This “Big Three” may not be anything like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, but we feel we can make a positive impact on golf — especially in the Chicago area.

We are three golf reporters with a combined 102 years of experience covering the sport we love. We’re kicking off 2012 by announcing an affiliation agreement in which we’ll spotlight the lead stories on each other’s websites. We see this as a means of staying ahead of the rapidly changing media changes within the golf industry.

While there will inevitably some overlap in the subjects we cover, our websites are each a bit different. Rory Spears (www.golfersongolf.com), the best golfer in our trio, is a rater for GolfWeek magazine. He’s worked in a variety of positions during his 27 years in the golf industry. In addition to writing The Gog Blog, he is co-host of Golfers on Golf which is in its 10 season as Chicago’s longest-running golf radio show.

Tim Cronin, for 33 years the golf writer and columnist for the Daily Southtown/Star, has established himself as the premier Chicago golf historian. He’s written four books on the histories of Chicago clubs. He’ll be offering his unique perspectives on the golf news of the day on his website, www.illinoisgolfer.net.

My lenziehmongolf.com will continue to focus on golf travel destinations and tournament reports. If one of us doesn’t provide what you’re looking for, chances are good that one of the other two will.

The affiliations with Rory and Tim means that Len Ziehm on Golf is now connected with three other websites. We earlier reached agreement with Cheryl Justak’s “Golf Now! Chicago,’’ the premier travel destination guide. My travel stories will run on her www.golfnowchicago.com.

On Sunday Luke Donald finished third in the Dubai World Championship and became the first golfer to win money titles on both the U.S. and European PIA Tours while holding membership in both.

This is something for the history books, and the feat hasn’t gotten the attention it should have from the sports media both in and away from Chicago. When you factor in what went on both on and off the course I believe Donald’s 2011 topped the accomplishments of all athletes, in all sports.

First he rises to No. 1 in the world, then pads his lead. When Webb Simpson threatened to claim the money title on the PGA Tour Donald added a late-season tournament and won it. When Rory McIlroy had a chance (however slim) to get the European money title Donald responded with a solid third-place showing with all that historical significance on the line.

He may still be without a major championship, but Luke was consistently good and at his best when the going was toughest.

All that success on the course came with two life-changing developments off the course — the birth of a daughter and the death of his father. It wasn’t so long ago, either, that Donald made a difficult decision — parting company with his brother as his caddie — that also factored into his extraordinary 2011 season.

Personally I feel an attachment to the Donald saga because I’ve seen a lot of it develop from up close. He was the leader of a Northwestern golf team that brought the Wildcats national prominence. I’ll also recall his victory in the Chicago Open at Beverly Country Club in the midst of the 9/11 tragedy. Luke was just an amateur playing against regional pros then, and I’m not sure the event should even have been held, given the circumstances facing the entire country at the time, but Donald emerged the champion and gave an early hint about where his golf career was headed.

Not long after that I had a lengthy sitdown with Luke and his brother in their Evanston apartment for a golf magazine profile on golfers with promise. Luke certainly fulfilled his, and remained an extraordinarily strong supporter of the NU program while doing it.

In the near future Donald will like learn if he gets his wish from the Western Golf Assn. He has made it known that he’d like the BMW Championship be moved to Conway Farms, his home course in Chicago, in 2013. I’m not so sure he’ll get his wish on that one. The WGA has been mum on that subject, though Conway would make a viable venue for that tournament.

The Chicago District Golf Assn. and Western Golf Assn. have made major announcements in their tournament sites just a few days apart.
In announcing its tournament slate for 2012 the CDGA revealed that Cantigny, the 27-hole public layout in Wheaton, will host the concluding four-day match play portion of the CDGA Amateur. That’s significant because the finals haven’t been held on a public course since 1991. Last year the prestigious tourney wrapped up at Medinah, with the final on that club’s No. 3 course that will host the 2012 Ryder Cup matches.
Kokopelli, in Marion, will host the CDGA’s biggest tourney of the season — the 82nd Illinois State Amateur. That site marks a milestone as well, since Kokopelli will be the southern-most course to ever host the tourney. It’s about 25 miles further south than Rend Lake, in Whittington — the site of the 1998 championship.
“This is only the second time ever that the Illinois State Amateur has ventured to the southern portion of the state, and we couldn’t have found a better course,’’ said Nick Scillia, the CDGA manager of competitions and rules.
Rend Lake was the host venue when current PGA Tour player D.A. Points won the second of his three Illinois Am titles.
The WGA made a schedule switch for the 2013 season, dropping Olympia Fields as the site of the Western Amateur and moving the event to The Alotian Club in Arkansas.
After ending a 28-year run at Point O’Woods in Benton Harbor, MIch., the WGA had planned to base the tourney in the Chicago area and the first three tourneys in that run — Conway Farms in 2009, Skokie in 2010 and North Shore in 2011 — were successful. The year’s Western Am will be at Exmoor, a tradition-rich private club in Highland Park.
The Chicago run, though, will end with the move to The Alotian Club, a Tom Fazio design that is owned by Augusta National member Warren Stephens. Alotian Club has been well-received since its opening in 2004 and its two Evans Scholars, Joe and Kevin Evans, are Northwestern students.
The Chicago run is scheduled to resume in 2014 at Beverly and is targeted for Rich Harvest Farms in 2015 and Knollwood in 2016.
Olympia Fields has been Chicago’s busiest tournament site in recent years, the highlight coming when it hosted the 2003 U.S. Open. Olympia also hosted the U.S. Girls Junior in 2011 and is gearing up for the U.S. Amateur in 2015, which will highlight the club’s centennial celebration.
Vince Pellegrino, tournament director for the WGA, said the decision to end the Chicago run came after the invitation from The Alotian Club.
“We discussed a possible change with Olympia Fields officials, and we then made a joint decision to move the championship,’’ said Pellegrino. “We appreciate the club’s flexibility in agreeing to the move, which will allow us to broaden our reach and mission to other markets, particularly to a venue that also has been very supportive of our Evans Scholars program.’’
With the WGA still without a site for its biggest event, the BMW Championship, in 2013, there was speculation that Olympia Fields might host that event, but that isn’t expected to happen now. The WGA is focusing on courses in the northern suburbs for that event, though a return to Cog Hill in Lemont is still a possibility.

Sure, Medinah’s week to host the 39th Ryder Cup is still a year away. Still, the task of getting ready for the biggest team event in golf is a major undertaking.
Michael Belot, the tournament director, and five staffers have been working feverishly from Medinah and report making great progress. Belot should know, becuase he is in his 10th year working for the PGA of America and was the tournament director for the 2006 PGA Championship, which was also held at Medinah, as well as the 2009 PGA at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
The Ryder Cup, though, is a different animal.
“With all the rich history that the club has, this will stand out as Medinah’s crowned jewel,’’ Belot said. “It’ll be the biggest golf event ever in Illinois.’’
Medinah hosted U.S. Opens in 1949, 1975 and 1990, PGA Championships in 1999 and 2006 and the U.S. Senior Open in 1988. Those were big events — but the battle between the U.S. and Europe on Sept. 25-30, 2012, will be notably bigger.
“Chicago is known for big events,’’ said Belot, “and this market has embraced this Ryder Cup.’’
Here is some evidence of that:
As of this printing 60 corporate hospitality chalets, costing between $235,00 and $500,000, have been sold.
“We started out offering 59 chalets, so now we’re adding chalets that we hadn’t expected to add,’’ said Belot. “We’ve added a village we had not expected to add, and we’re exploring whether to add more.’’
While that sales process is going on Belot’s staffers have been bidding out what’s needed for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the Ryder Cup gala, which will be held the Wednesday of tournament week.
Public ticket sales to the competition will begin at 8 a.m. on June 20 — the day after the U.S. Open concludes at Congressional. That’s when people can sign up for the random draw for tickets. That’ signup will continue for about two months. Crowds will be limited to about 25,000 per day. (For more details on the ticket situation check out the rydercup.com website).
Tickets will range from $35 for a daily ticket to $680 for the premium weekly offering. All youngsters 17 and under will get complimentary admission on the three practice days if they’re accompanied by a ticketed adult. Such a practice has never been done at a Ryder Cup.
About 3,500 volunteers will be needed to stage the competition, and Belot said about 5,000 have already called in to request assignments. Medinah members will have first crack at the voluntary positions, then what remains will be offered to the general public on July 11. A volunteer package costs $235, which includes a tournament badge, uniforms, meals, programs and other perks.
Already there’s been some notable preliminary events, and more will be forthcoming as the next Ryder Cup closes in. Biggest so far was the press conference announcing Davis Love III as U.S. captain on Jan. 20. Love and European captain Jose Maria Olazabal will have a joint press event at Medinah on Sept. 26, as the one-year to Ryder week countdown begins.
As for Medinah members, they were already treated to the unveiling of a Leroy Neiman painting that the famed artist created to commemorate this Ryder Cup.
Meanwhile, Medinah’s No. 3 course that will be used for the matches will continue to mature after its reopening last year. As part of a major renovation famed architect Rees Jones designed a new 15th hole, adding a pond to create a driveable par-4. That was the major change, but all of the tees and greens were regrassed to conform to U.S. Golf Association specifications. There won’t be any big events on No. 3 this summer to allow the latest renovation to settle in.
“This will be the first time in a long time that no bulldozers are on the golf course, and that’s a good thing,’’ said Don Larson, Medinah’s chairman for the Ryder Cup.
Larson has one concern that he wants to pass on.
“Beware of pirate hospitality groups that are billing themselves as official,’’ said Larson. “Already people are on eBay selling tickets.’’

Just qualifying for the U.S. Open is a big deal. This year 8,300 tried, and only 156 will tee off in the first round on Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
One of them will be Bennett Blakeman, who isn’t exactly a household name in golf circles yet — but he is a U.S. Open veteran. He made it to last year’s U.S. Open as well but finished dead last among those 156 who qualified to play at Pebble Beach in California.
On both occasions Blakeman, a former Illinois Wesleyan golfer who lives in Burr Ridge, survived the rugged local and sectional eliminations to get to the big show. This time, though, it’ll be a wiser and more experienced Blakeman who tees off Congressional’s No. 10 tee at 2:41 p.m.
Last year Blakeman was an amateur finishing up coursework at Loyola University for a master’s degree in business and health care management. For this U.S. Open Blakeman, 24, is a golf professional with a new caddie, a new swing instructor and more preparation time. After finishing up at Loyola he moved into his family’s vacation home in Scottsdale, Ariz., and spent the winter playing on the Gateway Tour, a long-time proving ground for PGA Tour hopefuls.
“The Gateway left a lot to be desired,’’ said Blakeman, “but I also made a rather significant swing change and wanted to make a strong effort to keep things in perspective. It’s all part of a process.’’
Dale Abraham became his swing coach in Arizona. Ryan Dorner, a former teammate at Illinois Wesleyan, will become his caddie.
“I’ll also have him for (PGA) Tour School and hopefully beyond,’’ said Blakeman, whose brother Brenten was on his bag at Pebble Beach and his father Brad handled that job during this year’s Open qualifiers.
Blakeman arrived at Congressional on Sunday, a day earlier than he checked in at Pebble Beach.
“I felt I was a little late last year. This year I wanted to take care of all the administrative stuff right away,’’ said Blakeman. “Last year I got a good taste of (the Open). Now I’ll know a lot more in terms of the circus atmosphere surrounding it.’’
In addition to PGA Tour regulars Kevin Streelman, Mark Wilson and D.A. Points, other Illinois qualifiers in the field at Congressional include amateur Brad Benjamin, the former U.S. Amateur Public LInks champion from Rockford and University of Illinois golfer Chris DeForest.

Surviving a rookie season on the PGA Tour is hard enough, but for Crystal Lake’s Joe Affrunti went through a nightmare in his first four months on golf’s premier circuit.
Affrunti qualified for his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list last season, but that status didn’t assure him many tournament appearances. In fact, he’s played just six times. And, when he has played, he’s struggled.
In those six tournaments Affrunti survived the 36-hole cut only twice. His earnings entering this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans is just $18,837. To say he’ll have to step it up if he’s to keep his card is putting it mildly.
For Affrunti, though, the problem has been as much his health as the stern competition he’s now facing.
Five weeks ago Affrunti entered the Nationwide Tour’s Louisiana Open to get himself some competition. He felt tightness in his left shoulder, and daily massages didn’t improve the situation. That led to Affrunti withdrawing after his Saturday round — even though a paycheck would have been assured had he played on Sunday.
“I went home to see an orthopedic guy at Rush Hospital,’’ said Affrunti. “He said I had rotator cuff tendinitis, and I didn’t touch a club for three weeks.’’
Along with the rest Affrunti was given cortisone pills and an exercise program. He returned to the PGA Tour at the Valero Texas Open, shot 72-79, missed the cut again and realized his health problems weren’t over quite yet.
“I tried, but my should was super, super stiff — more of a throbbing pain,’’ he said.
At least Affrunti feels he’s now able to play, and his season could be revived over the next few weeks when he has a steady diet of tournaments.
“I’ll just suck it up,’’ he said. “I’ll play five of the next six weeks, either on the Nationwide or PGA Tour, and I hope to get things going. Then after that come the qualifiers for the U.S. Open and British Open. I’m better the more I play — hopefully.’’
The only week that Affrunti won’t be playing over the next six is The Players Championship, considered the “fifth major’’ on the PGA circuit.
“I’d be in that if I win at New Orleans,’’ said Affrunti, who starred at Illinois and won the Illinois Open in 2004. “If I do that no one will know I had a bad start to the year.’’

Rich Flores wanted to be a touring golf pro, and was –for awhile. He even played in a couple PGA Tour events in the early 1980s.

Flores’ calling, though, proved to be in teaching the game. He did that very well as director of instruction at both Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles and Mill Creek in Geneva. Flores grew up in the St. Charles-Batavia-Geneva area, played on the high school team at St. Charles and — after a stint in the military (where he played on the Fort Bragg golf team in North Carolina) and a fling on the mini-tours he settled into teaching. He was one of the first pros to use the V1 Pro Digital Coaching System, having incorporated that into his lessons 12 years ago.

While he taught players of all ages and abilities, Flores especially enjoyed working with youth, and the high school teams at St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia as well as the women’s team at Northern Illinois University have all benefitted from his knowledge of the golf swing.

Unfortunately, Flores got a bad break this year. He was diagnosed with Primary Amyloidosis. It’s not considered cancer, but it’s similar — and it is very serious. Suggested treatments include chemotherapy, which is also used to treat cancer patients.

Flores has been battling this usual disease for the past few months. That included a 33-day hospital stay and during the healing process his weight dropped from 168 to 138 pounds. Not surprisingly, his treatments were expensive — a fact that was readily apparent to his many friends and family members.

Flores’ brother-in-law, Tom Ryan of Batavia, and Richard Ross, a long-time close friend, led the efforts to do something to help. They organized a July 25 golf outing in Flores’ honor, and it was unbelievably successful. It was supposed to be held just at Pheasant Run, but the resort couldn’t accommodate all who wanted to participate. Mill Creek was pressed into service as well. Over 290 participated in the outings and over 550 attended the dinner afterwards.

“I don’t think anybody expected half that number — especially on a Monday night,’’ said Ross.

Ross and Ryan organized the outing and dinner after Ross and his wife, Yvonne, created a website that informed others of Flores’ situation. Their efforts led to such an extraordinary turnout.

“It was amazing,’’ said Ross. “Every time we talked to someone, they’d give us a referral. There was no one who didn’t know Rich. He’s a fighter.’’

That outpouring of support brought tears to the eyes of Dennis Johnsen, the long-time head pro at Pheasant Run. Now in charge at Pine Meadow in Mundelein, Johnsen worked with Flores at Pottawatomie course in St. Charles when he was a youngster. Later Johnsen hired him during his 25-year stint in charge at Pheasant Run.

“Rich ended up wanting to teach, and he specialized with kids,’’ said Johnsen. “Everybody loves the guy. I knew he was doing well and giving lots of lessons.’’
So, Johnsen was understandably one of the first to learn of Flores’ illness and was immediately willing to participate in the outing. He wasn’t ready for the outpouring of support for Flores, though.

“What hit me was the amount of people he has impacted,’’ said Johnsen. “It hit me about what an impact a PGA professional can have on a community. It’s huge. This is what a PGA professional is. A lot of guys do this (teaching), but don’t realized it.’’

The much-larger-than-expected outing raised about $130,000 to help cover Flores’ treatment costs, and others outside of golf have pitched in on that end as well. Flores reflected on the success of the outing on his website blog.

“My wife and I still cannot get over the awesome event,’’ he said. “My goal is to play nine holes of golf, carrying my bag, by the end of the summer.’’

Flores had some good news to report in his latest post. His weight is up to 143 pounds and results from a bone marrow biopsy showed no cancer cells.

“That means it’s in remission, and I’m good to go for awhile,’’ he reported. Flores said he’s been hitting some chip shots and is ready to resume his golf lessons, and Ross said Flores has been seen mowing his lawn.

So, while things are looking up, Flores is still battling his medical issues and Ross said his hospital and doctor bills will run close to $1 million. Those who want to keep up with Flores’ progress and help out his cause can do so by checking the website, www.FriendsofRichFlores.org.