Golf ‘s major championship season – for all intents — tees off on Thursday, and Chicago’s best tour player will be there.

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman is in the field at The Players Championship, long designated as the men’s “fifth major.’’ The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open remain the official ones, but The Players is getting closer and closer to their status.

Conducted by the PGA Tour, The Players is contested at the organization’s home base at TPC Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra, FL. The tournament course is a Pete Dye-designed layout that features the most famous short hole in golf – its No. 17, a par-3 over water with an island green. Golf drama gets no better than it does at this shorty that plays no longer than 132 yards.

The 122-player Players field includes 110 who have been winners on the PGA Tour, and Streelman is one of those. He’s won twice, the last time in 2012, and was on the brink of adding to that total earlier this year.

“At Jackson (Sanderson Farms Championship in September) I almost won. At Pebble (the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February) I almost won,’’ said Streelman. “In the others I had a bunch of missed cuts by one.’’

Streelman missed eight cuts in 14 starts but the two good tournaments – a second at Pebble and tie for fourth in the Sanderson event – helped put his season winnings at $1.4 million and his FedEx Cup ranking at No. 36 with the season not even at the halfway point yet. His career winning just topped $20 million.

The Players will be Streelman’s third of four straight weeks of tournaments, all on the PGA’s annual Florida Swing. He tied for 47th at the Honda Classic and missed the cut, after a second-round 77, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I also did four in a row on the West Coast Swing. That’s just the way I do it,’’ said Streelman. “I find that sometimes in weeks three or four my energy runs out.’’

He hopes that won’t happen at The Players, but it could. Streelman is on a different routine this season. In previous years he travelled with his entire family –wife Courtney and children Sophia and Rhett. Sophia entered kindergarten this year. Her school work in Arizona has altered the family travel plans, Streelman goes it alone most of the time.
The family was re-united last week in Orlando.

“They used to be with me at 90 percent of the tournaments. Now it’s more like 40 or 50 percent,’’ said Streelman. “It’s really a change in lifestyle, but I’m never more than two weeks away from them. It’s what I do, and I still love it. I’ll do it as long as I can.’’

New home for IPGA

The Illinois PGA has changed headquarters. It’ll now be based at the former home base of the Western Golf Association/Evans Scholars Foundation in Golf.

Both organizations have shifted bases. The WGA departed its home of 64 years to move into its new building at 2501 Patriot Drive, in Glenview, last fall. The IPGA had been based in The Glen Club, just a few blocks away.

“The Illinois PGA Foundation and Section have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with KemperSports and The Glen Club, where we’ve been fortunate enough to have a rent-free office space for nearly 20 years. Their generosity cannot be overstated,’’ said IPGA executive director Carrie Williams.

“The Glen Club has also been home to the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame, which the Foundation manages, but the time has come for us to establish our own headquarters and John Kaczkowki (president and chief executive officer of the WGA) and its board have given us an incredible opportunity to make it happen.’’

In the WGA’s case, the move to Glenview allowed for the consolidation of several offices and employees under one roof. Village of Golf municipal offices and the U.S. Post Office will remain tenants when the IPGA takes over its new office space.

Carrie Williams, the executive director of the Illinois PGA, calls the Chicago Golf Show “the unofficial start of the Chicago golf season.’’ Maybe it should be designated as the official start, based on the wide range of participants in the three-day event that tees off on Friday at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.

This year’s 37th staging of the show will have more than 400 exhibit boots, the most in the event’s history.

While the celebrities featured on the Daily Herald Main Stage are mainly present or former football stars – Robbie Gould, Patrick Mannelly, Jay Hilgenberg, Emery Moorehead and Otis Wilson – World Long drive competitor Steve Kois of Wheaton will be there, too.

Attendees will again receive free golf rounds at the 14 area courses operated by GolfVisions. It’s the 11th year that GolfVisions president Tim Miles has offed that incentive to attend the show, and the Illinois PGA will have 60 of its professionals on hand to provide swing and putting lessons. Indiana’s French Lick Resort returns as the show’s presenting sponsor.

Show hours are noon-7 p.m. on Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $6 on Friday and $11 on Saturday and Sunday. Youth 12-15 can get in for $4 on all three days and those 11 and under are free.

Two Jemsek courses get Open locals

The U.S. Golf Association has announced 109 sites for U.S. Open local qualifying, and four are in Illinois. Both facilities owned and operated by the Jemsek family were included. The Dubsdread course, at Cog Hill in Lemont, with host on May 4 and Pine Meadow, in Mundelein, on May 11.

Other Illinois locals are at Spencer T. Olin, in Alton, on May 4 and Illini Country Club, in Springfield, on May 11. Illini will host a local for the 42nd consecutive year. Sites haven’t been announced for the sectional qualifiers, which will send survivors directly to the U.S. Open proper at New York’s Winged Foot course from June 18-21.

BMW tourney update

The Western Golf Association has announced its BMW Championship will be headed out of town in 2021 after this year’s event is played in August at Olympia Fields. Cave’s Valley, in the Baltimore suburb of Owings Springs, Md., will host the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoff event from Aug. 17-22 in 2021.

The tournament rotated in and out of Chicago since 2007 with Medinah hosting last year. The event was set for Olympia Fields – which meant back-to-back Chicago stages — when contract negotiations with the auto manufacturer were stalled temporarily.

The WGA also announced sites for two of its women’s championships in 2021, both of them at Chicago area private clubs. The Women’s Western Amateur will be at Park Ridge and the Women’s Western Junior at Aurora.

Here and there

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman has been named to the 2020 PGA Player Advisory Board.

Jordan Abel-Haq has resigned as executive director of the Illinois Junior Golf Association to become a loan officer for Chicago’s Homeside Financial. He was with the IJGA for nearly 10 years, the last four as executive director.

Joliet Country Club, one of the oldest golf facilities in the Chicago area, is apparently headed for redevelopment. Joliet operated as a private club for 114 years before going public and being renamed Joliet Golf Club last July.

Cog Hill has started a Senior Club for players 60 and over. A $35 membership fee will give players a reduced rate Monday through Thursday on the Nos. 1 and 3 courses, which are open year-around.

Vince Juarez, general manager at Deerpath, in Lake Forest, and T.J. Sullivan, director of instruction at Golf-Tec Oak Brook, have earned Master Professional status from the PGA of America.

Chicago’s biggest public golf facility will soon by back in the national – if not the world – spotlight.

Cog Hill, in Lemont, was named Tuesday as the site of the 45th annual World Long Drive Championship. It’ll be held Sept 3-9 with national television coverage on The Golf Channel. The event will be held under the lights the last two days.

This is a big breakthrough for Cog Hill and the Jemsek family, which has been a leader in Chicago golf over nearly nine decades. The 72-hole facility last hosted top level competitive golf in 2011, the last year the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship was played on the facility’s Dubsdread course.

Dubsdread was the site of the history-rich Western Open from 1991 until 2006. That event, which had been contested 103 times over a 108-year span, was converted to a FedEx Cup Playoff event and was moved off its traditional Fourth of July weekend dates.

The playoff event was shifted to August and the Western Golf Association opted to play the tournament at sites away from Chicago every other year. The tournament was last held on Dubsdread in 2011. Then its Chicago site was Conway Farms, in Lake Forest, for three stagings. Last year it was played at Medinah and this year it will be staged at Olympia Fields in August.

The Jemsek family, long-time owners of Cog Hill, had been trying to land a high profile event ever since the BMW was last played there but had no suggest until landing the World Long Drive. The club will construct a custom hitting grid that will be used throughout the competition.

“We’re thrilled,’’ said Cog Hill president Katherine Jemsek. “Long drive championships are in our blood.’’

Her grandfather, Joe Jemsek, won the World Fair’s Long Drive Championship in 1934 with a poke off an elevated hitting station that measured over 500 yards.

“Cog Hill’s tradition in the sport reflects our own storied history,’’ said Matt Farrell, executive director of the World Long Drive Assn. “We’re expanding our commitment to global development of the sport through a broader qualifying series that includes expansion to Asia and other parts of the world.’’

While the World Long Drive is new to Chicago, this year’s schedule of lead-in events includes a qualifier in Thailand and a series of regular stops around the country. The first is April 17-22 – the Clash in the Canyon in Mesquite, Nev. That was the site of the Long Drive finals from 2008-2012.

This was a weird first tournament week of the season for two of Chicago’s most prominent golfers. Both Mike Small and Dylan Wu blew seven-stroke leads in their 2020 tournament debuts but still finished as runner-ups in their events.

Small, the University of Illinois men’s coach who owns 12 wins in the Illinois PGA Championship and four titles in the Illinois Open, didn’t compete much in 2019. There was a good reason for that. A shoulder injury that required extensive rehab limited his tournament play, but Small is on the comeback trail now.

This week he competed in the PGA Winter Series for the first time and opened 65-66 in the PGA’s Senior Stroke Play Championship at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, FL. The hot start gave Small a seven-stroke lead in the 54-hole event for players from across the nation in the 50-59 age group.

The 76 he shot in Tuesday’s final round cost him the championship but was hardly deflating. Small finished a stroke behind New York teaching pro Frank Esposito.

“I just came down here to see how the shoulder was,’’ said Small. “I had no expectations and was thrilled to be 13-under and make eight birdies in the first two rounds. I showed some resiliency.’’

GAINEY’S DAY: Wu, a 23-year old former Northwestern star, was seven ahead after two rounds in the first tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour season but he couldn’t hold his lead in the opener of the PGA Tour’s alternate circuit.

After opening 67-66 Wu slumped to 76-72 in the final two rounds and wound up in a tie for second, four strokes behind champion Tommy Gainey in the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic. It was Wu’s second runner-up finish on the Korn Ferry circuit, the first coming in the Lincoln Land Classic in Springfield last year.

Andy Pope of Glen Ellyn, back on the Korn Ferry Tour for the first time since 2012, tied for 44th in the season opener while the Korn Ferry’s other two Illinois players, Vince India and Nick Hardy, missed the 36-hole cut. They’ll be back in action quickly, as the second tournament – also in the Bahamas – tees off on Sunday.

CLOSINGS: Chicago’s local golf media contingent took a big hit this week when two long-time outlets announced their closings on the same day. Chicagoland Golf had published for 31 years as an in-season print publication, and The Scorecard on the Score was featured on WSCR Radio for 10. Both closed up shop in Monday and will be missed once the next season kicks in.

Chicagoland Golf was founded by the late Phil Kosin in 1989, and publisher Val Russell took it over following Kosin’s death in 2009. Russell directed the operation for 11 years. Ed Sherman and Steve Olken were co-hosts of The Scorecard, a popular weekend show throughout the local golf season.

HERE AND THERE: Kevin Buggy, a seven-time club champion at Park Ridge Country Club, is the new chairman of the Western Golf Assn. The 68th chairman in WGA history, Buggy succeeds Glen View’s Frank Morley.

Batavia-based Tour Edge has renewed its endorsement contracts with PGA Champions Tour stars Tom Lehman, Scott McCarron, Tom Petrovic and Duffy Waldorf.

Andy Micheli has left Cantigny as the Wheaton facility’s sales manager to become assistant general manager at Butler National in Oak Brook.

No, Tiger Woods didn’t win his record PGA Tour record 83rd tournament this week to break a tie with Sam Snead. In fact, Woods didn’t even play in the Sentry Tournament of Champions – the PGA Tour’s first event of 2020 that concluded on Sunday with Justin Thomas’ playoff win in Hawaii.

What did happen this week is — in many ways — more important to more golfers than all that. The new World Handicap System went into effect.

A five-day blackout throughout the U.S. for posting scores came to an end on Monday following the updating of computer systems world-wide. Players who have their handicaps computed now have different numbers to use in competition.

Robert Markionni, the executive director of the CDGA, was on the 25-member committee that implemented the transition to the World Handicap System.

“It was about four years worth of work, but a privilege to sit in on this committee and see how the world came together,’’ said Markionni. “The handicapping system was the last aspect of golf to be globally administered.’’

Golf is a global game, and the various organizers had already dealt with alterations to the Rules of Golf and requirements for amateur standing. Six different associations, however, had their own methods for handicapping the players who form the bulk of the game’s participants. Now the associations are operating under the same set of guidelines.

Here are the major ways the new handicap system will affect the most serious Chicago golfers:

The maximum score accepted on a hole for handicap purposes is now net double bogey, regardless of ability. In the past some players (me included) could post a triple bogey. For high handicap players this would seem to make a major difference, but Markionni downplays that.

“When all the research was done by a bunch of PhDs who calculated all this stuff the reality was that it probably will have little effect,’’ said Markionni.

Handicaps will be posted on a daily basis instead of the every-two-weeks system the CDGA had been using, and it’s doubly important for players to post scores on the day they play rather than wait a day or two.

“Computers will now calculate playing conditions into the handicapping process,’’ said Markionni. “This is new to the U.S, but not new in other parts of the world. It’ll intrigue people.’’

Post late and a player’s score won’t reflect the playing conditions on the day he played his round.

Eight rounds, instead of the previous 10, will be used to calculate a handicap and a cap will go into effect to determine how high a handicap index can climb in a 12-month period. A soft cap is three shots and a hard cap is five.

There is no need for American courses to be re-rated, as the World Handicap System adopted the course rating system that has been used in the U.S. for many years.

“The important thing is that it’s good for the game,’’ said Markionni. “I’m not sure it will have a huge impact, but it brings consistency. We will all play under the same rules.

It was unusual for the Chicago area to get six players into last week’s final stage of qualifying for the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour. It was even more unusual that three of them – Nick Hardy, Andy Pope and Vince India – finished in the top 40 of the 154-man field and earned immediate playing privileges when the tournaments begin next month in The Bahamas.

Formally called the Ben Hogan, Nationwide and Web.com tour, the circuit offers the most direct path to the PGA Tour. Northbrook’s Hardy, who didn’t qualifying for the circuit last year after a stellar career at the University of Illinois, tied for fifth in the 72-hole final qualifier, which concluded on Sunday at Orange County National in Winter Park, FL.

By being in the top 10 Hardy is assured spots in the first 12 tournaments of the Korn Ferry season. Glen Ellyn’s Andy Pope tied for 13th and Deerfield’s Vince India tied for 30th. That means both can play in the first eight events of the campaign. Also gaining the right to play immediately was Dawson Armstrong, who won the 2015 Western Amateur title at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove. He tied for seventh at Orange County National.

The other three local competitors at Orange County National – Highwood’s Patrick Flavin, Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger and Spring Grove’s Jordan Hahn – will have to get in the tournaments through Monday qualifiers. Flavin, who tied for 76th at Orange County National, has other playing options. He finished sixth in the PGA Latinoamerica Tour and could compete there again.

Hopfinger, who has spent several seasons on the Korn Hardy circuit, tied for 90th and Hahn, a rookie pro out of the University of Wisconsin, tied for 121st. In qualifying for the third and final stage of Korn Ferry qualifying they will be able to compete in the Monday qualifiers without going into the pre-qualifying events.

India, Flavin and Hopfinger are among just 10 players who own titles in both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open. Hardy was runner-up in that tournament last year.

Here and there

Sportsman’s Country Club, a fixture on the Chicago golf scene since 1931, won’t be available to golfers again until the summer of 2021. That’s the project re-opening date now that a massive $12.5 million renovation and restoration project is scheduled to begin at the Northbrook facility. Libertyville golf course architect Rick Jacobson, who previously did work on the property in 2005 and 2006, will oversee the rebuilding of the course. A new clubhouse will also be built at a different location on the property than the present one and the practice area will be greatly enhanced.

Troy Newport, the new general manager at Cog Hill, in Lemont, has announced the addition of Toptracer technology at the 72-hole complex that was a long-time home for the Western Open championship. With 21 heated hitting bays Toptracer allows for practice sessions, virtual golf and a variety of games during the offseason months. “It’s a great fit for our Grow the Game initiatives at Cog Hill,’’ said Newport. Cog Hill is keeping its Nos. 1 and 3 courses open throughout the winter and will host the Eskimo Open there on Jan. 5.

Northwestern University has unveiled its new version of the Gleacher Center, which has allowed for indoor practice for its men’s and women’s teams. The new version includes a 5,400 square-foot short game and putting area with raised ceilings, a video-equipped three-bay hitting area and a digitally adjustable putting platform.

Eagle Ridge Resort, in Galena, following its recent ownership change, has named Ryan Brown as its a new director of golf and announced plans to remodel the pro shop at The General course.

This week’s President’s Cup matches in Australia may be the last big golf event of 2019 world-wide, but it’s certainly not the most important for six Chicago area pro tour hopefuls.

The third and final stage of qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour is on tap from Thursday through Sunday (DEC 12-15) at Orange County National in Orlando, FL., and six Chicago area players face a 72-hole test that could be career-changing. The Korn Ferry (formerly Web.com) circuit offers a direct path to the PGA Tour and Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim used it to make it to golf’s premier circuit earlier this year.

Now some other Chicago stars hope to do the same. Deerfield’s Vince India and Lake Forest’s Brad Hopfinger hope to retain their status as full-time Korn Ferry members. The former University of Iowa teammates are among only 10 players owning titles in both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open, but that doesn’t carry any weight when it comes to the pro tours.

Both have had their moments in several seasons on the satellite circuit but not played well enough to earn promotion to the PGA Tour. While they are assured some starts on the Korn Ferry circuit in 2020 neither met the standards for full-time membership. That’s why they’re in the nail-biting qualifying session.

Last year Hopfinger was No. 79 on the Korn Ferry money list and India was No. 85. Only the top 75 qualified for last fall’s Korn Ferry Playoffs. India’s bid to reach those playoffs ended with a heart-breaking double bogey on the last hole of the last regular season tournament.

Both are ready to give it another try, however, and they’ll be joined by four other local players – Nick Hardy of Northbrook, Andy Pope of Glen Ellyn, Jordan Hahn of Sugar Grove and Patrick Flavin of Highwood. Hardy, Flavin and Hahn are former Illinois State Amateur champions who survived the first two stages of Korn Ferry qualifying. Pope has had good success in U.S. Open qualifiers, reaching the finals four times, but has been largely unsuccessful in his other tour endeavors.

All four, though may be peeking at the right time for this week’s important test. Pope finished second in his Korn Ferry Stage II qualifier in Plantation, FL., last month. Hardy tied for fifth in his Stage II challenge in McKinney, TX, and Hahn, who just finished off a solid amateur career at the University of Wisconsin, reached the Korn Ferry finals with a tie for 18th in his Stage II test in Brooksville, FL.

Flavin, though, may be the best prepared of them all. As an amateur he became only the second player to win both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open in the same year (2017), then opted for a different approach to turning pro. He tested himself on the PGA’s Latinoamerica Tour and concluded his season with a third-place finish on Sunday in its Shell Championship. He did it with a 68-67 finish in the weekend rounds and that padded his season winnings to $68,130, the strong finish boosting him from ninth to sixth on the tour’s season money list.

Korn Ferry players can get to the PGA Tour immediately by winning three tournaments in a season. The top 25 in the regular season money list also advance to the premier circuit as do the top 25 following the season-ending playoff events.

CDGA milestones

The Chicago District Golf Association had a tie in its player-of-the-year race for the first time since the award was presented in 1993. Jordan Less, a Northern Illinois University player from Elmhurst, and David Perkins, from Illinois State and East Peoria, shared the award. Another East Peoria resident, Tim Sheppard, became the fifth player to repeat at CDGA Senior Player of the Year.

The CDGA also announced next year’s sites for its two biggest championships. The 90th Illinois State Amateur will be July 21-23 at Wynstone, in Barrington, and the 101st Chicago District Amateur with be at Bull Valley, in Woodstock, from June 22-25. The organization also has made major changes in its CDGA Golfer. The magazine will now be produced by Greater Golf Resorts of the World, which also publishes New York’s Met Golfer, and Chicago golf media veteran Barry Cronin will be the new editor.

Seconds in Florida

Carlos Sainz Jr., winner of both the Illinois Open and Chicago Open when he was an Elgin resident, was a regular on both the PGA and Web.com tours. Now based in Houston, Sainz may be on a different career path but he can still play. He finished second in the PGA Assistants Championship earlier this month in Port St. Lucie, FL

PGA Golf Club, where Sainz made his strong showing in the national event, is also the site of the PGA of America’s Winter Tournament Series, and Dakun Chang, assistant professional at Twin Orchard in Long Grove and the 2018 Illinois PGA champion, was runner-up in the second event.

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman will have Chicago area company on the PGA Tour next season. Doug Ghim, former Arlington Heights resident and Buffalo Grove High School graduate, has earned playing privileges for the circuit’s 2019-20 campaign.

Ghim did it by finishing in the top 25 money winners in the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs, a three-tournament competition matching the top players on the Korn Ferry (formerly Web.com) circuit and the PGA Tour players who failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

For Ghim it came down to the last putt on Monday in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at Victoria National in Evansville, Ind. After making a bogey on the 17th hole Ghim needed a par on the 72nd hole of the tournament to secure his card on golf’s premier circuit. He got it by getting up and down from a green-side bunker. It gave him a tie for 19th in the tournament and the No. 23 spot in the playoff standings.

Ghim’s elation after that last 10-foot putt dropped was captured on video and passed along widely on social media. He broke down in tears while leaving the green, then tweeted “IT HAPPENED.’’

Given time to reflect, Ghim admitted the pressure was intense.

“I’ve never felt nerves like that before,’’ he said. “To have it all come down to one putt is pretty surreal.’’

Given the solid amateur career that Ghim had, his qualifying for the PGA Tour in his rookie season as a touring pro shouldn’t be a surprise.

Though playing high school golf only as a freshman, he earned a scholarship to collegiate powerhouse Texas and was a mainstay for the Longhorns for four seasons. Working with his father Jeff as his swing instructor, Ghim preferred to play in the bigger junior tournaments around the country rather than be limited to high school events. He competed very rarely in Illinois as an amateur and that decision paid off.

Ghim made the U.S. teams for both the Walker Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup matches and a runner-up finish in the 2017 U.S. Amateur earned him a berth in the 2018 Masters tournament. Ghim didn’t let that opportunity get away, either. He was low amateur, finishing in a tie for 50th place, and brought home some coveted crystal by making three eagles during the tournament.

After finishing up at Texas he turned pro, moved to Las Vegas and earned a berth on the Korn Ferry circuit through its three-stage qualifying tournament last fall. His play during the regular season, though, wasn’t noteworthy. He had a tie for third in Colombia in the second tournament of the season in February and two top-10s in June but was only No. 52 on the point list at the conclusion of the regular season.

That left him out of the top 25 who gained automatic PGA Tour cards for the 2019-20 campaign, and he was trending in the wrong direction entering the season-ending playoff series. He had three missed cuts to conclude the regular season but was steady in the playoff events, finishing tied for 23rd and tied for 37th before his nail-biting finish on Monday.

Chances are Ghim won’t get much of a rest before the next PGA Tour season begins. It’ll tee off on Thursday with A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier event in West Virginia. While most of the established PGA Tour players will compete only sparingly for the rest of 2019, the young players will want to get their seasons off to a good start.

The fall events will provide a chance for Ghim and the other Korn Ferry Tour graduates to get into a series of big-money tournaments and earn FedEx Cup points before the top stars return full-time.