The busiest Chicago golf season in at least twenty years is approaching its climax. The BMW Championship is headed back to Conway Farms, in Lake Forest, next month and the Western Golf Association called on England’s Paul Casey to be the focal point of last week’s preview to the FedEx Cup Playoff event. As per…
Author: lenz
Reaching U.S. Amateur final underscores how far Doug Ghim has come
Doug Ghim is already one of golf’s most inspiring players, no matter how his 36-hole championship match in the U.S. Amateur turns out on Sunday. Ghim, who grew up in Arlington Heights and ranked No. 5 academically in his graduating class at Buffalo Grove High School, was a 2 and 1 winner in his semifinal…
Ghim is only Illinois golfer to reach match play in U.S. Amateur
Nick Hardy, coming off playing the Western Amateur and Illinois Open back-to-back, was understandably tired last week – but not too worn out for one (or maybe two) more big events before he returns to the University of Illinois. This week’s 117th U.S. Amateur in California presented a huge opportunity for both the Illini senior-to-be…
Flavin joins Ogrin in a prominent place in Illinois Open history
Patrick Flavin was hoping that his six-stroke lead going into Wednesday’s final round of the 68th Illinois Open at The Glen Club, in Glenview, would be enough to get him through the final 18. It wasn’t. Flavin wasn’t as sharp as he was in the first two days, when he shot a pair of 64s,…
No Illinois Open for Small; he’s back in the PGA Championship
Mike Small has been prominent on the Illinois golf scene for years, either as a player or as the coach of the University of Illinois’ powerhouse men’s team. This week it’s as a player – even though he’s not making his usual run at an Illinois Open title. Small has won that event four times…
Ogrin could get company in Illinois Open record books
This could be really big. Just six players have won titles in both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open, and only David Ogrin swept both tournaments in the same year. That was 37 years ago. Today Ogrin, who continued on to a solid career on the PGA Tour, could get some company. Highwood’s Patrick…
Wisconsin’s Grand Geneva Resort is approaching two milestones
With the big tournaments held recently at Erin Hills and Whistling Straits and the opening of Sand Valley, it may seem that luster could be off the Wisconsin golf destination that started all those good things. Don’t you believe it, though. Grand Geneva is doing just fine, thank you. Dave Hallenbeck, director of golf at…
Longest Western Amateur playoff in 115 years goes to Oregon’s Xiong
The Western Amateur golf tournament has been played for 115 years, and it never had a championship match as dramatic as the one that Norman Xiong and Doc Redman put on Saturday at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe. Xiong won it on the fourth playoff hole when Redman missed a 12-foot par-saving putt. Until Saturday…
Hardy is the only local to make it to match play in Western Amateur
The 115th Western Amateur was hardly a rousing success for the seven Chicago players among the 156 invitees to the prestigious event at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe. Only Nick Hardy, the senior-to-be at Illinois from Northbrook, advanced to the Sweet 16 during Thursday’s 36-hole day that concluded stroke play qualifying. Hardy shot 67-69 in…
The Glen returns as `permanent’ home of the Illinois Open
No sooner will this week’s Western Amateur at Skokie Country Club wrap up on Saturday than the 68th Illinois Open will tee off at two other north suburban locations next week. The Illinois Open remains a 54-hole affair for 264 finalists, the survivors of eight state-wide qualifying rounds. The first two rounds of the finals,…