By editor in Illinois PGA, Local golf on May 16 2008
 GLENVIEW, Ill. - The 57th Illinois PGA Match Play Championship will be held May 19-22 at Kemper Lakes GC for the third consecutive year.
Top-seeded Mike Small, 42, University of Illinois men’s head golf coach, is scheduled to make only his second appearance in the Match Play Championship. Last year, Small defeated the top seed Roy Biancalana, PGA teaching professional at St. Andrews C.C., 1-up in the final match.
One of the most dominant players in IPGA history, Small won three of the four IPGA major championships in 2007. He has won a record six IPGA Section Championships (five consecutive) and four of the past five Illinois Open Championships (three consecutive). Read More…
By editor in Bank of America Open, Local events, Nationwide Tour on May 16 2008
Bank of America Open Sectional Qualifier
Springbrook Golf Course - Naperville, Ill.
Thursday - May 15, 2008
Par 72 - 6919 Yards
*Won on the fourth sudden death playoff hole
QUALIFIED
T1,Jonathan Prior,Palatine,Twin Orchard CC,37,35,72,E
T1,John Thompson,Westmont,GolfTec-Oak Brook,34,38,72,E
T3,Darren Stanek,West Dundee,Oak Club of Genoa,35,39,74,+2*
ALTERNATE
T3,Harlan Chemers,Lake Forest,Conway Farms GC,36,38,74,+2 Read More…
By editor in LPGA Tour, Women's golf on May 13 2008
 May 13, 2008 — After a brilliant 15-year professional career that saw her re-write the record book in women’s golf, Annika Sorenstam announced today that she will be stepping away from competitive play at the conclusion of the 2008 LPGA season.
Sorenstam, who will turn 38 in October, will continue to play a full LPGA schedule through the remainder of 2008, finishing with the season-ending Lexus Cup.
“After much consideration, I have made the decision to step away from competitive golf at the end of this season,” said Sorenstam, who has added three more victories to her career total so far in 2008. “Because I love the game so much, this is obviously a hard decision to make, but it feels like the right one. I made this decision because I have a number of other priorities in my life, including starting a family, that I want to be as dedicated to as I have been to playing golf and it was always important to me to go out on my own terms.” Read More…
By editor in College golf, Local golf on May 13 2008
 EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern Director of golf and men’s head coach Pat Goss announced today the hiring of Emily Fletcher as the Wildcats’ women’s head golf coach.
“I have known Emily for over 15 years and had always thought she would make a great college coach,” Goss said of Fletcher’s hiring. “I am especially impressed with her background and relationships in professional golf. Our goal is to attract women who want to pursue golf with the goal of playing professionally. Emily has a strong belief in what Northwestern University and our golf programs stand for. I have no doubt she will lead us toward our goal of being the top team in the Big Ten and a consistently top-20 program.”
“She possesses a tremendous skill set, both as a teacher and recruiter, which makes her a great fit for our golf program,” said director of athletics Jim Phillips. Read More…
By editor in Hooters Tour, Local events on May 13 2008
 South Bend, IN – (Special to Chicagoland Golf) — Andrew Tschudin (Melbourne, Australia), fired a one over par 73 over the cold, rain-soaked, wind-swept, 7136-yard Blackthorn Golf Club to win the Hooters Tour Orion Group Golf Classic by one stroke over Shawn Stefani (Baytown, TX).
Tschudin, who finished at 8-under-par 280, started the day tied for the lead with Stefani, and Matt Harmon (Grand Rapids, MI).
“With the weather conditions the way they were out there today, you could very easily lose focus,” said Tschudin. “I felt like I did a very good job of staying focused on my game, and not letting myself get caught up in the weather. I felt like I have been playing pretty solid the last few weeks, and this week it all seemed to just come together.” Read More…
By editor in Local events, Local golf on May 13 2008
 CHICAGO, May 13, 2008 – The golf courses owned by the Chicago Park District and managed by KemperGolf, a division of KemperSports, will launch the 2008 golf season by hosting the inaugural “Swing for a Million” celebration,  a weeklong hole-in-one contest spanning six of the city’s courses. The competition will highlight Customer Appreciation Week at the Chicago Park District golf facilities, set for May 17-23. The CPD golf mascot “Dimples” (right) will make guest appearances.
Patrons scoring a hole-in-one at designated Chicago Park District golf facilities on the following days during Customer Appreciation Week will win $10,000 and qualify for a chance to make a hole-in-one worth $1 million during the finals on Friday, May 23, at historic Sydney R. Marovitz Waveland Golf Course on Chicago’s lakefront:
Saturday, May 17 – Black GC (No. 7)
Sunday, May 18 – Marovitz Waveland GC (No. 6)
Monday, May 19 – Jackson Park GC (No. 6)
Tuesday, May 20 – South Shore GC ( No. 9)
Wednesday, May 21 – Marquette Park GC (No. 5)
Thursday, May 22 – Columbus Park GC (No.8)
The competition is open to the public.
Read More…
By editor in Legal stuff on May 12 2008
This comes from the attorney who won this case against the golf course. We’ve removed all of the gratuitous material.
TAMPA, Fla., – In January 2000, Gaylon and Mary Jones booked a tee time at Westchase Golf and Country Club near Tampa, Florida. Little did they know that their plans for a leisurely round of golf would change their lives forever. Prior to their tee time, Mr. Jones and his friend proceeded to the driving range to hit some warm-up balls. At the range, raised granite markers were used to separate each golfer and designate where they should tee their practice balls. Mr. Jones set-up between two markers, teed his ball adjacent to a marker and “toed” a driver. The ball rebounded off the marker and struck Mr. Jones in his right eye causing permanent loss and eventual removal of the eye.
The ensuing case against the golf course and management company was settled for $1 million in November 2007. A starter testified that prior to the accident, he warned the assistant professional that raised granite markers may look good, but were risky. Read More…
By editor in Business news, Golf equipment, Legal stuff on May 9 2008
 HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — West Coast Trends, Inc., makers of the Club Glove, a top-selling golf club travel cover, has filed a lawsuit against Armor Gear, LLC, and its supplier Uneka Concepts, Inc., in the Eastern District Court of Texas for patent infringement.
West Coast Trends owns the invention described in United States Patent No. 7,19,902 entitled “Flexible Travel Bag With Integrated Support to Protect Bag From Wear.” The patent is directed to a travel bag, such as for golf, fabricated of a flexible material such as nylon combined with a specialized rigid support. The patented travel bag is sold by West Coast Trends under the trademark Club Glove. The Complaint alleges that Armor Gear’s Big Kahuna, Big Kahuna II, and Rolling Sherpa IIz travel bags infringe the ‘902 patent.
“We will protect our intellectual property vigorously,” stated Jeff Herold, President, West Coast Trends, Inc. “There are more companies on our list that we will be contacting soon.”
By editor in Self-flagellation on May 5 2008
Just thought I’d jump in to clear up yesterday’s outage of the Worm Castings blog and The News Hole.
We started getting e-mails early Sunday morning from some of the regulars who were letting us know they were getting a “server error” message when they tried to sign on. Unaffected was the home-base Chicagolandgolf.com website.
Of course the first thing I did was figure it was something I did wrong — don’t we all do that? — so I carefully checked and re-checked the operating files for both sub-sites. Nothing was amiss.
So I got on the help line and according to the company from which we lease server space, it was a global outage due to upgrading software on the server. Was told it would only last an hour or two, said a man somewhere in the Philippines. (That is where the support lines ring between midnight and 7 a.m. nightly and on weekends.)
I’d hate to hang by my thumbs for that hour or two. According to our traffic-monitoring software, both sub-sites went down about 3 a.m. and weren’t restored to operational status until about 5 p.m.
So even though it wasn’t our fault, we apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience and your patronage.
By editor in Amateur golf, US Women's Open, United States GA on May 2 2008
 Far Hills, N.J. – The United States Golf Association has accepted 1,236 entries for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open, which will be played June 26-29 at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn.
It is the fifth consecutive year the number of entries for the championship has surpassed 1,000. The record of 1,251 entries was set in 2007. The first to file an entry was Katie Sylvan of San Diego, Calif., who was one of 33 people to enter on March 3, the first day online applications were available. The last to file was Sarah Neville of Austin, Texas, who submitted her entry online at 4:46:31 p.m. on April 30, 14 minutes before the official deadline. More than 87 percent of the total entries were received online, including 63 on the last day (April 30) applications were accepted.
The youngest entrant is 11-year-old Samantha Wagner of Easton, Pa., with a birth date of Oct. 6, 1996. For the second consecutive year, the oldest player who listed her date of birth on her entry form is Barbara Israel of New York, N.Y., at age 62. Read More…
By editor in Bank of America Open, Local events, Nationwide Tour on April 28 2008
 Bank of America today announced a series of community events and programs for the 2008 Bank of America Open golf tournament that will provide opportunities for local golf enthusiasts and assist area charities in raising additional funds. Organizers at The Glen Club, site of the Nationwide Tour Tournament, shared particulars of new programs for 2008 including a Memorial Day adaptive golf clinic for U.S. Armed Forces veterans and Charity Days at the Glenview National Nine.
“Bank of America has a strong tradition of supporting excellence in sports and contributing significantly to communities and charitable organizations,” said Bank of America Illinois Market President David Rudis. “The Bank of America Open allows us to achieve all those goals at once as we welcome professional golf to Chicago and offer multiple opportunities for the entire community to benefit from its arrival.”
Red, White & Blue Golf Clinic
As tournament week opens on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, Bank of America will welcome approximately 25 wounded veterans from the U.S. Armed Forces for an adaptive golf clinic. Read More…
By editor in Amateur golf, U.S. Open, United States GA on April 25 2008
FAR HILLS, N.J. (April 25) – The United States Golf Association has accepted 8,390 entries for the 2008 U.S. Open, to be played June 12-15 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif., including those from the 58 golfers who are currently fully exempt into the field.
Ninety-two percent of the total entries were received online, including 1,192 in the final two days applications were accepted (April 22-23). The USGA received 102 entries online in the final hour.
The last entry to arrive was from Keith Stone, a 39-year-old amateur from Chelmsford, Mass., who beat the 5 p.m. (EDT) deadline by 56 seconds.
The first entry received was from Joseph Tumpach, a 31-year-old professional from Naperville, Ill. The youngest golfer to enter was 12-year-old Rico Hoey of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The oldest applicant was 79-year-old Harris Moore Jr., a professional from Los Angeles, Calif.
Overall, the USGA received entries from golfers in all 50 states and 68 foreign countries. Read More…
By editor in PGA Tour, Tiger Woods on April 15 2008
Tiger Woods underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Tuesday at Healthsouth Medical Center in Park City, Utah.
Woods is expected to be out for between 4-6 weeks. The rehabilitation schedule could threaten his title defense at the Wachovia Championship May 1-4, as well as his appearance at THE PLAYERS The Players Championship the following week.
The U.S. Open, which will be played at Torrey Pines, a course where Woods has won six times, is eight weeks away. Woods finished second to Trevor Immelman on Sunday at the Masters Tournament, the season’s first major championship.
“I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery after the Masters,” Woods said on his Web site. “The upside is that I have been through this process before, and know how to handle it. Read More…
By editor in Downstate golf, Futures Tour, LPGA Tour, Women's golf on April 14 2008
 SPRINGFIELD, IL – Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in the 2008 LPGA State Farm Classic at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, IL, July 14-20.
The 18-year-old Wie was given one of only two available exemptions for the tournament. The other will be awarded to the winner of the Duramed FUTURES Futures Players Championship in Decatur, IL, June 9-15. This is the first time Wie will play in the State Farm Classic. Tickets for the tournament are now available online only at www.lpgastatefarmclassic.com.
“We are very pleased Michelle Wie has accepted our invitation to play in the State Farm Classic, a tournament that year after year attracts some of the world’s best women golfers,” State Farm Classic Executive Director Kate Peters said. “Michelle is a fan favorite and will be a welcome addition to this years’ tournament.” Read More…
By editor in Golf is a circus on April 14 2008
Okay, just for your benification, this is the kind of vapid PR crapola that fills our email box the day following a major championship. We chose this one from several that arrived (Nike also is taking credit for “its players” finishing 1-2-3 yesterday) because it is a typical example of how ancillary entities quickly attach themselves to the front runner, no matter how remote or insignificant the association. It is presented exactly as it arrived.
What editor in his right mind would publish such drivel? (I’m not in my right mind.) Why do they even bother with sending this out?
This one is significant because it comes one week after Ernie Els unceremoniously dumped David Leadbetter after a 20-year relationship in favor of Butch Harmon. If you view it as a comeback attempt for Leadbetter, you are both a cynic and absolutely correct. – PK
The David Leadbetter Golf Academy Congratulates Trevor Immelman
on his 2008 Masters Victory
CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla. —David Leadbetter and the entire David Leadbetter Golf Academy family congratulate Trevor Immelman on his championship victory at the 2008 Masters Tournament. Read More…
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