THE DRUMLIN PUTTING COURSE opens at Erin Hills on Thursday August 1st. Visit Erinhills.com for details, and tee times. THE NEW HEADQUARTERS for the Western Golf Association is taking shape in Glenview. The WGA putting caddies into college.       _____________________________________________________________________

Welcome to Point O’Woods Golf Club. Home of this weeks 117th Western Amateur Championship.

GOLFERSONGOLF.COM The Gog Blog, by Rory Spears. Director of Content and Creation. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy, Linkedin or Facebook.

AFTER A decade a away from the Point O’Woods Golf Club, the Western Golf Association (WGA) has returned. Looking to create the next chapter of amateur golf history at the Southwest Michigan golf club.

2019 marks the 41st time the championship has been contested at Point O’Woods. Besides adding to the clubs history on the course, Point O’Woods will now have hosted the championship more years than any other club.

The field which consists of 156 players, and includes players from 20 different nations. Will find a course that looks different from 2008. In previous years the most frequent sound heard around “The Point”, was golf balls klunking off trees. That noise won’t completely go away this week. But because of the hard work of superintendent Adam Roels and his team, it will be heard less frequently. And that’s due to the removal of close to 1,000 trees, over the last decade.  Regardless, Roels and company still need to take out a few more. But if temperatures do climb this week, the players will have plenty of shade..

2018 Western Amateur champion Cole Hammer with the George R. Thorne champion’s trophy and the Cameron Eddy medalist trophy. Hammer was co-medalist in the stroke play qualifying and won the championship match Saturday, Aug. 4, 1 up over Davis Riley.

Defending Champion Cole Hammer heads up a powerful field. Hammer just completed his first year at the University of Texas. Where he won the Phil Mickelson Award, for being the nations top freshman.

Hammer will be looking to put his name on the George R. Thorne trophy, for a second time. But that’s never easy at the Western Amateur, where the last player to win back-to-back titles was Justin Leonard in 1992-1993.

“We are looking forward to returning to Point O’Woods, and renewing our partnership that has run almost 40 years,” said Vince Pellegrino Sr. Vice President of Tournaments. “This championship showcases the best players in the world of amateur golf. The clubs members and local fans, are supporters of amateur golf. And the golf course has always produced world-class champions.”

“Because majestic oaks, maples and pines are abundant here,” said tournament chair and club president Bruce Phaff. ” It makes for a beautiful walk, and a fine test of golf.”

The Point O’Woods Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., opened in 1956 with golf commencing in 1958.  The course, built at over 7,000 yards was considered long for that era. Par will be lowered from 71 to 70, for the championship.

Point O’Woods has currently produced 38 caddies, that have gone on to become Evans Scholars. For more information on the championship, please visit the westernamateur.com.