ND golfer wins Open qualifier at Schaumburg
Notre Dame golfer Max Scodro, of Chicago, carded a 7-under-par 65 to earn medalist honors at Monday's 90-player U.S. Open local qualifier at Schaumburg Golf Club.
Others qualifying for sectional play were Jack Perry of Evanston (67), former Illinois Amateur and Northwestern golfer Ravi Patel, Hinsdale's Brett Tomfohrde and Libertyville's Michael Schachner (all at 68) and Glencoe's Jason Shapiro (69).
Most figure to bid for spots in the U.S. Open proper at a June 4 sectional elimination at Village Links of Glen Ellyn.
Sobb eliminated:
Ivanhoe Club pro Jim Sobb, who won the Illinois PGA match play tournament last year, was eliminated Tuesday 5 and 4 at Kemper Lakes by three-time champ Doug Bauman. Bauman is the pro at Biltmore in Barrington.
The 62nd annual event - the first of the IPGA's four major tourneys of the season - runs through Thursday. The tournament started with 116 players, with the entrants seeded according to last year's Bernardi points standings that determined the IPGA player of the year.
Top-seeded Rich Dukelow of Cantigny drew a first-round bye before winning his first match 5 and 4 over Michael Campbell of Village Links of Glen Ellyn.
'Double Jeopardy' ready soon:
The frequently controversial 555-yard No. 2 hole on the Woodside course of the 27-hole Cantigny complex will reopen May 25. Erosion problems along the banks of a stream that lined the fairway of that hole, dubbed "Double Jeopardy," forced closing of the entire nine.
Rick Jacobson's design firm, in Libertyville, supervised the re-contouring of the fairway and that eliminated the blind second shot that had been required previously.
"We made a good hole even better," said Cantigny executive director Mike Nass. "It was a hard decision to take Woodside out of play for so long. ... For fairness and playability, this is a huge step forward."
Here and there:
The recently sold Ditka Sports Dome, in Bolingbrook, will reopen Saturday, but strictly as a restaurant, now called McQ's. The indoor golf area is being renovated and the first shots won't be hit there until November. … Acquiring a Ryder Cup ticket might still be possible, assuming you're willing to buy at least four tickets to the May 24-27 Senior PGA Championship at Michigan's Harbor Shores course. For details, visit pga.com/seniorpga/2012/ and click on the link for the Ryder Cup package.
The fourth annual Sunshine Marathon, a fundraiser for the Chicago District Golf Association charity arm, is Saturday at the Zigfield Troy course in Woodridge. … A record 1,364 players entered the July 5-8 U.S. Women's Open at Wisconsin's Blackwolf Run. They range from 11-year old Californian Elizabeth Wang to Arizona resident Bobbi Lancaster, 61.
A new Chicago company, NewSpin Golf, is about to introduce SwingSmart, a game improvement tool that provides instant information on key elements of the swing.
Kewanee's Tim Miler was the champion in the rain-shortened Illinois Public Links Championship at George Dunne National in Tinley Park. … The 54-hole Illinois Mid-Amateur concludes Wednesday, May 16, at Flossmoor.
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