NAPLES, FL. – The PGA and LPGA tours concluded their 2021 seasons on Sunday, and the women went out with a bigger bang than the men. The PGA Tour reached its high point a couple months ago with the staging of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Ryder Cup. Those were tough acts for…
Author: lenz
Sore wrist can’t keep Korean star from stringing seven birdies
NAPLES, FL. — Beware of the injured golfer. Korea’s Jin Young Ko is the defending champion in the biggest money event in women’s golf, and she’s definitely injured. An injury to her left wrist has troubled her since May and she never takes a full swing in practice. On a scale of 1 to…
Szokol makes it into the LPGA’s most lucrative tournament
The golf season has a series of climax events these days. The PGA Tour had its season climax in either September, when the FedEx Cup Playoffs concluded, or October, when the Ryder Cup ended. Take your pick. PGA Tour Champions concluded its season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs last Sunday when Phil Mickelson won the last…
A weird finish sets the stage for the LPGA’s biggest money event
BELLAIRE, FL. – With the biggest money tournament in the history of women’s golf coming up this week it’s easy to think of the two-year old Pelican Championship – the last event of the LPGA’s regular season – as anything more than a warmup event. It was certainly no ho-hum affair on Sunday, however….
Christina Kim goes from LPGA onlooker to contender in a hurry
BELLAIRE, FL. – The Pelican Championship, the last regular season tournament on the Ladies PGA Tour, reached only its halfway point on Friday but the week has already been a big success for Christina Kim. The 37-year old LPGA veteran is lucky to be in the field. She came up one shot short of making…
Flavin claims first PGA Tour check — almost $100,000 — with his Dad on bag
Monday qualifiers are a way of life for Patrick Flaviin, the budding golf touring pro from Highwood. One of only two players to win both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open in the same year, Flavin estimates he’s played in 30 such nail-biting rounds in hopes of getting into tournaments on either the PGA…
Small, Biancalana will play in a golf major in 2022
Mike Small considers himself a golf coach first and a player second, but he proved again how good a player he can be in qualifying for another major championship last week — this one of the senior variety. The University of Illinois men’s coach was free to compete after his Illiini concluded the 2021 portion…
Opening nears for Palm Aire’s `re-imagined’ Champions Course
SARASOTA, FL. — It’s getting exciting now. We’ll soon have a new golf course – or at least a “re-imagined’’ one – to look at while we’re enjoying either our early morning coffee or late afternoon beverage of choice from the lanai of our new home. The Champions Course, at Palm Aire Country Club, was…
Ray Hearn takes on some big golf projects at Boyne resorts
HARBOR SPRINGS, Michigan – Michigan-based architect Ray Hearn has worked on courses across the country for 25 years, but the projects he has recently taken on close to home may have a more far-reaching impact. Stephen Kircher, Boyne’s president and chief executive officer, and Bernie Friedrich, senior vice president of golf, brought in Hearn,…
Fullmer is WWGA’s Woman of Distinction
Sandra Fullmer lives in California, now but the Women’s Western Golf Association gave its top honor – its Woman of Distinction award – to her at the WWGA’s annual meeting on Thursday at Lake Shore Country Club in Glencoe. Fullmer was selected for the coveted award in 2020 but the annual meeting was canceled because…