If Ryder Cup experience means anything the U.S. team will be in big trouble when the biennial matches come to Medinah Country Club for their 39th staging beginning Sept. 25. Europe’s 12-man squad is loaded with veterans, to say nothing of talent.

The European team, which has won four of the last five Ryder Cup battles and six of the last eight, completed its roster this week when Jose Maria Olazabal named Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts as his captain’s picks.

Olazabal picked those two after 10 automatic berths were determined following European PGA Tour’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in Scotland – the Ryder Cup site for 2014.

The long-hitting Colsaerts will be the first golfer from Belgium to play in the Ryder Cup, and he’s also the only rookie on the European squad. The U.S. is already assured of three first-timers (Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson) through the point standings that determined eight automatic berths on the team.

Europe and the U.S. have different methods of selection. Europe’s formula started with the top five players on the European PGA Tour point standings (Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, England’s Justin Rose, Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and Italy’s Francesco Molinari).

The process continued after the Johnnie Walker with the top five — not counting the five already picked — off the world rankings. Those spots went to Luke Donald and Lee Westwood of England, Sergio Garcia of Spain, Peter Hanson of Sweden and Martin Kaymer of Germany.

Olazabal was given only two captain’s picks. U.S. captain Davis Love III has four, and he’ll name them on Sept. 4 in New York. Love will be hard-pressed to assemble a squad as strong as the Euros. All 12 European players are in the top 35 in the world rankings. McIlroy and Donald are 1-2.

Colsaerts’ selection over Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello created the only suspense in Olazabal’s determination of his captain’s picks. England’s Poulter, a great match play competitor – he has an 8-3 record in three previous Ryder Cups, was consider a shoo-in.

The battle for the other pick was a tough one, and Colsaerts, a 10-year professional though he’s only 29, earned it in the last two weeks. He tied for seventh at the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, then hurried back to Europe to tie for 19th in the Johnnie Walker.

Cabrera-Bello tied for 10th there but Colsaerts’ extraordinary length off the tee makes him a good fit for Medinah. Europe will go into this Ryder Cup with just one rookie for only the third time since 1979.

FedEx frustrations

Illinois PGA Tour players didn’t do well in The Barclay’s event last week in New York. Only Luke Donald improved his position in the FexEx Cup playoff standings. He tied for 10th to climb from 16th in the point race to 14th.

The only other local to make the cut in New York was Kevin Streelman, but he shot 76-72 on the weekend to finish in a tie for 63rd. He dropped to 112th in the point race and only the top 100 qualified for the second playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship beginning Thursday at TPC Boston.

Mark Wilson and D.A. Points both missed the cut at The Barclays but rank high enough to tee it up in Boston. Wilson is No. 39 and Points No. 50. Both will have to play well this week to stay in the top 70 for the third playoff event, the BMW Championship Sept. 6-9 at Crooked Stick in Indianapolis. The BMW Championship had been held at Cog Hill and will be contested at Conway Farms in Lake Forest in 2013.

Here and there

Recording artist Jordin Sparks has been selected to sing the U.S. National Anthem during the Ryder Cup opening ceremonies at Medinah on Sept. 27….The 90th Illinois PGA Championship concludes today (WEDNESDAY) at Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake. Stonewall, has been the only public course in the tourney’s three-course rotation. Olympia Fields is listed for 2013 and Medinah for 2014….The PGA Junior Golf League, a nation-wide program for youngsters 13 and under, will climax its season with a six-team competition at Medinah on Sept. 14 and Cog Hill in Lemont on Sept. 15-16…..The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct two events on Monday – the CDGA Better Ball of Pairs at Kemper Lakes in Hawthorn Woods and a qualifying session for the U.S. Senior Amateur at McHenry Country Club…..Northbrook-based KemperSports has added Quail Lodge in Carmel, Calif., to its management portfolio.

What a difference a year makes.

Last year the biggest tournament at Medinah Country Club was the Illinois PGA Championship, which decides the best player among the state’s club professionals. Next month, of course, Medinah hosts the 39th Ryder Cup matches and the player who shocked the Chicago golf scene with his win last year isn’t focusing on his title defense.

Frank Hohenadel, a little-known assistant pro at Midlothian Country Club, ended Mike Small’s eight-year reign as the IPGA champion over Medinah’s No. 1 course last August. The lanky left-handed golfer defends next week at Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake but he’s more interested in the big event coming to Medinah beginning Sept. 25. That’s when the U.S. stars battle Europe in the biennial team competition that’s generally considered the biggest event in golf.

“I’m looking forward to watching those guys as much as I am the Illinois PGA,’’ said Hohenadel. “I plan to go on Sunday (SEPT 30) and be part of the party – and I hope the U.S. wins this time.’’

The IPGA Championship, which rotates between Olympia Fields, Medinah and Stonewall, begins its 54-hole run on Monday and concludes on Wednesday. Illinois coach Small had dominated the competition until Hohenadel caught fire on a weather-damaged layout.

“Conditions were different that what we’re used to last year,’’ said Hohenadel, who opened with a 65 and never looked back. “We played lift, clean and place in the fairways, but there was no problem with the greens.’’

The No. 1 layout — the site of Hohenadel’s victory — has been reduced to nine holes to accommodate Ryder Cup preparations and that entire 18 will be torn up after September’s matches to allow architect Tom Doak to renovate the course, which was opened in 1925. The Ryder Cup will be played on the No. 3 course.

Hohenadel, who grew up in Tinley Park and went to Andrew High School and St. Francis College in Joliet, is in his third season at Midlothian after spending five at Wedgewood, a public facility in Joliet. He had played in only four IPGA events last season but has been in nine this year. He shot 68 to finish second in an assistants event and his scoring average is a respectable 72.5.

“I’ve got more confidence in my game,’’ he said. “This year there’ll be a little more pressure. I was pretty much under the radar last year.’’

He’s played Stonewall, the lone public course in the IPGA Championship rotation, only once and that was in the spring.

“It’s very different than Medinah and Olympia,’’ said Hohenadel. “My game is more suited to those long, old-school courses than it is to the links style.’

Hasley, Wright pace Mid-Am qualifiers

There’ll be a big contingent of Chicago area players in the 32nd U.S. Mid-Amateur, which is coming to Lake Forest courses Conway Farms and Knollwood next month.

Illinois had three qualifying tournaments last week, and Winnetka’s Scott Hasley and Aurora’s John Wright posted the best scores – 69s at Chicago Highlands in Westchester. The other qualifiers there for the Sept. 8-13 national championship for players 25 and over were Matt Olson of Chicago, Chad Arsich of Mokena and Nick Schenk of St. Charles.

Lake Forest’s Andrew Price was medalist in the qualifier at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club, in Rockford, with a 70. Scott Rowe of Hinsdale and Richard Balla of St. Charles were among the other qualifiers there and Chicago’s Scott Rech made it at Piper Glen, in Springfield.

Here and there

European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal named three vice captains for the upcoming matches. He picked Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley. All are former players with at least nine Ryder Cup wins. They were also on the staff when Europe won the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales…..Wildcat Golf Day With Luke Donald, a fundraiser for Northwestern’s golf programs, has been scheduled at Medinah on Sept. 10…..The 85th Mid West Amateur runs Friday and Saturday at the Chicago Park District’s Marovitz course….The Bridges at Poplar Creek, in Hoffman Estates, will host a qualifier for the Illinois State Senior Amateur on Tuesday (AUG 28).

This would figure to be a big week for Mike Small, the Illinois men’s coach. He’ll make his 11th appearance in a major championship when he tees off at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C., in the PGA Championship on Thursday.

This is the last of golf’s four majors this season and the final tournament at which points to determine the U.S. team in next month’s Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club are awarded.

Small isn’t a factor in the Ryder Cup standings and he’s not even the Illini golfer most in the spotlight these days, however. That mantra belongs to Luke Guthrie, who came on like gangbusters after turning pro immediately after the NCAA Championships in June.

Guthrie received sponsor’s exemptions into two PGA Tour events and got into another off his showing in those. In the three events he earned $284,672. Then he was invited to the Columbus stop on the Web.com Tour and lost that title in a playoff. That strong showing got him into last week’s tourney in Omaha and he shot 62-63 in the first two rounds before finishing in a tie for third.

So, in his first five pro tournaments the 22-year old from Quincy is 64 strokes under par for 20 tournament rounds and has earned $402,272.

Small isn’t surprised, though two of his other players – Scott Langley and Thomas Pieters – were NCAA champions. Guthrie’s biggest college accomplishments were two Big Ten titles, but he also won two Illinois prep championships and one Illinois Amateur.

“He’s been the closest rival to (1988 Illini player and PGA Tour star Steve) Stricker in the last 25 years,’’ Small said of Guthrie. “He’s very tough-minded and strong-willed, and he’s getting better all the time.’’

As for Small, he isn’t going into this PGA with any momentum. He endured his worst-ever Illinois Open (tie for 26th place) last month and didn’t make the cut at the Colorado Open in his last two tournaments.

“Those were only my second and third multi-day events (of the year),’’ said Small. “I haven’t had time to play that much with the NCAAs going into June, then recruiting and camps. I need reps, but I’ve always been a coach first and a player second.’’

Small most recently gave a clinic for high school coaches at Naperville Country Club the day after the Illinois Open. His only tournament as a player after this week’s PGA will be the Illinois PGA Championship, at Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake Aug. 27-29.

Southern flavor for State Am

The Illinois State Amateur concludes Thursday at The Links at Kokopelli in Marion. That’s the southern-most location ever for 82-year old championship. Marion is 25 miles from the Kentucky line. The 1998 tourney was held at Rend Lake in Whittington. Otherwise, the championship has never been contested in southern Illinois.

This year’s tourney is short on past champions. There was only one – Bloomington’s Todd Mitchell, who won in 2002 and 2003 – among the 138 who teed off in Tuesday’s first round. He’s trying to become the event’s fourth three-time winner, following Jim Frisina (who won five times between 1942 and 1958) and Bob Zender and D.A. Points, three-time champions who became regulars on the PGA Tour.

All eight State Am winners since Mitchell turned pro, but one of those – T.C. Ford (2004) – has since regained his amateur status. Now living out of state, he recently finished sixth in the Louisiana Amateur.

The Illinois Am field will be cut to the low 30 and ties after today’s (WEDNESDAY) round, and the survivors will decide the champion in a 36-hole session on Thursday.

Here and there

Champions Tour player Chip Beck will give a clinic at Deerpath, in Lake Forest, on Sunday (AUG 12) as part of the course’s family golf event…..August will be a busy month at Libertyville’s nine-holer. The course will host a Two Clubs and Putter Challenge on Saturday (AUG 11), a Senior Open on Aug. 18 and the Libertyville Open on Aug. 25…..Brian Milligan has been named the new chief financial officer for Northbrook-based KemperSports golf management company…..The 22nd annual Children at the Crossroads Foundation Invitational has been scheduled for Sept. 10 at Chicago’s Harborside International. Proceeds will provide scholarships to The Francis Xavier Warde School.

Wheaton’s Jenna Pearson can become only the second player to win the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open three times when the 18th annual tournament begins today at Mistwood in Romeoville.

“I’m definitely hoping to be in that category,’’ said Pearson, who plays on the LPGA’s Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour. She captured the IWO as an amateur in 2006 and as a professional last year. Only Burr Ridge’s Kerry Postillion, who is also in this week’s field, has three IWO victories. Postillion won the title in 1996, 1997 and 1999.

Pearson is one of four players to win the tourney twice, the others being Emily Gilley, Nicole Jeray and Aimee Neff. Gilley and Neff join Postillion as the only back-to-back champions. Pearson missed her first chance at that when she lost an epic 10-hole playoff to Libertyville amateur Nicole Schachner in 2007.

That playoff — longest in an Illinois golf tournament — was conducted entirely on a par-5 third hole, which was radically re-designed by Michigan architect Ray Hearn since last year’s IWO.

“I liked the original hole. I had a lot of practice on it,’’ quipped Pearson, “but I wasn’t sad to see it leave.’’

Hearn’s re-design – the renovated course re-opened two months ago – was most notable for its 19 new sod-wall bunkers that give the course a European flavor. Pearson, who played the new layout for the first time last week, applauded the changes.

“I like what was done,’’ she said. “The changes made on the course have improved it. Some of the bunkers will make players think more, and the course will be more challenging.’’

Pearson went to the finals of the LPGA qualifying school last fall but couldn’t qualify for the big tour. Since then she’s struggled after making some swing changes, but she’ll have a steadying influence at the IWO. Her mother Laura, who carried her bag for both her IWO victories, will again be Pearson’s caddie.

This year’s 80-player field will compete over 54 holes, with a cut after 36. The champion will receive $15,000 from a professionals’ purse of about $15,000.

Small ready to compete again

Illinois coach Mike Small will compete in the Colorado Open this week as will Eric Meierdierks, loser to Max Scodro in last week’s Illinois Open playoff. For Small getting back in action as a player is essential.

“I haven’t played much, and I need reps,’’ said Small, who has the PGA Championship at South Carolina’s Kiawah course coming up next month. “The Illinois Open was only my second multi-day event since last year. I’ve always been a coach first and a player second, and with (the NCAA) tournament, recruiting and camps I haven’t had time to play that much. I need to play before the PGA.’’

Small, a four-time Illinois Open champion, is coming off his worst showing in that event – a tie for 26th. He’s made one previous appearance in Colorado’s Open, losing the title in a playoff in 2008.

This year’s PGA will mark Small’s 12th appearance in a major championship and his ninth in the PGA. He qualified by finishing fourth in June’s Professional Players National Championship.

Here and there

The 156 players competing the 110th Western Amateur get their final practice rounds on Monday at Exmoor, in Highland Park. After two days of stroke play qualifying the top 16 will decide the prestigious title in three days of match play competition….Last week’s big national amateur event, New York’s Porter Cup, ended with Georgia Tech’s Rusty Werensky dethroning Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers, and both will be in the field at Exmoor Rodgers finished third in the Porter Cup. The Western Am has drawn four of the top six players in the world rankings.….Mike Natale won the 108th Chicago City Amateur at Jackson Park last week….The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct qualifiers for the U.S. Amateur on Thursday at Crestwicke, in Bloomington, and next Monday at both Bull Valley, in Woodstock, and Edgewood Valley, in LaGrange….The Illinois PGA will honor veteran professionals Jim Sobb of Ivanhoe and Doug Bauman of Biltmore at its Senior Masters tournament Monday at Onwentsia, in Lake Forest.

KOHLER, Wis. – Blackwolf Run was where women’s golf took a dramatic turn back in 1998. That’s where Se Ri Pak, a South Korean player, captured one of the most dramatic U.S. Women’s Opens ever. Her win in the biggest tournament in women’s golf triggered a huge influx of players from her country onto the Ladies PGA Tour.

Only nine players from the 1998 field at Blackwolf are back for this 67th U.S. Women’s Open, which tees off today, and Pak is one of them.

Pak defeated 20-year-old amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn in a 20-hole playoff for the title in ’98. Chuasiriporn took a brief fling as a touring pro but didn’t like it. She’s now a nurse in Richmond, Va., and hasn’t played golf in five years. Pak’s impact on the sport, though, has gotten bigger and bigger over the years.

Because of what Pak did, as the first successful Korean player on the women’s circuit, more Korean parents encouraged their daughters to take up golf. Now about 40 compete on the LPGA circuit and many are quite successful. So Yeon Ryu, another Korean, is this week’s defending champion and 28 Koreans are in the field.

“I guess I opened the door for them, as nobody even had tried before,’’ said Pak after a practice round here. “I gave them more confidence about their move forward. I decided to move to the U.S. and play the LPGA Tour. I wanted to be No. 1. My dream was here, on the LPGA Tour. Now they are trying to make their dreams comes true.’’

When Pak won the first of her 27 LPGA tournaments en route to a Hall of Fame career Ryu was 8 years old and wanted to be a violinist.

“At that moment golf was just my hobby and violin was my dream,’’ said Ryu. “Now violin is my hobby and golf is my dream job.’’

Ryu, who calls Pak “my hero,’’ won her title last year in a playoff with Hee Kyung Seo, another Korean, and Pak walked with both.

Pak gave Ryu some advice after both arrived here.

“She said don’t take too much practice at the golf course, because sometimes too much information makes you crazy,’’ said Ryu. “She said to keep low expectations and just trust yourself. I totally understand that.’’

Pak won’t likely contend this week on a course that is 500 yards longer than when she won. She dislocated her left shoulder in May. While her return to competition was sooner than expected, she hasn’t regained top form yet and last week she dropped out of an LPGA tourney in Arkansas, apparently because of dehydration.

Still chances are good a Korean, rather than an American, will win the title on Sunday, however. Only five Americans are ranked in the world’s top 20, and in the last 50 women’s majors American golfers won just nine times. Koreans, meanwhile, won 11 majors including five Women’s Opens since Pak’s victory.

The 67th U.S. Women’s Open, which tees of Thursday at Blackwolf Run, in Kohler, Wis., has two late qualifiers with Chicago connections.

Aimee Neff, winner of the Illinois Women’s Open in 2008 and 2009, and amateur Ashley Armstrong, a Notre Dame sophomore-to-be who won the 2011 Western Junior title, were promoted to the starting field in the last few days after earning first-alternate status in their sectional qualifiers.

Neff is from Carmel, Ind., but some of her best golfing moments came in Chicago. In addition to her two IWO wins at Mistwood, in Romeoville, Neff last college tournament for Michigan State came at Lakeshore Country Club, in Lake Forest, when her Spartans upset NCAA champion Purdue for the title in 2011.

A days later Neff turned pro and is playing on the LPGA’s satellite Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour. She is coming off a tie for fifth on Sunday in the Island Resort Championship in Michigan, a showing that boosted her from 36th to 22nd on the circuit’s season money list with $9,486 won in seven starts.

Armstrong, who lives in Flossmoor, will have Cog Hill assistant pro Garrett Chaussard as her caddie.

The Women’s Open will have its 72-hole run on the same course that hosted a memorable 1998 staging, when Korean Se Ri Pak won in a playoff. Pak is one of nine players from the ’98 championship in this week’s field. Another Korean, So Yeon Ryu, is the defending champion.

Last year’s tourney purse of $3.25 million was the largest in women’s golf . This week’s purse will be announced later this week.

JDC caddie change for Johnson

Zach Johnson is both a tournament board member and frequent contender at the John Deere Classic but Illinois’ lone PGA Tour stop of 2012 will be unusual for the former Masters champion. Damon Green, who was on Johnson’s bag for his last 173 tournaments, won’t be there when the JDC tees off on July 12 at TPC Deere Run.

Green qualified as a player for the U.S. Senior Open, which will be played on concurrent dates in Michigan so Mike Bender, a former PGA Tour player who is Johnson’s swing coach, will be his caddie at the JDC.

PGA regulars Nick Watney, K.J. Choi and Y.E. Yang are the latest entries to the JDC, which will have 11 of the top 16 finishers at last week’s PGA Tour stop, the AT&T National.

PGA-bound again

University of Illinois coach Mike Small couldn’t claim his fourth title in the PGA Professionals National Championship in California last week but he did finished fourth, which qualified him for next month’s PGA Championship at Kiahwah in South Carolina.

The Illinois PGA had 14 members among the 312 qualifiers for the PGA Professionals tourney, with Small and David Paeglow the only ones to survive the 36-hole cut. Paeglow, head professional at Kishwaukee in DeKalb, finished in a tie for 60th.

Here and there

Northwestern women’s coach Emily Fletcher got a big boost when Canadian Nicole Zhang transferred to NU from Notre Dame. Zhang was the top-ranked freshman in the country last season for the Irish when she had six top-10 finishes and one tournament victory….Nicole Jeray, the long-time LPGA player from Berwyn, tied for second at the Island Resort Championship, a showing that boosted her from 25th to 12th on the Symetral Tour money list….Defending Illinois Open champion Philip Arouca tied for 34th in last week’s Windy City Open at Bolingbrook. Californian Chris Kilkenny won the Golfweek National Professional Tour event. Arouca had his best finish since suffering a wrist injury last fall….The Chicago District Golf Assn. hosts a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier on Monday at Blackberry Oaks, in Bristol, as well as the first Illinois Amateur eliminations – Monday at Franklin County in downstate West Frankfort and Tuesday at both Sanctuary, in New Lenox, and Panther Creek, in Springfield…..Illinois PGA members get their last tuneup for the Illinois Open at the Ravisloe Classic, in Homewood, on Monday….Midtown Athletic Club, in Palatine, has scheduled a July 23 charity fundraiser at Kemper Lakes, in Long Grove, to benefit the Clearbook facility that provides treatment for people with developmental disabilities.

By far the biggest month of the golf season in the Midwest begins in just a few days. July offers the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin and the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities , followed by the two state opens for Illinois golfers and the start of the Western Amateur at Exmoor in Highland Park.

None is bigger than the John Deere Classic, which spotlights Steve Stricker’s bid to become the fourth PGA Tour player to win a tournament four straight years. Only Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen and Tiger Woods have done that – and Woods did it twice.

Stricker won’t be the whole show in the PGA Tour’s only Illinois top in 2012, however. JDC director Clair Peterson’s latest entry report showed that the customary dates the week before the British Open won’t hurt his field in the least.

Forty players who competed in the U.S. Open will tee off at TPC at Deere Run on July 12 and at least 20 qualifiers for the British will have their final tuneup for the year’s third major championship there before jumping on the jet that Peterson has chartered the last five years to get players directly to British site Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England.

Stars from the U.S. Open coming to the Quad Cities include Michael Thompson, who tied for second; Kevin Chappel and John Senden, who tied for 10th; and Jordan Spieth, who was low amateur at the Olympic Club.

In addition the JDC field includes the winners of eight PGA Tour stops this year and 24 from the last two seasons.

“We’re very excited with how the field is shaping up,’’ said Peterson. “Our fans are guaranteed to see not only players who are stars of the future; they’ll also see players who have proven themselves on golf’s greatest stages.’’

Women in waiting

The U.S. Women’s Open, which tees off on July 5, might have two players with Chicago connections in its starting field.

Notre Dame sophomore Ashley Armstrong, from Flossmoor, is first alternate out of the sectional qualifier in St. Louis, and Aimee Neff, the Michigan State alum who won the Illinois Women’s Open in 2008 and 2009, is first alternate from Chicago’s sectional, which was played at Big Foot in Fontana, Wis. They were among a record 1,364 entries, which included players from 47 states and 44 other countries.

The U.S. Golf Assn. doesn’t reveal the order of advancement for alternates of sectional qualifying rounds. Both Armstrong and Neff might have to wait until the first day of competition before knowing if they’re in the field.

A battle to end all battles

The Chicago-based Women’s Western Golf Assn. had a match for the record books at its 112th Amateur championship last week in Monroe, Mich. Mary Michael Maggio and Asia Adell went 13 extra holes in the Round of 16. The longest matches in the U.S. Golf Assn. records were nine extra holes in women’s championships and 10 in men’s.

The Women’s Western Amateur final was memorable, too – a battle of sisters in which Ariya Jutanugarn beat Moryia 2 and 1. Ariya won the U.S. Girls Junior crown at Olympia Fields last year.

Here and there

The match play portion of the 93rd Chicago District Amateur runs through Friday at Cantigny in Wheaton. ….Pam Tyska has retired after coaching Northern Illinois’ women’s team for 26 seasons…..Fourteen Illinois PGA members are in the Professional Players National Championship, which concludes today in California….Northwestern’s Eric Chun was given honorable mention All-America status after ending his senior season with a 71.38 stroke average. That’s fifth-best in NU history behind three of Luke Donald’s seasons in Evanston and one by Jess Daley in 2000….Illinois had NCAA champion Thomas Pieters on the All-American first team and Luke Guthrie on the second team. Guthrie, is the fourth Illini players to be selected multiple times, behind Stricker (1987-89), James Lepp (2002-03) and Scott Langley (2009-11)….Last of the seven qualifiers for the July 16-18 Illinois Open is Thursday at downstate Effingham Country Club.…Adam Wood of Zionsville, Ind., won the first of the Western Golf Association’s three championships of 2012. He took the Western Junior by four shots at Country Club of Florida last week…. Oakley has joined sponsors for the Illinois Open and will also be presenting sponsor of the Aug. 20 stroke play event at Schaumburg and the Nov. 3-7 pro-am at Georgia’s Reynolds Plantation resort.

For over three decades Illinois club professionals dominated their amateur counterparts. Those days are apparently over.

Last week the Chicago District Golf Association’s amateur stars beat the Illinois PGA’s best 11 ½-6 ½ in the 51st Radix Cup matches at Oak Park Country Club. That was the CDGA’s fourth win in five years in the competition, though the IPGA has a 32-17-2 edge in the rivalry.

With the team event over, both the CDGA and IPGA are preparing for their biggest championships and for Philip Arouca, the defending champion in the IPGA’s Illinois Open, that’s a big task.

Arouca won last year’s Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods Country Club but won’t defend there. After four years at Hawthorn Woods the IPGA is taking the championship back to The Glen Club in Glenview, with the 54-hole showdown coming July 16-18.

Normally a defender would prefer going for a repeat on the same course. Not so for Arouca. The Wilmette resident caddied at The Glen Club, played in two Illinois Opens there and has joined his father as a member for the last three years. He was “absolutely ecstatic’’ when he heard about the venue switch.

Arouca hasn’t been so happy about his health since his biggest win of 2011. He developed a stress fracture in his right wrist during the first stage of PGA Tour qualifying school last fall, forcing him to not touch a club for five weeks. He’s resuming competition this week in a National Pro Golf Tour event at Michigan’s Treetops course. That mini-circuit has been Arouca’s playground since the last Illinois Open and will remain that way until the shooting starts at The Glen.

Last year that tour held small regional tournaments in the Chicago area, with Arouca winning at Highlands of Elgin and finishing second at Bolingbrook Golf Club. Over the next three weeks he’ll play in 72-hole $150,000 events the circuit is staging at Treetops, Bolingbrook and Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis.

“The wrist pain at the end of last year wasn’t much fun, and it’s been a struggle lately,’’ he said, “but I’m real excited to finally have a good solid event schedule.’’

Amateurs were medalists at the first three qualifiers for the Illinois Open. Bloomington’s Alex Burge was best in the first qualifier with a 67 at Bloomington Country Club. Another amateur, Dan Strawbridge from Roselle, was low man at Deerfield with a 68 and still another, Joe Willis of Lake Forest, matched pro Tommy Bliefnick of Decatur for low round at Bull Valley in Woodstock. Both carded 70s.

The last four qualifiers are Wednesday (JUNE 20) at Lincolnshire, Monday (JUNE 25) at Inverness, Tuesday (JUNE 26) at Highlands of Elgin and June 28 at Effingham Country Club.

More changes for CDGA Amateur

Last year the 36-hole final of the CDGA Amateur was played on a different course than all the previous matches because the opportunity to play Medinah No. 3 was deemed too good an opportunity to pass up. September’s Ryder Cup venue produced a stirring climax to the historic championship, Bloomington’s Kyle English outlasting El Paso’s Andy Mickelson over 37 holes.

This year the tourney is making another unusual change for its 93rd staging at Cantigny in Wheaton. Departing from its traditional Monday-Thursday scheduling for the second straight year, the event will start next Tuesday and there will be another refinement with the 36-hole stroke play qualifying will be spread over two days. Match play for the 16 finalists will start next Wednesday afternoon – shortly after the second stroke play qualifying round.

As was the case last year, the scheduling change was made because outings were previously scheduled at Cantigny, the first public facility to host the CDGA Amateur since Pine Meadow, in Mundelein, co-hosted with Medinah in 1991. English and Mickelson are both entered, with English hoping to become the first repeat winner since Joe Affrunti in 2000 and 2001.

Here and there

Luke Donald’s fourth annual Taste of the First Tee fundraiser will be held Wednesday (JUNE 20) at Northern Trust’s headquarters in Chicago. PGA Tour stars Steve Stricker and Mark Wilson will also participate…..The Bears beat the Packers 10-2 in Monday’s Rivalry Cup at Medinah’s No. 3 layout…..Chalet, in Cary, and Chapel Hill, in McHenry, have been added to GolfVisions’ Player Pass program….Crane’s Landing, in Lincolnshire, and Willow Crest, in Oak Brook, are among the courses joining in the Fairways-Fore-Freedom program initiated by Marriott Golf to provide active, reserve and retired military personnel with both free and discounted golf opportunities….The Chicago qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Public Links tourney is at Oak Grove, in Harvard, on Wednesday…..Deerpath, in Lake Forest, will host the Illinois PGA Junior boys and girls championships Wednesday and Thursday (JUNE 20-21).