Wyndham Clark didn’t just win the $3.6 million first prize in the PGA Tour’s second FedEx Cup Playoff event on Sunday. He also earned one of the six automatic spots on the U.S. team for next month’s Presidents Cup at Medinah. Clark had been No. 7 in the FedEx standings going into the BMW Championship…
Daily Herald Columns
BMW tourney will impact the U.S. Presidents Cup picks
The BMW Championship was played at Chicago courses seven times since it replaced the Western Open on the PGA Tour schedule in 2007. Olympia Fields was the last Chicago site, in 2023, and this year’s tourney tees off on Thursday at Bellerive, in St. Louis. What happens at Bellerive, though, will have a big…
Could an amateur win the weather-delayed Illinois Open?
The 77th Illinois Open crowns its next champion on Wednesday at Wynstone, in Barrington, and it just might be an amateur. Historically that seems unlikely. The biggest tournament for Illinois residents hasn’t had an amateur winner since Patrick Flavin in 2017, but there were 52 amateurs among the 156 who started the 54-hole test…
Illinois Open is next; Presidents Cup uniforms unveiled
The previous six 18-hole qualifying sessions to determine who plays in next week’s 77th Illinois Open brought out the best from the amateur entrants. Bloomington’s T.J. Barger, coming off a record-setting senior season at Illinois State, was the best. He shot a 10-under-par 62 at the Atkins Golf Club in Urbana in a round…
Two great performances highlighted Korn Ferry stop at The Glen
By Len Ziehm A big golf story could be in the works – and this one isn’t on the PGA Tour. It exploded on that circuit’s alternate circuit – the Korn Ferry Tour – at last week’s Evans Scholars Invitational at The Glen Club, in Glenview. Tommy Morrison came out the winner, and – standing…
Presidents Cup preparations heat up at Medinah
The last of the year’s four major golf championships are over, following Sunday’s conclusion of the British Open. Next big series of events is the three-tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin Aug. 13 with the St. Jude Championship in Tennessee. That series of tournaments will have an added appeal because that’s when the teams…
Illinois State Amateur won’t have a defending champion
The biggest Illinois golf tournaments will be coming fast and furious now with the 95th Illinois State Amateur leading the way. It reaches a climax on Thursday (JULY 16) with the low 35 players and ties after 18-hole rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday going 36 more holes to decide the champion at Crestwicke Country…
Women’s Western Amateur brings the best to River Forest
This week’s 126th Women’s Western Amateur is not just one of the oldest tournaments in the Chicago area. It is by far the most prestigious women’s event on the 2026 calendar with Maelynn Kim, of Katy, TX, the defending champion. The Women’s Western Am, held without interruption since 1901, completes its 36-hole stroke play qualifying…
Impressive JDC win has Gotterup ready to repeat in the Irish Open
SILVIS, IL. – No question Chris Gotterup is ready to defend his title in the Scottish Open this week. Last year Gotterup was the surprise winner in a duel with Rory McIlroy in that event but – after his impressive victory in the John Deere Classic on Sunday – Gotterup’s game is ready for…
Spieth’s return perks up the John Deere Classic field
SILVIS, IL. — The John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, tees off for the 55th time on Thursday at TPC Deere Run with eight past champions, another eight among the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings and two of the top-four finishers at this year’s U.S. Open. Jordan Spieth,…