Chicago Golf Tournament Bonanza in the ‘Burbs

For Chicago fans of live, in-person golf viewing the summer of 2018 will feature a handful of great tournament action hosted in the Chicago area. Four of the five tournaments will take place in the northern suburbs.

Leading off the summer tournament season is the Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe Club in Mundelein. The tournament dates are Monday, June 4 through Sunday June 10.

There are Pro-Am events on Monday and Wednesday; Tuesday, June 5 is practice round day, and the championship rounds are played on Thursday through Sunday. This year’s 72-hole tournament will have a strong local flavor. Tournament officials have announced that University of Illinois star Nick Hardy will make his professional debut at this year’s Rust-Oleum Championship.

Hardy, 22, of Northbrook, who is completing his senior year at Illinois, told the Rust-Oleum tournament committee that he will officially turn pro at the Web.com Tour event following the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. Tee-K Kelly, 23, originally from Wheaton, who currently is competing on the PGA Latinoamerica Tour, also has been awarded a sponsor exemption.

A graduate of Wheaton-Warrenville South High School, Kelly was an All-American golfer at the Ohio State University. And, Brad Hopfinger, 28, from Lake Forest and the University of Iowa, will be a strong contender in the field in 2018, as he now has Web.com tour status and already has scored a number of high finishes in tournaments so far this season.

Not far from Ivanhoe and Mundelein is the location of Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Kildeer that is hosting the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is one of the major tournaments of the LPGA season, and offers a purse that is among the highest in women’s golf. The tournament dates are Tuesday, June 26 through Sunday July 1. Tuesday, June 26 is a practice round and Pro-Am day with morning and afternoon sessions teeing on both hole #1 and hole #10. Wednesday, June 27 is a practice round day.

The championship rounds with a field of 156 players will begin on Thursday and continue on Friday with contestants teeing in groups of three in morning and afternoon sessions from tee #1 and tee #10. After 36 holes, the cut will be made and on the weekend play will continue in groups of two teeing from hole #1 only. Recall the exciting finish to the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, when Danielle Kang edged out Brooke Henderson by a single stroke at Olympia Fields CC. For 2019, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship moves to Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. Additional information about the championship and ticket purchase availability can be found at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship website.

Two weeks later, and still in Lake County, the 2018 Constellation Senior Players Championship will be played July 9-15 at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Illinois. By hosting this important PGA Tour Champions event, Exmoor Country Club marks the first time since 1997 that one of the five senior major championships has been conducted in the greater Chicago area.

“Continuing a 120-year heritage of championship golf, we are proud that Exmoor Country Club has been selected to host the 2018 Constellation Senior Players Championship,” said Club President Sandy Stevenson. “To have the legends of the game of golf grace us with their presence is a testament to the powerful place that Exmoor Country Club holds in the local community for hosting meaningful and memorable sporting competitions.”

This major championship’s inaugural tournament was held in 1983 when Miller Barber claimed the title at Canterbury Golf Club in Beechwood, Ohio. Exmoor now becomes the 13th course to host the major championship. A hefty purse of $2,800,000 will surely grab the attention of the 78 senior players in the field, including defending champion, Scott McCarron. Complete ticket information is available at https://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/constellation-senior-players-championship/tickets.html.

Selecting dual sites just a short distance from each other, the 2018 Illinois Open will be staged in southern Lake County and northern Cook County. The Illinois PGA has announced that the 69th Illinois Open Championship will be contested at The Glen Club in Glenview, and Ravinia Green Country Club in Riverwoods.

This marks the 11th time the tournament has been held at The Glen Club, home to the Illinois PGA office and the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame, and the first time for Ravinia Green to serve as a host site. The first two rounds will be played at both courses with the Championship Round hosted at The Glen Club. “Once again, we feel we have two outstanding championship sites to host the 69th Illinois Open Championship,” said Carrie Williams, executive director of the Illinois PGA.

“The two courses will provide challenging play in different ways and their close proximity to one another will ease logistics for players, fans, sponsors, staff and officials.” In order to increase opportunities for competition for PGA Professionals, non-PGA professionals and amateur golfers throughout the state, the Illinois PGA doubled the starting field size of the Illinois Open in 2014, necessitating two courses to accommodate the first and second round.

The 2018 starting field will be comprised of 264 participants, including those exempt from qualifying and those who will qualify in one of eight qualifying events conducted from June 26 to August 3. The first and second round will be held Monday, August 6 and Tuesday, August 7.

For the first and second round, participants will play one round each at The Glen Club and Ravinia Green Country Club Following 36 holes of play, the field will be cut to the low 50 players plus any competitor within 10 shots of the lead. The championship round will be contested on Wednesday, August 8 at The Glen Club. There is free admission and free parking for spectators at both locations.

Coming to the southwestern suburb of Wheaton on the dates of July 12-15, Chicago Golf Report has previously previewed the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open.

The year 2018 truly marks a tournament bonanza in the ‘burbs!