Daily Herald Columns

  The PGA Championship, second major event of the PGA Tour season, claims the national golf spotlight on Thursday at Quail Hollow, in Charlotte, N.C., but the Illinois Section of the PGA staged its first of four majors last week and it produced a result for the local record books. Jim Billiter, of Ivanhoe Club,…

The Presidents Cup, played every two years between the top PGA Tour players from the U.S. and a select team of International stars from all parts of the world except Europe, hasn’t created much excitement since its debut in 1994. The U.S. holds a 13-1-1 edge in the series. Medinah hosts the next staging, in…

  Last year the Illinois PGA’s newest big thing was the addition of a season-long team competition that was  well received by section members.  This year’s newest big thing is more far-reaching. The Illinois PGA Open Series tees off on Monday at White Eagle, in Naperville. That’ll be the first of six one-day tournaments that…

  Galena’s Eagle Ridge, long been Illinois’ premier golf resort, has brought in a new instructor who knows the area well. Scott Szbowicz went to Eagle Ridge  on his honeymoon 41 years ago.   Szybowicz and his wife, Jane, have been squeezing in regular visits to Eagle Ridge during his 37 years as a PGA member….

  The 89th Masters golf tournament was followed by people world-wide, golfers or not.  It’s not unusual for publishers to use that big event to introduce their newest books, and – since I dabble with book reviews periodically – it’s not unusual for those publishers to send me their books for review purposes. The week…

The Masters tees off on Thursday at Georgia’s Augusta National, and – judging by the pre-tourney hype – it’s going to be a strange one. Over the last four years issues involving the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were prominent.  Not so this year.  Merger talks seem non-existent. LIV has remained a viable threat to…

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…

    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…

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…