PGA Rust-Oleum Championship coming home to Chicago
Fog veiled the Ivanhoe Club's rolling golf course Monday morning. That was clear to Rust-Oleum president and chief operating officer Tom Reed, who thought the unseasonable fog was a perfect way to build the anticipation of Monday morning's big announcement.
Rust-Oleum Corporation, whose corporate office in Vernon Hills is less than 10 miles from Ivanhoe's gated community in Lake County, will host a Web.com Tour tournament in 2016. The Rust-Oleum Championship will take place June 6-12, carrying a purse of $600,000.
"We're an outdoor company," Reed said. "The same people that are watching golf are painting patio sets the next day."
Reed has been a member at Ivanhoe for 10 years. So, assuming there will be no fog when the players arrive in June, what kind of course will they find?
"Remember, I sell paint," Reed joked. "They may view it differently, but they're getting a course that will challenge them, and they will have to make shots to score well. There is trouble all over this course."
Jim Sobb has been Ivanhoe's PGA head golf professional since the club opened with 18 holes in April of 1991. Four years later, after the club acquired more property, nine more holes were added. The club just celebrated its 25th season.
For the Web.com event, the original 18 holes will be used.
"It's going to be playing just under 7,100 yards (for the tournament) to a par 71," Sobb said. "It's not going to be a bomber's golf course. You have to play this golf course very strategically off the tee."
The Ivanhoe Club has hosted several Illinois PGA events as well as a U.S. Amateur qualifier in 2013, but those will pale in comparison to next summer's showcase. The Web.com Tour notes that 3 of 4 players on the PGA Tour came from its tour.
Sobb is confident the course will be up to the challenge of the players.
"The greens are very, very challenging, the bunkers around the greens are fairly deep, and there are quite a lot of water hazards and some out of bounds," Sobb said. "I know we're probably going to have one drivable par 4, which is the fifth hole."
The Rust-Oleum Championship has been held in Cleveland the last two years. The city will be getting another Web.com Tour event, however. Reed says it's important to note that Rust-Oleum is not abandoning the Cleveland marketplace.
"Rust-Oleum is an operating company that is owned by RPM (International), which is a New York Stock Exchange top-500 corporate company that is based in Cleveland," Reed said. "We kicked off our sponsorship in Cleveland mainly for that reason. Now, DAP, which is also an operating company of RPM, is stepping in to fill that gap in Cleveland while we move into Chicago."
The Web.com Tour had an annual stop in the Chicago area from 2002-08, with LaSalle Bank and Bank of America serving as title sponsor. The Rust-Oleum Championship will be the only PGA Tour-sanctioned event in the Chicago area in 2016.