 is expected to lessen play on No. 3. Members are excited about the new layout, and their guests will be, too. And that’s not all.

Club president Matt Lydon expects a restoration of the No. 2 course, designated mainly women and youth, will begin next fall.

MILESTONE FOR CANTIGNY: The Illinois State Amateur is coming to the 27-hole Wheaton facility from July 15-17. It’ll be the fourth time Cantigny has hosted that big event, and this staging falls during the facility’s 25th anniversary. In 1989 it was selected as the Best New Public Course in America by Golf Digest, and its reputation has only been enhanced over the years.

The State Am was previously played at Cantigny in 1996, 2002 and 2008. The Chicago Open, revived at Cantigny last October, will also be held there this fall.

JDC playoff win provided a career breakthrough for Spieth

The only PGA Tour event in Illinois is coming up next week, and that means the return of Jordan Spieth. His victory in the John Deere Classic last year was one of the best feel-good stories in golf last year.

Spieth was just 19 when he survived a five-hole playoff with 2012 champion Zach Johnson and Canadian David Hearn to win last year’s JDC at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, about a two-hour drive from Chicago on the outskirts of Moline. That made Spieth the youngest winner of a major pro tour event since Ralph Guldahl won the Santa Monica Open in 1931.

Just a year earlier Spieth was invited into the tournament as one of tournament director Clair Peterson’s sponsor exemptions. He learned from that experience, turned pro and was an instant factor on the PGA Tour but the JDC is still his only victory.

Peterson has traditionally invited promising young players – this year he’s bringing in college stars Cameron Wilson, Patrick Rodgers, Jordan Niebrugge and Steven Ihm – and Spieth wishes other tournament directors would do the same. Most prefer to give their coveted exemptions to struggling older players who have supported their event in the past.

“Other tournaments need to look at this one as an example,’’ said Spieth. “There’s no way I win last year without getting those starts (off amateur invites). This tournament does it right.’’

Spieth was six strokes off the lead going into the final round last year, was nursing a sore wrist and made bogey on the first hole. Then everything came together, and he holed a bunker shot on the last hole of regulation play to earn his spot in the playoff.

“I had two shots that were more important than the bunker shot but that one was the most exciting,’’ said Spieth. “It was such a shock.’’

Spieth and Johnson, who is on the JDC board of directors, were partners in last fall’s Presidents Cup matches and Spieth will play in Johnson’s charity event on Sunday and Monday in Cedar Rapids, Ia., before arriving at TPC Deere Run.

Since his win at Deere Run Spieth finished second in both the Tournament of Champions and Masters, tied for fourth in The Players Championship, tied for 17th in the U.S. Open and climbed to No. 6 in the world rankings. He’s the highest-ranked player in the JDC field.

“I’ve been so set on looking forward,’’ he said. “I want to be the No. 1 player in the world, and I had opportunities to win again and didn’t pull it off, so that goal is still out there.’’

At the JDC he’ll face another strong field that includes Johnson, three-time winner Steve Stricker and Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, who shocked the PGA Tour with his come-from-behind win at Harford, Ct., in his last start. After missing four straight cuts Streelman shot 28 on his final nine and one-putted his last 10 greens to win the Travelers Championship. Coming off a two-week break, Streelman will be on the chartered jet to the British Open as soon as the last putt drops at TPC Deere Run.

Pro-am play begins there on Monday, and there will also be a pro-am on Wednesday before the 72-hole tournament proper starts on July 10 when $4.7 million in prize money ($846,000 to the champion) is on the line.

Here and there

Hole-in-one reports are commonplace in golf, but not this one. Joe Perica, of Arlington Heights, struck not once but twice at Stonehenge Golf Club in Barrington – and that’s not all. Perica made his two aces a week apart, playing with the same three partners on the same hole using the same club. On June 9 he aced Stonehenge’s 189-yard eighth hole with a 5-wood. On June 16 he did the same. The same foursome returned a week later and Perica’s tee shot on the same hole stopped two feet from the cup.

The JDC comes three weeks after Illinois’ only other pro tour event of 2014, the Encompass Championship at North Shore in Glenview. Next year the two events figure to be played on the same dates. The Encompass has announced a switch to July 6-12 in 2015.

Peoria’s Jordan Fahel won the 95th Chicago District Amateur last week at Hinsdale, beating Blake Johnson, 45-year old Glen View Club member, 2 and 1 in the 36-hole final. Johnson, one of only two players over 30 to make the 16-man match play portion of the event, was in the final for the second straight year.

Three Illinois club professionals came close, but none qualified for the PGA Championship at last week’s Professional Players National Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C. White Eagle’s Curtis Malm was the odd man out in a six-man playoff to determine the last five qualifiers for the PGA and Conway Farm’s Matt Slowinski and Illinois coach Mike Small both finish one shot out of the playoff. The top 20 club pros at Myrtle Beach earned spots in the PGA Championship.

IT ZIEHMS TO ME: Tweaking is almost done at Erin Hills

Erin Hills has undergone more than its share of tweaks in its brief history, but interest in the layout 35 miles northwest of Milwaukee has never wavered. In fact, enthusiasm for the course has grown with each of the changes made since the opening in 2006.

It’s good news, though, that the alterations are just about done.

“Except for the practice putting green we’re pretty much where we want to be for the U.S. Open,’’ said Jim Reinhart, ‘’ general chairman for the national championship’s first-ever staging in Wisconsin in 2017.

Erin Hills’ new third green isn’t short on pin placements after what figures to be the last big tweak to the course in preparation for the 2017 U.S. Open.
Reinhart, president of the Wisconsin State Golf Assn., was also general chairman of the 2011 U.S. Amateur played at Erin Hills. He likes the progress that’s been made since then. Work on the course began in 2004 under the direction of architects Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten, and Erin Hills became the first course awarded a USA championship (the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links) before it even opened for play.

None of the events staged so far will have the impact the Open will have, of course. Recent U.S. Opens have had an economic impact on its area of between $120 and $160 million. Erin Hills is excited about its upcoming time in the sun – and is already looking behind 2017.

“We’ve seen tremendous building in and around the golf course,’’ said Reinhart. “We’re proud of where we’ve come from and where’s we’re at today. We certainly hope this is just the beginning for U.S. Opens at Erin Hills. We don’t look on this as a one-and-done opportunity.’’

The course has conducted media briefing days each year since being awarded its U.S. Open, and this year’s spotlight was put on Zach Reineking, the course superintendent who was on the job even before the course opened. He outlined the most recent changes, the biggest coming at the par-4 third hole, which is designed to play at 478 yards from the back tees. Reineking said No. 3 turned into a bigger project than originally planned.

“It started with a re-design of just the green,’’ he said.

This is the new fourth cottage, which adds to the lodging options at Erin Hills.

In the end, though, that putting surface wasn’t just re-designed to get more pin locations. It was also moved 18 yards to the right and three bunkers were added to protect it.

“Now it’s one of our better holes,’’ Reineking said.

Two new tees were added at No. 5, another was put it at No. 15 to create the possibility of a drive-able par-4 and still another was put in at No. 17 to create a different angle into the fairway.

“One reason the USGA liked Erin Hills was because (executive director) Mike Davis liked the flexibility of the golf course,’’ said Reinhart. “We also have the space (more than 652 acres) for the corporate setup, and we’re excited about the number of spectators we can have for 2017 (an estimated 45,000 per day). We’re one of the few places where you can have corporate hospitality right on the golf course, and we’re sure we’ll have a lot of that here.’’

Erin Hills now has many similarities with Pinehurst No. 2, which hosted both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open this year. That was the first time those big events were staged back-to-back on the same course and the experiment has generally been considered a success.

“We share a lot of the same philosophies as Pinehurst. We have very restricted irrigation,’’ said Reineking. “How we manage our course is very similar to Pinehurst. If we get rain, we get rain. If not we allow those fairways to burn out.’’

Pinehurst has its wire-grass in the rough areas. Erin Hills has 140 acres of unmowed fescue. In recent years 2,000 trees were removed, and that opened up more panoramic views.

“It’s been an evolutionary process,’’ said Reineking. “We’ve gone through several changes since 2006, and the next three years we’ll refine details for 2017.’’

General chairman Jim Reinhart updates the media on Erin Hills’ preparations for the 2017 U.S. Open. John Morrissett, the club’s competitions director, looks on.
John Morrissett, Erin Hills’ competitions director, said tickets would go on sale for the 2017 U.S. Open shortly after; the 2016 U.S. Open concludes at Chambers Bay, in University Place, Wash. Like Wisconsin in 2017, next year’s Open will break new ground, too. It’ll be the first time the national championship is played in the Pacific Northwest.

Two USGA staffers will move to Erin Hills this winter. By the end of 2015 there’ll be a recruitment for volunteers.

“Our U.S. Amateur needed 800,’’ said Morrissett. “The U.S. Open will need about 5,000. We’re fortunate in that we have an enthusiastic, experienced base of volunteers.’’

In the meantime, this future U.S. Open venue continues to attract curious golfers from throughout the world. They’ll be coming right up to the closing date on Oct. 26. It’s all part of the extraordinary golf boom that has engulfed the entire state of Wisconsin the last few years.

“We went from a golf wasteland to one of the premier destinations in American championship golf,’’ said Reinhart.

And that golf boom won’t be subsiding any time soon. Golfers will keep coming.

As far as Erin Hills is concerned, that led to the building of a fourth four-bedroom cottage on the premises that’s now available. Rooms start at $195, suites at $450 and cottages at $1,100. The 2014 green fee is $225 per player plus caddie fees ($50 per player plus a suggested gratuity of $45 per bag).

There’ll also be an event to whet the appetite for the spectator golf to come. Erin Hills will host the Wisconsin State Amateur in 2015.