GREEN LAKE, Wis. — Shame on me. This golf writer of nearly 50 years didn’t know nearly enough about the work of William Langford until playing in last week’s Langford Shield outing at The Links of Lawsonia. The course got its name from the legendary newspaperman Victor Lawson. He was the publisher of the Chicago…
Author: lenz
ILLINOIS AMATEUR: Knoll makes most of 257-hole odyssey
The reign of college players continued in the 84th Illinois State Amateur on Wednesday, but this time it took a four-hole playoff to decide the champion. Deer Park’s Chadd Slutzky, a 36-year old financial trader, took a two-shot lead into the 36-hole finale of the tournament at Cantigny, in Wheaton. He wilted, finishing solo fourth…
ILLINOIS AMATEUR: Collegiate domination could be coming to an end
Chadd Slutzky, a 36-year old financial trader from Deer Park, is in position to reverse a trend in the 84th Illinois State Amateur golf tournament on Thursday. College players have won the prestigious title every year since 2003 but Slutzky was better than all of them in the first two rounds at Cantigny, in Wheaton….
Strong JDC showing suggests a Zach attack is possible in British Open
Twenty-five players who competed in the John Deere Classic were on the tournament’s jet to the British Open on Sunday night. Zach Johnson figures to have the best chance of that group when the third major championship of the season tees off on Thursday at Royal Liverpool. Johnson was the runner-up in the Quad Cities’…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…