What does Cherry Hill choice mean for Cog Hill?
The folks in Colorado are celebrating this week after tournament officials announced Tuesday that the 2014 BMW Championship will be held at Cherry Hills Country Club.
But for the folks at Cog Hill, things might not be so cherry.
The reality is the 2011 BMW Championship might be the final time the tournament is held at the Lemont course after a rough go in 2010, when a perfect storm of bad weather conditions caused the course to be in less-than-prime condition. And the BMW field let everyone know they weren't impressed — particularly with the condition of the greens.
As a response, Cog Hill hired a new course superintendent, Scott Pavalko from Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio, to assist longtime superintendent Ken Lapp. Perhaps everything will roll smoothly at this year's event and Cog Hill will host again in 2013. The 2012 event, part of the FedEx Cup chase, will be held at Crooked Stick Golf Club near Indianapolis due to the Ryder Cup being played at Medinah Country Club this fall.
“Everybody's concentration should be on 2011, not the future,” said Vince Pellegrino, vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association. “I think the concentration should be let's put on the best golf tournament possible for the fans of Chicago and the PGA professionals playing at Cog Hill.
“And Cog Hill should be commended for the job that they're doing as far as getting a new superintendent on board and giving Ken some help. I think they're headed in the right direction. It wasn't in the best condition last year, and it certainly needs to be in good condition this year.”
If things don't go well this year at Cog Hill, several local courses have emerged as possible host sites for the 2013 event, among them the breathtaking Conway Farms in Lake Forest. Medinah and Kemper Lakes may be considered as well.
“Every course in Chicago that can host a PGA Tour event is going to be an option,” Pellegrino said. “There are only 5 to 7 courses that can truly host a PGA Tour event of this magnitude — you can probably figure out which ones those are.”
Does the WGA prefer to hold the 2013 event in this area?
“We obviously love Chicago, that's where we're based; we've got a strong presence for the Evans Scholars foundation here,” he said. “So, Chicago is certainly part of those considerations. It's an option.”
And that includes Cog Hill.
“Let's get this straight: Cog Hill is part of the discussion, it's part of the options,” Pellegrino said. “When we say ‘exploring all options,' Cog Hill is an option as well.
“The Jemseks have been great partners of the Western Golf Association for a number of years.”
After the 2014 event at Cherry Hills, the WGA does not have an agreement with BMW for the title sponsorship, nor have officials discussed it yet. Maybe they'll come up with an agreement, maybe not.
If they don't, could it mark a return of the Western Open?
“We're always looking to expand what we do for the Western Golf Association, whether it's taking on another Tour event, sure we'd love to host more events,” Pellegrino said. “If hosting more events means raising additional funds for the Evans Scholars Foundation, I think we would listen. But there's certainly no plans for that at this point.”
Stay tuned.
mspellman@dailyherald.com