ENCOMPASS CHAMPIONSHIP: Stadler’s a surprise leader entering final round Who would have expected Craig Stadler to be the 36-hole leader of the Encompass Championship? Well, certainly not Craig Stadler. The veteran long ago nicknamed the Walrus hasn’t won a tournament since 2004 and hasn’t even been in contention in one since 2007. Three months ago…
Tournament Reports
ENCOMPASS CHAMPIONSHIP: Another Langer-Frost duel begins
A 3-hour 28-minute rain delay disrupted the return of the Champions Tour to Chicago on Friday, but it didn’t interrupt the season-long duel of the circuit’s two top players. Bernhard Langer, the season money leader and No. 2 in the season-long battle for the coveted Charles Schwab Cup, posted a 5-under-par 67 at North Shore…
ENCOMPASS CHAMPIONSHIP: Irwin aims for sixth victory on Chicago courses
No golfer ever has had the success that Hale Irwin has enjoyed on Chicago courses. Not Fred Couples, not Mark O’Meara, not Bernhard Langer, not Tom Lehman, not even Illinois Golf Hall of Famer Jay Haas or Nick Price – the last winner of back-to-back Western Opens at Cog Hill back in the early 1990s….
SENIOR PGA: Kohki Idoki overcomes three Champions Tour superstars
ST. LOUIS – Who would have expected this? Three of the top stars in American golf were in position to win the 74th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club on Sunday. None did. The first major title of the year on the Champions Tour instead went to Kohki Idoki, a 5-foot 5-inch 136-pound Japanese golfer…
SENIOR PGA: Perry-Cochran scenario makes for a neat story
ST. LOUIS – It’s not unusual for the PGA to pair friends in the first two rounds of its tournaments. That’s why Kenny Perry and Russ Cochran played together in the first two rounds of the 74th PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club. The results, though, don’t always come out they did on Thursday and…
IPGA MATCH PLAY: Malm notches an historic repeat
Curtis Malm won both player-of-the-year awards handed out by the Illinois PGA last year, and – judging by what happened in the first of the section’s four major championships of 2013 – there’s no reason to think he won’t pull off another sweep this season. Malm became the first player in 25 years to win…
Northwestern golfer breaks a Luke Donald record
Luke Donald was a three-time All-American and an NCAA champion for Northwestern before he went on to his brilliant career as a professional, which included his earning the status of the world’s No. 1 golfer. One of Donald’s most cherished collegiate records went by the wayside on Tuesday when NU junior Jack Perry posted a…
IPGA PLAYERS: Orrick wins again, but Malm sweeps player-of-the-year awards
GALENA, IL. – It was a rarity when Steve Orrick won the Illinois PGA Championship in August. He was the first non-Chicago area club professional to take that title in 60 years. It wasn’t so unusual for Orrick, the head man at Country Club of Decatur, to rule the last of the section’s four major…
RYDER CUP: Kaymer’s attitude adjustment paid off in the end
Germany’s Martin Kaymer changed his attitude. For that he was rewarded Sunday with the honor of assuring the Ryder Cup would remain in Europe for two more years. Kaymer hadn’t been playing well leading into this year’s Ryder Cup. In fact he skipped the last qualifying tournament for Team Europe even though he held the…
RYDER CUP: Donald’s fast start was the key to Europe’s comeback
Luke Donald did his job perfectly for Team Europe on Sunday. With his team trailing 10-6, captain Jose Maria Olazabal sent former world No. 1 and Northwestern alum Donald out first in Sunday’s singles in hopes of building some quick momentum for his team. Donald didn’t disappoint. His opponent, long-hitting Bubba Watson, had been a…