Ziehm: It’s golf tournament time in the Chicago area, starting with Illinois State Amateur
The biggest tournaments of the Chicago golf season are coming fast and furious now, starting with the 94th Illinois State Amateur, which concludes its three-day run at Stonebridge in Aurora on Thursday.
Next week comes the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open on Monday and Tuesday at Mistwood in Romeoville, followed by the Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational that runs July 24-27 at The Glen Club in Glenview, and the Western Amateur that runs July 28 through Aug. 2 at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe.
There won’t be a repeat champion in Thursday’s 36-hole wrap-up to the Illinois State Amateur. Last year’s winner, Pierce Grieve of Lake Forest, chose not to defend following his victory in the Chicago District Amateur two weeks ago.
“I’ve got a busy schedule, and I just figured it’d be a lot of golf with the U.S. Amateur coming up,’’ said Grieve, who became just the 12th player to post wins in the Illinois State Amateur (2024) and Chicago District Amateur — the two biggest events for amateurs in the state.
Grieve is looking for bigger challenges now, with his focus on getting to the U.S. Amateur. He has to get past a qualifier on July 23 at Aldeen in Rockford to get to the finals Aug. 11-17 at Olympic Club in San Francisco. That could make for an ideal end to his successful amateur career.
“Professional golf is on the horizon,’’ he said. “I’m not sure when that’ll be, but it’s definitely in the near future.’’
Depending on what happens in the U.S. Amateur qualifier in Rockford, Grieve’s professional debut could come locally — at either the NV5 Invitational or the Illinois Open.
NEXT WEEK: The 30th anniversary playing of the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open has drawn 90 players, 14 of them professionals. They’ll play 36 holes with no cut, and the field will be paired all over again for the second 18-hole round.
A professional — Lauren Beaudreau, a Notre Dame graduate who grew up in Lemont and attended Benet Academy — won last year and will defend her title. Now playing out of Marco Island, Florida, she posted a 3-under-par 141 to win by 1 shot last year over Mistwood teaching pro and two-time champion Nicole Jeray and amateurs Caroline Lopez-Chacarra of Spain and Caroline Smith of Inverness.
The NV5 Invitational is part of the Korn Ferry Tour, which provides a path to the PGA Tour for its players. Five past winners — Scottie Scheffler (2019), Cameron Young (2021), Harry Higgs (2022), Trace Crowe (2023) and Thomas Rosenmueller (2024) — are playing on the PGA circuit.
The Big Ten Network is offering complimentary grounds admission to registrants. Contact the Western Golf Association for details.
FED EX COUNTDOWN: This week’s Barracuda Championship in California is the third from the last event of the PGA Tour’s regular season and both Chicago-area players, Northbrook’s Nick Hardy and Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim, in the field and coming off strong showings.
Hardy had his best finish of the season — a tie for eighth — in last week’s ISCO Championship in Kentucky. Ghim, who didn’t play in Kentucky, led the John Deere Classic through 36 holes before finishing in a tie for 31st two weeks ago.
Both players are in jeopardy of missing the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Only the top 100 in the season-long standings get into the first playoff event and Ghim is No. 116 and Hardy No. 173. Northwestern alum David Lipsky, who tied for third at the JDC, is the best bet for Illinois representation in the postseason, standing at No. 115.
The only regular-season events after the Barracuda are the 3M Championship in Minnesota and the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.
TIGHT RACES IN LIV: The Saudi-backed circuit has just one tournament left before its schedule shifts back to the United States at LIV/Chicago on Aug. 8-10 at Bolingbrook Golf Club.
Eighteen LIV players are in the field this week at the British Open, then the circuit resumes play in the United Kingdom July 25-27. Talor Gooch won the individual title and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII took the team honors in last week’s stop in Spain. Gooch, the circuit’s individual champion in 2023, won for the first time since that season.
Rahm won last year’s individual title at Bolingbrook in a duel with Joaquin Niemann. This time the Bolingbrook stop will be the last regular-season event before the Individual championship in Indianapolis and the season-ending team championship in Michigan.
Niemann holds a lead over Rahm in the Individual standings going into the United Kingdom event. Rahm’s Legion XIII is the team leader.