WEST POINT, MS. – One of America’s premier golf families has a dilemma this week. In what is most likely an historical first, the family’s two most prominent golfijng members will be playing in major international team competitions at the same time.

While Keegan Bradley will be trying to help the U.S. team regain the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland his aunt, World Golf Hall of Famer Pat Bradley, will be trying to help the U.S. regain the ISPS Handa Cup at Old Waverly.

“It’s very exciting,’’ said Pat Bradley who – like Keegan – was on the losing side the last time the team competitions were held. “I’m trying to figure out how he’s going to find time to watch his aunt at the Handa Cup.’’

Keegan will certainly have more trouble following his aunt’s performance than Pat will have following Keegan’s.

“The nice thing about the Ryder Cup is, they (the TV networks) will be playing it all night long, so I can catch up on him,’’ said Pat.

Pat Bradley, 53, was the only daughter among the six children of Richard and Kay Bradley. Her father was an avid golfer while she was growing up in Massachusetts and one of her brothers, Mark, became a PGA professional in Wyoming.

Pat won 31 tournaments on the LPGA tour including six major titles. Keegan, Mark’s son, won the PGA Championship in 2011 – his rookie season on the PGA Tour – and took the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in 2012. The Bradleys were selected National Golf Family of the Year in 1989 by the National Golf Foundation,

Both Keegan, 28, and Pat are known as fierce competitors, which adds to their enthusiasm for what’s ahead in the next few days. Ryder Cup matches begin on Friday and Handa Cup matches, for members of the LPGA Legends Tour, tee off on Saturday. Both competitions conclude on Sunday.

“It’s an exciting moment,’’ said Pat. “It is history – the Ryder Cup and Handa Cup. I’m thrilled to be here, thrilled to be part of the Handa Cup. I know Keegan is thrilled to be part of the Ryder Cup. It’ll be fun, and we’ll work hard.’’

Though Keegan was a star on the losing U.S. side at Medinah in 2012, he needed an invitation from U.S. captain Tom Watson to make this year’s Ryder Cup.

“He was worried,’’ said Pat. “He was hoping, and did everything in his power to be there. I’m happy Tom picked him. Keegan’s a great match player. He gets that competition, and he and Phil (Mickelson) made an exceptional team in the last Ryder Cup. Everybody’s sitting on the edge of their seats looking forward to see how Phil and Keegan come out of the box.’’

They’ll team up in the fourth match of the morning session at Gleneagles. Pat’s partner for Saturday’s team matches at Old Waverly hasn’t been announced.

“I’ve got to concentrate on what I’m doing and play hard for my partner and for the Handa Cup,’’ she said.

As exciting as this first International Crown figures to be, the second staging in 2016 could well be even more eye-catching. It’ll be played at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, IL., 46 miles west of Chicago.

Rich Harvest is a much different place than Caves Valley. The ultra-private club has only 100 members. The facility is spread over 1,820 acres and includes a private car museum, miles of horseback-riding trails and three lakes stocked for fishing.

At the center of it all, though, is a beautiful golf course that didn’t have all 18 holes open until 17 years ago but is already an established tournament venue. Owner Jerry Rich has wanted it that way. Not only did he design the course and build it over a 10-year period, he was at the forefront in the creation of the International Crown – the showcase event at his very special place.

Simply put, Rich is a visionary with a passion for golf, the women’s version in particular.

“I want to create a legacy,’’ he said. “Bobby Jones created the Masters, so we can create the International Crown. I had long decided that I wanted to stay in women’s golf. It’s the type of product I wanted to be involved in.’’

Rich Harvest continues to be Chicago’s most active tournament venue. This year it hosted the men’s NCAA Central Regional in May and will host the Northern Intercollegiate, nearby Northern Illinois University’s showcase event, in September. In 2015 Rich Harvest will welcome the Western Amateur and Palmer Cup events and in 2017 it’ll be the site of the Western Golf Association’s 100th staging of the Western Junior Championship. Rich is making his biggest impact on the women’s side, however.

His involvement officially began in 2004, when he started a five-year project that resulted in Rich Harvest hosting one of the most successful Solheim Cups ever in 2009. The U.S. team came out the winner, but the staging was even more important. The event drew 120,00 spectators and averaged about 30,000 on days when the matches were in progress.

The success of that Solheim Cup only whetted Rich’s appetite for something even more significant. The International Crown fits that bill. He’s hopeful the event will find a permanent home at Rich Harvest; the 2016 event is just a starter.

“I contacted (LPGA commissioner) Mike Whan after the Solheim Cup,’’ said Rich. “I told him `You’ve got the greatest product in the world,’ but the Solheim Cup didn’t have the greatest players in women’s golf; they’re from Asia. We had to create something new and different, an event that would bring them into the competition.’’

Whan agreed, and a format for the International Crown was developed. Whan, however, wanted to get the Crown going in 2014 and Rich wasn’t ready for that. He needed time to develop related junior programs and organize a promotional effort even more elaborate than his Solheim Cup received.

Rich hired seven staffers two years ago. They began contacting high school and college girls’ teams and built a large database of contacts in 240 communities within 40 miles of Rich Harvest.

More important, though, the staffers alerted the Chicago consulates based in Chicago about the International Crown. All countries competing in this year’s International Crown have consulates based there, and about 30 attended an October luncheon at a Chicago restaurant. They were receptive, and there’ll be more contact with those groups as the second International Crown approaches.

“There will be only four Americans playing, so we’ve got to energize the ethnic bases,’’ said Rich. “We’ve got to get 1,000 or 2,000 out each day from the other countries. When Golf Channel shows it, that’ll making this thing really blossom. We don’t know how many total spectators we’ll get, but we should be able to match or exceed the number we had at the Solheim Cup.’’

Rich isn’t reluctant about declaring Chicago “the greatest city in the world,’’ and an ideal area for the Crown because of the global nature of its large population. There are, for instance, 50,000 Koreans living in the Chicago area. They’re sure to be excited about seeing their golf stars compete, especially after attending this year’s Watch Parties that the Rich Harvest staff has organized at various locations during the inaugural International Crown. The first Crown will be televised in 170 countries, so many more people world-wide will know about it by the time the matches begin at Rich Harvest.

Rich already invited the top Asian players on the LPGA Tour to visit Rich Harvest anytime over the next two years. None have seen the place yet, but they’ll be impressed once they get there.

The course, always among the best conditioned in the country, has consistently been listed in the elite Golf Digest rankings of America’s Top 100 Greatest Courses. It has state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor practice facilities in addition to 29 suites on the property. Rich Harvest is also home to the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois, which has impacted the lives of over 100,000 youth since its inception in 1998.

Players on both the U.S. and European teams stayed in cottages on the property during Solheim Cup, but that won’t be the case in 2016. The 32 players will be housed at a luxury hotel 10 minutes from the course. The three estate houses on the course, which comprise 50 rooms, will house those with ambassador packages. There will be eight of them, each coming in at the $400,000 level and offering a variety of perks in addition to the on-course lodging.

The bulk of the other golf fans attending will find it easier to get to the course than those attending the Solheim did. Due to the popularity of the event, the Solheim had a 10-mile traffic backup at one point on the first day of the matches, but that problem won’t likely happen again. Roads were widened and a round-about built near the course to facilitate traffic flow. Alternate routes to the course have also been devised.

A diverse gallery is assured for the second International Crown. Chicago’s ethnic communities are expected to turn out in large numbers, but Rich is just as happy to predict “there’ll be a lot of young people here.’’

The youngsters will have more to watch than the competitive matches. A 5,000-square foot Kids Pavilion will include special stations to interest both the youth and adult visitors.

“It’ll be a learning experience. That’s all part of it,’’ said Rich.

Once Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel heard about plans for the International Crown he told Rich that “It’s the Olympics we didn’t get.’’

The city’s bid to host that premier international competition was rejected, but the International Crown promises to be a suitable replacement. And, if Rich has his way, it’ll be a long-lasting one.

“It’ll be huge – the biggest thing to ever hit golf,’’ Rich predicted. That remains to be seen – but no one’s arguing with him about it.

It’s back to Chicago for the BMW Championship. The Western Golf Assn. will continue its policy of playing its premier event close to its home base every other year, and Conway Farms will again be the site of tourney after it leaves Cherry Hills. It’ll next be contested from Sept. 14-20 in 2015.

Conway Farms, based in Chicago’s North Shore community of Lake Forest, hosted the tournament for the first time in 2013 and the event was a rousing success. It was one of the best-attended tournaments of the year on the PGA Tour, with 130,000 spectators. It produced the lowest 18-hole round of the season – Jim Furyk’s 59. It raised $2.3 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation and – for the second straight year – the BMW Championship was named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year. The estimated economic impact for the area was $30 million.

Tournament director Vince Pellegrino called the support received at a new location “overwhelming.’’ Given that a PGA Tour event hadn’t been staged in Chicago’s North suburbs since 1972, it was no surprise when the PGA Tour confirmed the return to Conway Farms on May 28. There was no reason to change a good thing.

Still, the announcement was good news for the club’s most prominent member – former world No. 1 Luke Donald.

“As a member I’m proud that Conway Farms will again be hosting the BMW Championship,’’ said Donald, “and, as a PGA Tour player, I’m excited to have another opportunity to compete on my home course against the world’s best players.’’

Having the 2013 BMW at Conway was a tonic for Donald, who needed a strong showing there to earn a place in the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings that would qualify him for The Tour Championship in Atlanta. Donald got it with a tie for fourth place showing at Conway.

That tourney was filled with other highlights. Furyk’s hot second round made him only the sixth player to shoot a 59 in a PGA Tour event, following Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Paul Goydos and Stuart Appleby. Furyk was 12-under after making 11 birdies and a holeout for eagle at the par-4 15th hole.

Hunter Mahan also made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, and controversy wasn’t lacking with Tiger Woods assessed a video-aided penalty. Those developments also helped make for an exciting week.

Woods finished in a tie for 11th, as Zach Johnson emerged the champion with a 16-under-par 268 performance. A 65 in the final round gave Johnson a two-stroke edge on Nick Watney and a three-shot advantage on Furyk, who finished solo third.

The tourney had one major problem – the weather. The final round couldn’t be completed on time because of heavy rain, and the tourney didn’t end until Monday.

When the event returns next year the place and the course will have a new look. The club membership undertook some major projects this summer that will enhance the next BMW Championship.

The practice range was closed on July 17 for a major renovation, and the course also was shut down early, on Aug. 4, to allow for renovation work by architects Tom Fazio and Dennis Wise. It won’t re-open until Memorial Day weekend of 2015.

All the greens were renovated and some other tweaks – described as “minor’’ by general manager Todd Marsh – were also made to the course so the 70 players who qualify for the next BMW Championship will find an even better layout than the one played in 2013. As you can tell, Conway Farms members take their golf seriously. Of the 265 members, 165 have single digit handicaps. That puts Conway in the top five clubs in the country for having that many quality players in its membership.

More extensive work was done off the course. Sixty-six spaces were added to the parking lot, the golf shop underwent a complete renovation and a state-of-the-art caddie headquarters was also constructed.

Even before the updating the Tom Fazio-designed layout was plenty good for tournament play. Six years after its 1991 opening it hosted the men’s NCAA Championship and a year later the U.S. Junior Amateur was played there.

Before the BMW’s arrival Conway also hosted the American Junior Golf Assn. Canon Cup in 2002 and 2006, the men’s Big Ten Championship in 2006, the Western Amateur in 2009 and the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2011.

Until the BMW came to town, however, the course’s only tests from pros came in the 2007 U.S. Open local qualifying and the 2008 U.S. Open sectional qualifying. The course was set up at 7,216 yards with a par of 71 for its first full-fledged test from PGA Tour players. The low scoring was in large part due to helpful playing conditions – rain-softened greens and little wind throughout the tourney.

Scoring could be much different next time, if the weather isn’t as ideal and the renovation creates more challenging playing conditions.

The U.S. Golf Assn. is based in Far Hills, N.J., and its leaders don’t get to Chicago all that much. That’s why Tom O’Toole’s recent stopover offered a good opportunity to find out what’s new with golf’s ruling body in the United States.

O’Toole, the USGA president, is from St. Louis. He’s been involved with USGA matters since 1988 and is in his seventh year as a member of the USGA Executive Committee. O’Toole is in his first year as president after serving as secretary in 2010 and vice president from 2011 to 2013. He has also been a USGA rules official on more than 135 championships including every U.S. Open since 1990.

While O’Toole’s visit was designed to connect with key supporters and benefactors for next year’s U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields, KemperSports arranged for some select media to question him about current issues in our game. O’Toole spoke expansively, and this is the boiled down version of what he said:

QUESTION: While it’s great that the U.S. Amateur is coming (its 115th playing is from Aug. 17-23, 2015, on the North and South courses at Olympia Fields), Chicago is not on the current list for a U.S. Open – or any other USGA championship, for that matter. Will any big events – particular U.S. Opens – be coming?

O’TOOLE: It’s been the long-standing practice of the USGA that we don’t talk about invitations that we receive for particular championships because we protect the confidentiality of clubs and regions and communities that are in that mix. That said, Chicago certainly is a wonderful golf town. We’ve had great U.S. Opens here, even in the last couple of decades with Hale Irwin winning at Medinah (1990) and Jim Furyk at Olympia Fields (2003).

We would always look to interact with a club that would issue an invitation, or facility if it’s not a private membership club like Medinah or Olympia Fields, to bring the U.S. Open back to this storied town of Chicago.

QUESTION: Which club, or facility, would be the best bet for that?

O’TOOLE: Suffice to say that our experience next year at Olympia Fields will be one that will be looked at closely. I’m sure it will cause the club possibly to entertain other discussions with us about future championships at the club.

QUESTION: This year was an unusual one for the USGA, in that both the men’s U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open were played on the same course for the first time, and in back-to-back weeks. In retrospect, was that a good idea and will it likely be tried again?

O’TOOLE: We’ll continue to look at something like that. We knew there was associated risk with doing that, predominantly centered around the Women’s championship. We don’t want to be braggadocios, but we pretty much avoided those risks and ended up with two great weeks of championship golf.

We always thought it would be an unbelievable celebration of women’s golf. You don’t always achieve your objective when you start down a road like that, but I think we did that. There were more eyes on women’s golf that second week. Our ratings were fabulous, the best they’d ever been for the Women’s Open. We had great galleries. It was mission accomplished.

QUESTION: Given the USGA’s new, more lucrative television contract, could some of that money be used to start a U.S. Senior Women’s Open?

O’TOOLE: That’s been a hotbed of discussion. Mike Davis and Dan Burton, who chair our Championship Committee, met with players on the (LPGA) Legends Tour. We had a good exchange, and we’re looking at it very in-depth. It’s the only sector of golfers we don’t have a national championship for. We don’t want to rush to have one if we don’t think the championship is viable.

Do we have a number of golfers from both the female professional ranks or female amateur ranks who would want to participate? We’re looking at what the Legends Tour is, how big its fields are. They range anywhere from the mid-40s up to 100. What would be the right fit for that? We promised this group that this was not lip service, that we were taking a very serious look at this championship.

I want to get this resolved by year’s end so we can say, we’ve made a decision, we’re going to go forward, we’re not, and here is the reason for either answer. I’d look for something this year.

QUESTION: One tournament that went away this year was the U.S. Public Links, for both men and women. Any regrets about that?

O’TOOLE: It was somewhat of a sad time when we retired that championship, but society has changed. We need to be celebrating that point, the fact that we don’t have in any of our national championships any requirements about what your socioeconomic background is, what golf club or facility you play for or represent.

It’s a wonderful thing that in this day and age we’ve evolved past that, particularly in a sport that’s been accused of being an elitist sport, exclusionary and not inclusionary. We don’t need those championships anymore because our society is open, our game is open. It’s something to be exhilarated about and not be disappointed about.

QUESTION: Finally, the U.S. Amateur that is coming to Olympia Fields next year may not be the most heavily followed of the USGA events but your organization in many ways finds it the most important. Why is that?

O’TOOLE: Well, it’s our oldest championship (it was first held in 1895) and the USGA is an amateur body. That’s why we were formed in December of 1894 – to conduct championships that are primarily of the amateur variety.

I don’t think there’s any debate in men’s amateur golf that the most coveted title is the Havemeyer Trophy (which goes to the U.S. Amateur champion). It just has a long connection with what the USGA represents and the epitome of what we’re trying to do in our championship presentation. The level of competition that you enjoy at the Amateur is the best in the amateur game. We have a particular attachment to it for what it means in championship golf going forward.