Sobb, Hallberg to tee off at Senior PGA
Don’t be surprised if Jim Sobb does well at the Senior PGA Championship, which begins its 72-hole run at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday.
Everything seems to be going the veteran Ivanhoe pro’s way these days — including his first-round pairing at one of the four major championships for players in the 50-and-older group.
In the first two rounds at Valhalla, Sobb will be paired with Gary Hallberg, the veteran touring pro who grew up in Barrington. Sobb, who grew up in Palatine, competed against Hallberg in their younger days before Hallberg went on to Wake Forest and then the PGA Tour and Sobb entered the club pro ranks.
Last week Sobb made history by becoming the first player to sweep the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship as well as the section’s same event for its Senior members.
Now he’s after even bigger game.
He’s the only IPGA member to qualify for the Senior PGA Championship, and Valhalla won’t be a mystery to him. He made the 36-hole cut in the Professional Players National Championship there in 2000 and played the course several times since then with friends.
And his game appears ready, too. Winning five matches in three days in the IPGA Senior event at Shoreacres in Lake Forest and six more in three days at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer in the IPGA Match Play was good preparation for Sobb’s entrance to the national stage.
“I played lots of golf, but I feel pretty fit,” said Sobb, 55. “I’ve been in a few (Senior PGAs), so I won’t be that nervous. I’ll be ready.”
Sobb, winner of six IPGA major titles, qualified for the Senior PGA last October at the Senior Professional Players National Championship at Palm Springs, Calif. After winning the IPGA Senior Match Play in 2010, Sobb got to the final against the full field of state club pros before losing to Travis Johns.
Last week at Kemper Lakes, Sobb never trailed in a match and only once did one of his matches extend past the 16th hole.
NU, Illini in NCAA finals:A great final nine holes in last weekend#146;s regional tourney at Colorado National put Northwestern into the NCAA finals, which begins on Monday at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.NU played the last nine in 9-under-par to climb from a tie for eighth into third place. The top five in each regional advance to the finals, and Big Ten champion Illinois also made it with a second-place finish in another regional at Wolf Run in Zionsville, Ind.The Wildcats qualified for the finals for the seventh time overall and fifth under present head coach Pat Goss. Illini head coach Mike Small#146;s team qualified for its fourth straight NCAA trip, one of only seven schools to do so. Illinois has won three straight Big Ten titles, but Michigan took the top spot at Wolf Run by two strokes to finish at -11. Quincy#146;s Luke Guthrie led the Illini and tied for medalist honors with Michigan#146;s Lion Kim.In addition to their team#146;s success, two Wildcats (senior David Lipsky and freshman Bennett Lavin) survived local qualifying for the U.S. Open. Lipsky qualified for sectional play at Oak Grove in Hebron while Lavin advanced through the Orchard Valley local in Aurora. Chicago#146;s sectional, which determines qualifiers for the finals at Congressional in Washington, D.C., is on June 3 at St. Charles Country Club. No go in Women#146;s OpenChicago#146;s big contingent in the 86-player U.S. Women#146;s Open sectional couldn#146;t take advantage of the home turf at Twin Orchard Country Club in Long Grove. None survived the elimination, which was won by four out-of-state players #8212; Brittany Johnston, Karin Sjokin, Ashley Prange and Junthima Gulyanamitta with 36-hole scores of 147.Berwyn tour player Nicole Jeray and Northbrook#146;s Seul-Ki Park were the top local players at 152. They tied for 10th. Only the four co-medallists advanced to the Women#146;s Open proper.Did you know?Comedian Tom Dreesen, who had hosted a Celebrity Players Tour event for several years at Bolingbrook, will now headline the post-round festivities at Medinah#146;s Patriot Day event on July 7. #133; Cog Hill#146;s Dubsdread course was the only Illinois layout ranked in the just-released Golf Digest Top 100 Public Courses. Dubs was ranked 47th. #133; The Chicago District Golf Association#146;s 10th Senior Amateur will conclude its three-day run Wednesday (May 25) at Calumet Country Club. #133; The Illinois PGA has a stroke play event on Monday at Plum Tree National in Harvard while the Weekly Challenge Tour visits Ruffled Feathers in Lemont on Thursday.Ÿ Len Ziehm#146;s column appears Wednesdays. To contact him, visit lenziehmongolf.com.GLF25471663Barringtons Gary Hallberg, who picked up his first Champions Tour win last fall, will be paired with Palatines Jim Sobb for the first two rounds of the Senior PGA Championship this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.Associated PressGLFGLF40002886Now into his fourth season on the Champions Tour, Barrington golfer Gary Hallberg has earnings of more than $1.1 million on the senior circuit and six Top 10 finishes in 59 tournaments. He won the Ensure Classic last October over Fred Couples by posting a record-setting final round score of 61 (11 under par) for a one-stroke victory. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) GLF