Illinois Golf Hall of Fame to honor 4 new members
Industry leaders Frank Jemsek and Steve Lesnik will join former PGA Tour member Chip Beck and golf course superintendent Carl Hoppan as the newest inductees into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
The foursome will be honored at a ceremony celebrating their achievements in October at the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame exhibit located at the Glen Club in Glenview.
To some, Charles "Chip" Beck is best known for shooting a 59 in a PGA Tour event, a feat he accomplished in the third round of the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational. It was only the second time a 59 had ever been recorded in PGA Tour history. Beck would go on to enjoy four victories on the PGA Tour, and he was runner-up in the 1986 and 1989 U.S. Open Championships and at the 1993 Masters.
Upon leaving the PGA Tour to sell insurance, Beck has donated his time and financial support to numerous golf organizations in Illinois. He currently serves as a director of the Western Golf Association and has been a generous donor to the WGA's Chick Evans Scholarship Fund.
To say golf has been in the blood of Frank H. Jemsek would be an understatement. Son of the late Chicago area golf patriarch and charter Illinois Golf Hall of Fame member Joe Jemsek, Frank Jemsek continues to follow in his father's footsteps with his tireless efforts to provide the public golfer with first-class amenities and a memorable golf experience. Jemsek began working in the family business at age 11 and now currently serves as owner of the family corporation, operating four courses at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, including Dubsdread, home of the BMW Championship.
Jemsek Golf operations also include Pine Meadow Golf Course in Mundelein, and St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago.
When Lesnik originated the idea for KemperSports in 1978 while working for insurance giant Kemper Corporation to operate and manage the newly opened Kemper Lakes Golf Course in Kildeer, he couldn't have imagined that 31 years later it would evolve into one the largest golf development and management corporations in the United States.
Lesnik and James Kemper Jr. bought KemperSports from the Kemper Corporation in 1983. The company has grown to include more than 80 golf courses, of which 14 facilities are located in Illinois. Lesnik was an instrumental figure in securing the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Course at a time when only a handful of public golf facilities were selected to host a Major Championship.
He has been ranked by Golf Magazine among the "Most Powerful People in Golf".
After more than 43 years of work as a golf course superintendent, Hopphan of Elmwood Park continues to give back to the game by assisting the Sunshine Through Golf Foundation. His career began in 1953 when he took a job in his home town at Aurora Country Club. Three years later, he was named superintendent. After 31 years at Aurora, Hopphan took over as the superintendent at the Evanston Golf Club in Skokie for 12 years.