There may be no better match play competitor in Ryder Cup history than England’s Ian Poulter. He’s kept Team Europe alive – at least barely – through two days of the 39th staging of the event at Medinah, and he gave a pulsating finish to Saturday’s session. After playing partner Rory McIlroy made birdie at…
Tournament Reports
RYDER CUP: European captain’s picks were too much for Tiger
Opening day at the 39th Ryder Cup didn’t go well for Team Europe on Friday, but the gang that won four of the last five competitions did win one battle. The two captain’s picks made by European captain Jose Maria Olazabal were twice as productive as the four captain’s picks made by U.S. captain Davis…
U.S. MID-AMATEUR: Nathan Smith’s well-earned fourth title sets a record
Pittsburgh’s Nathan Smith made U.S. golf history Thursday en route to earning another coveted invitation to next April’s Masters tournament. Smith became the first four-time winner of the U.S. Mid-Amateur – the national championship for players 25 and over — with a tense victory over Canadian Garrett Rank in the 36-hole final at Conway Farms,…
U.S. MID-AMATEUR: Smith, Rank final will be historical — no matter who wins
No golfer in the 32-year history of the U.S. Mid-Amateur has won the tournament four times. Nathan Smith could be the first to do it today at Conway Farms, in Lake Forest. Smith, from Pittsburgh, won the national championship for amateurs 25 and over in 2003, 2009 and 2010. He advanced to another final with…
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP: McIlroy is simply the best as season reaches its climax
CARMEL, Ind. – Sunday’s wrapup to the BMW Championship didn’t bode well for the U.S. team’s chances in the upcoming Ryder Cup matches at Medinah. Two members of the European Ryder Cup team, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, played together in the next-to-the-last twosome and finished at the top of the leaderboard with McIlroy reinforcing…
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP: Ten-birdie round shows Mickelson is back in the groove
CARMEL, Ind. – Phil Mickelson was a reluctant competitor when the Western Golf Assn. held the Western Open and its successor, the BMW Championship, at Cog Hill in Lemont. He just didn’t like the course, and said so. The results showed it, too. From his first appearance in 1992 until the final staging at Cog…
ILLINOIS PGA: Finally a non-Chicago club pro wins
The likelihood of Steve Orrick winning the 90th Illinois PGA Championship Wednesday didn’t seem good. No club professional from outside the Chicago area had won the event since Mike Sipula in 1952, and Orrick had two better established playing partners in the final threesome at Stonewall Orchard in Grayslake. Illinois coach Mike Small had won…
ILLINOIS AMATEUR: Prchal ends title run by college players
MARION, IL. – The college players’ domination of the Illinois State Amateur golf tournament is over. Collegians had won eight straight times until Glenview’s Quinn Prchal came through with rounds of 66-69 on Thursday at The Links at Kokopelli to notch a two-stroke victory over Derek Meinhart of Mattoon. Prchal went through the three-day 72-hole…
WESTERN AMATEUR: Williams completes an historic sweep
The Western Golf Assn. went to its present format for its Western Amateur Championship in 1956,. Calling for 72 holes of stroke play qualifying and then four rounds of match play, the 110-year old tourney is one of the most grueling in golf and few players handled that immense challenge as well as Chris Williams…
WESTERN AMATEUR: Williams betters his own record in stroke play
Chris Williams set the Western Amateur scoring record for 72 holes when he went 16-under-par last year at North Shore Country Club, in Glenview. This year, with the 110-year-old tourney moving to Exmoor, in Highland Park, he did even better. The University of Washington senior buzzed around Exmoor in 66-67 in Thursday’s 36-hole session to…