Streelman, other local golfers to miss this week’s Masters
The 88th playing of the Masters tees off Thursday, and like every other staging, it’ll trigger golf enthusiasm throughout the world.
The year’s first major championship is traditionally a sign of spring. The tour players are ready for a serious test after three months of tournaments of much lesser importance. That’s just the way it is, every year.
This Masters, though, is an unusual one from an Illinois perspective. The local highlight of tournament week at Georgia’s Augusta National Golf Club already has taken place — and it was provided by a pair of 9-year olds.
Emory Munoz, of Lockport, and Lucy Wiertel, of Oswego, were among the select group of youngsters nationwide who participated in Sunday’s Drive, Chip and Putt finals. Munoz was one of seven participants to earn a return trip after making the finals in 2023.
There were 10 finalists in each age group at Sunday’s nationally-televised competition, and neither Munoz nor Wiertel could match the feat of Northbrook’s Martha Kuwahara a year ago. She was one of the champions.
This time Munoz improved from ninth in 2023 to seventh, and Wiertel was ninth in her age group. The chance to compete at Augusta National, though, gave both the thrill of a lifetime.
This was a special year for Drive, Chip and Putt. The Masters field will include its first Drive, Chip and Putt participant. Akshay Bhatia, who won the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open in a playoff on Sunday, was in the youth event in 2014.
Local tour players couldn’t secure a Masters invite. Northbrook’s Nick Hardy was a winner on the PGA tour last season, and that usually merits an invite. Hardy’s win came in a two-man team competition in New Orleans, however, and that didn’t merit his first spot in the Masters. Hardy had his best finish of the season by finishing in a tie for 25th at the Valero Texas Open.
Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, a 45-year old tour veteran, also didn’t make it. He’s been slowed by a back injury suffered in February’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His game may be on the way back up, however. He’s made three of five cuts since the injury, including the last two tour stops.
Streelman’s first-round 64 at the Valspar Championship in Florida got him media attention. The national media were intrigued by a new revolving ball marker he introduced there.
The Masters already has produced some memories for Streelman. He won the colorful Par-3 Championship there in 2015 and played in five Masters. He made the cut in the last three appearances, from 2014-16. His best finish is a tie for 12th in 2015.
Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim and Northwestern alum Dylan Wu are also PGA Tour regulars still hoping for the opportunity to make a Masters debut.
Here and there
Tickets are on sale for the John Deere Classic, Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour stop. It’ll be held July 3-7 at TPC Deere Run near the Quad Cities in Silvis. The tourney’s Birdies for Charities program started this week. Since its debut in 1971, it has raised $174 million for local charities.
The Illinois PGA will hold its first Chicago area competition on Monday. It’s the Pro-Pro-Pro Scramble, a three-person team event at Mistwood in Romeoville.
The Chicago District Golf Association season opens with qualifiers for the CDGA Mid-Amateur on April 22 at Maple Meadows in Wood Dale, and on April 23 at Sunset Valley in Highland Park.