Ziehm: Smaller field for Illinois Women's Open
These are important days for the state's best golfers.
The men's Illinois Open concludes Wednesday at Royal Melbourne in Long Grove, and the 21st Phil Kosin Illinois Women's Open tees off next Monday with a few less players than it had in 2014 at Mistwood. Blame the Ladies PGA for that.
"They changed their Qualifying School to the week after the U.S. Women's Open, and a lot of players went to California," said Dan Phillips, Mistwood's director of marketing. "But we'll still have a strong field and a good tournament."
The IWO usually drew a handful of LPGA hopefuls, and two of them - Michigan residents Elise Swartout and Emily Collins - topped the leaderboard at Mistwood the last two years but haven't entered this year's IWO.
The LPGA has a three-stage qualifying school and Stage I had been in late August in the past. This year the first stage is Aug. 3-9 at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Many contestants in that competition opted to arrive early for more practice on site, which explains why the IWO has a less-than-usual 68 players for its 54-hole test.
Only 20 professionals are in that number, among them past champions Diane Daugherty, the former Southern Illinois University coach who won the first IWO, and Wheaton's Jenna Pearson.
The amateur contingent is headed by high school phenoms Bing Singhsumalee (Waubonsie Valley) and Jessica Yuen (Neuqua Valley). Singhsumalee ruled the Girls Division of last week's American Junior Golf Association Midwest Players Championship at Mistwood in Romeoville.
Mistwood owner Jim McWethy had hoped his new clubhouse would be ready for this IWO. The old one was taken down and construction started on the new one immediately after last year's tournament. The new one isn't ready yet, and Phillips said the completion date is now expected to be in October. It'll complete a massive three-year building effort that saw Michigan architect Ray Hearn renovate the course and a spiffy indoor-outdoor Performance Center completed.
IWO festivities will begin with a pro-am on Sunday, followed by three days of tournament rounds. The professionals in the field will play for a $25,000 purse.
Numbers up in Illinois Open:
The men's Illinois Open drew more than 700 entries in the past, but the number has steadily declined in the last 10 years. That's why the Illinois PGA expanded the number of qualifiers this year and went to two sites for the finals. Instead of 156 finalists, there were 258 in the field when the 54-hole tourney started at both Royal Melbourne and Hawthorn Woods Country Club on Monday.
Those moves produced the desired results. The entry number of 498 was 20 percent ahead of last year and the purse increased from $65,000 to approximately $75,000.
Here and there
• Rick Groessl of Park Ridge Country Club and Brian Morrison of Olympia Fields will be honored on Monday when the Illinois PGA holds its Senior Masters tournament at Onwentsia, in Lake Forest.
• Lake Forest's Brad Hopfinger opted to play on the Web.com Tour rather than defend his Illinois Open title. He tied for 46th place in the circuit's last stop, the Stonebrae Championship in California. Deerfield's Vince India tied for 27th, then hurried home to play in the Illinois Open.
• The Chicago District Golf Assn. will conduct a qualifying round for the U.S. Women's Amateur on Wednesday at Sportsman's in Northbrook, and the 14th CDGA Senior Amateur will begin a four-day run on Monday at the Merit Club in Libertyville.
• The PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship, played in California opposite the British Open, provided a boost for local tour players. Mark Hensby, the former Illinois Amateur, Illinois Open and John Deere Classic champion, continued his comeback with a tie for sixth place. Elgin's Carlos Sainz and Elmhurst's Mark Wilson tied for 48th.
• Chicago-based Women's Western Golf Assn. held its 89th Junior Championship in Durham, N.C., with North Carolina resident Emilia Migliaccio winning the title.
• Mistwood hosted one of the biggest American Junior Golf Assn. events, the 54-hole Midwest Junior Players Championship. Ryan Gerard, of Raleigh, N.C., won the Boys Division with Thomas Calbi of South Barrington finishing a strong third.
• For more golf news, visit lenziehmongolf.com. Len can be contacted by email at lenziehm@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter@ZiehmLen, and check out his posts at Facebook.com/lenziehmongolf.