HERITAGE OAKS GOLF CLUB on Dundee Road in Northbrook has been honored by the GRAA (Golf Range Association of America) with two awards. One award to teacher Michael Wenzel (L) now a 5-time national award winner for golf instruction. The other to the Northbrook Park District and Director of Golf Greg Baron (R). The Heritage Oaks range is double-sided for instruction and complete with Trackman. Heritageoaksgc.com

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy and connect Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn

Illinois-the women’s golf B1G Ten Champions

The Illinois Women’s Golf Team has won the B1G Ten Women’s Golf Championship at Fox Chapel Country Club in Pittsburgh PA.

Illinois was led by the outstanding play of Graduate Student Crystal Wang. Wang shot a 9 under par score of 62 in the final round to lead Illinois to the title.

But not only is Wang’s score of 62 outstanding. But it was accomplished in horrible weather conditions, with winds gusting and temperatures in the 40’s.

Wang has since been named the B1G Ten Women’s Golfer of the Year, and has been selected to this years Women’s Team in the Arnold Palmer Cup from June 8-10 at the Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier PA.. Wang will be joined there my Tommy Kuhl of the Illinois Men’s golf team, who will compete in the men’s competition.

Illini graduate student Crystal Wang lines up a putt. All photo’s courtesy of the University of Illinois.

So WANG IS currently ranked the No.8 women’s player in the country by GolfStat.

But she is also the first Illini Women’s Golf to be the medalist at the B1G Ten Conference Championships, since Illini Women’s Coach Renee Slone did it back in 1993.

Next week Illinois will travel to the San Antonio Texas NCAA Women’s Regional, to compete for a spot in the national championship field. Illinois has been named the No.9 seed, in a field of 12 schools. But only five schools from the field will advance to nationals.

The regional will be played at TPC San Antonio on the Oaks Course. So the course will be set up as a par-72, and playing at a yardage of 6,342. In addition to the team advancing to the nationals at Grayhawk Golf Club May 19-24 in Scottsdale Arizona. One player whose team did not advance, will advance as an individual to the nationals.

Illinois faces tough competition in San Antonio, headed up by No.1 seed Texas AM. But there are three schools from Texas in the field.