NORTHWESTERN ALUM and 2018 Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open Champion Hannah Kim (L), goes back-to-back and wins the Tennessee Women’s Open this past weekend, Congrats Hannah. PINEHURST RESORT President Tom Pashley (R) welcomes golfers back to Pinehurst #4, reopening from the Gil Hanse restoration on September 20th. For details and opening dates of the new brewery See Pinehurst.com.  ______________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by Golfers on Golf Director of Content and creation Rory Spears, with 2017 Illinois Open Champion Patrick Flavin who is in this weeks field at the 116th Western Amateur. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, and Facebook, Linkedin and now Instagram.

The 116th Western Amateur at Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield IL.

There are some that call the Western Amateur the Masters of amateur golf, and they might just be correct.

One thing that you can say about the Western Amateur, is that this test of golf, is more than just a test of golf, it’s a test of endurance. As the two finalists will play 72 holes of stroke play, and then need to win four matches of match play.

Toss in a pre-championship fund raiser, and a practice round day, and that is plenty of golf. At the Masters the old saying is that the tournament starts with the back nine on Sunday. At the Western Amateur it starts before then, but it ends on the back nine on Saturday afternoon.

Westernamateurchampionship.com for updates.

Sunset Ridge Country Club got the call from the Western Golf Association when Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park had to withdraw to due it’s hosting the Senior Players Championship last month. WGA Sr. VP of Tournaments Vince Pellegrino says the Western Amateur will return to Exmoor in the year 2022.

The Western Amateur concluded a long run at the Point O’Woods Country Club in Benton Harbor Michigan in 2008, and returned to the Chicago area at Conway Farms in 2009. Now the Western Amateur will conclude it’s almost decade long run in the Chicago area (-2013 when it was played in Arkansas) and return to “The Point” in 2019. The championship makes a pit stop in the Indianapolis market in 2020 at Crooked Stick, before returning to it’s first host in 1899 the Glenview Club in 2021.

The Sunset Ridge Clubhouse from a view on the 9th hole.

Past Champions include Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Scott Verplank who spoke about the championship on the events recent media day.

This year the championship is not lacking a strong field. Braden Thornberry the World #1 Amateur heads up this powerful field. Thornberry from Ole Miss, won the 2017 NCAA Championship and was fourth more recently in the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic on the PGA Tour, playing as an amateur on a sponsors exemption.

“We’re excited to be bringing the Western Amateur and it’s elite field to this historic club,” said Pellegrino. “We strive each year to attract the best amateur players in the world, and we are pleased that so many of them have chosen to play in this year’s Western Amateur and test Sunset Ridge’s classically-designed layout.”

The Par 3, 8th hole at Sunset Ridge Country Club.

The strong field also consists of players like Collin Morikawa a 2017 Walker Cup team member Texas A&M team member Chandler Phillips, Oklahoma star and 2017 Western Amateur sweet Sixteen player Brad Dalke, and 2018 SEC Championship winner from the Florida Gators Andy Zhang.

Players with local ties include 2017 Illinois Open Champion Patrick Flavin, 2018 newly crowned Illinois State Amateur Champion Jordan Hahn, and Andrew Price of Lake Bluff.

Sunset Ridge was opened in 1923, and the golf course was designed by Bill Diddel one of the founding members of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA). Diddle was known as a protege of Donald Ross and later was a mentor to Hall of Fame course designer Pete Dye. Architect Rick Jacobson did renovation work on the course in 2006, and Golf Magazine named the project the best Private Course renovation of that year.

Sunset Ridge has had 32 caddies become Evans Scholars, one former Sunset Ridge Caddie was Peter Ueberroth  who went on to run the Olympics and was the commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984-1989. Ueberroth was inducted into the caddie hall of fame in a dinner last night at Sunset Ridge.

The Western Amateur will have live streaming on Friday and Saturday of the Championship during the match play on GolfChannel.com and the Golf Channel mobile App, and at westernamateurchampionship.com.

Click here to hear Western Amateur interviews with Vince Pellegrino, Patrick Flavin and Scott Verplank

Sunset Ridge will play as a par 71 for the championship and at a yardage of 6,823. The field of 156 players will be cut to the low 44 and ties after 36 holes on Wednesday. Thursday will be a 36 hole stroke play day, with the low 16 players advancing to Fridays start of match play. The final four players remaining will play on Saturday with the championship match starting in the noon hour Saturday afternoon.

Admission and parking are free of charge, so come enjoy the last Western Amateur Championship in the Chicago area until August of 2021.