Monday, November 18, 2024
Kemper Lakes Golf Club, an old haunt of the Illinois PGA, will host the 76th Illinois Open.
It’ll be the first time the state’s golf championship will be played at the Killian and Nugent-designed course, but hardly the first time the Illinois PGA has camped out there. For 24 years from 1979 through 2002, the Illinois PGA Championship was played on the course in Hawthorn Woods. And the Illinois PGA’s match play championship has been played there in recent years.
Charlie Nikitas, should he defend the title he won this year at Flossmoor Golf Club, will find a championship test, updated and toughened over the years. From the back tees, it’s probably a bit more difficult than the layout Payne Stewart captured the 1989 PGA Championship on.
Dates haven’t been announced, but the Illinois Open has usually occupied the first week of August in recent years, and offered a total purse of more than $100,000.
Another of Illinois PGA’s majors will also be played on distinguished grounds. The 104th Illinois PGA Championship will be played at Beverly Country Club on Chicago’s southwest side, and in a planned 36-hole format, down from the traditional 54, for the first time since 1972. A handful of more recent playing have been rain-shortened.
Hawthorn Woods Country Club will host the Illinois Senior Open, while Pine Meadow Golf Club will host the Illinois Super Senior for the 60-and-up set.
Mistwood Golf Club remains host and co-sponsor of the Illinois Women’s Open.
– Tim Cronin