Author: lenz

HERE AND THERE: Opening of The Loop is a big deal at Forest Dunes

The construction signage was interesting. Now golfers are about to play Forest Dunes’ new course.

The countdown is on for the opening of one of the most talked-about American courses in years.

Forest Dunes, in Roscommon, Mich., has long featured one of the most popular 18-holers in the Midwest – a Tom Weiskopf design consistently ranked among the best public layouts in the state.

Now the Weiskopf design will have one (or two, depending on how you look at it) partner course beginning on June 27. That’s when architect Tom Doak unveils The Loop – an innovative reversible design.

The Loop uses the same 18 greens and fairways. When it’s played in the clock-wise direction it’s the Black course. When it’s played counter-clockwise it’s the Red course. I walked it last summer when it was under construction and found the concept fascinating but difficult to comprehend.

“Everyone’s over-thinking it,’’ Forest Dunes general manager Todd Campbell said then. Once the course is in operation the “over-thinking’’ should be over.

Not only will Forest Dunes be adding a new course(s), but it has also made a dramatic addition to its teaching side. The Rick Smith Golf Academy has moved there. Smith, a world-renowned swing guru who has worked with many of the game’s top stars, and his long-time associate Henry Young made the move to Forest Dunes.

“It’ll be the most talked about golf destination in the country over the next five-10 years,’’ Smith predicted.

Crosby, Haynie to join Legends’ Hall

Indiana’s French Lick Resort will welcome the fourth induction class into its LPGA Legends Hall of Fame during Legends Championship festivities Aug. 18-21. The new inductees will be Elaine Crosby and Sandra Haynie.

French Lick established the Hall when it created the Legends Championship, and its members are honored in an exhibit at the West Baden Springs Hotel. Previous inductees were Jan Stephenson and Kathy Whitworth in 2013, Nancy Lopez and Jane Blalock in 2014 and Joanne Carner and Rosie Jones in 2015.

Prior to her induction Crosby will host the 16th Wendy’s Classic Pro-Am on Aug. 15 at Country Club of Jackson in Michigan.

Nicklaus Nine is a milestone

Jack Nicklaus started designing courses in 1969 and he’s now created 400 of them, the latest being a special one that just opening near Tacoma, Wash.

This one is called the Nicklaus Nine and it doubled the size of the unique course designed specifically for facilitating the rehabilitation of wounded and disabled veterans. Nicklaus donated his services on the project, which is part of American Lake Veterans Golf Club.

No kidding

Nearly 50 of the courses in Myrtle Beach, S.C., are participating in a Kids Play Free program that allows those 16 and under to play free when accompanied by a paying adult. It’s been one of the game’s most effective grow the game initiatives and participating courses include some of Myrtle Beach’s best. That group includes Glen Dornock, Grande Dunes, King’s North, River’s Edge and Tidewater.

Purdue course ready to re-open

The Bierk Boilermaker Golf Complex, in West Lafayette, Ind., is about to open its first course again. Pete Dye handled a renovation of the layout on which Jack Nicklaus won his lone NCAA individual title in 1961. Following the renovation the layout has been renamed the Ackerman-Allen Course. It will have a formal opening on June 21.

Ackerman-Allen will become part of the Pete Dye Golf Trail, along with its partner course Kampen.

Big shot possibilities

Old Kinderhook, in Camdenton, Mo., is conducting the “$1,000,000 Shot’’ throughout this summer. For $5 players can enter on the par-3 third hole. Hit the green and they win a sleeve of balls.

Those qualifiers can return on Sept. 2 for the chance to win the big prize in a $1 million shootout.

Housing boom

The grand opening of the Enclave neighborhood at Harbor Shores, in Michigan, was held on Friday and will continue through Sunday. The Enclose is the sixth neighborhood to open at Harbor Shores in six years. It borders the No. 6 fairway of the Nicklaus-designed course that is the frequent host of the Senior PGA Championship.

Cooks make a great team in first round of Rust-Oleum Championship

Austin Cook is 11 under par in two rounds when wife Chris is his caddie.

Austin Cook may have come the farthest in the shortest amount of time to play in the Rust-Oleum Championship, but it paid off in Thursday’s first round.

Cook completed in the Web.com Tour’s stop in the Dominican Republic on Sunday. Then came a three-plus hour flight to Memphis with a longer-than-expected layover in Atlanta. Then Cook and wife Chris took to driving, first to their home in Jonesboro, Ark., and on to Ivanhoe Club.

Chris shared the driving and then was Cook’s caddie on Thursday when he shot a 7-under-par 65 to claim the lead in the $600,000 tournament that ends on Sunday. It was only the second time they’ve had the player-caddie relationship going but it won’t be the last.

“In two rounds with her I’m 11-under-par,’’ said Cook, who called on Chris for the first time at Dallas last year when his regular caddie overslept.

The Cooks arrived in time to participate in the Chicago District Golf Association’s Play with the Pro Day at Hawthorn Woods on Wednesday and Austin had his only tuneup at Ivanhoe in Wednesday’s pro-am. That didn’t hold him back in Thursday’s first round, however.

He made a big climb up the leaderboard with an 18-foot eagle putt at No 15 and claimed solo possession of the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt on the finishing hole. That putt left Sebastian Munoz, in the first group to tee off, and late starter Josh Teater relegated to second-place status. Both shot 66s.

Munoz’ early start meant he didn’t experience much of the rain that hampered play most of the day. It didn’t fall on Munoz until after he’d played 11 holes. The wind picked up at that time as well, making scoring conditions difficult for the rest of the field.

“You’ve got to take advantage of that, plus the greens were pure and putter great,’’ said Munoz. He withstood a challenge from Daniel Mazziotta who was 8-under through 17 holes before making a quadruple bogey nine on his last hole.

Teater, who had missed nine cuts in his previous 10 tournaments, joined Munoz at the top of the leaderboard later in the day and they stayed there until Cook’s strong finish.

Cook had six top-25 finishes in seven starts on the PGA Tour last year but his play tailed off in the playoffs and at the fall qualifying school.

“I definitely felt a lot of pressure,’’ he admitted, “and I let it get to my head. At the beginning of this year I’d get mad. I’ve been working on not doing that.’’

Munoz was playing great early in the season when Cook was struggling. Munoz became the first player from Colombia ever to win on the Web.com circuit in February after getting into a tournament in his hometown of Bogota on a sponsor’s exemption. That accomplishment gave him his playing privileges and he’s now in the top 25 on the money list. If he stays there he’ll advance to the PGA Tour next season.

Strong finishes in the next four tournaments could also give Munoz, a former North Texas State golfer, a spot for Colomia in the Olympic games in Brazil in August.

“My first goal is to finish as high as I can in the money order to get into the top 25,’’ he said, “but I really want to go to the Olympics. That would mean a lot. This week could be very big for me. I’m trying not to think about it. I just want to play my best.’’

Shot of the day on Thursday was a hole-in-one by Bryan Bigley at No. 17, a hole that was playing at 207 yards.

Hardy will compete at Ivanhoe before returning to the U.S. Open

This week’s qualifying rounds for the U.S. Open couldn’t have worked out much better for Chicago’s new Web.com Tour event, which begins its 72-hole run on Thursday at Ivanhoe Club.

Tournament director Scott Cassin made Nick Hardy, the University of Illinois sophomore from Northbrook, the last of his four sponsor exemptions into the Rust-Oleum Championship. Hardy then responded with another strong showing in U.S. Open sectional qualifying.

Hardy, as an Illini freshman, not only survived Open qualifying last year, but he also survived the 36-hole cut at Chambers Bay, in Washington. On Monday he was medalist in a sectional Springfield, Ohio, shooting 6-under-par 134 for his 36 holes. He’ll use the Rust-Oleum Championship as a strong tuneup for next week’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, in Pennsylvania.

“He’ll be the only amateur in our field, and he’s good enough to win this thing,’’ said Cassin. “It wouldn’t be the first time a college player has won on (the Web.com) tour.’’

Hardy’s addition means that all four sponsor’s exemptions into the Rust-Oleum tournament will be Chicago area players. Previously announced exemptions went to present Web.com Tour player Brad Hopfinger of Lake Forest; Deerfield’s Vince India, who played on the PGA Tour’s top developmental circuit last year; and Ivanhoe member Michael Schachner of Libertyville.

“We had targeted the fourth exemption to a player who wound up getting into the PGA Tour event in Memphis,’’ said Cassin, “so that freed up another spot, which we gave to Nick.’’

The 156-man field for the $600,000 shootout will also include Brian Campbell, a Web.com Tour player who was an Illinois stalwart last year; and Brian Bullington, a University of Iowa product from Frankfort. Bullington was the only Illinois player among the 12 advancing through Monday’s two Rust-Oleum qualifying tournaments at Stonewall Orchard, in Grayslake, and Pine Meadow, in Mundelein. The Illinois PGA received 176 entries to the tourney qualifier, necessitating the need to use two sites.

The Web.com Tour regulars competing at Ivanhoe won’t include leading money winner Wesley Bryan, who accepted a sponsor’s exemption to the PGA stop in Memphis, but Dominic Bozzelli – run-away champion at last week’s Web.com event in the Dominican Republic – will try to keep his hot streak going at Ivanhoe.

On to Oakmont

The Chicago area is enjoying one of its best years ever in U.S. Open sectional qualifying. Hardy did the best at all the qualifying sites and his Illini teammate, Charlie Danielson, also got through the Springfield, Ohio, sectional. He did it by beating PGA Tour player Tony Finau in a playoff for the last of four available berths at Oakmont offered there.

Kevin Streelman and Luke Donald, Chicago’s most prominent PGA Tour players, both got through the sectional at Powell, Ohio, after playing for four days in the nearby Memorial tournament. Streelman tied for fifth in that sectional and Donald tied for ninth before coming back on Tuesday morning to survive a six-man playoff for the last five Open berths on the line in that elimination.

Glen Ellyn’s Andy Pope, who has been a regular on the Web.com Tour but won’t be playing at Ivanhoe, tied for third in a sectional at Summit, N.J. Like Hardy Pope also survived sectional qualifying in 2015 and went on to make the cut in the Open proper.

Here and there

The Radix Cup matches, pitting 12-player teams from the Illinois PGA and the Chicago District Golf Association, will be held for the 55th time on Wednesday. The pros have a 34-18-2 edge in the series but the amateurs have won nine of the last 15 meetings.

Six top collegiate players, headed by Danielson and recently-crowned NCAA champion Aaron Wise of team titlist Oregon, have been given sponsor’s exemptions into the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic. Others are Jon Rahm, of Arizona State; Beau Hossler Texas; Lee McCoy, Georgia; and Jordan Niebrugge, Oklahoma State. The JDC will move off its usual July dates and be played Aug, 8-14 opposite the Olympic Games golf event in Brazil.

Jeff Sluman, the Champions Tour veteran from Hinsdale, has joined the staff of California-based Blast Motion — an industry innovator focusing on elevating player performance with its swing and stroke analysis technologies.

The eight countries qualified for next month’s UL International Crown team event at the Merit Club will announce their four-player rosters on Monday following the conclusion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Washington.

The first of seven statewide qualifiers for the Illinois Open will be held Wednesday at Maple Meadows in Addison.

Any U.S. Open at Oakmont has a special meaning to me

It’s that time of year again. The U.S. Opens – for both the men and women – always dominate the golf world during the month of June and 2016 is no exception.

Both tournaments are huge in terms of participants and historical significance. They are also organizational monsters for the U.S. Golf Association, which conducts both championships.

The men’s 116th U.S. Open this year has a sentimental side for me. The site for the finals from June 16-19 is Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. That was the site of the first of the 27 U.S. Opens that I covered back in 1973, and it remains one of the most historically significant. Champion Johnny Miller’s 63 in the final round that year matches the lowest round posted at any major championship. I was also on hand for a U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont – Patty Sheehan’s playoff win over Juli Inkster in 1992.

Oakmont has long been a fixture in the U.S. Open’s informal rotation. It’ll host the finals for a record ninth time this year, the previous ones coming in 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994 and 2007.

This year’s entry numbers are impressive, but not of record proportions. The men’s field numbered 9,877, and the registrants came from all 50 states and 72 foreign countries, but the total didn’t approach the record 10,127 that signed up in 2014 when both the men’s and women’s finals were played at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.

This year’s 71st annual U.S. Women’s Open drew 1,855 entrants, 18 shy of the record set in 2015 when the finals were also in Pennsylvania – at Lancaster Country Club.

Just to enter a player has to be a designated professional or have a handicap index of 1.4 for men or 2.4 for women. The women registrants this year came from 48 states – only Alaska and Wyoming are not represented – and 52 countries. Interestingly, the first and last women to enter were foreigners. Sweden professional Johanna Gustavsson was the first to sign up, on March 9, and Canadian pro Maude-Aimee LeBlanc was the last. She beat the May 4 deadline by 20 minutes.

On the men’s side, the first entrant was a Florida amateur, 33-year old Anthony Monica, and the last a 48-year old Pittsburgh pro, Gordon Vietmeier. He got in 33 seconds before the entry deadline.

Unfortunately Chicago hasn’t been a site for the finals since 2003, when Olympia Fields hosted Jim Furyk’s win on the men’s side. The women last came in 2000, when Karrie Wood was the champion at the Merit Club. No future Opens are scheduled in these parts either, though the 2017 men’s version is at not-so-far-away Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

The Chicago area is not without a presence in golf’s biggest tournaments, however. Though the USGA again bypassed Chicago for a men’s sectional qualifier there were three local qualifiers in Illinois – at Village Links of Glen Ellyn and Illini Country Club in Springfield on May 9 and Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park on May 16.

Local qualifiers aren’t needed on the women’s side, but one of the 21 U.S. sectional sites was Oak Park Country Club on May 23.

The fact that both the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open can’t be confined to June anymore reflects just how big both events have become. First of the 111 men’s local qualifiers was back on May 2 and the finals of the Women’s Open had to be pushed back into July. They’ll be held July 7-10 at CordeValle in California.

Another indication of the huge scope of the U.S. Opens in the age span of the entrants, particularly on the women’s side. The youngest was 11-year old Xiaowen Ying of China and the oldest was 73-year old Jerilyn Britz, the tourney’s 1979 champion. Britz, though, may not tee it up. She hasn’t played in the tournament since 1991 when she missed the cut at Colonial, in Texas.

Still another indication of the broad scope of these championships is the broadcast schedule. Fox will provide over 40 hours of live coverage of the U.S. Open and the tourney will be shown in more than 170 countries through international broadcast partners.

The first U.S. Open in 1895 was played over just 36 holes on a nine-hole course in Rhode Island. It drew only 11 entrants. The first U.S. Women’s Open in 1946 was a match play event — the only time that format was used in either U.S. Open — but it required a 36-hole qualifying session to whittle the entries from 39 to 32.

Golf has come a long, long way since those humble beginnings for its biggest men’s and women’s championships. There was no PGA or LPGA tours when the first Opens were played. Keep all that in mind while you enjoy these always specials events over the next few weeks.

Illinois Women’s Amateur will be played in Rockford — but without IWO champion

Unfortunately Illinois female golfers don’t have the same, more-than-ample, competitive opportunities that their male counterparts enjoy. This June, though, offers the first of the annual highlights for the women’s season in the state.

The Illinois Women’s Amateur will be played for the 83rd time at Forest Hills Country Club in Rockford from June 14-17.

You’ve got to hand it to the Illinois Women’s Golf Association. That not-for-profit organization run by 22 volunteers conducts not only this championship but also the Illinois Junior Girls Championship, which be played for the 37th time at the University of Illinois’ Orange Course in Savoy from Aug. 2-3 and the Illinois Senior Women’s Amateur, which will be played for the 47th time at Champaign Country Club from Sept. 13-15.

There isn’t a whole lot of other playing opportunities for the women and girls. Biggest of them all is the 22nd annual Illinois Women’s Open, to be played at permanent site Mistwood in Romeoville from July 18-20, and the 85th annual Chicago Women’s District Golf Association Championship at Flossmoor Country Club from Aug. 9-11.

In addition to its three tournaments the IWGA has raised $1.1 million over the years to support not only its programs but those at Illinois state schools as well. The IWGA also has its own Hall of Fame, the latest inductee being Marilyn Dechert of Decatur last fall. She was a long-time coach at Millikin College.

The IWGA does the best job of any of the Illinois golf associations in spreading its tournaments around the state. That’s probably because its leadership is largely from away from the Chicago area. President Pam Henning is from Moline, secretary Pat Burgy from Rockford and treasurer Terri Moore from Galesburg.

Henning announced the addition of two new board members for this year, one of which – Monica Coleman of Long Grove – is from the Chicago area. The other new board member is Leslie Frankfort of Rockford.

The last time the Illinois Women’s Amateur was played in the Chicago area was in 2013, when Bing Singhsumalee was the champion at Cantigny in Wheaton. Singhsumalee was the tourney’s youngest champion, winning at 16 years old while she was still attending Waubonsie Valley High School in Naperville. She just completed a very successful freshman year at the University of Illinois, finishing tied for fourth in the Big Ten Conference Championship.

Going back in time, the IWGA was founded in 1933 under the leadership of Mary Wheeler. Its first tournament was the Illinois Women’s Amateur in 1934 at Evanston Golf Club with Dorothy Porter of Springfield the champion.

The tourney format is different from the other big state events. The field – limited to 100, all with a handicap index no higher than 22.0 – will have an 18-hole stroke play qualifying round to kick off the competition. Then the low 80 competitors will be broken down into flights for three days of match play competition. The championship flight gets the top 32 players from the qualifying round.

Over the years the Illinois Women’s Amateur has had some great champions, most notably Lois Drafke of LaGrange who won her first title in 1953 and her last 20 years later. Drafke won the tournament nine times. Shirley Dommers, of Belvidere, was the champion in 1957, 1961, 1968, 1969 and 1974. She’ll be honored at this year’s tournament with a new award for low junior medalist having been created in her name.

As for this year’s field, entries don’t close until June 6 but there is going to be one very notable absentee. Madasyn Pettersen, who lives in Rockford, won’t be there. Burgy, who doubles as tournament chairman for this year’s Illinois Women’s Amateur, said last year’s sensation of Illinois women’s golf will be playing in a big American Junior Golf Assn. event. The Rolex Junior Girls Championship will be played at Country Club of Rochester in New York from June 13-17.

Pettersen will be missed, as she shocked the Illinois Women’s Open with a five-stroke victory last year as a 15-year old and then won an Illinois high school title while playing for Rockford Guilford. She was the youngest-ever IWO champion.

Whether she will defend her IWO crown in July is uncertain, but Pettersen’s victory last year is hard to forget. Despite her youth she birdied the last five holes to shoot a final-round 66 and posted an 8-under-par 208 for the tourney’s 54 holes.

Only one player has wins in both the IWO and Illinois Women’s Amateur. Kerry Postillion, from Burr Ridge, won the Amateur in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2007 and the Open in 1996, 1997 and 1999. All her IWO wins came as an amateur and her daughter Samantha contended in more recent playings of the tournament.

As good as Pettersen was in last year’s IWO, she couldn’t have won the 2015 Illinois Women’s Amateur. It was scheduled to be played at Illini Country Club in Springfield but heavy rains led to the tourney’s cancellation. It was only the second time in 82 years that the IWGA had a tournament ended by weather. The first Illinois Women’s Senior Championship, scheduled for 1970 at Pekin Country Club, was also rained out.

That tourney obviously didn’t have a defending champion, and neither will this year’s Illinois Women’s Amateur.

“Mother Nature is our defending champion,’’ said Burgy, who hopes for better luck weather-wise. Entries had topped 50 at the time of this printing and Burgy expected to have 70 by June. She held out hope for a record field.

“Cantigny had the record, with close to 100,’’ she said. “In Rockford we have a beautiful golf course and we’ll get a lot of Chicago people because it’s close to Chicago.’’

Forest Hills, which will be hosting for the first time, was established in 1921. Its course is built on 160 rolling acres and has 59 bunkers, over 1,800 trees and over three acres of ponds. Known for its consistently fine conditioning, it’s been a member of the National Audubon Society for Golf Courses since 1997.

Another great season for the Illini ends in the NCAA semifinals

Oregon’s NCAA champion Aaron Wise drew a crowd at last year’s Western Amateur at Rich Harvest Farms. (Photo by Rory Spears)

Coach Mike Small has insisted that the last four seasons have been the best in the history of the Illini program, and there’s no arguing that point after what has happened in the last few weeks.

The Illini trailed Iowa going into the last round of the Big Ten tournament but came back to win with a strong showing in the final round. The same thing happened in the NCAA regional at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin and, still again, in Monday’s final round of the NCAA finals at Eugene Country Club in Oregon.

With only the top eight teams advancing to the match play conclusion to the tournament the Illini rallied again. Illinois was tied for ninth after 54 holes but three of the five Illini players– Thomas Detry (67), Dylan Meyer (69) and Nick Hardy (69) — bettered par in the final round as the Illini rallied for a second-place finish. Charlie Danielson, was the top Illinois player in the individual standings, finishing in a tie for eighth after a 1-over 71 on Monday.

Only Texas – with Arlington Heights product Doug Ghim among its players – could top the Illini in the 72-hole portion of the championship and the Longhorns – unlike the Illini – survived the first day of matches.

Illinois beat South Carolina 4-1 in the quarterfinals but lost 3-2 to host Oregon in the semifinals on Tuesday. Oregon, led by NCAA individual champion Aaron Wise, will face Texas for the title on Wednesday.

Next year the NCAA finals will be played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

Pine Meadow, Stonewall host Web.com qualifiers

The first of Chicago’s two pro tour stops of 2016 begins on Monday with two qualifying rounds for Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship. Eliminations at both Pine Meadow, in Mundelein, and Stonewall Orchard, in Grayslake, will off six berths in the $600,000 tournament proper at Ivanhoe Club.

Monday’s program also features a celebrity pro-am that tees off at noon at Ivanhoe. On Tuesday there’ll be a practice day plus the first local qualifying round for next year’s Drive, Chip & Putt competition and a final pro-am will be held on Wednesday before the 72-hole, four-day tournament proper begins on Thursday, June 9.

Entries into the 156-man starting field for the $600,000 competition close at 5 p.m. on Friday. The Web.com Tour is competing this week at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in the Dominican Republic. Two Chicago area players – Vince India and Joe Affrunti – are in the field there.

U.S. Open berths on the line

A handful of local players will be among the nearly 600 participating in Monday’s 10 sectional qualifiers for the U.S. Open. Those 36-hole tests will determine who plays in the Open proper June 16-19 at Oakmont, in Pennsylvania. Survivors of the HOW MANY local eliminations have their choice of sectional sites.

While the U.S. Golf Association again bypassed Chicago as a sectional site, the area did host two locals at both Village Links of Glen Ellyn and Exmoor, in Highland Park. Two of the top local players, though, chose to compete elsewhere.

Tee-K Kelly, the two-time Illinois Amateur champion from Wheaton, got through the local with a tie for third at Rattlesnake Ridge, in Ohio, prior to competing as an individual in the NCAA Championships. Libertyville’s Michael Schachner, an invitee to the Rust-Oleum Championship to be played as his home club, was medalist in the local at Bishops Bay in Wisconsin. Northbrook’s Tim Puetz also advanced to sectional play at Bishops Bay.

Here and there

The Arlington Heights Park District is opening registration Wednesday (TODAY) for players wanting to play in the July 1 re-opening of the Arlington Lakes course. It’s been closed for over a year to undergo a renovation.

Japan club manufacturer XXIO will host a demo day from 1-5 p.m. on Friday at Cog Hill, in Lemont.

John Platt gave Mistwood’s professional staff another title last week when he defeated Craig Carney of Bull Valley in the final of the Illinois PGA Senior Match Play Championship at Shoreacres in Lake Bluff.

The downstate team of Tom Kearfott, of El Paso, and Tim Sheppard, of East Peoria, won the new Chicago District Golf Association Senior Amateur Four-Ball tourney last week at Crystal Tree in Orland Park.

Mediate’s Senior PGA victory defies the imagination

This was the scene on the 18th green after Rocco Mediate’s wire-to-wire win at Harbor Shores.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – This really didn’t make much sense.

Rocco Mediate had failed to break 70 in all 22 of his rounds on the Champions Tour this year – and the 50-and-over circuit is known for yielding much lower scores. Not only that, but Mediate had never won a major title on either the PGA or Champions tours and hadn’t even contended in one since losing a playoff to Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open eight years ago.

Even Mediate conceded that “I haven’t done anything in 2 ½ years.’’

So what happened on Sunday in the 77th Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores?

Mediate posted the lowest 72-hole score in the tournament by a full three shots, the old record being set by Sam Snead in 1973. He also became the first champion to lead after every round since Jack Nicklaus – designer of the Harbor Shores course – posted his lone win in the tourney in 1991.

Sunday’s day-low 66 score completed a shocking week in which Mediate tied the tournament record with an opening round 62 on Thursday, set the tournament scoring record for 36 holes and by four shots after a 66 on Friday and tied the 54-hole tourney mark despite a par 71 score on Saturday.

The leaderboard says it all, as Mediate hoists the Albert S. Bourne Trophy.

“It’s hard to dream that,’’ admitted Mediate, who started on the PGA Tour 30 years ago and had six wins on that circuit to go with his now 30 on the Champions Tour.

How could this happen?

“I have no idea,’’ said Mediate, never one to be short on words. “I made everything. My short game and putter was stupid this week.’’

Like in stupid great.

Mediate started the final round with a two-stroke lead on playing partner Colin Montgomerie, who was trying to become the third player to win the Senior PGA three straight times. Mediate added a stroke to his lead in the first five holes – a span in which he needed only five putts.

Montgomerie got within one shot twice — after Mediate made bogey at No. 7 and again after No. 10, where Montgomerie made a birdie. The one-shot margin remained for the next three holes. Then Montgomerie missed a five-foot par-saver and Mediate wouldn’t let him get any closer than two shots the rest of the way.

According to Montgomerie the key hole was the par-5 15th, where he missed a 15-footer for eagle and Mediate holed a 12-footer for birdie to keep the margin at two. Mediate added a stroke to his lead by holing a bunker shot for birdie at No. 17. That left Montgomerie shaking his head in frustration.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. All credit to Rocco, but I can hold my head high,’’ said Montgomerie. “Rocco was brilliant.’’

No one could argue that. Though Bernard Langer and Brandt Jobe rallied late, the only real threat to Mediate’s domination was Montgomerie. His 16-under-par 268 total matched the previous tournament scoring record. Langer (67 on Sunday) and Jobe (68) were three shots behind Montgomerie in a tie for third.

John DalCorobbo, the low club professional, started the day in third place but dropped into a tie for seventh after a par-71 finish. DalCorobbo, who was the Illinois PGA Assistants Player of the Year in 1993 before moving to Indiana, performed admirably on the same day his home club, Brickyard Crossing, was taken over by the Indianapolis 500. Several holes on the Brickyard course are inside the speedway and DalCorobbo sported a shirt commemorating the 100th running of the storied auto race.

Brian Brodell, teaching pro at Mistwood in Romeoville and the Illinois PGA Player of the Year in 2015, was DalCorobbo’s caddie.

“The most exciting thing is going home after the 500,’’ said DalCorobbo. “Now the Speedway crew and everyone at the Brickyard Crossing has another celebration coming up. They’ve been celebrating without me for a week so it will be super fun.’’

Mediate keeps Senior PGA lead — but Montgomerie is closing in

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Rocco Mediate may be one of the more colorful players in professional golf, but – until this week’s 77th Senior PGA Championship – he had gone eight years without contending for a major title.

Mediate, despite having a solid career, has never won one of golf’s big ones. In his last great chance Tiger Woods – playing on a broken leg – beat him in a memorable playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open.

“That was the whole ball of wax,’’ recalled Mediate, who referred to that experience this week as “insane fun.’’

Well, Mediate is finally back in contention again. He has led after each of the first three rounds at Harbor Shores and takes a two-stroke lead over Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie into Sunday’s final round on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course. If Mediate wins the title he’ll be the first wire-to-wire winner since Nicklaus in 1991 but holding off Montgomerie won’t be easy.

They’ll play together in the final 18 holes, and Montgomerie should feel much more comfortable in the pressure-packed situation. He’s going for the first three-peat in the Senior PGA since Hale Irwin dominated in 1996-98.

Irwin is one of only two players, in fact, to win the second of this year’s five majors on the Champions Tour three straight times. Eddie Williams, then playing out of Chicago’s Bryn Mawr Country Club, did it with wins in 1942, 1944 and 1945. The tourney wasn’t played during some of the World War II years.

This Senior PGA – the third played at Harbor Shores since 2012 with four more to come in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 – is by far the closest of any of the pro tour majors played near Chicago this year but there isn’t much of a local connection. Locally-based Champions Tour members Jeff Sluman and Chip Beck didn’t survive the 36-hole cut.

That leaves club pro John DalCorobbo as the only Chicago connection left – and his is a faint one. DalCorobbo had once been an assistant pro at Edgewood Valley, in LaGrange, and his caddie this week is Brian Brodell, the teaching pro at Mistwood in Romeoville who was the Illinois PGA Player of the Year in 2015.

DalCorobbo’s an interesting story, though. He’s alone in third place going into the final round on a day when his home course is at the center of the sporting world. DalCorobbo works at Brickyard Crossing, which has three holes located inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – site of Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

All those tidbits aside, this tournament is Mediate’s to lose and his wife Jessica reminded him of that after his 14-under-par 62-66 start here.

“My wife said, `you have to own this and picture yourself with the trophy,’ and she has a point,’’ said Mediate. “I want to try to keep going and see what I can do.’’

Mediate, 53, has six PGA Tour wins and two Champion Tour victories on his resume. He saw his four-shot lead at the start of the day cut in half on Saturday as he was only able to match par of 71 in a round hampered by blustery winds.

“I’m happy with the way I felt and ecstatic with the shots I hit in these wind conditions,’’ said Mediate. “I felt like I was 25, the way I was moving the golf club. I can’t wait for tomorrow. Colin and I are buddies, and I’ll have my hands full, but it’ll be fun.’’

A new look for golf instruction at Grand Traverse

Mark Hill believes the most effective golf instruction is done on the course.


ACME, Michigan – The structural changes at Grand Traverse were made last year when owners of the 30-year old resort spent $7 million to renovate the tower that is the facility’s centerpiece.

Grand Traverse has three courses on its 1,400 acres and the resort features 660 rooms, diverse restaurants and lounges and 49,000 square feet of dedicated meeting space, unique shops, health club and spa, children’s center and beach club. Last year’s upgrades were – most understandingly – very well received and they’ll keep Grand Traverse in the forefront of U.S. golf destinations for many years to come.

That was last year, this is now.

This year’s big change came in personnel, and it’s a most interesting one. During the winter Scott Hebert, the resort’s director of instruction and head golf professional the previous nine years, opted to move to Traverse City Country Club.

His replacement in both roles is Mark Hill, and his background is much different than Hebert’s. Hebert’s playing record is outstanding. He won the Michigan Open six times and captured the PGA Professional National Championship in 2008 at Reynolds Plantation, in Georgia.

Hill’s strong point is on the teaching side, and that’s a big factor in the new approach to instruction at Grand Traverse.

The Bear may be Grand Traverse’s crowned jewel but we found plenty of great holes playing The Wolverine.

“We don’t even offer golf schools anymore,’’ said Hill. “People don’t have time to go to three- or four-day golf schools. I’m old school. I really get into playing lessons.’’

In short, Hill is a and one-on-one guy teaching-wise.

Grand Traverse had, for many years, been the Midwest resort home of the high profile Jim McLean Golf School. It’s no longer there, but the indoor and outdoor practice facilities are still busy places.

“The days of golf schools are done,’’ said Hill. “People get in a rut hitting on the range. I see them going backward instead of forward.’’

Hill, like Hebert, is a product of the golf management program at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. Hill has been a PGA member for over 30 years, all of them spent at courses in northern Michigan. He bought one of them, Twin Birch in nearby Kalkaska, in 1999 and enjoyed two successful years before economic downturns in the area led to him selling it.

“I got a little burned out on golf and went outside into teaching,’’ he said. He started working with children with special needs during the school year and kept involved with golf by giving lessons in the summer months at Grand Traverse.

“I absolutely loved working as a teacher’s assistant in the special education room for five years,’’ he said, “and – by working here in the summer months – I had the best of both worlds.’’

When Hebert left in February the job was offered to Hill. He took it and added Shane Hollinsworth as an assistant to go along with Randy Ernst, who was on staff last year. They’re working with director of golf operations Tom McGee and have the luxury of using three quality 18-holers – the Jack Nicklaus-designed Bear, the Gary Player-designed Wolverine and Spruce Run, the original course on the property designed by Bill Newcomb.

The courses offer lots of opportunities for Hill and his staff to give playing lessons. Hill offers them over both nine and 18 holes.

“It’s a great opportunity for me,’’ he said. “We’ve got our Golf Academy going gangbusters. The feedback I’ve been getting has all been thumbs up.’’

Grand Traverse has a double-ended outdoor range and the indoor facility has three hitting bays, a video room and club-fitting equipment. There’s also a putting green that will be expanded in time for next winter’s programs.

Grand Traverse’s landmark tower greets players as they play No. 18 on The Wolverine.

A big change is coming at Michigan’s Inn at Bay Harbor

The Inn at Bay Harbor is undergoing a three-stage renovation that will make it even more upscale.

BAY HARBOR, Michigan – This is anniversary time for Boyne Golf, the biggest golf course conglomerate in the Midwest. It has 10 courses among its three northern Michigan resorts and two are celebrating milestones in 2016.

The Heather course at Boyne Highlands – the Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that got the golf boom started in the area – is marking its 50th season and the most upscale of the Boyne layouts – Bay Harbor – is marking its 20th season.

For Bay Harbor it’s more than just a case of turning a page on the calendar. On June 15 what is now the Renaissance Inn at Bay Harbor will drop the Renaissance brand and become a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. That’s Marriott’s highest end property. There are only 100 worldwide and Bay Harbor will be just the second in Michigan.

Though Bay Harbor’s stunning three Arthur Hills-designed nines on Little Traverse Bay won’t change, the overall facility will get a more manageable name (Renaissance will be dropped from the title) and an upgrade in stature. It’s definitely a big deal.

“By being part of the Autograph Collection we’ll be exactly what we need to be without changing to fit a brand,’’ said Erin Ernst, Boyne’s director of communications.

Views of Lake Michigan are the featured attraction on the three nines at Bay Harbor.

The Inn at Bay Harbor opened in 1998 and joined Marriott’s Renaissance brand in 2003. Members of the Autograph Collection are all uniquely different, and the Inn at Bay Harbor has been working towards that eventuality. A $2 million renovation, in which the lobby area, café and 35 guests rooms were redone, is in the final days prior to completion.

There’ll be two more phases to the renovation. The second will begin in January, when the spa and workout area will be the focus. The final phase will begin in the winter of 2018.

Meanwhile, the celebrating of The Heather’s No. 50 anniversary will be done largely on the course. Bernie Friedrich, vice president of golf and retail for Boyne USA, said a $50 special rate to play The Heather would be offered after 1 p.m. for every Thursday in June. The formal anniversary celebration will take place on Aug. 20 when all the past Heather head professionals (there were only seven in 50 years, and all still live nearby) return to play in an outing with members and guests. They’ll all take caddies for that special occasion.

“The Heather was the first golf course in the area, and when we build another one there’s always the question of whether it’ll be as good as The Heather,’’ said Friedrich. “That’s our measuring stick for all our courses.’’

While water-front views dominate at Bay Harbor, my most striking is this shot on the Quarry nine.

The Heather certainly has held its own over the years as Boyne Highlands added the Donald Ross Memorial, The Moor and the Arthur Hills Course. Boyne Mountain now has its Alpine and Monument layouts and Bay Harbor – in addition to the Links, Quarry and Preserve nines – has Crooked Tree nearby.

They all come under Friedrich’s jurisdiction and he instituted the price-yielding (or dynamic pricing) concept last year. As is the case with so many things in Michigan golf, Boyne was the first to try it.

“We don’t publish green fees anymore,’’ said Friedrich. “We take tee time sheets and blocks of the day – 6 in the morning until 10 at night. When we reach a certain capacity at one price, the price goes up. What it does is it gets people who are price-sensitive to book ahead and that spreads out our tee sheet.’’

This family of swans may be enjoying Bay Harbor, but this course is certainly not for the birds.

Friedrich calls the concept – still not in widespread use nationally — “very successful ‘’ and has the statistics to back it up.

“Two years ago was our best ever in rounds,’’ he said. “We had 8,000 more than in this past year (2015), but in this past year we were much more profitable than we were two years ago.’’

Next new thing on the docket are GolfBoards. Four are in use now at The Moor and the Donald Ross Memorial. Eight more will be coming soon.

“We’ve got a waiting list for them every day,’’ said Friedrich, who is attuned to all the changes in the golf marketplace since his arrival in Northern Michigan in 1975. He notes that Boyne’s clientele isn’t so local any more.

“Fifteen years ago 90 percent came from Detroit or Grand Rapids,’’ he said. “Now probably 20 percent are from outside the state.’’

Michigan has 685 public courses, down from the 700-plus in recent years, but is still second only to California in the number of such layouts.

“In my opinion we haven’t lost anything that shouldn’t have been lost,’’ said Friedrich. “Some of the courses (that are now gone) were poorly run or not very good. Some were sold off for the building of subdivisions, but I’m still bullish. Last year was a really good year, and the whole country is growing in rounds percentages.’’

A ski hill at Boyne Highlands has now been transformed into a practice range for The Heather course.