THE EVANS SCHOLARS INVITATIONAL wraps up at the Glen Club. Dupagegolf.com is getting ready to open the new Preserve at Oak Meadows Clubhouse. Stay tuned for details on opening day. But don’t forget to visit Maple Meadows and Green Meadows. _____________________________________________________________________
RORY SPEARS at WCPT Am 820-Home of Golfers on Golf Radio
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY to those serving our country and to those who have. Thank You for keeping us safe, and for your service.
WHAT AN AMAZING last four days at the Evans Scholars Invitational (ESI) at The Glen Club in Glen View.
First up congratulations to winner Cameron Young, 18 under par at the Glen Club is some pretty good golf.
TO OUR LOCAL PLAYERS you stepped up in front of the home fans, and played great. Northbrook’s Nick Hardy set the tone with a 7 under par 64 in Round 1. So it’s too bad Hardy ended up at 8 under par for the tournament, when it was all done.
HIGHWOOD’S PATRICK FLAVIN was outstanding. A bogey free weekend in front of many supporters, earned him a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour field this week in North Carolina. Here’s hoping Flavin earns enough points to play weekly on the tour for the rest of the season.
Vince India, Andy Pope and Brad Hopfinger all made the cut, and India spent most of the 4 Rounds in the top 10.
IN THE END both Hardy and Flavin ended up T-5 and made just shy of $21,000 for the week. I spoke with both Hardy and Flavin at the end of the championship.
CLICK HERE to hear the interviews with Nick Hardy and Patrick Flavin.
Cameron Young holds the winners plate of the Evans Scholars Invitational (ESI)
WRAPPING UP the week, it was great to have live golf in town. The Glen Club was in great shape, and players enjoyed that. Anyone playing The Glen Club today should enjoy their round.
The turn out was great by people following our local players. Because both Hardy and Flavin had good galleries, with ‘Hardy’s Army’ having maybe just over 300 on Sunday. Another 100+ were following Flavin.
When the galleries reached 18 for both players, combined with the people already around the 18th green. There were a fair amount of people there to greet the final groups as they putted out. But considering the weather over the last few days, and both baseball teams in town with games they should and mostly did win. With capacities being bumped up to 60%, the galleries were pretty good. So hopefully next year there will be even more people at The Glen Club for the ESI. Kudo’s to Illini Alum Luke Guthrie who ended a 23 tournament missed cut streak at the ESI.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS has made the first cut at the NCAA Nationals, and now there are only 15 schools left fighting for the title. Should Illinois survive today, they will be in the match play, for the final 8 schools. GO ILLINOIS.
MOLLIE MARCOUX SAMAAN is the new commissioner of the LPGA. Samaan has some big shoes to fill, replacing Michael Whan who left for the USGA. Samaan joins the LPGA from Princeton University, where the universities sports teams had a great run during her time there. But can she grow the LPGA, draw sponsors and increase purses.
But with colleges doing so much fund raising these days from student and alumni, maybe Samaan comes with ways to raise money. Time will tell if not having years of golf industry experience could hinder her. But I wish her the best in taking the LPGA to the next level, wherever that might be.
TV RATINGS, was it Phil Mickelson or the oceanside location of the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. The final round of the PGA Championship had 6.6 million viewers, while the Lakes-Suns game, the highest rated NBA playoff game of the day, had only 4.4 million viewers.
I’M LOOKING forward to being in Kolher on Thursday for the opening of the NEW Par 3 Baths course. Full details coming up later in the week. The Gog Blog returns all week long. RS