Rory Spears, a fixture in Chicago sports radio with deep roots in the local golf scene, died this week  at his home in Arlington Heights. He was 65.

Rory had a love for radio and was one of the initial members for WSCR all-sports radio show.  After five seasons there he moved on to ESPN Radio and covered a wide variety of sports for other stations.  He was a regular reporter for all the Chicago professional sports teams but his special passion was golf.

I know, because Rory was not just a long-time friend.  He was an Arlington Heights neighbor and a frequent golf partner.  He was a big supporter of mine when I was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame in 2019 and he got me involved in the broadcast side. We created a golf podcast series that ran for three years and that led to my joining Rory and his colleagues as a co-host on the Golf on Golf Radio show the past four years.

While that in-season show has been broadcast on several local stations for over 30 years, Rory took it to new levels by becoming the director of content and creation for the Golfers on Golf website blog that provides local and national golf information year-around.

Rory attended Hersey High School and attended college at both Aurora and Wisconsin-Parkside.   His education in golf went further back than that.

During his school years he held jobs at Roy Roy, in Prospect Heights, and Chevy Chase, in Wheeling. He dated the start for his coverage of golf to 1986, and it went beyond covering tournaments.  He got around as a player, too, and badly wanted to play a few more courses to get his career total to 600.  He documented his playing at 589 courses across America.

In the last few years he returned to working on the club scene.  He was working at both Heritage Oaks, in Northbrook, and Medinah Country Club and also did a stint at The Grove, in Long Grove.

Golf had to take a back seat for Rory when he was diagnosed with diabetes a few months ago, but he appeared on the mend when he made his annual appearance at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL., in January. He was again a winner of Outstanding Achiever honors in the International Network of Golf’s Media Awards, which are presented at the big show every year.

Rory and I are both ING members, and he also joined the Golf Travel Writers of America at this year’s show.  Not only that but  he also played in the reorganized group’s first outing, going 18 holes by himself before starting his drive back to Chicago.

The entire Chicago golf community will miss Rory.  So will I.

Services for Rory will be held on Sunday (APRIL 6) at Ahlgrim’s Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwestern Hwy. in Palatine. Visitation is from noon to 4 p.m. with a service beginning at 4 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Kim’s road back to the Masters has been a long one.

In 2018 Kim notched his only win on the PGA Tour.  It came at the John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour stop, in 2018. The JDC is famous for its extraordinary number of first-time PGA Tour winners. Kim was one of 23 since 1970 – a tour record.

Kim’s win at TPC Deere Run was record-setting, too.  He strung rounds of 63, 64, 64 and 66 for a 72-hole total of 27-under-par 257 and won by eight shots. Kim’s scoring and victory margin were tournament records.

That spectacular week got Kim into his only Masters tournament in 2019, but his second appearance is just two weeks away.  He earned his place in this year’s first major championship on Sunday, and that came in dramatic fashion, too.

Kim needed to get into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and he entered the Texas Children’s Houston Open at No. 52.  A tie for 32^nd place  was good enough to boost Kim into the No. 50 position.

“Obviously I’m very happy,’’ he said before leaving Houston for a much-needed week off.  “It’s a tournament every kid has dreamed of playing.’’

Houston was Kim’s eighth straight week of tournaments, and he played in 11 events in the last 12 weeks.  It wasn’t just a grueling schedule that challenged Kim, either.  He also had to survive a small crack in his driver.   That club was damaged in last Thursday’s first round in Houston and he had to make due with it to survive the 36-hole cut.  Titleist, his equipment company, didn’t get Kim a replacement club until Saturday’s third round.

Kim’s story runs much deeper than  last week’s drama.

After his shocking win at the John Deere Classic eight years ago Kim’s game went sour – really sour.  In 2019 he missed 19 cuts in 20 tournaments, and his world ranking plummeted all the way to No. 502.  The next year he made only nine cuts in 30 tournaments and that led to his being relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour.  He regained his PGA Tour card for the 2022-23 season.

The 31-year old Kim, Korean-born but raised and educated in California, wasn’t even close to making the coveted top 50 two months ago.  His world ranking then was only No. 150.

Kim still arrived for the four-tournament Florida Swing in March in a hopeful mood. He saw slow improvement in his game even then.

“When I was on the Korn Ferry Tour about three-four years ago I felt like I was playing really well for a couple-month stretch there,’’ he said while getting ready for the PGA Tour’s first Floirda stop – the Cognizant Classic of the Palm Beaches..  “Even last year the game was there.  It just was a thing here or there that screwed me up during the (tournament) week.

Two weeks later, at Bay Hill, he admitted “the doubts don’t creep in as much, or I’m able to let them go by easier. I’m certainly more grateful than some of the other guys.  There were times when I couldn’t make a cut to save my life.’’

While his fall after the JDC win was sudden and puzzling, his recovery  has been long and rewarding.

“It’s like four years of work,’’ he said. “Just anything to give myself time to release (the club) as hard as I want.  The stuff we have done – trying to get a really big turn to my right side and messing around with the ball position. That has helped me a lot.’’

In 11 tournaments in 2025 Kim has missed just three cuts.  In the last eight  he missed only one – at The Players Championship.  Cuts are a big thing for any PGA Tour player, and Kim – despite all his struggles — has made 112 of 237 since making his debut on the circuit in 2016.  Since then he’s earned $9.9 million in official money.

One thing he hasn’t done is make a cut in one of golf’s majors.  He came up short in his only Masters, two U.S. Opens and one PGA Championship. Those frustrations could end in this year’s Masters, but Kim isn’t predicting anything after squeezing into the field.  Houston’s Memorial Park course is no Augusta National.

He likes Memorial Park, but says “The setup has never been right….It’s supposed to be a Masters tuneup, but the greens are way too soft for that,’’

 

 

 

The weather may not be ideal for Chicago area golfers yet, but – with the Masters just two weeks away – the local start can’t far off.

As for the Masters, which tees off April 10 at Georgia’s Augusta National, the season’s first major championship twill have at least a small Illinois presence.  Two University of Illinois alums — Thomas Detry and Brian Campbell — won PGA Tour events this year and that gave them spots in the Masters field.

Chicago’s best PGA Tour player over the last two decades, Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, is out for a while.  The 46-year veteran shook off a sub-par 2024 campaign by surviving the 36-hole in three of his four tournaments in January and February.

Then, he reported earlier this month, that he suffered a tear in his meniscus that will require surgery. Rehab will take a while, so Streelman’s tournament season will be a shortened one.

The other Chicago PGA Tour players, Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim and Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, need to win one of the two Texas events the next two weeks to get into the Masters field.  Both are in this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, which tees off on Thursday.

Hardy’s been struggling, but Ghim has at least been steady.  He has made six of eight cuts but his best finish is only a tie for 21^st.

AUGUSTA-BOUND:  While the player field is in limbo,  a Chicago presence is assured as soon as tournament week begin with the national finals of the Drive Chip & Putt competition and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur – a 54-hole competition that concludes with the final round on the Augusta National course before the pros take over.

Four Illinois youngsters qualified for the 80-player Drive Chip & Putt at last year’s qualifier at TPC Deere Run — Plainfield’s Chloe Lee (Girls 12-13), Lockport’s Brielle Downer (Girls 7-9), Clarendon Hills’ Hudson Hodge (Boys 10-11) and Winnetka’s Jack Kemper (Boys 12-13).

Elise Lee and Lauryn Nguyen, both members of the Northwestern women’s team, were selected to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

KEMPER LAKES IN SPOTLIGHT:  Once a frequent tournament site when it was a public facility, the now-private club in Kildeer is in for a big year.  It’ll be the site of the Chicago District Golf Association’s Mid Amateur Championship in May and the Illinois PGA’s top competition, the Illinois Open, in August.

“We’ve made a lot of changes over the last dozen years,’’ said 20-year general manager John Hosteland, “and we’re very excited to work with those organizations to showcase some top amateur and professional golfers.’’

The Illinois Open will have a title sponsor the first time. That championship was firs officiaily started in 1950 but there were a few events under that name as early as 2023. The new title sponsor is Troon Golf, which is also the managing partner of Kemper Lakes.

Immediately following the Aug. 4-6 Illinois Open is the return of the LIV Tour to Bolingbrook Golf Club Aug. 8-10.  The Saudi-back LIV circuit will be played in the Chicago area for the fourth straight year.  Last year Jon Rahm was its champion.

SERIES STUFF:  The Illinois PGA will unveil its newest offering on April 28.  That’s when the first event of the Illinois PGA Open Series will be played at White Eagle, in Naperville.

The series will provide more competitive opportunities, with six tournaments on the schedule.  After White Eagle comes Flossmoor on May 21, Hinsdale on June 9, Elgin Country Club on July 14, Aurora Country Club on July 28 and Bull Valley in Woodstock on Oct. 8.

 

 

 

 

The University of Illinois has been a men’s golf powerhouse under coach Mike Small, who is now in his 25^th season. His teams have won 13 of the last 15 Big Ten titles including eight straight from 2015-2023.

This season’s Illini have won only one tournament, and that was back in October, but Small still has plenty to celebrate.

One of his former players, Brian Campbell, became the second Illini alum to win on the PGA Tour this season when he took the Mexico Open on Sunday.   Thomas Detry, another Illinois alum, captured the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier in February.

Detry dominated at Phoenix, but Campbell was in a nail-biter with Andrich Potgieter, at 20 the youngest player on the PGA Tour and also the circuit’s longest hitter.  The former British Amateur champion is averaging 328.7 yards off the tee.

Campbell, not a particularly long hitter, hit a tee shot on the second playoff hole that was headed out of bounds.  Fortunately for him, the ball caromed off a tree and bounded back into play.  His second shot on the 540-yard par-5 was still 311 yards from the hole, but he played a safe layup for his second shot, then chipped to four feet to set up  the winning birdie putt.

“It’s so awesome to have two PGA Tour winners in three weeks,’’ said Small, “but when they’re former teammates it makes it extra cool.’’

“Grit.  That’s the only word I can think of,’’ said the 31-year old Campbell, who admitted he was “freaking out on the inside’’ after getting the win.

“Sometimes you’ve got to get those breaks.  I was just so happy I could stay in it to the end. To be in this position is so unreal,’’  It certainly was that.

Campbell had gone 186 professional tournaments without a win and most of those appearances were not on the PGA Tour.  He had only 27 starts on the PGA Tour before his victory.

Once the low amateur in the U.S. Open, Campbell had a season on the PGA Tour in 2016-17 but lost his playing privileges and had been competing on the Korn Ferry Tour before regaining his playing card for this season.

Campbell, who shot 65-65-64-70, a 20-under-par performances for the regulation 72 holes, earned $1,487,830  for the victory.  His career winnings prior to that had been $1,260,000. Now he’s eligible for The Players Championship, Masters and PGA Championship for the first time as well as the remaining $20 million Signature Events of 2025.

His win should be a good topic of discussion this week with the 40^th Chicago Golf Show beginning its three-day run at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont on Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chicago Golf Show, the unofficial start to the Chicago golf season, kicks off its 40^th anniversary season on Friday (FEB 28) at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.

Hank Haney, long-time swing coach for Tiger Woods, will appear on the Daily Herald Main Stage on the last two days (MARCH 1-2) of the show.  This year’s show will have a notable new feature – free club fitting courtesy of Aurora-based Matt Pekarek.  He’s among the Top 100 Club Fitters selected by Golf Digest and is Nippon Shaft’s Aftermath Director for North and South America.

The show, presented by the Chicago District Golf Association, will also feature a 10,000 square foot Town Square that includes a long-putt competition  and a model train display. The Illinois PGA/First Tee-Greater Chicago Village will offer an array of activities for young golfers.

Show hours are noon to 6 p.m. on Friday (FEB 28), 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (MARCH 1) and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday (MARCH 2).  Adult admission is $8 on Friday and  $13 on the weekend days.  Youth 12-15 will be admitted for $4 and youngsters 11 and under are free.

FAST STARTER: Mike Small, the University of Illinois men’s coach, has four of his former players on the PGA Tour this season and one has been making lots of noise.  Thomas Detry won the Waste Management Phoenix Open, his first PGA Tour win.

Detry has been on the circuit since 2017 and this could be his breakthrough year.  He’s made the cut in all six of his starts and also had a top-10 finish with a tie for fifth in The Sentry – the first full-field event of the season.

Detry became the first player from Belgium to win on the PGA Tour with his victory at Phoenix. He also played for Belgium in two Olympics.  Another Illini alum from Belgium, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, spent most of  last season as a rookie on the PGA circuit after winning his first start on the Korn Ferry Tour.  He hasn’t played in an event this year, but remains a PGA Tour member.

Two other ex-Illini have struggled.  Brian Campbell made one cut in three starts and Northbrook’s Nick Hardy is 0-for-4 going into this week’s Mexico Open.

IN THE HUNT: Two other Chicago area players have been consistent in their early season starts.  Wheaton veteran Kevin Streelman made three of four cuts with his best finish a tie for 15^th in the Farmer’s Insurance Open.

Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim made four of five cuts with a best finish a tie for 21^st in the American Express Championship. Neither is competing in Mexico.

HERE AND THERE: The Grammy-winning Zac Brown band will be the Concert on the Course act to conclude the John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event.  It runs July 3-6 at TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis.  Another concert will be announced to follow the tourney’s third round on July 5. Tickets go on sale April 1.

Elizabeth Szokol, Illinois’ only LPGA Tour player (Winnetka), now lives in Florida and cashed in the circuit’s first two events this year.  Both were in the Sunshine State.  Szokol tied for 14^th in the season-opening Tournament of Champions and tied for 45^th in the Founders Cup.

Mark Hensby, a champion in both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open three decades ago, is the only Illinois-connected player competing on PGA Tour Champions. He’s played in all three events on the 50-and-over circuit with his best finish coming in the first one – a tie for 19^th in Hawaii.

The Chicago District Golf Show opens its fourth season on ESPN 1000 on Saturday (FEB 22).  The shows run from 9-11 a.m. with Mike Gilligan and Tyler Aki the co-hosts.

 

 

ORLANDO, FL. – The PGA Merchandise Show , which takes over the Orange County Convention Center this week, is the annual kickoff to the golf season.  All phases of the industry are represented at this mass gathering that spotlights all that’s new in the sport.

The industry-only show, awaiting its 72^nd staging, draws nearly 40,000 visitors.  It begins with a Demo Day at Orange County National on Tuesday, then three days of exhibits, presentations and special events at the Orange County Convention Center.

This year’s most significant new developments came a few days early, however, with the LIV Golf League making the biggest splash. In the last days before the big show LIV announced that Scott O’Neil will replace Greg Norman as its new chief executive officer and that Fox Sports will broadcast all 54 holes of the LIV’s 14 tournaments in its fourth season.  The CW Network handled TV coverage for LIV’s first three seasons. Fox will give the fledgling circuit a big profile boost.

The Saudi-backed circuit has been Chicago’s lone tournament organizer consistently bringing big-time golf to the area in recent years.  Chicago’s been a tournament site the first three years of LIV’s existence and Bolingbrook Golf Club will return as the site of its 12^th tournament this year, on Aug. 8-10.

The season climax will have a Midwest flavor with the Bolingbrook stop starting it off. New sites will then take over the last two weeks of the season – the Individual Championship at The Club at Chatham Hills in Indianapolis Aug. 15-17 and the Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth, MI., Aug. 22-24.  The Cardinal is a Ray Hearn design that opened for play in 2024.

MEANWHILE  Chicago golfers have other good things ahead:

The Chicago District Golf Association has announced the largest competition slate in its 112-year history with more that 100 events throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.  Two of the oldest events have new twists.  The 94^th Illinois State Amateur will be played at Stonebridge, in Aurora, July 15-17 and the 92nd Illinois State Women’s Amateur will be under CDGA guidance for the first time June 16-18 at The Grove in Long Grove. The CDGA will also move its second Chicago Adaptive Open to  Fox Bend, in Oswego.

Batavia-based club manufacturer Tour Edge has extended its partnership with Bernhard Langer, the winningest player in PGA Tour Champions history.  He’s won six times since first signing with Tour Edge in 2021.

The John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event, will put tickets for the July 2-6 event at TPC Deere Run on sale in early April. The JDC was the PGA Tour’s Most Engaged Community and Best Title Sponsor Integration award winner for 2024.

The Illinois PGA has announced its award winners for the 2024 season. Heading the list is Beverly’s John Varner, as Professional of the Year; Christopher Oehlerking, The Golf Practice, Teacher of the year: Ed Stevenson, The Preserve at Oak Meadows, PGA Executive of the Year; Connor Burke, Butterfield, Assistant Professional of the Year;  Kevin Weeks, Cog Hill, Youth Player Development Award; and Eva Rogers, Medinah, Player Development Award.

Winnetka Golf Club has been designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, joining an elite group of courses worldwide to be recognized for environmental stewardship.

 

The PGA Tour made its last Chicago area visit in 2019 and the other national golf organizing groups have been absent longer than that.  Not the upstart LIV Golf League, though.

LIV, the Saudi-backed circuit that is waging a well-publicized battle with the PGA Tour, announced Tuesday that it will be playing for a fourth straight year in the Chicago area. Rich Harvest Farms, in Sugar Grove, was the tournament site In LIV’s first two seasons.  Last year the tourney moved to Bolingbrook Golf Club, and Bolingbrook will also host the next visit, on Aug. 8-10, 2025.

The Chicago stop will also kick off the first-ever Midwest swing for LIV.  The following week the circuit will play at The Club at  Catham Hills in Westfield, Ind., near Indianapolis. That stop will be LIV’s first visit to Indiana.

Bolingbrook’s tournament will be a bit different than last year’s.  Last year’s was announced well into the season and was played as the circuit’s season Individual Championship.  Spain’s Jon Rahm was the big winner, taking both that tournament and the season-long titles.  Next year’s tournament will be a standards regular season stop, just like the two played at Rich Harvest.

Rahm was a three-shot winner with an 11-under-par 199 total for 54 holes this year on a layout designed by Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest.

Bolingbrook mayor Mary Alexander-Basta was delighted by Tuesday’s announcement.

“We’re excited to welcome the eyes of the golf world and LIV Golf Tour back,’’ she said. “The 2024 event was a tremendous success, and we look forward to building  on that momentum to bring another world-class event to tour community.’’

LIV is far ahead of previous years in setting up its 2025 schedule.  The return to Bolingbrook and first-ever visit to Indianapolis were part of an announcement that also included the circuit’s first tournament at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Korea and the return to Dallas, Spain and the United Kingdom for tournaments.

“LIV is growing across the globe in new and returning markets,’’ said LIV commissioner and chief executive officer Greg Norman.  “We’re excited to build on the tremendous success we had last year at new venues in Chicago, Dallas and the UK, where we set new league attendance records.’’

The next season begins Feb. 6-8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  The Indianapolis stop Aug. 15-17 will be the season’s final regular season event. Chatham Hilla was the last design by the late architect Pete Dye. It’ll lead into the season-ending Individual and Team championships.  Dates and sites for those events haven’t been announced.

LIV plans another 14-tournament schedule and has set dates and sites for 10 events.

HERE AND THERE:  Dennis Johnsen, one of the area’s longest-standing club professionals, has announced his retirement.  Johnsen spent 50 years in the golf business. The last 20 seasons were as director of golf at Pine Meadow in Mundelein, which followed a long stint at Pheasant Run in St. Charles. Johnsen was a leader in the creation of the PGA Junior League and the Illinois Super Senior Open.

Fresh Meadow, a Hillside course that opened in 1924, has closed for good.  Owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago, the public course was known as Fair Lawn when it opened. Future use of the property has not been announced.

Mike Small, head coach of the University of Illinois men’s team,  has signed a special recruit in Dujuan Snyman. Originally from South Africa, Snyman finished in the top four on the Australian Boys Order of Merit in each of the last four years.

 

 

 

 

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This PGA Tour season wasn’t the best for Chicago regulars Kevin Streelman, Nick Hardy and Doug Ghim.  None qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which concluded the 2023-24 season in September.

The fall events, though, have been most encouraging for all three.   Streelman, who Wheaton, had a tie for third and Hardy, from Northbrook, notched a tie for eighth two weeks ago in the Black Diamond Championship in Utah.  It was the best finish of the season for both of them.

Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim did even better on Sunday, finishing solo second in the Shriner Chidren’s Open in Las Vegas.  That was a career best for the 28-year old who attended Buffalo Grove High School and starred for the University of Texas before turning pro in 2018. He made it to the PGA Tour in 2020 and is still without a victory, but Sunday he came close.

Eventual champion J.T. Poston and Ghim played in the final group on Sunday. Poston, who won the John Deere Classic – Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour event – in 2022, and Ghim turned the tournament into a two-man duel in the final 18.

Ghim was within two strokes of Poston on the 18^th tee and hit a great approach to the final green, leaving him a six-foot birdie putt. He made it, putting the pressure on Poston to sink a four-footer for par to avoid a playoff. Poston made his putt, too. to claim the title.

It climaxed a stirring final round in which Ghim posted a better score (a 6-under-par 65) but couldn’t top Poston on the tournament leaderboard.  Poston won by a shot with a 22-under-262 for the 72 holes.

“I did everything I could,’’ said Ghim.  “I haven’t had the best history in final rounds and final groups, so this definitely is going to be a little badge on my chest.’’

The strong showing on his home course also earned Ghim, who now lives in Las Vegas, a place in this week’s no-cut, $8.5 million ZOZO Classic in Japan.

“A lot of players who would like to be there won’t be able to,’’ said Ghim,  “so it’ll be a fun challenge.  It’s fun playing on the other side of the world, too.  I’m grateful for the opportunity.’’

BITS AND PIECES:  Roy Biancalana, of The Hawk in St. Charles, won the Illinois PGA Senior Match Play title for the fourth straight year…Lance Olson, of Champaign took the IPGA Senior Championship….Dan Stringfellow, of Medinah, is the Chicago District Golf Association’s Player of the Year and Glen Przbylski, of Frankfort, claimed the same honor for senior players….The University of Illinois men’s team will host an NCAA Regional at Atkins Golf Club, in Urbana, in 2025.