THE US SR WOMEN’S OPEN GETS UNDERWAY

  IT’S TRIPLE PLAY WEE, FOR GOLF IN ILLINOIS. the Senior Players Championship is on the tee at Exmoor Country Club, tickets at SPCGolf.com. THE John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities has defending champions Bryson DeChanbeau back to defend his title,  Doug Ghim and Nick Hardy join the filed on exemptions tickets at Johndeereclissic.com  ______________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy and on Linkedin , Facebook, and now Instagram. At the Chicago Golf Club home of this weeks U.S. Sr Women’s Open.

THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK of the newest U.S Open is in the books. The U.S. Sr. Women’s Open week is underway at the Chicago Golf Club.

The was some golf played, and plenty of range balls got hit The putting green really got a workout. But first and foremost it was old home week. So many of the players had no seen each other in years.

In some ways it looked like the USGA had put on a high school reunion. But Monday is Monday at a USGA Golf championship, and by Thursday they will all want to beat each other out of both the trophy and the check. For some a check and an exemption into next years championship at Pine Needles Lodge in Southern Pines North Carolina will be enough.

For one player it was 21 years of hard work finally coming to fruition. That would be Jane Blalock who started having talks with the USGA for this event back before the turn of the century.

Jane Blalock wraps up a range workout on Day 1 of the U.S. Sr Women’s Open

When Blalock who runs the LPGA Legends Tour spoke with reporters this past January at the PGA Merchandise Show, she said her win at the Dinah Shore, before it was the Dinah Shore, and before it was major, wasn’t counting towards an exemption into the championship. Plain and simple she was going to have to go qualify if she was going to play this week.

She fully planned to go to a qualify site and try to play her way in. then she looked at her schedule, and realized that the only course she had time to qualify at, was a course she did not play well. She knew things did not look good for making it to Wheaton. Then one day while in her car, her phone rang, it was the USGA. Blalock was told the championship committee had awarded her an exemption into the field. It left Blalock so speechless, she almost couldn’t get the words to come out of her mouth to say Thank You.

While Blalock practiced on the range and in an around the clubhouse, numerous players stopped her and thanked her for making this week happen. Blalock admits when she got her car on Sunday to head to the airport and fly to Chicago, it really hit her that she was going to the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, and she was playing in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. The other 119 players teeing it up on Thursday, should all be glad Blalock gave them a place to play this week.

Click here to hear the interview with Jane Blalock on the U.S. senior Women’s open and more.

The Gog Blog returns on Tuesday with more from the Senior Players Championship at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park.

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About Rory Spears

Rory spent over 8 years growing up working at Rob Roy Golf Club in Prospect Hts.IL, then two years at Chevy Chase in Wheeling. He has covered golf in Chicago since 1986. Rory was one of the initial members of WSCR all-sports radio Chicago and covered golf there for 5 seasons, before moving on to work for ESPN/Sportsticker and ESPN Radio. In addition to hosting Golfers on Golf Radio on WCPT AM820 Chicago, he writes for both the Chicago District (CDGA) Magazine, and formerly Chicagoland Golf. Rory has played over 525 courses in 39 states, and rates golf courses. He does golf course management and communications consulting, within the golf industry.