THE WHITE EAGLE GOLF CLUB-remains the host of the 71st Illinois Open August 3-5, but the championship will see a reduced field and only four qualifiers will now be held. ______________________________________________________________________
GOLFERS ON GOLF by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, or on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram.
Defending champion David Cooke won his second Illinois Open in 2019.
The good news is that the 2020 Illinois Open will happen. The bad news is that the field has been shrunk to only 156 players. The eight qualifiers that were scheduled, have been decreased from 8 to 4.
As a result of the smaller field, the entire championship will be held only at the White Eagle Golf Club in Naperville. The second course Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora, that was to serve as the companion course, will not be used this year. The first qualifier will be held on July 14th at the Flossmoor Country Club. That field is limited to 56 players.
The third hole on White Eagles Red Nine.
“Despite having to make a difficult decision to change the format this year, White Eagle Golf Club is extremely excited at the opportunity to showcase our newly renovated facility and provide a high-end experience for those playing in our state championship of golf,” said Curtis Malm, Director of Golf at White Eagle Golf Club and Illinois PGA Opens Chairman. “The Illinois PGA and White Eagle Golf Club will be working diligently to provide the best, and safest Illinois Open as possible.”
The 8th hole at Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora.
Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora was to be the second course (or companion course) for the 2020 Illinois Open.
As a result of Stonebridge having to be dropped for this year, Illinois PGA officials and Stonebridge are already working to bring the championship back to the club at a future date.
“The Stonebridge Country Club members and staff are disappointed not to be able to host the 71st Illinois Open this year, but amidst everything happening with Covid-19 we fully sport the decisions that have been made by the Illinois PGA Section and it’s Tournament Committee,” said Andrew Stevens, Head Professional at Stonebridge Country Club. “We are hopeful to bring the event to Stonebridge in the future.”
“We are thankful to the Stonebridge membership and Head PGA Professional Andrew Stevens, for their understanding as we work through this unprecedented time to stage the best possible Illinois Open Championship. We are hopeful to bring the event back to Stonebridge in the near future,” said Carrie Williams, Executive Director of the Illinois PGA. “We are confident this revised format will provide a competitive test for players and continue the tradition of crowning a champion of Illinois golf.”
The players that previously held exemptions, do remain exempt. The IPGA will now have four qualifiers. July 14 at Flossmoor Country Club-56 spots available for that day. July 16th-Deerpath Golf Course-90 spots available that day. July 22nd The Hawk Country Club-88 spots available that day. July 29th-Willow Crest Golf Club-89 spots available for that days field.
The deadline to register for a qualifying event is, Wednesday July 8th at 11:59 p.m. All qualifiers that were scheduled prior to July 14th have been cancelled. if a player signed up for one of the qualifiers that was cancelled, please contact the tournament director by July 8th, so you can transfer to another location.
More details at IPGA.com