IN CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLFER Every year when April rolls around the world’s best golfers turn their attention to the Masters. That’s true for their caddies, too. Scott Gneiser, a Chicago area resident for 22 years, should know. He’s in his 33rd year as a tour caddie and estimates that he’s worked 15 Masters. “Everybody circles…
Author: lenz
Masters preliminary events give young stars a chance to shine
Unless Kevin Streelman, Luke Donald, Doug Ghim, Nick Hardy or Dylan Wu win this week’s Valero Texas Open there won’t a Chicago-connected player in next week’s Masters tournament. The champion of the PGA Tour event on Sunday in Texas gets the final spot in the year’s first major championship at Georgia’s Augusta National, and all…
No Ryder Cup captaincy for Donald, but his game seems on the upswing
These are trying times for Luke Donald, the Englishman who starred on Northwestern’s teams before eventually enjoying a long run as the world’s No. 1 golfer. Now 44, Donald’s best days as a player are probably over but he is still a force in the game both in the Chicago area and world-wide. Though now…
Valspar produced a great climax for the PGA’s Florida Swing
The first day of spring also coincided with the last day of the PGA Tour’s four-tournament Florida Swing this year, and the final tournament of the Sunshine State’s moment in the sun for 2022 provided the best weather, the biggest crowds, the best scoring and the most drama of the four events. Sam Burns repeated…
Here’s why Rich Harvest will host an event on controversial new golf tour
Jerry Rich, owner of Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, has done wonders for amateur golf by making his ultra-private course available for big tournaments like the Western Amateur, NCAA Championship and Palmer Cup. His biggest venture into the professional ranks came in 2009, when Rich Harvest hosted a very well-received Solheim Cup, a team…
Big-money Players tourney is proving a good fit for Ghim
Doug Ghim is learning about the PGA Tour. The second-year PGA Tour player who grew up in Arlington Heights is improving, too. Ghim played in the last group in the final round of The Players Championship both as a rookie in 2021 and in the weather-battered staging of this season, which wrapped up on Monday….
Historic Disney World Golf celebrates a 50-year milestone
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – The date was October 1, 1971. The world of travel changed a lot that day. It’s when Disney World opened its gates. The popular tourist destination has welcomed visitors from all ages, backgrounds and countries for 50 years now – and that huge contingent also includes golfers. Opening Day…
Who knows what the PGA’s Florida Swing will produce in the next two weeks?
ORLANDO, FL. – The PGA Tour’s annual Florida Swing reached the midway point on Sunday with the circuit rarely seeing tounaments unfold the way they did last two weeks. Daniel Berger appeared a wire-to-wire winner at last week’s Honda Classic until a surprise storm hampered play in the last three holes. Berger blew a…
It figures to be Zach Johnson vs. Luke Donald in the next Ryder Cup
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL. – Neither Zach Johnson nor Luke Donald looked threatening during Thursday’s first round of the PGA Tour’s traditional Florida Swing. The veterans teed off within 20 minutes of each other, Donald starting his round off No. 1 and Johnson off No. 10 at the Honda Classic – the first of four…
Langer leads one-two Tour Edge finish in Chubb tourney
NAPLES, FL. — Tour Edge, based in Batavia, IL., isn’t the biggest golf club manufacturer, but it is the dominant one on PGA Tour Champions. That was particularly evident on Sunday when two Tour Edge ambassadors – Bernhard Langer and Tim Petrovic – finished one-two in the first full-field event of the season for the…