Last year Highwood’s Patrick Flavin tried to make it to the PGA Tour the hard way – through the Monday qualifiers. He wasn’t successful, but he came close. Flavin finished No. 153 on the FedEx Cup standings. The top 125 earned full PGA Tour membership in the current 2022-23 season and the top 150…
Author: lenz
Illini golfers await new tourney, assistant coach’s departure
The Masters, as always, hogged the golf spotlight as spring kicked in, but now that’s changing – especially at the University of Illinois. Mike Small’s Illini men’s team is ranked No. 5 in the nation with two regular-season tournaments remaining – this week’s Tiger Collegiate Invitational in Columbia, Mo., and then the Fighting Illini Collegiate…
What did this strange Masters prove? Not much
If ever a golf tournament merited a look-back two days after its conclusion it was this just-completed Masters. It was a strange one, to put it mildly. I’ve been to several Masters played in bad weather, but this one had a 40-degree temperature change between Thursday’s first round and Saturday’s third. Rory McIlroy, still…
Burns will win Masters, and LIV players will make an impact
When you’re a regular golf writer there’s an annual challenge. You’re obligated to pick the winner of the Masters. I’m in my 55th year writing about the sport and have made my pick – in print — every year since 1986. Getting it right isn’t easy. I’ve been right only twice – Fred Couples…
Koepka brothers are flying high in LIV tourney
ORLANDO, FL. — The Koepka brothers could be in for a big payday on Sunday. Brook owns a three-stroke lead entering the final round of LIV Golf Orlando and their team, Smash, is two ahead in the team competition. The individual champion gets $20 million and the winning team splits $5 million. And that’s…
Sultan’s Run brings Senior LPGA tourney back to Indiana
JASPER, Indiana – Golf’s top senior women players found a home at French Lick Resort, which hosted big tournaments for nine straight years. The senior run ended in 2021 when the last of three Senior LPGA Championships was played on the Pete Dye Course there. “A great run for them, and a great run…
Preliminary events create early buzz for the Masters
The countdown to the year’s first major golf championship is on. The first tee shot in the 87th playing of the Masters isn’t until next week, but – with Augusta National’s membership expanding its event in recent years — the preliminaries start this week. Unless Luke Donald, Doug Ghim, Nick Hardy or Kevin Streelman…
Two-time Illinois Open champion now thrives as PGA Tour caddie
PALM HARBOR, FL. – The final round of the PGA Tour’s four-week Florida Swing was an unusual one. Taylor Moore won the Valspar Championship on Sunday, but Adam Schenk and Jordan Spieth – paired in the final group – created all the drama. It was their shortcomings on the three tough finishing holes at the…
Valspar’s Copperhead is ideal course for Chicago PGA Tour players
Life on the PGA Tour hasn’t been easy for the Chicago-connected players, but that could change this week. Luke Donald, Doug Ghim, Nick Hardy, Kevin Streelman and Dylan Wu are all in the field for the Valspar Championship, the last of the four tournaments on the circuit’s Florida Swing. With a paint company as the…
New owners will boost Mission Inn’s prominence on Epson Tour
HOWEY-in-the-HILLS, Florida – Mission Inn, one of Florida’s oldest golf resorts, is no stranger to hosting tournaments. The fourth playing of the Epson Tour’s Inova Mission Inn Resort & Club Championship is coming up in May, but this time it’ll be different. On Dec. 9 the resort changed ownership. The Beucher family, with deep roots…