Ivanhoe Club to host pro golf tournament next week
A private Lake County golf course will get some international exposure next week when professional players converge for the Rust-Oleum Championship.
The event, sponsored by the Vernon Hills paint and coating company, will be held at the Ivanhoe Club near Mundelein. It begins Monday and runs through Sunday, June 12.
It's the first time the annual Web.com Tour competition will be played at Ivanhoe, which is in a gated community off Route 176 west of Route 60/83. The tournament previously was in Ohio.
The event also is the first professional golf tournament at Ivanhoe in its 25-year history. Club officials are ecstatic.
"We'll be hosting some of the best players in the world," said Raymond Kondziela, Ivanhoe's general manager and chief operating officer. "We're looking forward to an outstanding week."
The Web.com Tour is a developmental program for the better-known PGA Tour. Players who finish in the Top 50 of the money list at the end of the year are given PGA Tour memberships for the next season.
The Rust-Oleum Championship first was played in 2014 as the Cleveland Open. Rust-Oleum's sponsorship began last year.
Holding the tournament in Lake County allows Rust-Oleum employees and local customers to be involved in the event, said Lisa Bialecki, a senior vice president of integrated communications with Rust-Oleum.
A three-year deal will keep the tournament at Ivanhoe through 2018.
This year's Rust-Oleum Championship will feature 156 golfers playing for $600,000 in prize money.
They'll play on Ivanhoe's original 18-hole course. An additional nine holes will be used for other activities.
Ivanhoe Club member Mike Starovich said he's eager to see how professionals play his home course.
"I'm sure they're going to play it differently than I do," said Starovich, of Libertyville.
The Golf Channel will televise all four competitive rounds, which begin Thursday, June 9.
The action actually starts Monday, however, with a celebrity pro-am match that will feature several former Chicago Bears and local sports journalists.
On Tuesday, a drive, chip and putt competition for golfers between the ages of 7 and 15 will be held. It's free and open to players of all skill levels.
A corporate pro-am is set for Wednesday.
Proceeds from the weeklong tournament will go to seven local charities, including Rust-Oleum Cares, Lake County Haven and the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association.
"It's also (increasing) awareness for some of these charities, which have limited visibility," Bialecki said.
Tickets are available online at rustoleumchampionship.com/purchase-tickets.
For more information, email alamie@globalgolfmanagement.com or call (847) 970-3825.