lenz – Page 140 – Len Ziehm On Golf

JDC is in the spotlight thanks to Stricker’s four-peat bid

By far the biggest month of the golf season in the Midwest begins in just a few days. July offers the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin and the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities , followed by the two state opens for Illinois golfers and the start of the Western Amateur at Exmoor in Highland Park.

None is bigger than the John Deere Classic, which spotlights Steve Stricker’s bid to become the fourth PGA Tour player to win a tournament four straight years. Only Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen and Tiger Woods have done that – and Woods did it twice.

Stricker won’t be the whole show in the PGA Tour’s only Illinois top in 2012, however. JDC director Clair Peterson’s latest entry report showed that the customary dates the week before the British Open won’t hurt his field in the least.

Forty players who competed in the U.S. Open will tee off at TPC at Deere Run on July 12 and at least 20 qualifiers for the British will have their final tuneup for the year’s third major championship there before jumping on the jet that Peterson has chartered the last five years to get players directly to British site Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England.

Stars from the U.S. Open coming to the Quad Cities include Michael Thompson, who tied for second; Kevin Chappel and John Senden, who tied for 10th; and Jordan Spieth, who was low amateur at the Olympic Club.

In addition the JDC field includes the winners of eight PGA Tour stops this year and 24 from the last two seasons.

“We’re very excited with how the field is shaping up,’’ said Peterson. “Our fans are guaranteed to see not only players who are stars of the future; they’ll also see players who have proven themselves on golf’s greatest stages.’’

Women in waiting

The U.S. Women’s Open, which tees off on July 5, might have two players with Chicago connections in its starting field.

Notre Dame sophomore Ashley Armstrong, from Flossmoor, is first alternate out of the sectional qualifier in St. Louis, and Aimee Neff, the Michigan State alum who won the Illinois Women’s Open in 2008 and 2009, is first alternate from Chicago’s sectional, which was played at Big Foot in Fontana, Wis. They were among a record 1,364 entries, which included players from 47 states and 44 other countries.

The U.S. Golf Assn. doesn’t reveal the order of advancement for alternates of sectional qualifying rounds. Both Armstrong and Neff might have to wait until the first day of competition before knowing if they’re in the field.

A battle to end all battles

The Chicago-based Women’s Western Golf Assn. had a match for the record books at its 112th Amateur championship last week in Monroe, Mich. Mary Michael Maggio and Asia Adell went 13 extra holes in the Round of 16. The longest matches in the U.S. Golf Assn. records were nine extra holes in women’s championships and 10 in men’s.

The Women’s Western Amateur final was memorable, too – a battle of sisters in which Ariya Jutanugarn beat Moryia 2 and 1. Ariya won the U.S. Girls Junior crown at Olympia Fields last year.

Here and there

The match play portion of the 93rd Chicago District Amateur runs through Friday at Cantigny in Wheaton. ….Pam Tyska has retired after coaching Northern Illinois’ women’s team for 26 seasons…..Fourteen Illinois PGA members are in the Professional Players National Championship, which concludes today in California….Northwestern’s Eric Chun was given honorable mention All-America status after ending his senior season with a 71.38 stroke average. That’s fifth-best in NU history behind three of Luke Donald’s seasons in Evanston and one by Jess Daley in 2000….Illinois had NCAA champion Thomas Pieters on the All-American first team and Luke Guthrie on the second team. Guthrie, is the fourth Illini players to be selected multiple times, behind Stricker (1987-89), James Lepp (2002-03) and Scott Langley (2009-11)….Last of the seven qualifiers for the July 16-18 Illinois Open is Thursday at downstate Effingham Country Club.…Adam Wood of Zionsville, Ind., won the first of the Western Golf Association’s three championships of 2012. He took the Western Junior by four shots at Country Club of Florida last week…. Oakley has joined sponsors for the Illinois Open and will also be presenting sponsor of the Aug. 20 stroke play event at Schaumburg and the Nov. 3-7 pro-am at Georgia’s Reynolds Plantation resort.

A nice gesture from the Missouri School of Journalism

The University of Missouri School of Journalism honored me in its Profiles of Success in June, 2012.

Len Ziehm

LEN ZIEHM

Sportswriter (Retired)
at Chicago Sun-Times

Degree(s): BJ ’65
Whereabouts: Chicago, Illinois, United States

What do you do?
Retired from the Chicago Sun-Times in June 2010 after 41 years in the sports department, I’ve stepped up my freelance writing and am coordinating my writing projects through the website, lenziehmongolf.com. In retirement. I’ve continued to do some writing for the Sun-Times. I’m also doing a weekly golf column for the Daily Herald chain of Chicago suburban newspapers, weekly columns and features for Chicago District Golfer newspapers. I’ve also been a regular contributor for the Chicago District Golfer magazine and report on the Chicago Fire soccer team for the Comcast SportsNet Chicago website. Those were somewhat extensions off my Sun-Times days, but I’m also working to develop myself in travel writing. In addition to some pieces in print publications, I’ve been highlighting these projects on my website and my four website partners.

How did you get your job?
The freelance work started when I was still at the Sun-Times, where my beats also included collegiate sports (11 years), the Chicago Blackhawks (nine years), tennis (five years) and the Chicago Marathon, which I’ve covered for about 25 years.

What is the best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?
You need to be resourceful and versatile. (Don’t know that the latter is as much a requirement now as it was when I came out of J-School.)

What advice do you have for current students?
Explore all phases of journalism. When I was in school I wanted (and got involved in) newspaper work. Now the options aren’t as limited as they were then.

What is your favorite J-School memory?
In college I was also on the cross country team and, at least twice, I went to road meets with the cross country team, ran in a Saturday morning race, left the team to cover an afternoon football team and then drove back to Columbia with my sports-writing partner. Ah, those were the days!

Any parting comments?
Just stopped back in Columbia in May and was pleasantly surprised to see how the town and campus have changed. It was always a happy, festive place for me and conjured good memories. I’d only been back in town twice since leaving in 1967. The facilities for both the Missourian and Columbia Tribune (where I held a part-time job while in graduate school) have improved greatly.

Illinois Open site change delights defending champion Arouca

For over three decades Illinois club professionals dominated their amateur counterparts. Those days are apparently over.

Last week the Chicago District Golf Association’s amateur stars beat the Illinois PGA’s best 11 ½-6 ½ in the 51st Radix Cup matches at Oak Park Country Club. That was the CDGA’s fourth win in five years in the competition, though the IPGA has a 32-17-2 edge in the rivalry.

With the team event over, both the CDGA and IPGA are preparing for their biggest championships and for Philip Arouca, the defending champion in the IPGA’s Illinois Open, that’s a big task.

Arouca won last year’s Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods Country Club but won’t defend there. After four years at Hawthorn Woods the IPGA is taking the championship back to The Glen Club in Glenview, with the 54-hole showdown coming July 16-18.

Normally a defender would prefer going for a repeat on the same course. Not so for Arouca. The Wilmette resident caddied at The Glen Club, played in two Illinois Opens there and has joined his father as a member for the last three years. He was “absolutely ecstatic’’ when he heard about the venue switch.

Arouca hasn’t been so happy about his health since his biggest win of 2011. He developed a stress fracture in his right wrist during the first stage of PGA Tour qualifying school last fall, forcing him to not touch a club for five weeks. He’s resuming competition this week in a National Pro Golf Tour event at Michigan’s Treetops course. That mini-circuit has been Arouca’s playground since the last Illinois Open and will remain that way until the shooting starts at The Glen.

Last year that tour held small regional tournaments in the Chicago area, with Arouca winning at Highlands of Elgin and finishing second at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Over the next three weeks he’ll play in 72-hole $150,000 events the circuit is staging at Treetops, Bolingbrook and Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis.

“The wrist pain at the end of last year wasn’t much fun, and it’s been a struggle lately,’’ he said, “but I’m real excited to finally have a good solid event schedule.’’

Amateurs were medalists at the first three qualifiers for the Illinois Open. Bloomington’s Alex Burge was best in the first qualifier with a 67 at Bloomington Country Club. Another amateur, Dan Strawbridge from Roselle, was low man at Deerfield with a 68 and still another, Joe Willis of Lake Forest, matched pro Tommy Bliefnick of Decatur for low round at Bull Valley in Woodstock. Both carded 70s.

The last four qualifiers are Wednesday (JUNE 20) at Lincolnshire, Monday (JUNE 25) at Inverness, Tuesday (JUNE 26) at Highlands of Elgin and June 28 at Effingham Country Club.

More changes for CDGA Amateur

Last year the 36-hole final of the CDGA Amateur was played on a different course than all the previous matches because the opportunity to play Medinah No. 3 was deemed too good an opportunity to pass up. September’s Ryder Cup venue produced a stirring climax to the historic championship, Bloomington’s Kyle English outlasting El Paso’s Andy Mickelson over 37 holes.

This year the tourney is making another unusual change for its 93rd staging at Cantigny in Wheaton. Departing from its traditional Monday-Thursday scheduling for the second straight year, the event will start next Tuesday and there will be another refinement with the 36-hole stroke play qualifying will be spread over two days. Match play for the 16 finalists will start next Wednesday afternoon – shortly after the second stroke play qualifying round.

As was the case last year, the scheduling change was made because outings were previously scheduled at Cantigny, the first public facility to host the CDGA Amateur since Pine Meadow, in Mundelein, co-hosted with Medinah in 1991. English and Mickelson are both entered, with English hoping to become the first repeat winner since Joe Affrunti in 2000 and 2001.

Here and there

Luke Donald’s fourth annual Taste of the First Tee fundraiser will be held Wednesday (JUNE 20) at Northern Trust’s headquarters in Chicago. PGA Tour stars Steve Stricker and Mark Wilson will also participate…..The Bears beat the Packers 10-2 in Monday’s Rivalry Cup at Medinah’s No. 3 layout…..Chalet, in Cary, and Chapel Hill, in McHenry, have been added to GolfVisions’ Player Pass program….Crane’s Landing, in Lincolnshire, and Willow Crest, in Oak Brook, are among the courses joining in the Fairways-Fore-Freedom program initiated by Marriott Golf to provide active, reserve and retired military personnel with both free and discounted golf opportunities….The Chicago qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Public Links tourney is at Oak Grove, in Harvard, on Wednesday…..Deerpath, in Lake Forest, will host the Illinois PGA Junior boys and girls championships Wednesday and Thursday (JUNE 20-21).

Hot nine on Scarlet course got Streelman into the Open

Kevin Streelman’s golf game may be peaking at just the right time.

The PGA Tour player from Winfield got into this week’s U.S. Open with an extraordinary nine holes in last week’s 36-hole sectional qualifier in Columbus. After shooting a 71 in the first 18, played at Scioto – Jack Nicklaus’ home course as a youth, Streelman exploded with a 30 on the front nine of his second 18, played at Ohio State University’s well-respected Scarlett course.

That burst made the final nine easy as Streelman finished third in the toughest of the 13 sectionals held across the country. The field at Columbus was filled with PGA Tour players, who chose to qualify there because of its proximity to the circuit’s Memorial tournament.

Streelman will be paired with D.A. Points, the former University of Illinois golfer from Pekin, and Korean Dong-Hwan Lee, who will be playing in the tournament for the first time, in the first two rounds. They start off the No. 1 tee at San Francisco’s Olympic Club at 12:05 p.m. (Chicago time) on Thursday. Streelman played the Olympic Club about five years ago when he was toiling on the mini-tours.

“It was just for fun, but I love that golf course,’’ said Streelman as he prepared for a practice round with Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley in Phoenix last week. “That course is very demanding, and this Open will be unique because the course is so difficult going out. The first eight-nine holes are the most difficult but you can make birdies coming in.’’

Streelman is in the biggest U.S. championship for the third time and survived the 36-hole cut the first two times. His best finish, though, was a tie for 53rd in his first Open – also in California, at Torrey Pines – in 2008.

“I led that one after the first round,’’ he said. “This will be my seventh major (championship). They’re a little different kind of pressure, and you get more comfortable each time you do it.’

On the home front

While the U.S. Open owns the golf spotlight this week, there will be two big events going on locally. The 79th Illinois Women’s Amateur makes a rare Chicago area appearance at Ravisloe in Homewood, and the 51st Radix Cup matches are on tap at Oak Park Country Club.

The women’s event started with a qualifying round on Tuesday and match play competition will run through Friday. Wednesday’s Radix Cup is a team event pitting the top players in the Illinois PGA against the top amateurs in the Chicago District Golf Assn. The pros hold a 32-16-2 edge in the series.

Kemper Lakes changes membership policy

Kemper Lakes, which hosted the 1989 PGA Championship during its start as a public facility, has announced a market-based pricing program that allows current members to offer their memberships for sale to new members at a price driven by market demand.

“It’s an incredible program that achieves all our objectives,’’ said general manager Janet Dobson. “We can garner new members during a slow period, we can introduce new members into the club and it allows current members who need to retire from the club the chance to do so without a waiting period.’’

Face value of a membership is $50,000. Membership director Steve Kashul said that initial sales under the new program were trading at 15 percent of the stated price with three currently available for $7,500.

Here and there

Luke Guthrie, who won the individual Big Ten title for Illinois this season and tied for 19th in the Memphis St. Jude Classic on Sunday in his professional debut, has accepted a sponsor’s exemption to next month’s John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities. Also accepting invites were college freshman stars Patrick Rodgers of Stanford and Jordan Spieth of Texas….Mistwood’s recently-renovated course in Romeoville opens to the public on Friday (JUNE 15). Though the course will be in full operation, work around the new learning center will be evident and the parking lot is being doubled in size, to accommodate 240 cars. A stoplight is also being installed at the course entrance to facilitate an expected heavier traffic flow….Scott Langley, the former NCAA champion for Illinois, gets the honor of hitting the first tee shot off the No. 1 tee at the U.S. Open on Thursday….The Champions Tour may be returning to Chicago for the first time since 2002. Though no announcement has been made, the circuit is expected to bring its Tampa Bay event to either North Shore Country Club in Glenview or Evanston Golf Club in Skokie starting in 2013…..The First Tee of Greater Chicago begins its program at Cog Hill, in Lemont, on Friday (JUNE 15)….Illinois Open qualifying resumes at Bull Valley in Woodstock on Thursday (JUNE 14).

Odyssey’s a place for more than just fun golf

TINLEY PARK, IL. – At first it seemed a walk down memory lane.

I hadn’t been back to the Odyssey Country Club in Chicago’s south suburbs since 1997 – the third and final year the course was used as the site of the Illinois Women’s Open championship. Odyssey got that tournament, the state’s most prestigious for women, off to a great start.

This recent visit was to participate in the Concierge & Hospitality Professionals Golf Outing, a delightful affair organized for the eighth straight year by Cheryl Justak to create awareness about the great golf available in the Chicago area and introduce it to concierges who can, in turn, pass it on to their clients and customers.

This year’s outing enabled me to re-connect with Ed Staffan, Odyssey’s manager/golf professional, and get acquainted with Nick Halikias, vice president of operations for the family-owned course and facility. The family also owns the adjoining Odyssey Fun World.

I didn’t know my playing partners before arrival, but James Cook, Tyrone Lyons and Stan Lee were all great guys. Stan could really deliver the long ball, Tyrone (my cart partner) hit some almost as long as Stan and had the sometimes difficult task of keeping my head in the game. Jimmy was the steadying influence for the rest of us.

There may have been better teams than ours (we finished 2-under-par), but I doubt any had as much fun.

Odyssey is a long drive from my home (over an hour), and that’s the main reason I didn’t have it on my calendar for such a long time. But I’ll be back.

I was very impressed with the development of both the course (designed by Harry Bowers and two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange, used as the consultant) and – particularly – the clubhouse. I’ve seen most every clubhouse at the Chicago area’s public courses, and Odyssey has one of the very best. It’s outing-friendly, and a perfect setup for weddings and other social gatherings.

I just wish I could have tasted the cuisine prepared by chef Alex Ottman, but another golf-related event – the flag-raising ceremony for the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, world No. 1 Luke Donald’s home course – was also a not-to-be missed socializing opportunity.

I had remembered the Odyssey course as player-friendly, yet plenty challenging. That hadn’t changed over the years. The par-72 layout is filled with lakes, wildflowers and gardens all meshing with holes that measure 7,095 from the back tees. Plus, the wildlife on the course is extraordinary. The course has a rating of 73.1 with a slope of 131.

Located between First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, one of the nation’s largest outdoor music venues, and Odyssey Fun World, which attract kids of all ages, Odyssey Country Club, 19110 S. Ridgeland, has a great location for entertainment options before and after a round of golf.

Island Hills, Yarrow are good bets for golf trips to Michigan

AUGUSTA, MI. – Michigan-based golf course architect Ray Hearn has made an impact in Chicago with his work at Flossmoor Country Club, one of the area’s top private facilities, as well as at Mistwood in Romeoville, one of the best public courses.

If you want to test more of Hearn’s work you don’t have to go very far. Two of his earlier works are just over the Michigan line, and they’d make good stopovers for those who plan to attend the second Champions Tour major tournament in Michigan this summer.

The Senior PGA Championship, won by England’s Roger Chapman at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, was the first. The U.S. Senior Open will be coming July 12-15 to Indianwood in Lake Orion.

Chicago golfers headed to that big tournament can make it a nicer getaway by stopping at either Island Hills, in Centreville, or Yarrow Golf & Conference Resort, in Augusta. Both are in somewhat out-of-the-way locations, but these Hearn designs are worth a visit and the facilities where they’re located are interesting as well.

Hearn created the course at Yarrow first, after a storm in October of 2001 that included tornado force winds knocked down thousands of trees on the property. Yarrow didn’t have a golf course then, but owner Bill Pulte used the devastation as a trigger to get one built.

The resort opened in November of 1992 with only nine guest rooms and dining for 20 people. Now it has a 14,000-square foot lodge, 45 overnight rooms, eight miles of trails through forests and wetlands and, of course, its 7,005-yard golf course. Hearn’s design gets your attention immediately with a par-5 first hole that plays uphill most of the way and seems much longer even than its listed 588 yards from the back tees. The starter warned us of its difficulty, calling it “a par-7.’’

More good holes, many of them sporty and not so challenging, follow with plenty of elevation changes that fit the natural beauty of the property.

Yarrow is more of a retreat type of place, with a particularly nice patio deck overlooking the 18th green. Island Hills isn’t like that. It’s a more fun layout, with a smaller but busy restaurant – The Grille Tavern – that is open 365 days a year. The course has a history, too, and it’s plenty challenging.

Hearn did the original layout for a previous owner in 1999. He was called back by present owner Bob Griffioen when the previous owner converted several of the course’s best holes into real estate lots. The renovation was a two-year project in which Hearn created two new par-3s – Nos. 12 and 17. The project was completed in late 2011, and Hearn believes the new holes rival any pair of par-3s in Michigan.

The 12th is memorable because the stone ruins of an old farmstead are featured – but don’t come into play – both beside and behind the green. The hole can play anywhere from 102 to 186 yards.

No. 17, which played as the old 16th, has 10 tees now and can be stretched to 202 yards. The water, wetlands and bridges that surround the green create a spectacular backdrop on a layout that now measures 7,038 yards.

There’s more to say about Island Hills, though. In these economic times course owners continuously look for ways to bring in new players. Many times it’s just talk, but Griffioen is doing something about it. In fact, I’ve yet to find a course owner as passionate about growing the game. His efforts amount to much more than just installing a few extra tees to make it easier for the inexperienced to enjoy the game.

Griffioen’s new head professional, Tim Cole, is spearheading some unique programs that should bring in more players. For the very young he’s brought in the SNAG teaching program originally developed by Jerry Rich and his staff at Rich Harvest Links in Sugar Grove, IL. – the site of the Solheim Cup matches in 2009. Most affordable lesson programs are also offered for adults, and especially women.

More impressive still is Island Hills’ enticements for those who haven’t even tried golf yet. Forty-one sets of clubs are available for use, and they’re not rentals. They are simply made available for players who want to try the game. These aren’t just used sets, either. They include a variety of shafts, full sets of irons and hybrids. Not only that, but Cole fills each bag with balls, also at no charge.

Then there’s the oft-heard complaint that golf takes too long. Griffioen had Hearn design some shorter routings – for five holes, seven holes and 12 holes. If 18 holes takes too much time, try one of the shorter versions.

And, if that doesn’t get more people playing, then nothing will.

Mistwood shows off its new bunkers

Stacked sod-wall bunkers are an extreme rarity at Chicago courses, but they won’t be as much a mystery after owner Jim McWethy re-opens his Mistwood course in Romeoville. That’ll happen for the course’s members and permanent tee time holders on Saturday (JUNE 2).

Michigan-based course architect Ray Hearn incorporated 19 such bunkers into his new design, and he admits that the new bunkers will overshadow the numerous other changes he made at the public facility that annually hosts the Illinois Women’s Open.

“Nothing comes close to the glory of these stacked sod-wall bunkers,’’ he said. “In Chicago you want to set yourself apart, and this alone will do it. There’s nothing like this at any other Chicago course.’’

Hearn believes two other courses have stacked sod-wall bunkers, the main one being Conway Farms in Lake Forest. The site of the 2013 BMW Championship on the PGA Tour, Conway has three such bunkers. Another course – Hearn isn’t sure which one – has one.

Overall, Hearn substantially toughened and lengthened the course. The old version measured 6,701 yards, and the new one is 7,028 from the very back tees, some of which won’t be used all that much. The slope increased from 140 to 144 and the rating from 73.0 to 74.7 when Chicago District Golf Assn. officials made their visit to the new layout.

The course, which will open to the general public in mid-June, will produce a new challenge for the Illinois Women’s Open entrants, who will compete in the traditional 54-hole competition on July 25-27.

U.S. Open enters sectional stage

Village Links of Glen Ellyn will host Chicago’s sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open on Monday. The 48-man field will send its top finishers to the U.S. Open proper at Olympic Club in San Francisco, but the number of berths available hasn’t been determined yet.

PGA Tour players Tom Pernice and Tim Herron and Illinois coach Mike Small are the biggest names in the Village Links field, but Burr Ridge’s Bennett Blakeman bears watching, too. He qualified for the 2010 U.S. Open as an amateur and the 2011 version as a professional.

Others in the field include Brad Benjamin, the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, and four ex-Illinois Amateur winners – Gary March (1986), Zach Barlow (2008), Vince India (2010) and Brad Hopfinger (2011). India will hit the first tee shot in the 36-hole elimination at 7 a.m. The second round begins at noon.

Switching stations

The Golfers on Golf radio show begins its 15th season on June 3, but it’ll have a different time slot and be heard on two stations instead of one.

The new home base is WSBC (1240-AM) and the show will be simulcast on WCFJ (1470-AM). It had been broadcast at 6 p.m. on Mondays of WJJG (1530-AM). Now it’ll be heard from 10-ll a.m. on Sundays. Mike Munro, Ed Stevenson, Bill Berger and Rory Spears will all return as the on-air talent for a 17-week run that will conclude on Sept. 23.

Here and there

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, a former Arizona State golfer, won last week’s nearest sectional qualifier for next month’s U.S. Women’s Open at Wisconsin’s Blackwolf Run course by 11 shots. Only two from that sectional, held at Big Foot in Fontana, WI., qualified to play at Blackwolf Run, with Purdue’s Junthima Gulyanamitta beating ex-Illinois Women’s Open champion Aimee Neff in a playoff for the second spot….Medinah Patriot Day, a benefit for Illinois military families, will be held on Tuesday over the club’s Nos. 1 and 3 courses…..Kewanee’s Tom Miler added the CDGA Senior Amateur to his title collection this summer last week. He had previously won the Illinois State Public Links tourney. Taylorville’s Dave Ryan finished second in both….Entry deadline is 5 p.m. Friday for the Illinois Open. All professionals and amateurs with handicaps of 10 or less are eligible to compete in one of the seven qualifying rounds for the July 16-18 tourney proper at The Glen Club in Glenview….New management has decided to rename what was the Crystal Lake Golf Learning Center, located across the street from the Prairie Isle course. It’s now Fore Seasons Golf Learning Center…..Chuck Mills, North Chicago High School’s first football coach, will join his players from the 1955 team at an outing June 8 at Glen Flora in Waukegan.

SENIOR PGA: Chapman surprise win is still hard to imagine

BENTON HARBOR, MI. — To put it mildly, it’s hard to fathom Roger Chapman’s victory in the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday.

In 16 full seasons (and parts of a few others) on the European PGA Tour Chapman had just one victory – in a tourney called the Brazil Rio De Janeiro 500 Years Open in 2000., where he beat the much better known Padraig Harrington in a playoff.

When Chapman left the European Tour in 2006 it wasn’t to move to a senior circuit. No, Chapman’s best option then was to work for 18 months as a rules official. It provided a nice interlude before the 50-and-over competition was a possibility.

Chapman has yet to win a tournament in his four seasons of senior tournaments, and this year he’d played in only one event before Sunday – a 16th place finish two weeks ago in the Mallorca Open. In all his years as a touring pro Chapman says he had at least 15 runner-up finishes world-wide.

And then came Sunday at Harbor Shores – a two-year old layout designed by Jack Nicklaus that features all sorts of elevation changes and some severe undulations on the greens.

Chapman didn’t just win. He took the first major of the Champions Tour season wire-to-wire, the first player to do that since Hale Irwin in 2004. With 10 holes left Chapman owned a nine-shot lead. It dwindled to two over playing partner John Cook before Chapman posted his 72 for a 13-under-par 271 total.

“It’s hard to play with a huge, huge lead like that,’’ said Cook, “but for 70 holes he was really impressive.’’

“It’s difficult when you haven’t had much experience with that,’’ added Chapman. “You have that negative man sitting on your shoulder, telling you all the bad things that could happen.’’

Some did. Chapman finished with two bogeys before becoming only the third English golfer and seventh international player in 73 years to win the Senior PGA.

When the last putt dropped a choked up Chapman was doused with champagne by David Frost and Bobby Clampett, two rivals who had invited him to dinner on Saturday night.

“We were all crying. They’re two very good friends,’’ said Chapman, who declined the dinner invite because he wanted to keep a routine that included dinner at a restaurant in nearby Stevensville.

Frost had deprived Chapman in his last previous chance at a victory when he eagled the last hole and then beat Chapman in a playoff in a European Senior Tour event last year.

Sunday was a day for good scoring, but none of Chapman’s top challengers could deliver. Kenny Perry shot a tournament record 62, one better than the 63s posted by Buck White in 1961 and Arnold Palmer in 1984. Peter Senior posted 63 and Sandy Lyle and Joe Daley 64s.

Those scores would have done wonders for Cook, who finished second after carding a 69, or Hale Irwin, who shot 68 to finish third. Chapman enjoyed a $378,000 payday and received an invitation to August’s PGA Championship among other perks.

“This is the greatest thing I’ve ever done,’’ said Chapman. “It’s the best feeling in the world.’’

SENIOR PGA: A Chapman breakthrough, or an Irwin comeback?

BENTON HARBOR, MI. – If you look at golf’s big picture, there are two significant stories brewing going into Sunday’s final round of the 73rd Senior PGA Championship.

The more obvious one is Roger Chapman, the English pro who tied the record at the new Harbor Shores course with a 7-under-par 64 on Saturday to open a five-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s first major tournament of the year.

Still lurking, though, is 66-year old Hale Irwin, who goes into the final round tied four third and seven shots back. Once the dominant player on the 50-and-over circuit, Irwin is far more familiar with winning than Chapman. Chapman, 58, had one win in 19 seasons on the European PGA Tour and none anywhere since he turned 50.

Irwin was dubbed Mr. Chicago in his glory days, when he won the 1974 Western Open at Butler National, the 1990 U.S. Open at Medinah and two Champions Tour titles when the circuit had an annual Chicago stop at Stonebridge and Kemper Lakes.

Though Irwin hasn’t won since 2007, the winningest player in Champions Tour history is in somewhat familiar territory. The two-year old Harbor Shores course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is the closest Champions Tour event to Chicago and the undulating greens remind Irwin of Winged Foot, the New York layout where he won the first of his three U.S. Opens in 1974.

If Irwin could pull of a win at Harbor Shores he’d be the oldest champion in Senior PGA history. Jock Hutchison, the long-time pro at Glen View Club, won the first Senior PGA in 1947 at age 62, and Irwin isn’t giving into age just yet.

“I’d have to play at least as well as I did yesterday (a second round 66 – the fourth time he’s shot his age in competition), said Irwin. “Roger played extremely well. He really separated himself from the field, but that can be inspirational as well.’’

Better putting would inspire Irwin, who is tied with Steve Pate and two shots behind second-place John Cook. Even after shooting his 66 he changed putters on Saturday, going with a heavier one. That’ll get discarded for the final round, as Irwin plans to bring back his Friday putter minus the tape he had put on it.

“Right now I’m looking for anything,’’ he said.

Irwin missed from eight feet at the first hole of Saturday’s rain-delayed round and three feet on the third. Then he put his tee shot in the water and three-putted at No. 4 for a triple bogey six. He still posted a 69 while playing in the same threesome as Chapman.

“That was the first time I played with Hale,’’ said Chapman, “and I felt in the right place mentally. I hit a lot of good iron shots early, and they kept getting better and better. That had to be the best iron play of my life.’’

He’s at 14-under-par 199 for 54 holes. Burr Ridge’s Jeff Sluman, the only player with a Chicago connection to survive the 36-hole cut, is tied for 42nd. Champions Tour members Gary Hallberg and Chip Beck and club pros Mike Harrigan and Billy Rosinia all failed to break 80 in difficult conditions during Thursday’s first round. They improved dramatically in the second but couldn’t qualify for weekend play.

Indiana’s Swan Lake lands U.S. finals, ING gathering

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Swan Lake, the Indiana resort that has operated relatively low-key since its opening in 1969, is about to elevate its profile.

Located in Plymouth, near the Notre Dame campus, Swan Lake hosted the National Junior College Championships last week and will host that event again in 2014. Of even more note, it’ll be the site of the U.S. finals of the World Golfers Championship this September and the International Network of Golf spring meeting in 2013.

The announcements of both came at this year’s 22nd ING spring gathering, conducted at Embassy Suites Greenville Golf Resort and Conference Center and its accompanying golf course, The Preserve at Verdae.

“These are pretty big things,’’ said Andy Mears, director of sales and marketing at Swan Lake and an ING executive committee member. “We’re planning to hold a lot of events like this to showcase the resort.’’

Swan Lake didn’t always take that approach, even after Richard Klingler took over ownership 12 years ago. Mears came on board in November, 2011, as a key mover in changing the resort.

“There’s been a complete transformation of management there,’’ said Mears. “The owners decided to go in an entirely new direction. We’ve opened up to outings and have a whole new staff at the (teaching) academy. We’ve got 70 pros on staff, and they’ve been incredibly busy.’’

Klingler, an Indiana native who founded the Holiday Rambler RV Co. and later sold it, wasn’t even a golfer when he took over Swan Lake in 2000. In addition to taking on the big events, Swan Lake has attracted outings, notably a big one from Wal-Mart, which moved from a course in Valparaiso to Swan Lake. The resort used to average eight weddings a year; this year it’ll host 25.

The teaching operation is a high priority as well, under head professional Chad Hutsell. He had held that job at Plymouth Country Club for 12 years and returned to the area at Swan Lake after a stint at Aberdeen in Valparaiso.

“We’ll turn the golf operation into a learning center for PGA apprentices,’’ said Mears. “We want to be the Triple-A farm club for the PGA of America.’’

Swan Lake, spread over 600 acres, has 92 hotel rooms plus cabins and cottages and a 20m000 square-foot convention center.

The biggest event of this year, the U.S. finals of the World Golfers Championship, will be held Sept. 20-22. The leaders in five flights based on handicap will qualify for the finals in Durban, South Africa. Billed as “the world’s largest amateur tournament,’’ this is a growing competition started 17 years ago by legendary late Swedish athlete Sven Tumba, a hockey great who turned to golf later in life and designed the first course in Moscow.

Tumba’s first events were invitationals, but he eventually switched to a qualifying format and now eliminations are held in 40 countries. Florida-based Anders Bengtson is the majority owner of the U.S.. portion of the competition, which involves about 200 elimination events held year-around.

“We’re now in eight states and looking for tournament directors all over the country,’’ said Bengtson, a fellow ING member. “We’ll have in the thousands try to qualify (for the U.S. finals) and expect 80-100 to play at Swan Lake.’’

John Downey is the tournament director for Illinois, and a former Chicago area judge, Eddie Stephens, was a qualifier for the World finals last year at the U.S. event held in San Antonio, Tex.

The World Golfers Championship is unique, in that men and women of all ages compete together. There’s no breakdowns for age or sex, only by handicaps (0-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20 and 21-25). Different tees, though, are used according to sex , age and handicap differences.

“We feel we’re a true amateur tournament,’’ said Bengtson. “We’ve established camaraderie with people, some of whom can’t even communicate because of their language differences. But they’ve still become friends.’’

Bengtson took next year’s finals to Swan Lake because “it’s very charming and we need at least two courses…I don’t want the players playing one course over and over because they play four in the finals.’’

The World finals were held at PGA National in Florida the first three years but had a more international flavor after that. The finals will be held in South Africa for the second straight year but were held in Spain in 2009 and Thailand in 2010. Arnold Palmer has endorsed the competition and the late Seve Ballesteros was honorary chairman of the advisory committee last year.

Swan Lake has two 18-holers for the 72-hole competition, and the finals include two practice rounds and four tournament rounds, to be played on four different high-quality layouts.

As for the four-day ING event, it’ll bring golf leaders from management, resort, equipment and media together next May 19–23. Executive director Mike Jamison has taken the event around the country, with this year’s golf portion played on a challenging layout designed by Willard Byrd in the 1990s. It had hosted a Nike Tour event for nine years.

That was in keeping with the type of layouts Jamison had previously used. It was held at Florida’s Innisbrook layout, site of the PGA Tour’s Transitions Championship, in 2010.

Author: lenz