The eight teams that will play in next months’ UL International Crown at the Merit Club were determine via the world ranks a month ago. On Monday the four players who will compete for each team were unveiled.

Players had until Sunday’s conclusion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Seattle to get their rankings high enough to earn spots on their national teams. There was only minor shuffling after the KPMG event. Amy Yang moved into the fourth spot for Republic of Korea and Porani Chutichai became Thailand’s fourth member.

On the team side Australia passed Chinese Taipei to claim the No. 4 seed for the Crown, which is designed to determine the best women’s golfing nation.

Korea seems a shoo-in, with its four players all ranked in the top eight in the world, but that’s not how Ariya Jutanugarn, the top player for No. 6 seed Thailand sees it. Last week in a Seattle press conference she declared that Thailand will claim the Crown and she repeated her prediction at Monday’s roster announcement at Top Golf in Wood Dale.

“Why? Because we have a great team,’’ said Jutanugarn, one of four players on hand for the announcement. She was joined by her sister Moriya, who is also on the Thailand team; England’s Melissa Reid and China’s Shanshan Feng.

Jutanugarn’s prediction drew a rousing cheer from 20 representatives of the Thailand Consulate of Chicago, who made their presence heard loud and clear throughout the announcement.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the longest hitter on the LPGA Tour, has climbed into the game’s elite with a No. 7 world ranking. She won three straight tournaments before finishing third at Seattle on Sunday The two who beat her – world No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Canada’s Brooke Henderson, who beat Ko in a playoff for the KPMG title – won’t be in the Crown because their countries didn’t qualify.

Neither did Spain, which won the Crown during the event’s first playing two years ago at Caves Valley in Maryland. Sweden, which was also among the eight teams at Caves Valley, also didn’t qualify this time. Instead England and China will play in the event for the first time at Merit Club.

“I’d like to thank my teammates for getting us in,’’ said Shanshan Feng, the world’s 12th-ranked player. “My ranking hasn’t changed but we five others, all around 20, who are looking forward to change. We have never played in a team event.’’

The U.S. team will be the No. 2 seed once the matches begin. The U.S. roster will have one change for the Crown debut in 2014. Gerina Piller is among the four and Paula Creamer is out. Piller joins Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Cristie Kerr on the U.S. side.

With Ko and Henderson ineligible the top-ranked player in the Crown will be Korea’s Inbee Park of Korea, who is No. 3. Thompson is No. 4.

Sunday’s final round of the $600,000 Rust-Oleum Championship figured to be a two-man battle. No one was within six strokes of front-runners Josh Teater and Dan Woltman at the start of play and Max Homa was even further back than that.

Homa, though, didn’t see such a result as a foregone conclusion. He started the final round seven strokes behind Teater and played five groups in front of the final twosome.

“But I only had to pass seven people,’’ said Homa and – with some help from Teater – Homa was able to do just that. His final round 67 at Ivanhoe Club led to a one-stroke win with Teater and John Mallinger sharing runner-up honors.

The final leaderboard for the only PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament in the Chicago area this year had Homa at 13-under-par 275. Teater (75 on Sunday) and Mallinger (69) were one stroke back and Woltman (73) two back and alone in fourth place.

Homa’s plan to secure the $108,000 first prize was to go low on the front nine, the harder side to put up a splashy number. He succeeded, chipping in for birdie at No. 9 to complete a 4-under 32. That brought him within a shot of the lead and put the pressure on Teater and Woltman.

Teater, the leader after the second and third rounds, had a three-stroke lead on Monday qualifier Woltman to start the day and it was gone after seven holes. Woltman pulled even when Teater made his second bogey at No. 7. Teater regained the lead with a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 9 and then the shootout was on with Homa very much in the picture as well.

Those three took turns sharing the lead until Homa holed a 40-foot putt for his second birdie in a row at No. 15. Teater was still his main challenger at that point but Woltman – despite back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 11 and 12 – and Mallinger, who went eight holes without a par (one eagle, three birdies, four bogeys from Nos. 8-15), stayed in the mix.

“My goal was to make (Teater) play hard those last three holes,’’ said Homa, who gave his rivals some hope when he hit his tee shot far right at the par-3 17th and made bogey. That put Homa and Teater together at the top of the leaderboard.

Teater got through Nos. 16 and 17 with pars and was in great position off the tee on the finishing hole to make a birdie for an outright win without the need for a playoff.

“I wasn’t great all day, and I just wanted to have a chance,’’ said Teater, meaning a birdie putt, but he didn’t get it. His 8-iron approach from 160 yards sailed long right and Teater couldn’t get up and down for par.

“The ball was a little below my feet (on his second shot) and I started it further right than I wanted,‘’ said Teater. “I had the right distance. It was a learning experience.’’

Sunday’s round ended the Web.com Tour’s first Chicago visit since a seven-year run at The Glen Club came to an end in 2008. Three players will local ties qualified for all 72 holes. Illinois alum Brian Campbell, a Web.com rookie, shot 70 and finished in a tie for ninth. Deerfield’s Vince India carded a 75 and was in a tie for 33rd and India’s former Iowa teammate Brian Bullington struggled in with an 80 to finish in a tie for 56th.

Homa, 25, was the NCAA champion on a California team that was the best in collegiate golf in 2013. He won on the Web.com Tour the following year, in the BMW Charity Pro-Am, and was a consistent player all of this campaign. He’s missed only one cut in nine starts but Sunday marked only his second victory on the circuit.

The $600,000 Rust-Oleum Championship is Josh Teater’s to lose on Sunday. There’s no doubt about that. But he’d better look out for his surprise playing partner.

Dan Woltman earned his spot in the final pairing at Ivanhoe Club after shooting 67 in Saturday’s third round. He stands three strokes behind Teater’s front-running 204, which is 15 under par for the 54 holes. No one else is within six shots of the leader.

Woltman, though, isn’t your ordinary challenger. He got into the 156-man starting field through Monday qualifying and Sunday will complete his first 72-hole tournament of the year. In fact, he’s played in only two events prior to this week and Saturday he didn’t even have his regular caddie for the entire round.

Wife Merissa, who quit her job to be Woltman’s full-time bag-toter this year, had a leg problem after six holes and had to relinquish caddie duties to Woltman’s father. How the caddie situation will factor into Sunday’s round remains to be seen but Woltman isn’t focusing on possible negatives.

“I’m excited to have a chance going into Sunday,’’ he said. “I’ve been playing well lately, and this is just another tournament. I’m confident in my golf game now and looking forward to the challenge.’’

“I’ve never been in his position, as a Monday qualifier, but I’ve chased it,’’ said the much more experienced Teater. “It should be fun.’’

Teater, who shot 68 in the third round, was a regular on the PGA Tour from 2010 to 2014. He got there in large part because of his victory in the Utah Championship, another Web.com Tour event, in 2009.

Spectacular shots for eagles marked his last two rounds at Ivanhoe. He put a hybrid from 220 yards to eight inches on No. 15 in the second round and holed out from 146 yards with an 8-iron at No. 12 in the third. Teater led after 54 holes in his Utah win as well, and that got him into 156 PGA Tour events in the next six years.

His play dropped off the last two, however, and he returned to the developmental circuit full-time this year in hopes of using it as a path back to the premier circuit. A victory on Sunday would go a long way to helping him achieve that and – oh, yes – a $108,000 first place check is also on the line.

Woltman, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin, played on the Web.com Tour in 2011. Wrist surgery kept him out in 2012 and 2013, however, and he returned to tournament play last year on the European Tour.

“There was an awful lot of travel. I was overseas 30 weeks,’’ he said. “I learned that there’s no place like home. We lived in Atlanta the last five years and moved back to Wisconsin two months ago.’’

He does his practicing at University Ridge, near the Wisconsin campus where he played collegiately, and Old Hickory, in his hometown of Beaver Dam. Two weeks ago, after making some swing changes, he won a tournament on the North Star Golf Tour in Minnesota, shooting his lowest score ever for 54 holes – 197.

That, coupled with his success in Monday’s qualifying round for the Rust-Oleum Championship, gave his confidence a big boost.

“If Sunday goes well I could be playing every week out here (on the Web.com Tour),’’ he said. “I’ve got Challenge status in Europe but I want to be on the PGA Tour full time, and this is the path to the PGA Tour.

Other than Woltman, Teater didn’t have many challenges on Saturday. The three local players to make the cut fell down the leaderboard. Frankfort’s Brian Bullington shot 71 and is tied for 12th. His former Iowa teammate, Deerfield’s Vince India, posted a 71 and is tied for 21st with, among others, former Illinois star Brian Campbell.

Josh Teater was a PGA Tour member from 2010 until 2014, then things changed,

After making 144 PGA starts and posting 11 top-10 finishes, he could get into only 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour last year. He wound up playing in 10 on the developmental Web.com Tour to supplement his schedule and that didn’t work so well either. In his half season on the Web.com circuit he made just one 36-hole cut.

“My focus was on the PGA Tour, and I came out here (theWeb.com) not as prepared as I probably should have been,’’ he said. “I was thinking I should have been on the PGA Tour.’’

So, this year has been different – and not exactly by Teater’s choice, but he’s trying to make the best of it.

“It’s a blessing to know I’m not getting into any PGA tournaments,’’ he said Friday after charging into the lead in the Web.com’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club. “I have no status there. This is my home, where my focus is now. Last year I was always on the bubble, wondering where should I play?’’

Getting into Web.com events hasn’t been a problem for the 37-year old Kentuckian, but he didn’t exactly light up the circuit until he got to Ivanhoe. Last week’s tie for 11th finish in the Dominican Republic was Teater’s best in 10 tournaments and the Rust-Oleum promises to be even better based on his play over the first 36 holes. He got off to a 66-67 start and his 133 – 11 under par – is one better than Spain’s Gonzalo Fdez-Castano. Austin Cook, the leader after Round 1, shot 71 to drop into a tie for fourth – three strokes off the lead.

Clearly Teater is getting more comfortable on the developmental tour, which now provides a path directly to the PGA Tour. A top 25 finish on the money list will move Teater back to the premier circuit in 2017.

“This whole season I’ve got to put my foot down or I’ll get run over,’’ he said. “In one way it’s a blessing to get out here, meet some new guys and get tested by the young ones.’’

One great shot gave Teater the momentum he needed on Friday. Starting the day one shot behind leader Austin Cook, Teater came charging on his second nine in Round 2. The big shot came with a hybrid from 220 yards at No. 14. His ball stopped eight inches from the cup on the par-5, leaving him a tap-in for eagle.

Buoyed by that good fortune, Teater made birdie at Not. 15 to tie Fdez-Castano for the lead and then claimed solo possession of the top spot with a six-foot birdie on the par-3 17th.

Friday was cut day and only one of the four sponsor’s exemptions will play on the weekend. Deerfield’s Vince India, who played on the Web.com Tour last year but didn’t retain his card, is in a tie for 21st place – seven shots behind Teater.

Brian Bullington, a Frankfort resident who – like India – play collegiately at Iowa, and Brian Campbell, the former Illinois star now in his rookie pro season, are tied for 12th. They’re five strokes off the pace.

Austin Cook may have come the farthest in the shortest amount of time to play in the Rust-Oleum Championship, but it paid off in Thursday’s first round.

Cook completed in the Web.com Tour’s stop in the Dominican Republic on Sunday. Then came a three-plus hour flight to Memphis with a longer-than-expected layover in Atlanta. Then Cook and wife Chris took to driving, first to their home in Jonesboro, Ark., and on to Ivanhoe Club.

Chris shared the driving and then was Cook’s caddie on Thursday when he shot a 7-under-par 65 to claim the lead in the $600,000 tournament that ends on Sunday. It was only the second time they’ve had the player-caddie relationship going but it won’t be the last.

“In two rounds with her I’m 11-under-par,’’ said Cook, who called on Chris for the first time at Dallas last year when his regular caddie overslept.

The Cooks arrived in time to participate in the Chicago District Golf Association’s Play with the Pro Day at Hawthorn Woods on Wednesday and Austin had his only tuneup at Ivanhoe in Wednesday’s pro-am. That didn’t hold him back in Thursday’s first round, however.

He made a big climb up the leaderboard with an 18-foot eagle putt at No 15 and claimed solo possession of the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt on the finishing hole. That putt left Sebastian Munoz, in the first group to tee off, and late starter Josh Teater relegated to second-place status. Both shot 66s.

Munoz’ early start meant he didn’t experience much of the rain that hampered play most of the day. It didn’t fall on Munoz until after he’d played 11 holes. The wind picked up at that time as well, making scoring conditions difficult for the rest of the field.

“You’ve got to take advantage of that, plus the greens were pure and putter great,’’ said Munoz. He withstood a challenge from Daniel Mazziotta who was 8-under through 17 holes before making a quadruple bogey nine on his last hole.

Teater, who had missed nine cuts in his previous 10 tournaments, joined Munoz at the top of the leaderboard later in the day and they stayed there until Cook’s strong finish.

Cook had six top-25 finishes in seven starts on the PGA Tour last year but his play tailed off in the playoffs and at the fall qualifying school.

“I definitely felt a lot of pressure,’’ he admitted, “and I let it get to my head. At the beginning of this year I’d get mad. I’ve been working on not doing that.’’

Munoz was playing great early in the season when Cook was struggling. Munoz became the first player from Colombia ever to win on the Web.com circuit in February after getting into a tournament in his hometown of Bogota on a sponsor’s exemption. That accomplishment gave him his playing privileges and he’s now in the top 25 on the money list. If he stays there he’ll advance to the PGA Tour next season.

Strong finishes in the next four tournaments could also give Munoz, a former North Texas State golfer, a spot for Colomia in the Olympic games in Brazil in August.

“My first goal is to finish as high as I can in the money order to get into the top 25,’’ he said, “but I really want to go to the Olympics. That would mean a lot. This week could be very big for me. I’m trying not to think about it. I just want to play my best.’’

Shot of the day on Thursday was a hole-in-one by Bryan Bigley at No. 17, a hole that was playing at 207 yards.

Unfortunately Illinois female golfers don’t have the same, more-than-ample, competitive opportunities that their male counterparts enjoy. This June, though, offers the first of the annual highlights for the women’s season in the state.

The Illinois Women’s Amateur will be played for the 83rd time at Forest Hills Country Club in Rockford from June 14-17.

You’ve got to hand it to the Illinois Women’s Golf Association. That not-for-profit organization run by 22 volunteers conducts not only this championship but also the Illinois Junior Girls Championship, which be played for the 37th time at the University of Illinois’ Orange Course in Savoy from Aug. 2-3 and the Illinois Senior Women’s Amateur, which will be played for the 47th time at Champaign Country Club from Sept. 13-15.

There isn’t a whole lot of other playing opportunities for the women and girls. Biggest of them all is the 22nd annual Illinois Women’s Open, to be played at permanent site Mistwood in Romeoville from July 18-20, and the 85th annual Chicago Women’s District Golf Association Championship at Flossmoor Country Club from Aug. 9-11.

In addition to its three tournaments the IWGA has raised $1.1 million over the years to support not only its programs but those at Illinois state schools as well. The IWGA also has its own Hall of Fame, the latest inductee being Marilyn Dechert of Decatur last fall. She was a long-time coach at Millikin College.

The IWGA does the best job of any of the Illinois golf associations in spreading its tournaments around the state. That’s probably because its leadership is largely from away from the Chicago area. President Pam Henning is from Moline, secretary Pat Burgy from Rockford and treasurer Terri Moore from Galesburg.

Henning announced the addition of two new board members for this year, one of which – Monica Coleman of Long Grove – is from the Chicago area. The other new board member is Leslie Frankfort of Rockford.

The last time the Illinois Women’s Amateur was played in the Chicago area was in 2013, when Bing Singhsumalee was the champion at Cantigny in Wheaton. Singhsumalee was the tourney’s youngest champion, winning at 16 years old while she was still attending Waubonsie Valley High School in Naperville. She just completed a very successful freshman year at the University of Illinois, finishing tied for fourth in the Big Ten Conference Championship.

Going back in time, the IWGA was founded in 1933 under the leadership of Mary Wheeler. Its first tournament was the Illinois Women’s Amateur in 1934 at Evanston Golf Club with Dorothy Porter of Springfield the champion.

The tourney format is different from the other big state events. The field – limited to 100, all with a handicap index no higher than 22.0 – will have an 18-hole stroke play qualifying round to kick off the competition. Then the low 80 competitors will be broken down into flights for three days of match play competition. The championship flight gets the top 32 players from the qualifying round.

Over the years the Illinois Women’s Amateur has had some great champions, most notably Lois Drafke of LaGrange who won her first title in 1953 and her last 20 years later. Drafke won the tournament nine times. Shirley Dommers, of Belvidere, was the champion in 1957, 1961, 1968, 1969 and 1974. She’ll be honored at this year’s tournament with a new award for low junior medalist having been created in her name.

As for this year’s field, entries don’t close until June 6 but there is going to be one very notable absentee. Madasyn Pettersen, who lives in Rockford, won’t be there. Burgy, who doubles as tournament chairman for this year’s Illinois Women’s Amateur, said last year’s sensation of Illinois women’s golf will be playing in a big American Junior Golf Assn. event. The Rolex Junior Girls Championship will be played at Country Club of Rochester in New York from June 13-17.

Pettersen will be missed, as she shocked the Illinois Women’s Open with a five-stroke victory last year as a 15-year old and then won an Illinois high school title while playing for Rockford Guilford. She was the youngest-ever IWO champion.

Whether she will defend her IWO crown in July is uncertain, but Pettersen’s victory last year is hard to forget. Despite her youth she birdied the last five holes to shoot a final-round 66 and posted an 8-under-par 208 for the tourney’s 54 holes.

Only one player has wins in both the IWO and Illinois Women’s Amateur. Kerry Postillion, from Burr Ridge, won the Amateur in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2007 and the Open in 1996, 1997 and 1999. All her IWO wins came as an amateur and her daughter Samantha contended in more recent playings of the tournament.

As good as Pettersen was in last year’s IWO, she couldn’t have won the 2015 Illinois Women’s Amateur. It was scheduled to be played at Illini Country Club in Springfield but heavy rains led to the tourney’s cancellation. It was only the second time in 82 years that the IWGA had a tournament ended by weather. The first Illinois Women’s Senior Championship, scheduled for 1970 at Pekin Country Club, was also rained out.

That tourney obviously didn’t have a defending champion, and neither will this year’s Illinois Women’s Amateur.

“Mother Nature is our defending champion,’’ said Burgy, who hopes for better luck weather-wise. Entries had topped 50 at the time of this printing and Burgy expected to have 70 by June. She held out hope for a record field.

“Cantigny had the record, with close to 100,’’ she said. “In Rockford we have a beautiful golf course and we’ll get a lot of Chicago people because it’s close to Chicago.’’

Forest Hills, which will be hosting for the first time, was established in 1921. Its course is built on 160 rolling acres and has 59 bunkers, over 1,800 trees and over three acres of ponds. Known for its consistently fine conditioning, it’s been a member of the National Audubon Society for Golf Courses since 1997.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – This really didn’t make much sense.

Rocco Mediate had failed to break 70 in all 22 of his rounds on the Champions Tour this year – and the 50-and-over circuit is known for yielding much lower scores. Not only that, but Mediate had never won a major title on either the PGA or Champions tours and hadn’t even contended in one since losing a playoff to Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open eight years ago.

Even Mediate conceded that “I haven’t done anything in 2 ½ years.’’

So what happened on Sunday in the 77th Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores?

Mediate posted the lowest 72-hole score in the tournament by a full three shots, the old record being set by Sam Snead in 1973. He also became the first champion to lead after every round since Jack Nicklaus – designer of the Harbor Shores course – posted his lone win in the tourney in 1991.

Sunday’s day-low 66 score completed a shocking week in which Mediate tied the tournament record with an opening round 62 on Thursday, set the tournament scoring record for 36 holes and by four shots after a 66 on Friday and tied the 54-hole tourney mark despite a par 71 score on Saturday.

“It’s hard to dream that,’’ admitted Mediate, who started on the PGA Tour 30 years ago and had six wins on that circuit to go with his now 30 on the Champions Tour.

How could this happen?

“I have no idea,’’ said Mediate, never one to be short on words. “I made everything. My short game and putter was stupid this week.’’

Like in stupid great.

Mediate started the final round with a two-stroke lead on playing partner Colin Montgomerie, who was trying to become the third player to win the Senior PGA three straight times. Mediate added a stroke to his lead in the first five holes – a span in which he needed only five putts.

Montgomerie got within one shot twice — after Mediate made bogey at No. 7 and again after No. 10, where Montgomerie made a birdie. The one-shot margin remained for the next three holes. Then Montgomerie missed a five-foot par-saver and Mediate wouldn’t let him get any closer than two shots the rest of the way.

According to Montgomerie the key hole was the par-5 15th, where he missed a 15-footer for eagle and Mediate holed a 12-footer for birdie to keep the margin at two. Mediate added a stroke to his lead by holing a bunker shot for birdie at No. 17. That left Montgomerie shaking his head in frustration.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. All credit to Rocco, but I can hold my head high,’’ said Montgomerie. “Rocco was brilliant.’’

No one could argue that. Though Bernard Langer and Brandt Jobe rallied late, the only real threat to Mediate’s domination was Montgomerie. His 16-under-par 268 total matched the previous tournament scoring record. Langer (67 on Sunday) and Jobe (68) were three shots behind Montgomerie in a tie for third.

John DalCorobbo, the low club professional, started the day in third place but dropped into a tie for seventh after a par-71 finish. DalCorobbo, who was the Illinois PGA Assistants Player of the Year in 1993 before moving to Indiana, performed admirably on the same day his home club, Brickyard Crossing, was taken over by the Indianapolis 500. Several holes on the Brickyard course are inside the speedway and DalCorobbo sported a shirt commemorating the 100th running of the storied auto race.

Brian Brodell, teaching pro at Mistwood in Romeoville and the Illinois PGA Player of the Year in 2015, was DalCorobbo’s caddie.

“The most exciting thing is going home after the 500,’’ said DalCorobbo. “Now the Speedway crew and everyone at the Brickyard Crossing has another celebration coming up. They’ve been celebrating without me for a week so it will be super fun.’’

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Rocco Mediate may be one of the more colorful players in professional golf, but – until this week’s 77th Senior PGA Championship – he had gone eight years without contending for a major title.

Mediate, despite having a solid career, has never won one of golf’s big ones. In his last great chance Tiger Woods – playing on a broken leg – beat him in a memorable playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open.

“That was the whole ball of wax,’’ recalled Mediate, who referred to that experience this week as “insane fun.’’

Well, Mediate is finally back in contention again. He has led after each of the first three rounds at Harbor Shores and takes a two-stroke lead over Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie into Sunday’s final round on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course. If Mediate wins the title he’ll be the first wire-to-wire winner since Nicklaus in 1991 but holding off Montgomerie won’t be easy.

They’ll play together in the final 18 holes, and Montgomerie should feel much more comfortable in the pressure-packed situation. He’s going for the first three-peat in the Senior PGA since Hale Irwin dominated in 1996-98.

Irwin is one of only two players, in fact, to win the second of this year’s five majors on the Champions Tour three straight times. Eddie Williams, then playing out of Chicago’s Bryn Mawr Country Club, did it with wins in 1942, 1944 and 1945. The tourney wasn’t played during some of the World War II years.

This Senior PGA – the third played at Harbor Shores since 2012 with four more to come in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 – is by far the closest of any of the pro tour majors played near Chicago this year but there isn’t much of a local connection. Locally-based Champions Tour members Jeff Sluman and Chip Beck didn’t survive the 36-hole cut.

That leaves club pro John DalCorobbo as the only Chicago connection left – and his is a faint one. DalCorobbo had once been an assistant pro at Edgewood Valley, in LaGrange, and his caddie this week is Brian Brodell, the teaching pro at Mistwood in Romeoville who was the Illinois PGA Player of the Year in 2015.

DalCorobbo’s an interesting story, though. He’s alone in third place going into the final round on a day when his home course is at the center of the sporting world. DalCorobbo works at Brickyard Crossing, which has three holes located inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – site of Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.

All those tidbits aside, this tournament is Mediate’s to lose and his wife Jessica reminded him of that after his 14-under-par 62-66 start here.

“My wife said, `you have to own this and picture yourself with the trophy,’ and she has a point,’’ said Mediate. “I want to try to keep going and see what I can do.’’

Mediate, 53, has six PGA Tour wins and two Champion Tour victories on his resume. He saw his four-shot lead at the start of the day cut in half on Saturday as he was only able to match par of 71 in a round hampered by blustery winds.

“I’m happy with the way I felt and ecstatic with the shots I hit in these wind conditions,’’ said Mediate. “I felt like I was 25, the way I was moving the golf club. I can’t wait for tomorrow. Colin and I are buddies, and I’ll have my hands full, but it’ll be fun.’’

Very few players in Illinois PGA tournaments walk their rounds. Kyle Bauer, the 11-year head pro at the Glen View club, is one who does. He doesn’t think it puts him at a competitive disadvantage, and Thursday he proved it.

Bauer captured the 65th playing of the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer and his win came on a day when all the players had an unusually difficult physical test. Weather hampered the four-day event throughout, which meant the last three rounds all were played on Thursday. None of the eight players still alive on the final day had ever played three matches in one day.

“At my club I’ve never played in a golf cart,’’ said Bauer, “so I’m used to walking. I’m not sure if anybody else walks, but it’s not that big a deal. I’m used to it, but I’m sure I’ll be tired tomorrow.’’

Walking what turned out to be 45 holes in a 10-hour span wasn’t the only factor when the title was on the line. Bauer went up against long-hitting Medinah teaching pro Travis Johns, the tourney’s 2010 champion and a two-time IPGA Player of the year. Bauer played from behind on every par-4 and par-5 hole as Johns was generally 50 yards further off the tee.

Again, no insurmountable problem as Bauer worked his way to a 4 and 3 victory.

“I usually hit my drives in the fairway,’’ Bauer said. “The golf course was playing extremely long (because of the soggy conditions), and my mindset was to not give any holes away.’’

Johns won the first two holes with conceded birdie putts and Bauer needed to sink a five-foot par-saver to halve No. 3.

“At that point I was hoping to not lose 10 an 8,’’ he said. Then Johns gave him a boost, hitting his tee shot out of bounds left on the par-5 fourth.

“I struggled all week off that tee,’’ said Johns, who hit two balls in the water right at No. 4 in his earlier matches. He felt shaky putting was more responsible for his loss in the title match, though. Bauer wasn’t so sure.

He won No. 4 with only a bogey and then took No. 5 when Johns three-putted to get the match to all square.

“That settled me down. I was 2-under the rest of the day,’’ said Bauer. “That’s what this tournament is all about –not giving away holes.’’

Bauer took the lead for good with a 15-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole. He made Johns dormie with with a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 14 and closed him out with a par on the next hole after Johns found his third shot on the par-5 buried in a green-side bunker.

Despite the busy week in the first major tournament of the Chicago season Bauer may not be done yet. He’s in Monday’s local qualifying round for the U.S. Open at Exmoor in Highland Park.

PALM HARBOR, Florida – The Copperhead, one of the most popular courses on the PGA Tour, is taking on all golfers again – and this is a big, big deal.

Copperhead, a Larry Packard design that opened in 1972, has hosted a professional golf tournament for the past 25 years. It was big news when a restoration of Packard’s original design was announced after Jordan Spieth won last year’s Valspar Championship in a playoff.

The restoration took about six months., during which the course was closed. The members of Innisbrook Resort got a slight head start on playing the course ahead of Tuesday’s formal re-opening hosted by owner Sheila Johnson and featuring PGA Tour player George McNeill and Gary Koch, the PGA Tour veteran and NBC golf analyst.

Also joining in the ceremonial press conference was Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hotels & Resorts; Bobby Barnes, Innisbrook’s director of golf; and Steve Wenzloff, vice president of design services and player liason for the PGA Tour.

Roger Packard, son of Larry and a golf course architect of note as well, was also on hand. His father was an Innisbrook resident until his death last year at age 101. The work done on his premier course was not a renovation, Johnson stressing that it “respects and protects the vision of Larry Packard and his signature design.’’

Koch, a Florida native who has played Copperhead over an estimated 40 years and also done some work in golf architecture, called it the “grand dame of Florida golf courses….This is an exciting day for a lot of people.’’

“It’s a glorious, glorious day,’’ said Johnson, who brought the resort in 2007. Johnson, who has deep roots in the Chicago area and is a University of Illinois alum, founded Salamander in 2005 and the company’s portfolio includes two other Florida golf destinations — Reunion Resort, in Orlando, and Hammock Beach, in Palm Coast — plus the equestrian-inspired Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Va.; and the soon-to-open Henderson Beach Resort in Destin, FL.

Innisbrook, with four courses all designed by Packard, is special given Johnson’s executive committee role with the U.S. Golf Assn.

“The Copperhead is the jewel in the crown of Innisbrook,’’ she said. “The resort has undergone a renaissance. We’ve touched every inch of this property. This project is the latest of numerous improvements Salamander has made to Innisbrook to cement its reputation as one of America’s top golf destinations.’’

She also stressed the importance of the course’s new irrigation system, which now includes 500 new sprinkler heads and will save 11 million goals of water per year – enough to fill 1,100 Olympic-sized swimming pools. She said that’s in keeping with the USGA’s efforts to cope with the closing of 130 courses in recent years.

“The USGA is on a mission,’’ said Johnson. “We’re on a mission to keep golf courses open.’’

McNeill, runner-up in the PGA Tour stop at Copperhead in 2008, called the course “magnificent’’ and “one of the toughest we play all year.’’

In the restoration all the tee boxes were rebuilt and laser leveled, and some were expanded to account for the addition of 15 new forward tees. The putting and chipping practices areas were also enhanced but the course’s maximum yardage remains at 7,340 yards for the tour pros who will return in March.