Scotland’s Trish Johnson is the only woman to have won a major senior tournament. She won the only one – the first Senior LPGA Championship last fall – and she got off to a good start on making it two-for-two in Thursday’s first round of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton.

She’s not leading, though. Elaine Crosby, a late starter, posted a 3-under-par 70 to claim a one-stroke lead on Johnson, Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann and England’s Laura Davies. Crosby, 60, plays on The Legends Tour.

Johnson, who led wire to wire in the Senior LPGA Championship at Indiana’s French Lick Resort, won’t be able to go wire to wire at Chicago Golf Club, and Crosby, a former member of the LPGA Tour who lives in Jackson, Mich., wasn’t her only problem in the first round. Johnson encountered a couple things that were unnerving.

For one, though she was in the second threesome to tee off, there was a wait at the first tee. Opening ceremonies involved remarks by Mike Davis, executive director of the U.S. Golf Association, and a stirring rendition of The National Anthem by Grammy winner Heather Headley. Then came the opening tee shot by JoAnne Carner, a ready-made photo op for fans who stood four-deep at 7 a.m. to celebrate the long-awaited national championship for women 50 and over.

“A 20-minute wait or so on the first tee, it was quite nerve-racking, to be honest,’’ said Johnson after posting her 71.

Then there was the pin position at the par-3 10th hole. Johnson put her tee shot on the 136-yard hole on the back of the green, then rolled her downhill putt past the cup, off the green and into a bunker. Playing partner Helen Alfredsson of Sweden did the same thing and so did former U.S. Women’s Open champions Pat Bradley and Amy Alcott.

“If you’re behind the flag you cannot stop it. You’ve got to be either short or to the side,’’ said Johnson, who apparently is learning fast about America’s first 18-hole course that is hosting its 12th U.S. Golf Association championship but only the second for women. The first was the U.S. Women’s Amateur way back in 1903.

Chicago Golf Club offered a look this week’s players don’t see very much. Spectators can walk with them in the fairways. There are no gallery ropes, just directional markers around the greens.

That’s not the only difference from her first major win at French Lick, a Pete Dye design.

“French Lick is harder than this course,’’ said Johnson. “The fairways here are a lot wider. French Lick’s aren’t at all; You can hardly see any of them. And here it’s four rounds walking, which is not something you do on The Legends Tour.

Crosby qualified for this Senior Open at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, shooting a 72 to earn one of the five spots offered there. A big supporter of The Legends Tour, she has hosted its Wendy’s Charity Classic tournament for the last 16 years.

“Hopefully The Legends will gain momentum from this Senior Open,’’ said Crosby. “It’ll show that we can play. We may not have a lot of tournaments, but we do have a lot of pro-ams and we’re really good at those.’’

Davies – one of the expected contenders — finished her round in style, making eagle on the 18th hole. She hit a good drive on the 425-yard par-5 and put a 7-iron approach from 168 yards to 10 feet. She played with Juli Inkster and Neumann, and they’ll be paired again in today’s second round.

Neumann and Davies go way back. They played together in 1979 in the European Junior Championship. Inkster, the third member of the threesome, is still active on the LPGA Tour but she couldn’t keep up with the two Europeans. Poor putting has hampered her much of this season, but that wasn’t the problem on Thursday.

“I hit the ball like crap,’’ she said. “I drove really bad and played defensive all day. I hit maybe four fairways with my driver, and that’s been my best club all year. But it could have been a lot worse. I’m just excited that I actually putted pretty good.’’

So did Jamie Fischer, the director of instruction at Conway Farms. A qualifier for the tournament at her home club, Fischer started the finals with a 1-over-74 and is tied for 11th place after Round 1.

Carner, the star of the show at the first tee in early morning, made birdie on the last hole to shoot her age – a 79.

So far the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open has been a feel-good story — the long-overdue creation of a national championship for women golfers who have passed their 50th birthday.

They’re delighted the U.S. Golf Association added the event to its schedule, and it’s brought a lot of former professional and amateur competitors together again. In fact, the atmosphere at Chicago Golf Club over the last three days even resembled a high school reunion, especially at Tuesday night’s players’ dinner.

“It was a lot of people just having fun, meeting old acquaintances, catching up with people,’’ said Juli Inkster, one of the favorites to be at the top of the leaderboard after the regulation 72 holes wrap up on Sunday at the Wheaton layout that became America’s first 18-hole course in 1893.

Now the socializing is over, and it’s down to business with the challenge of becoming the first champion of the USGA’s newest national championship on the line for 120 players from the original entry of 462. The finalists will tee off starting at 7 a.m., with JoAnne Carner having the honor of smacking the first tee shot.

Carner had a brilliant amateur and professional career. She won an NCAA title, a U.S. Junior crown, five U.S. Amateurs, two U.S. Opens and 43 Ladies PGA tournaments. She deserves the honor of hitting the first ball, but Carner is 79 now and her chances of winning this week are slim and none.

She has fought recent hip problems and spent 2 ½ weeks of the last month on a boat trip to the Bahamas. That’s hardly conducive to good preparation for a big tournament. Still, Carner walked 18-hole practice rounds the last three days in 90-degree heat, and said with a grin “I’m always ready. I’ve been waiting 29 years for this. I was hoping I’d still be alive to play in it.’’

Carner will probably do just fine, but there figures to be just four main challenges for the coveted title. Inkster is one, mainly because she still plays frequently against the young stars on the LPGA circuit.

Hampered by putting problems, she hasn’t had a good year, though. Inkster shot 79-77 and missed the cut in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes, in Kildeer, two weeks ago. She is switching back to a cross-handed putting grip this week after using a claw most of the season.

“My path was bad,’’ she said. “I don’t know how you get into these funks, but I do.’’

She been working with her club professional husband Brian to correct the problem, but the results haven’t been encouraging so far.

“He’s been drinking a lot this week, poor guy,’’ quipped Inkster.

The member of the favorite foursome who would seem to be the best bet to win is Scotland’s Trish Johnson, mainly because she was the winner of the only previous major championship for senior women. She led wire to wire in the Senior LPGA Championship last fall at French Lick Resort in Indiana. Johnson also won a Legends event in Washington this year.

Two other foreign players – Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann and England’s Laura Davies – are the other members of the favored foursome. Neumann, winner of 13 LPGA titles and 11 European Tour events, has also won three times on the Legends Tour, for LPGA stars of the past who have reached their 45th birthday.

Davies, a World Golf Hall of Famers, has remained competitive on the LPGA Tour. She is Inkster’s favorite to win this week.

“I don’t know about being the favorite,’’ said Davies, “but the USGA is taking this seriously because it’s an inaugural event. It’s the real deal. The USGA has done the players proud, and hopefully now we’ll do them proud with our performances on the course.’’

Though that foursome appears to be the class of the field, there are some other interesting possibilities.

Jane Blalock is the founder of the Legends Tour, and Suzy Whaley will soon become the first female president of the PGA of America. Blalock got in the field as a sponsor’s exemption and Whaley survived sectional qualifying. So did Kay Cockerill, a former LPGA player who converted into a tournament analyst for The Golf Channel.

Cockerill will have her husband Danny as her caddie. He was on her bag during Cockerill’s years on the LPGA Tour but hasn’t carried since Kay’s failed attempt at a U.S. Open qualifying round in 2006.

There is also a sister duo in the field. Hollis Stacy was a three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion. Her sister, Martha Leach won a U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. The last time they played together in a tournament was in 1990, at the U.S. Open.

It isn’t that Mike Small hasn’t gotten into big golf tournaments before. The super successful men’s coach at the University of Illinois has remained a competitive player in large part by taking advantage of sponsor’s exemptions.

Small didn’t get an invitation to this week’s Constellation Senior Players Championship, which tees off at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park on Thursday, however. It’s the third of the season’s five major events on PGA Tour Champions, and the only way Small could get into the field was by making it into the top 70 on the circuit’s Charles Schwab Cup money list.

“This is real special because you have to qualify to get in,’’ said Small. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to play. Majors are always something you get up for….majors are different.’’

So, at the same time that Dylan Meyer and Nick Hardy – the stars of Small’s Illini teams of the last four seasons – are playing in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in downstate Silvis, Ill., on sponsor exemptions the coach will be part of the strongest field of the season on the 50-and-over tour.

Small made it off his performances in three tournaments in which he received sponsor invites. He used those three starts to earn $103,895. That moved him to No. 68 on the Schwab Cup money list.

“I knew I had to have a top 10 finish in Wisconsin (the American Family Insurance Classic in Madison) to make the field,’’ said Small.

He barely made it thanks to a tie for 10th in a tournament organized by Steve Stricker that ended on June 24. Small and Stricker were teammates on Illini teams in the 1980s.

Two weeks before his strong finish in Wisconsin Small tied for ninth in the Principal Charity Classic in Iowa and he also had a tie for 24th in the Cologuard Classic in Arizona in March. Small learned that his spot in the Senior Players field was official while he was on the Exmoor course over the weekend.

“It’s always fun to play in front of Chicago fans,’’ said Small. “I played in the Western Open many times when it was at Cog Hill, and being at Exmoor is going to be a semi-home game for me. We have a lot of Illinois alumni and friends who are members at Exmoor. I’m excited to go up there to compete.’’

Vince Pellegrino, vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association – the manager of this Senior Players event, is excited, too.

“Mike’s well-known and respected throughout the Midwest, and we expect his presence to add an extra energy level and excitement to the championship,’’ said Pellegrino.

Interestingly, Stricker – one of the top players on PGA Tour Champions – will skip this major to compete in the John Deere Classic instead. He’s a three-time winner of that event. Davis Love III, who is also eligible to compete on the 50-and-over circuit, will also play in the JDC, in part because that tournament gave a sponsor’s exemption to his son Dru.

The Western Golf Association had planned to hold its Western Amateur championship at Exmoor this year, but the club campaigned for the senior major over two years ago and was successful. So, the Western Amateur will tee off later this month at Sunset Ridge, in Northfield, and Exmoor will serve as that tournament’s host at a later date.

Exmoor is one of Chicago’s most historic golf venues. The club was founded in 1896 and is the third oldest in Illinois behind Wheaton’s Chicago Golf Club (1893) and Lake Forest’s Onwentsia (1895). Chicago Golf Club will host the inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Open at the same time the Constellation Senior Players Championship is in progress.

Charles Blair Macdonald, founder of Chicago Golf Club, also designed Exmoor’s original nine-hole course. Donald Ross turned it into an 18-hole course in 1915 and architect Ron Prichard completed a renovation of the course in 2003.

Forty-one of the 78 players in this week’s field were expected to check in on Monday and the rest can practice on the course on Tuesday. Gates open to the public for Wednesday’s pro-am before four days of tournament play begin on Thursday.

Golf was a different game when Pat Bradley won the ultimate title available to her, the U.S. Women’s Open. She did it at LaGrange Country Club in 1981, coming from three strokes behind in the last round to post a 66 and beat out Beth Daniel and Kathy Whitworth. It was the crowning achievement in Bradley’s Hall of Fame career.

“I went back 25 years later and played the course from the same yardage,’’ said Bradley. “But I found the ball and equipment had changed. I didn’t have metal woods back then. I had persimmon. In today’s world the equipment and balls are much stronger. We weren’t fitted for our clubs. If it felt good, we’d take it.’’

Bradley played her last U.S. Open at Merit Club, in Libertyville, in 2000 but she never stopped competing. Her last event on the LPGA tour was the 2004 Dinah Shore Championship, when she was 53 years old and a World Golf Hall of Famer for 13 years.

“Even that was stretching it,’’ said Bradley. “A lot of us hung on longer than we should have beause we knew that when it was over it was really over.’’

Eventually The Legends Tour was created for players who had reached their 45th birthday. That meant Bradley could compete in a few tournaments each year but it wasn’t the same as the men’s immediately popular Senior PGA Tour (now called PGA Tour Champions).

This week, though, the past merges with the present for Bradley. She’s part of the 120-player field for the inaugural U.S. Women’s Senior Open, which tees off on Thursday at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton. The U.S. Golf Association’s newest national championship will be played on America’s first 18-hole course. There’s something special about that.

“I’ve been waiting for this Open for 17 years. I wish it was 17 years ago, but it’s here now and I’m grateful,’’ said Bradley, now 67.

There are other special things playing into Bradley’s golf career now. The rest of the golf world was slow to show respect for the players of her era, but last fall the LPGA scheduled its first event for its former stars — the Senior LPGA Championship at Indiana’s French Lick Resort. That meant the end of The Legends Championship, but a bigger and better event was put in its place.

And, what was once the LPGA Championship is now called the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – an event played at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer two weeks ago. The PGA of America took over management of that tournament from the women’s group three years ago and made it bigger and better.

Bradley’s nephew, Keegan Bradley – every bit the fierce competitor his aunt is – won the men’s PGA Championship in 2011. That’s a source of family pride, too, but it took far too much time for the women’s game to catch up to the men’s.

The PGA has held its men’s Senior Championship since 1937 and the PGA Tour has had its senior circuit, now called PGA Tour Champions, since 1980. That same year the USGA conducted its first U.S. Senior Open for men.

PGA Tour Champions will also be playing in Chicago on the same days as the U.S. Women’s Senior Open this week. It’ll hold its Constellation Senior Players Championship at Exmoor, in Highland Park.

Schedule conflicts aside, at least the women will finally get their chance. Unlike the Senior LPGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Senior Open is a walking-only event for those who have reached their 50th birthday. Also, unlike the LPGA, this national championship had nation-wide qualifying rounds. Entries hit 462, with this week’s field comprised of players (like Bradley) invited off past performance with those who survived the qualifiers.

The walking-only requirement has ruled out several LPGA stars of the past, most notably Nancy Lopez who has undergone knee replacement surgery. Lopez will be on hand as a starter.

Bradley, though, won’t be there for ceremonial purposes. She is serious about competing and has contacted her former swing instructor, Gail Davis, to sharpen her short game. Davis, now 81 years old, is living in Garland, Tex. She was an LPGA player in the 1960s. Bradley has also re-connected with Bob Rotella, her psychologist.

“We’re trying hard, and we’ve had a great run-up to the tournament,’’ said Bradley. “We’re very excited, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. We’re going to make history here.’’

The favorites would seem to be Scotland’s Trish Johnson, who won the first Senior LPGA Championship; Juli Inkster, who still competes on the LPGA Tour; and England’s long-hitting Laura Davies, who needs a win to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

“This is a huge event for Laura,’’ said Bradley.

It’s also a big event for Chicago Golf Club, which has hosted 11 USGA championships. The club last opened its doors to the public for a tournament in 2005, when the Walker Cup matches were played there.

“The USGA really found a beauty for this tournament,’’ said Bradley. “This course will be fair, whether you’re a short hitter or a Laura Davies hitter.’’

The field will play 18-hole rounds on Thursday and Friday, and the low 50 including ties will play 36 more holes on the weekend to determine the first U.S. Women’s Senior Open champion.

Watching the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship wrap up on Sunday created good vibes for Steve Jouzapaitis, the owner of Kemper Lakes. What was once one of America’s most prominent golf venues could be again, following a successful staging of a major championship.

“I expected more issues and things to address, but everything was so smooth,’’ said Jouzapaitis. “We got a lot of compliments from the PGA this week. I think we delivered.’’

Kemper’s tournament resume was created in its days as a public course from 1979 to 2004, when the four-year transition to a private facility began. The club hosted the men’s PGA Championship – its biggest event – in 1989.

Since turning private the club’s only tournament was the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship, which has been played each May. The success of this KPMG Women’s PGA Championship might change that.

Jouzapaitis was particularly pleased by an on-air comment by NBC announcer Dan Hicks, who called Kemper “one of the most spectacular golf venues in the world.’’

“Kemper Lakes is back,’’ said Jouzapaitis. “We got real good press, and we will keep our options open to host something in the future. We’re glad to be back in the spotlight, in front of the public.’’

First possibility might be the 2021 BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup Playoff event for members of the PGA Tour. The Western Golf Association alternates sites of that event with Chicago courses hosting every other year. It’ll be at Aronimink, in Philadelphia, in September and then will be played at Medinah in 2019. No site is set beyond that, as BMW’s sponsorship agreement will expire after the Medinah tournament.

Frustration for Henderson

Brooke Henderson, the 21–year old Canadian, had another strong finish in the KPMG tournament – a tie for sixth – but she wasn’t a happy camper.

Henderson started the final round in second place, three strokes behind leader So Yeon Ryu, and was out of contention for good after making three bogeys in the first six holes. Her day got worse from there before it got better. At. No. 11 Henderson left a shot in the rough and broke her wedge in half when she slammed it on the turf. She got her lone birdie at No. 17 and finished with a 2-over-par 74.

In her previous three appearances in the tourney Henderson finished fifth in 2015 after getting into the field on a sponsor’s exemption, won the title in 2016 and finished as the runner-up last year at Olympia Fields.

Bring on the Crown

Final seedings as well as the players who will participate in the third UL International Crown competition will be announced today (MONDAY) but host Korea and the U.S. will be the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. The eight-team event will be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon City from Oct. 4-7. Each team has four players, all chosen off the Rolex World Rankings at the conclusion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The first International Crown was played at Caves Valley in Maryland in 2014 with Spain winning. The U.S. won the last competition in 2016 at Merit Club in Libertyville. Two members of that U.S. team – Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr – are already assured places on this year’s team and they’re excited about defending the title.

“It’ll be massive in Korea,’’ said Thompson. “We’ll get a lot of people out there watching us. It’ll be a great two weeks. Golf is huge over there.’’

Thompson plans to stay in Korea to compete in the Hana Bank Championship the week after the Crown.

“It’s a great format and a great event,’’ said Kerr. “It certainly has grown over the two times that we’ve had it, and being in Korea is going to take it to a whole new level. It’s going to be huge, huge, huge.’’

Too little, too late

Thompson, the best American player wth a No. 3 Rolex World Ranking, got it going on Sunday when she played holes four through seven in birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle. She made three bogeys after that and settled for a 68 and a tie for 15th.

The battle for the fourth and final spot on the U.S. team for the UL International Crown will apparently go to Michelle Wie, who held it going into the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She finished the 72 holes at even par after a 2-under 71 on Sunday and was in a tie for 28th. Danielle Kang, the tourney’s defending champion and Wie’s challenger for the final spot on Team USA, finished with a 73 and was two strokes behind Wie in the tournament and tied for 33rd.

Moving on

The LPGA Tour resumes its season on Thursday with the $2 million Thornberry Classic, a 72-hole event in Oneida, Wis. The KPMG Women’s PGA Classic will be played next at Hazeltine, in Chaska, Minn. The last of the many major events held there was the Ryder Cup of 2016.

Next major for LPGA players is the Ricoh Women’s British Open from Aug. 2-5. Its purse of $3,250,000 is $400,000 less than that awarded after Sunday’s event at Kemper Lakes.

The possibility is remote, but China’s Shanshan Feng – in a tie for 54th place at the start of Saturday’s third round of the 64th KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – could still win the title on Sunday and regain her place as the No. 1-ranked player in women’s golf.

Feng demonstrated on Saturday what one good round can do for a player in the third of the five major annual championships on the Ladies PGA Tour. She shot a 5-under-par 67 and was in a tie for ninth place after she turned in her scorecard.

“I just had a very good day,’’ said Feng, who has spent time in the No. 1 spot in the Rolex World Rankings but was No. 4 before a ball was hit at Kemper Lakes.

Feng was two strokes inside the cutline after the first two rounds, which meant a fairly early tee time on Saturday. That turned out to be a big advantage in her pairing with Australian veteran Karrie Webb, winner of the last U.S. Women’s Open played in the Chicago area – at Merit Club in Libertyville 18 years ago.

“We were lucky because we got the front nine done without all the heat,’’ said Feng. “After we made the turn it was horrible. It was so hot, and the breeze was hot. My caddie felt so bad that he actually had another caddie walking outside of the ropes with us. He thought maybe he would pass out, but he didn’t.’’

The backup bag-toter, identified by Feng as “Cheeseburger Chad,’’ didn’t need to pick up her bag as Feng – 2-over-par after 36 holes – got to 3-under 213 for 54 holes.

A travel dilemma

Nelly Korda didn’t know what to do after finishing a disappointing first 36 holes on Friday morning. Missing the cut seeming a distinct possibility.

“I guessed I’d be going to look at flights to get back home (Florida),’’ she said. “I’m glad we didn’t, but it was a bit nerve wracking.’’

The third round, which lasted over 13 hours, finally ended after 8 p.m. with the last players needing over five hours to complete their 18 holes. Korda had to wait until all of them were finished to be assured she had survived the cut right on the number – 3-over-par 147. The wait was worth it, as Korda drew one of the first tee times on Saturday and shot 68 when conditions – in her words — “weren’t as tough.’’

“There were some low scores out there, and I’m just happy that I got it done,’’ she said. Her playing partner, pregnant American star Stacy Lewis, benefitted, too. She shot a 70 to get into a tie for 36th when she finished.

A new No. 1?

Inbee Park’s failure to survive the 36-hole cut at Kemper Lakes means that there will be a new No. 1-ranked player in the Rolex World Rankings after the last putt drops on Sunday.

No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn, No. 3 Lexi Thompson, Feng and No. 5 So Yeon Ryu all have a chance at being No. 1 by late Sunday afternoon. Jutanugarn, Thompson and Feng would all get the top spot with a win.

Thompson could get it with a runner-up finish if Jutanugarn finishes third or worse. Feng must win to move up and Ryu could be No. 1 by winning if Jutanugarn finishes third or worse.

Jutanugarn, Feng and Ryu have all been No. 1 at some point. Jutanugarn held the top spot for two weeks last year. Feng owned it for 23 weeks between November, 2013, and April of this year. Ryu was No. 1 for 19 weeks in 2017. Thompson has been as high as No. 2 but has yet to claim the top spot.

Baltusrol lands 2023 tourney

The PGA of America announced Saturday that Baltusrol, in New Jersey, will host the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2023. The event goes to Hazeltine, in Minnesota, next year and to Aronimink, in the Philadelphia area, in 2020. No sites have been assigned for 2021 or 2022.

Baltusrol also landed the men’s PGA Championship in 2029. The club’s Lower Course has hosted one previous women’s major championship – the 1961 U.S. Women’s Open, which was won by Mickey Wright. It has hosted the men’s PGA twice – in 2005 when Phil Mickelson won the title and in 2016 when Jimmy Walker was the winner.

The next men’s PGA, the 100th playing of the championship, will be at Bellerive in St. Louis in August. It’ll be the last time the tournament is held in the fall. The PGA of America will move it to May in 2019.

Danielle Kang began the defense of her title in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Thursday in less than impressive fashion. She shot 73 at soggy Kemper Lakes, and it was not a pretty site.

At one point Kang was doubled over in pain, the cause of which she suspected was the waffles she had for breakfast.

“I tried to keep it under wraps the whole day, but I had a really bad stomachache before I even teed off,’’ said Kang. “I threw up after nine and just kept trying to not feel it.’’

She wasn’t all too successful at that, and it didn’t help that she was paired with Inbee Park and Ariya Jutanugarn, the Nos. 1- and 2-ranked players in the world. Jutanugarn shot 72 and Park matched Kang’s 73.

“We had the (TV) camera following us all day, and I didn’t want to throw up on camera,’’ she said. “I went to the Port-a-Potty a couple times to do it, but the Port-a-Potties are so gross. What are you going to do? It’s not the food, it’s me. I’m just really sensitive. I don’t eat eggs, I don’t eat sausages because I’ve gotten food poisoning off of those. I just don’t feel good. I think it’s just some crap that I ate this morning.’’

While her stomach was sub-par, Kang didn’t feel her golf game was.

“I’m hitting the ball great, so I hope I feel better for the next three days,’’ she said. “I should feel better by tomorrow.’’

WHO’S NO. 1?: The top spot in the Rolex World Rankings is on the line this week and any one of five players could be No. 1 after the last putt drops on Sunday. One is So Yeon Ryu, who is currently No. 5. Last year she moved into the top spot during KPMG Women’s PGA Championship week at Olympia Fields.

“When I was No. 1 I didn’t realize how much pressure I was under,’’ said Ryu, “After I dropped in the ranking I realized there was a lot, but it was definitely worth it. As a professional golfer it’s a huge honor to become the No. 1 player in the world. I really want to get back to that position. Hopefully I’m going to win this tournament and become No. 1 again.’’

The four players ahead of Ryu are fellow Korean Park, Jutanugarn of Thailand, American Lexi Thompson and Shanshan Feng of China.

RAIN, RAIN STAY AWAY: Veteran Brittany Lincicome had no complaints with the Kemper Lakes course, even though it showed the effects of the recent heavy rains.

“I wish we wouldn’t have gotten all that rain because it would have been cool to see it play more firm and fast but, again, being a long hitter, the longer the better for me,’’ said Lincicome. `The course is in great shape. There’s not very many divots, the greens are rolling pure and the rough is nice and thick. I love it.’’

She’s a happy camper as far as things are going off the course as well.

“Just the way they’re treating us in the clubhouse and dining, it’s a wonderful week,’’ she said. “I wish we had way more of these events.’’

Here and there

Thursday’s first round of the Web.com Tour’s Land of Lincoln Championship at Panther Creek in Springfield was good for Chicago players. Nick Hardy and Carlos Sainz Jr. shot 65s and are tied for sixth place and Brad Hopfinger carded a 68 and is tied for 35th.

This is a year for unfortunate tournament scheduling, not just in Chicago where the KPMG tourney goes head-to-head with the Women’s Western Amateur, but nationally as well. The women’s event isn’t the only major on tap this week. The U.S. Senior Open, conducted by the U.S. Golf Association, also teed off on Thursday at The Broadmoor in Colorado. Four Chicago players are competing – Champions Tour veteran Jeff Sluman plus pros Roy Biancalana and Gary March and amateur Glenn Przbylski, all survivors of the nation-wide qualifying rounds.

A record round was recorded during the 36-hole stroke play qualifying at the 118th Women’s Western Amateur, which is in progress at Mistwood in Romeoville. Emilee Hoffman of Folsom, Calif., carded a 7-under-par 65, which tied the Mistwood women’s record set by Aimee Neff en route to her victory in the 2008 Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open. Hoffman, who also matched the tournament’s stroke play record set by Carol Semple Thompson in 1991 at Firethorn in Nebraska, was the Mistwood medalist. Match play there runs through Saturday.

Michelle Wie’s days as a young phenom are over. In her early years she did things very few women players ever did, competing against the best women in her mid-teenage years and later taking on the men in a few PGA Tour events that included two appearances in the John Deere Classic.

With five wins on the LPGA Tour including this year in Singapore and the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014, Wie is a veteran player and the memories of those news-making early challenges are fading.

One of Wie’s first young phenom appearances was at Kemper Lakes, when she played in the now defunct U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in 2001. Wie was just 11 years old.

“If I said I remember this golf course I would be lying,’’ she said while awaiting her 12th appearance in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “I have a lot of great memories, except for the golf course, so I don’t know if having played here before will benefit me or not. But it is a fun fact.’’

While Wie doesn’t remember what Kemper looked like 17 years ago when it was still a public course, she does like what she’s seen in this week’s practice rounds.

“Those finishing holes are amazing,’’ she said. “They’re going to be a great challenge coming in, but it’s a great golf course overall.’’

AGELESS: Juli Inkster, at 58, is the oldest player in the field at Kemper Lakes, and she’s on a mission. Though she has won 31 tournaments and seven major championships during her LPGA career, it’d be a huge surprise if she won this week.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Inkster became the first champion of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open next month at Chicago Golf Club, however. In fact, Inkster and Scotland’s Trish Johnson figure to be the top contenders in the new tournament.

“I haven’t been playing great this year, but I’m starting to play better,’’ said Inkster. “I’m looking forward to that tournament, and I’m very excited. To win any USGA title is a feather in your cap, but to win the first one would be really nice. That tournament is 10 years too late. I wish the Patty Sheehans, Joanne Carners and Kathy Whitworths would all have a chance to compete. But, it is a step in the right direction.’’

Inkster is playing Kemper Lakes for the first time in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and she’ll get her first look at Chicago Golf Club next week.

NO ANNIKA, BUT….The legendary Annika Sorenstam, who stepped away from tournament golf 10 years ago, won’t be at Kemper Lakes where she had been the runner-up in the 1992 U.S. Amateur. Sorenstam’s sister Carlotta, however, will be one of eight LPGA teaching pros in the field.

Heading that group is Wendy Doolan, who won last year’s LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals National Championship. The others include Dr. Alison Curdt, who is a dual member of the PGA and LPGA teaching divisions. She tied for 71st competing against men in the PGA National Professionals Championship last week and became the third woman to complete all 72 holes of that tournament.

SAY CHEESE: Ariya Jutanugarn, the U.S. Women’s Open champion and No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has an unusual pre-shot routine that is well worth watching. She stands behind the ball and smiles before stepping up and hitting it. Her performance instructors, Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, suggested it.

“I’ve been doing this for three years already,’’ said Jutanugarn. `I want to create a happy feeling before the shot. I not only just smile, but I also feel something.’’

CLUBBING: The Illinois PGA will host a Women’s Team Skills Challenge event on Thursday at Twin Orchard Country Club in Long Grove in conjunction with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Four-player teams from Biltmore, Cantigny, Cog Hill, Harborside International, Onwentsia, Ridgemoor, Ruth Lake, Sportsman’s and Twin Orchard (which will field two teams) will compete in a format similar to the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship the PGA conducts for young golfers.

HOT DOG!!! Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, which is hosting the 118th Women’s Western Amateur this week, has another big event coming up even before it stages next month’s Illinois Women’s Open. The club will try to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest continuous line of cooked hot dogs as part of its Fourth of July celebration.

The record is 1,157 feet by Nakakyusa Kubota of Japan. Mistwood will partner with Chicago-based Vienna Beef, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The hot dogs will be lined up along Mistwood’s par-5 third hole.

The champion will defend at this week’s 64th KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes. There was some doubt about that when Danielle Kang pulled out after 11 holes at the Meijer Classic in Michigan two weeks ago, citing only “personal reasons.’’

Last week Kang didn’t seem ready for a major title defense either. She was 1-over-par after two rounds of the Walmart Southwest Arkansas Classic and missed the cut.

Kang explained herself Tuesday after completing her pro-am round on the Kildeer course that previously hosted the men’s PGA Championship in 1989. She was basically just “worn out’’ after a fourth place finish in the U.S. Women’s Open three weeks ago.

“I pulled a muscle briefly, so I wasn’t feeling that great at the start of that week,’’ Kang said of the WD during the first round in Michigan. “I didn’t want to say that because I just wanted to come back to being 100 percent before I told people that I have not been feeling well. The U.S. Open is so emotional, and I’m so dramatic.’’

Kang said the brief muscle pull came when she hit a shot out of the rough in Michigan. She tried to play through the discomfort but quickly decided “there was no point. I would rather just rest and give my body a break.’’

So that’s what she did, and that apparently did the trick.

“I’m good now. I just needed to sleep,’’ said Kang. “I hibernated. After I WD-ed I slept 18 hours, 20 hours and 11 hours. I only got up to eat one meal a day. I was so tired. I don’t know why,’’

Her play in Tuesday’s rain-hampered pro-am suggests the recovery is complete. She led her team to a 15-under-par 57, which was the best score in the morning wave. Thunderstorms delayed play in both the morning and afternoon.

Last year Kang, winner of back-to-back U.S. Amateurs in 2010 and 2011, held off Canadian Brooke Henderson to win her first LPGA tournament at Olympia Fields – and it was one of the circuit’s five majors, no less.

Henderson, on the other hand, has been great in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She tied for fifth after getting a sponsor’s exemption in 2015, became the youngest player (at 18) to win the title in 2016 and lost by one stroke to Kang last year.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Henderson this year, either. She was a late withdrawal from the U.S. Women’s Open after learning of the death of her grandfather, finished way down in a tie for 44th place in Michigan and didn’t play in the Southwest Arkansas Classic. She did, however, score a repeat win in a two-day team event — the CVS Health Charity Classic, which included some PGA Tour players. It ended on Monday.

“Last week was a bit different,’’ said Henderson. I took a week off and was able to rest a couple days,’’ she said. “The CVS Health Charity Classic was a lot of fun. It’s exciting to play against the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and the best on the LPGA Tour. It’s always a fun challenge.’’

Her pro-am pairing was also fun on Tuesday. She took her first look at Kemper Lakes in the company of Scott Ozanus, chairman of KPMG’s America region; KPMG ambassador Condoleezza Rice and Aramark president Eric Foss.

“The golf course is incredible,’’ said Henderson. “It’s beautiful. It’s quite wet, but it’s in really good condition. It’ll set up for a very challenging and fun week for all of us.’’

Players will get their last pre-tournament look at the 6,741-yard par-72 course in Wednesday’s practice rounds. Feature event on site Wednesday is the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit. Keynote speakers are Rice, the former U.S. Secretary of State; KPMG chairman and chief executive officer Lynne Doughtie and retired U.S. Navy Admiral Michelle Howard.

Three Olympians –figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Maia Shibutani and hockey player Hilary Knight — will also be featured in a panel discussion.