GAYLORD, MI. – It has never ceased to amaze me how much better golf is in Michigan than it is in any other state. The season isn’t very long there, but the number of quality public courses is extraordinary. I should know. For over 25 years – starting about the time of the 1985 U.S….
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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…
My GolfVisions record: 16 courses played in four states
CHESTERTON, Ind. – Tim Miles Sr. tells me I’ve made golf history. He says I’m the first member of GolfVisions’ Player Pass program to play all of the 16 courses offered in this most innovative program, and I’ll tell you it wasn’t easy. Miles, the GolfVisions president, started the Player Pass program two years ago…
Only Stricker is sure bet for a U.S. Ryder Cup captain’s pick
The first phase to determine who will be playing in next month’s Ryder Cup matches at Medinah is over. Point standings, accumulated over two years, determined the eight automatic berths on the U.S. team after Sunday’s PGA Championship was completed and those earning berths were Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson,…
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…
Rodgers wants to add Western Amateur to his WGA titles
Four of the world’s top six amateurs will be battling for the title in the 110th Western Amateur at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park this week. Among them is Patrick Rodgers, who won the Western Golf Association’s Junior tournament in 2011. “The Western Am and the U.S. Amateur are the two biggest in amateur…
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: Johnson steals the thunder from Stricker this time
SILVIS, IL. – Steve Stricker’s bid for an historic four-peat at the John Deere Classic fizzled on Sunday, but the end result was almost as good for an emotionally-drained gallery at TPC Deere Run. Zach Johnson, almost as popular as Stricker in the Quad Cities, got the win in one of the strangest playoffs in…
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: Stricker’s still within striking distance after Round 2
SILVIS, IL. – Steve Stricker is still very much in contention for an historic fourth straight win midway through the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic, but the battle lines were more clearly drawn on Friday. Stricker, hoping to become only the fifth player in professional golf’s last 140 years to win a major tournament four…
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: Stricker within 4 of leader after Round 1
SILVIS, IL. –If Steve Stricker is to make golf history by winning the John Deere Classic for a fourth straight year he’ll have to pick up his game on the front nine of TPC Deere Run. Stricker struggled badly on the front nine in Thursday’s opening round, the shot 6-under-par on the back side to…