Ziehm on golf: Huge opportunity at U.S. Amateur for Hardy, Ghim

Nick Hardy, coming off playing the Western Amateur and Illinois Open back-to-back, was understandably tired last week, but not too worn out for perhaps two more big events before he returns to the University of Illinois.

This week's 117th U.S. Amateur is a huge opportunity for both the Illini senior-to-be from Northbrook as well as Doug Ghim, an Arlington Heights resident entering his senior year at Texas.

If either or both play well in the U.S. Am, they could represent the United States in the biennial Walker Cup matches before their final collegiate seasons tee off. The Walker Cup is the most prestigious event in amateur golf, and 10 players will be named to the U.S. team by captain John "Spider" Miller after the U.S. Am concludes Sunday at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles.

The Walker Cup, played against a team from Great Britain and Ireland, will be held Sept. 9-10 at Los Angeles Country Club, and both Hardy and Ghim are serious contenders. They were among 16 players invited by Miller to play the Walker Cup course on four straight days in December. Neither were guaranteed spots, though, so their play in the U.S. Am will likely decide whether they make the team or not.

Hardy played the busier summer schedule. Both were in the Western Amateur two weeks ago at Skokie Country Club. Hardy made the Sweet 16 match play qualifiers for the third straight year while Ghim didn't. Hardy also tied for second in the Illinois Open, which started two days after the Western ended. Ghim skipped that event at The Glen Club and Briarwood Country Club.

"I've played a lot of golf, but I'll be ready for the U.S. Amateur," said Hardy. "Then, hopefully, there'll be the Walker Cup. It's definitely hard to get that out of your mind, to not think about it. Do I think I'm one of the top 10 amateurs in the country? Sure, but there's a lot of great players with a chance to make the team."

Both were among the 312 finalists who had to survive 36 holes of stroke play competition on Monday and Tuesday to get into the 64-man match play competition that starts today. Ghim looked like a shoo-in after shooting a 67 on Monday. Hardy, after opening with a 73, was left with some work to do on Tuesday to reach the stroke play portion of the tournament.

Californian Norman Xiong, who won the Western Amateur at Skokie two weeks ago, shot a 64 on Monday to share the first-round lead. The tourney drew 7,149 entrants and most were eliminated in nationwide qualifying rounds last month. The 36-hole champions match will be played on Sunday.

Billiter's in the driver's seat

Just getting to play in the Illinois Open could finally get Jim Billiter the Illinois PGA Player of the Year Award. He missed out in 2015 despite winning two of the section's four major events - the IPGA Match Play and IPGA Championship - because club duties as an assistant pro at the Merit Club prevented him playing in the biggest event, the Illinois Open.

Billiter became head pro at Kemper Lakes this year and was low IPGA pro at this year's Illinois Open with a tie for 13th last week. Already the IPGA Match Play champion again, Billiter opened a big lead in the Bernardi point race and the next major - the IPGA Championship, which tees off on Monday on Medinah No. 1. Billiter won the IPGA Championship in 2015, the last time it was played there.

"My boss (general manager John Hosteland) has been super supportive," said Billiter. "Others have had to step up when I'm gone. I hadn't played in the Illinois Open in 10 years, and I was glad to be back."

Here and there:

• The first round of the U.S. Amateur produced a shocker among the seven Illinois players in the field. Two-time Illinois State Amateur champion Todd Mitchell of Bloomington shot a 67, then left without signing his scorecard and was disqualified. Mitchell took the blame for his mistake via Twitter on Monday night.

• David Inglis, Northwestern men's head coach since 2014, has signed a contract extension through the 2021 season.

• WGN's Dan Roan, always the king of Chicago media golfers, outdid himself last week. He shot 63 at Chicago Highlands in a round that included a hole-in-one.

• John Ramsey and Chadd Slutzky won the Chicago District Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Wynstone in North Barrington, even though they had to overcome holes-in-one by their opponents in both semifinal and final matches.

• 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.