The PGA Championship, second major event of the PGA Tour season, claims the national golf spotlight on Thursday at Quail Hollow, in Charlotte, N.C., but the Illinois Section of the PGA staged its first of four majors last week and it produced a result for the local record books.
Jim Billiter, of Ivanhoe Club, won the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship for the fourth time at Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook, and that put him in some very select company in the history of Illinois golf.
The IPGA first conducted a match play championship in 1952. Since then only three players in 73 years have won more titles than Billiter. Bob Harris, who played out of Sunset Ridge in Northfield, remains the event’s dominant player with six titles. He accumulated them consecutively, from 1958 to 1963.
Bill Ogden, of North Shore in Glenview, won the inaugural playing of the event, then waited 15 years to win for the second time in 1967. He also took the crown in 1970, 1971 and 1972.
The other five-time winner was Bob Ackerman, who worked at Aurora Country Club. His wins came between 1985 and 1995.
Billiter had a 10-year gap between his first win, in 2015, and his most recent victory. It was a mlld surprise, in that Billiter was the No. 12 seed at Butterfield and had last won the tournament in 2021. Though he won the 2015 IPGA Championship, an event conducted at stroke play, Billiter’s competitive reputation comes in match play.
Since earning his Class A PGA membership in 2009 he has appeared in 17 IPGA Match Play Championships and advanced to the third round or further in 11. He made it past the quarterfinals six times and never lost a match in the semifinal or championship rounds.
“It’s always special to win this event,’’ said Billiter. “I’ve always thought that I was a better match play player than a stroke play player because you have to think differently. Butterfield is an amazing place, and I especially love it because there is almost no out-of-bounds to the right. To come through so many tough matches and lift the trophy again, it’s incredibly rewarding.’’
Making his feat more notable was the fact that he wasn’t at full strength.
“I’m dealing with a torn labrum,’’ he said. “I can swing, but I just can’t swing as fast. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to play much this season. We’ll keep pushing through the rest of the season and get it fixed in the offseason.’’
Billiter didn’t have much trouble in the final, where he defeated North Shore’s David Krzepicki 5 and 3. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches were much tougher. Billiter rallied from three down with eight holes to play to beat David Paeglow of Kishwaukee in DeKalb 2-up.
In the semis Billiter drew Frank Hohenadel, of Mistwood in Romeoville. Hohenadel had beaten Billiter in a 20-hole match in the third round in 2024, but this time Billiter prevailed 3 and 2.
HERE AND THERE: The Chicago area didn’t have a player in the 156-man official starting field at the PGA Championship, but one might still get in. Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim was the No. 7 alternate, but four players dropped out after arriving at Quail Hollow, lifting Ghim to the No. 3 alternate. He’s had a decent season so far, making eight of 12 cuts and earning $538,587.
Northbrook-based KemperSports has taken over the management of McHenry Golf Club. It’s Kemper’s 12th property in Chicago and third private club, following Royal Melbourne and Hawthorne Woods. McHenry opened in 1922 and is noted as the place where the first metal wood was designed. Gary Adams, son of long-time McHenry head pro Vale Adams, designed the club and founded TaylorMade, the equipment manufacturer now based in California.
The first championship of the Chicago District Golf Association’s 112th season concludes Wednesday f fhs CDGA Mid-Amateur Championship at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer.
TruSpec Golf, a leading custom club fitter and club builder, has opened a second Chicago location at The Golf Practice academy in Lisle. The other is in Highland Park. TruSpec has 40 studios nation-wide.