WEST POINT, MS. — This week in golf isn’t all about the Ryder Cup. The LPGA Legends Tour will have its premier team event, the ISPS Handa Cup, going on at the same time. The Handa Cup isn’t as old as its male counterpart, but the U.S. teams in both are in precarious positions. The…
Author: lenz
Elgin’s Carlos Sainz is now a PGA Tour member
The Chicago area has a new member on the PGA Tour. Elgin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. earned playing privileges for the 2014-15 season after finishing in a tie for 31st place in the Web.com Tour Championship on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. Sainz, 28, had only one top-10 finish and survived the 36-hole cut only…
Michigan’s Harbor Shores adds to its reputation as a tournament venue
When Harbor Shores hosted the Senior PGA Championship in 2012 it had no tournament history. That won’t be the case when the tourney returns to the Jack Nicklaus-designed course in Benton Harbor, Mich., in 2014. The May 22-25 event will mark the tournament’s 75th anniversary. While the Senior PGA is rich in tournament history, Harbor…
International Crown already looking ahead to Rich Harvest in 2016
As exciting as this first International Crown figures to be, the second staging in 2016 could well be even more eye-catching. It’ll be played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, IL., 46 miles west of Chicago. Rich Harvest is a much different place than Caves Valley. The ultra-private club has only 100 members. The…
Conway Farms gets spruced up for ’15 BMW Championship
It’s back to Chicago for the BMW Championship. The Western Golf Assn. will continue its policy of playing its premier event close to its home base every other year, and Conway Farms will again be the site of tourney after it leaves Cherry Hills. It’ll next be contested from Sept. 14-20 in 2015. Conway Farms,…
Ghim, Hardy could make collegiate debuts at Illini Invitational
Three weeks ago University of Illinois men’s coach Mike Small won the Illinois PGA Championship for a record 11th time, with two of those victories coming at Olympia Fields Country Club in 2010 and 2013. This weekend Small reverts from player to coach with hopes that his well-regarded Illini can do as well at the…
Donald is out of both FedEx Playoffs, Ryder Cup
These are not the best of times for Luke Donald even though his last tournament round was a great one – a 67 to conclude the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday in Boston. “A nice round but a disappointing season on the PGA Tour,’’ the former Northwestern star and former world No. 1 said via…
Back-to-back tournaments present a challenge for WGA
This may well be the busiest two weeks in the Western Golf Association’s 105-year history. The WGA, based in north suburban Golf, does much of its fundraising for its Evans Scholars Foundation through the staging of big tournaments. Until last year that basically meant putting on three events that were spread out over the course…
New finishing holes enhance Michigan’s Crooked Tree
PETOSKEY, MI. – Boyne Resorts may be best known for skiing nationwide, but golf has never been just an afterthought. That was clearly evident this season when Boyne undertook two major projects simultaneously on its Michigan courses. The bunkers on The Moor layout at Boyne Highlands Resort underwent an extensive renovation while nearby Crooked Tree…
Michigan’s True North brings Carlson out of retirement
HARBOR SPRINGS, MI. – Terry Carlson thought his working life was done after being a head golf professional in the Chicago area for 26 years and then getting a big sendoff into retirement at a prestigious club in Arizona. Forty years as a club professional plus one as a player on the Champions Tour seemed…