Johns will try to make it 2-for-2 in Match Play
Travis Johns won the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship in his first appearance in the tournament last year.
That might suggest Johns’ win was a surprise, but in the first of the Illinois PGA’s four major tournaments that kind of result is becoming the norm.
Johns was the third player in four years to win the title in his tournament debut. The other two were Mike Small in 2007 and Matt Slowinski in 2008.
That means the 60th staging of the IPGA Match Play will be a wide-open affair when it begins a four-day run Monday at Kemper Lakes in Long Grove.
“I don’t know about those other guys, but I just like that golf course,” Johns said. “I don’t know whether it suits a particular player or not. It’s just a great place, a good test where you’ve got to hit all sorts of shots.”
Though he was an unknown in Chicago golf circles before last year’s Match Play, John’s win was no fluke. He proved that with his play the rest of the summer, as he went on to easily win IPGA player-of-the-year honors.
Johns, though, doesn’t know what to expect in his title defense.
“It’ll be interesting, because we haven’t played much,” he said. “I’ve only played a couple rounds. I want more playing time under the gun.”
Johns arrived in the Chicago area last year to teach as well as play. He was based at Twin Lakes in Palatine, which has had a late opening this year because of construction work on the course.
So, Johns has been giving his lessons at Green Gardens in Frankfort and the White Pines Golf Dome in Bensenville.
During the winter he played in four mini-tour events in Florida, finishing second in the last one. He also spent time in his native Australia before returning to Chicago, where he won five IPGA events in 2010 and finished second in the IPGA Championship.
That showing qualified him for a big event this season: the Professional Players National Championship next month at Hershey, Pa.
Showcase at Cog:The Golf Digest/Golf World Golf Experience, the largest outdoor demo day program in the Chicago area, is on tap for Saturday and Sunday on Cog Hill#146;s driving range in Lemont (10 a.m.-3 p.m. both days).Companies in attendance are TaylorMade, Callaway, Ping, Srixon, Cleveland, Mizuno Odyssey, Bettinardi, Sundog eyewear and Golf Pride grips. Admission is free.Illinois gets women#146;s major:The LPGA hasn#146;t been able to create a Chicago stop since its highly successful Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove 2009, but there will be one big women#146;s pro tournament in the state until at least 2013.The Tate Lyle Players Championship, the oldest event on the LPGA Futures Tour, has agreed to annual stagings at Hickory Point in Decatur the next three years.Hickory Point has hosted the event since 1985, and the Futures#146; only 72-hole event has been designated as the circuit#146;s one major championship.Lorena Ochoa, a retired Hall of Famer, won her first pro title at Hickory Point in 2002, and Jennifer Song won in her pro debut last year with a record 19-under 261 that included a 61 in the final round.This year#146;s staging will be June 16-19.Did you know?Aurora#146;s John Wright became only the second player in the 20-year history of the Illinois Public Links Championship to win the event more than twice when he took his third title at Foxford Hills in Cary.Naperville#146;s Mark Esposito, the only four-time winner, withdrew during the first round with an injury. #133; Wright also was an entry in the 19th Illinois Mid-Amateur tourney, which concludes today at Flossmoor. That club will host the tourney through 2013 following its 12-year run at White Eagle in Naperville. #133;Fitness director Dr. Paul Callaway begins a series of six workshops tonight at the Cantigny Golf Academy in Wheaton. Other dates are May 25, June 14 and 28 and July 12 and 26. #133;The Weekly Challenge Tour visits Bolingbrook on Saturday. #133; Ed Sherman, host of Saturday#146;s The Scorecard golf radio show on WSCR 670-AM, has co-authored a just-released book, #147;Golf List Mania!#148; with former Washington Post writer Leonard Shapiro.ŸLen Ziehm#146;s golf column appears each Wednesday#146;s in the Daily Herald and only at dailyherald.com. 15002100Travis Johns holds his trophy after winning the 59th Illinois PGA Match Play Championship last year at Kemper Lakes.Photo courtesy of Mike Schoaf/Illinois PGA