Kim finds putting key, leads Deere by 4

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Friday, July 13, 2018

Michael Kim can handle the heat.

At least on Friday, when it was possible to grow orchids at TPC Deere Run.

Under stifling conditions most of the day, Kim poured in eight birdies across 17 holes before play was stopped for the day with a thunderstorm on the doorstep of the course.

He’s at 16-under through 35 holes needing to save par from right of the 18th green when play resumes Saturday morning to finish at 16-under 126 with 23 players left to finish their rounds.

Kim’s two-for-two making the cut in the Deere, but hasn’t threatened. Now, he’s threatening. Seventeen birdies in 35 holes – with only 51 putts – indicate that.

What’s the difference in his putting?

“I think it’s more of a mental thing for me,” Kim said. “Thursday morning just warming up I kind of found a little mental note with me, and it’s been working for me so far.”

That’s quite a find. It could pay off to the tune of $1,044,000 if he wins, along with the two-year exemption and other baubles bestowed on a PGA Tour winner. His plan is simple.

“Just ignore the leader board as much as you can, ignore the scores,” Kim said. “Just me and the golf course. I think that’s how I’m going to take it for the next two days.”

Meanwhile, first-round leader Steve Wheatcroft added a 68 to his opening 62 and is at 12-under 130, a total matched by Canadian David Hearn, who lost to Jordan Spieth in a three-way playoff five years ago, and Johnson Wagner.

Wheatcroft finished before the first of the two weather delays, and was in the cauldron for over four hours. He drank everything he could to stay hydrated and still looked beet red after the round.

“Probably 20 ounces of water (on each of) the first 12 holes, and started to feel myself cramping up still,” Wheatcroft said. “This is one of the hottest days I’ve ever played golf in.”

Hearn was on the verge of winning at Deere Run in 2013, but missed a birdie putt on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff. Spieth and Zach Johnson had their hats off, ready to shake hands. Two holes later, Spieth was the winner at age 19.

Friday, there was a bit of controversy with Hearn, who has gone back to a long putter. After his round of 7-under 64, a Tour official asked him to come to the putting green and demonstrate his putting stroke to make sure he wasn’t anchoring it against his chest, which is now verboten in the Rules of Golf. No violation was found.

“I guess I’m putting too well,” Hearn said. “They were asking me about the way I’m doing it and I can say with certainty I’m not anchoring the putter.”

If the ruling was different, he would have gone from four off the lead to down the highway via disqualification. Perhaps that 1 1/2 inches he’d cut off the putter some time back made the difference.

Wagner added a 66 to an opening 64 for his 130. He had three straight top-seven finishes here before missing the cut last year.

“I just think I’ve done a good job of hitting fairways,” Wagner said. “I had some good lies and played to the smart side of the holes.”

Lurking five strokes back at 11-under are Brunson Burgoon, who has three holes remaining, Matt Jones, who has finished, and Deere rookie Francesco Molinari, who had not only finished but won his previous start, the Quicken Loans National, a fortnight ago.

“The game is still there,” Molinari said. “I think I can hit my irons a little bit better, especially the wedges. Yesterday and today has been okay but not great, so there’s room for improvement.”

Maybe Molinari isn’t lurking after all. Maybe he’s the real leader once the pedigrees of everyone ahead of him is considered. 

Around Deere Run

Dylan Meyer’s back-to-back 69s place him at 6-under 138 and tied for 24th entering Moving Day. He’s tied with fellow Illinois alum and three-time Deere winner Steve Stricker, the 51-year-old carding a 5-under 66. He’s two strokes ahead of last year, when he opened with 140 and finished tied for fifth at 15-under 269 via a 65-64 finish. Nick Hardy, the other Fighting Illini of note, is on the cut line of 3-under with two holes to play. ...

Danny Lee disqualified himself when he discovered he had used two different types of balls during the round. The “One-Ball Rule” means one type in any one round. Lee recently shifted from Titleist to Callaway, but it’s not known if he went to a different brand or within them, such as a Callaway Chrome to Chrome Soft or Titleist Pro V1 to Pro V1x. Lee was going to miss the cut anyway after rounds of 71 and 73 for 2-over 144. ... The cut figures to fall at 3-under 139, with 81 players on the good side of the knife. Those missing included Pekin native D.A. Points (2-under 140), who missed for the 12th time in 13 years, Deerfield’s Vince India (even-par 142), and fellow Monday qualifier Brian Bullington of Frankfort, who posted a second straight 3-over 74, the total of 148 missing the cut by nine strokes. ... 

Steven Bowditch was right: He didn’t make the cut, so the dream of Twitter-sourced caddie Elias Francque of Park Ridge ended after 36 holes. ... Those withdrawing Friday were Doug Ghim, bothered by a case of stomach flu, Jason Gore (back), Matt Every and David Berganio Jr. The heat (94 degrees with a heat index of 106) likely had something to do with it. ... The first delay lasted 49 minutes for a severe thunderstorm that skirted the course. It rained a bit after play resumed, but 48 minutes later, the curtain came down for the day. Then it poured.

– Tim Cronin

Wheatcroft leads Deere, DeChambeau withdraws

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Thursday, July 12, 2018

The most amazing round of golf in Illinois on Thursday was undoubtedly JoAnne Carner’s age-equaling 79 in the opening round of the Inaugural United States Senior Women’s Open Championship at Chicago Golf Club.

Illinois men’s coach Mike Small’s co-leading 65 in the Senior Players Championship at Exmoor Country Club wasn’t too shabby either.

Regardless, Steven Wheatcroft will take his tidy 62 at TPC Deere Run, thank you very much. He birdied nine holes, made nary a bogey and finished in 7-under 29 to top off his tournament-leading 9-under round, doing so with a driver that wasn’t a day old.

“I’d hit one or two screw balls around that cost me a bogey or double bogey,” Wheatcroft said of his recent play. “I got tired of that. The Callaway guys came out and worked with me a little bit yesterday, and we put a new driver head on.

“It was really good. It’s nice knowing I could aim down the middle and it wasn’t going to be a wipe right.”

The other side of golf was represented by defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who injured his right shoulder early in the round and had to withdraw in pain after his tee shot on the 16th hole. He hopes to play in next week’s British Open.

Wheatcroft’s splendid score earned him only a 1-stroke lead on Michael Kim, whose nine-birdie round was offset by a lone bogey.  Johnson Wagner, Canadian Nick Taylor, Joel Dahmen and Argentina’s Andres Romero are two strokes behind after their 7-under 64s.

If these aren’t household names, it’s not a surprise, as first, the John Deere Classic – maybe because of the high water of the Rock River – is the breeding ground for first-time winner. Second, the Official World Golf Ranking verifies the lead sextet’s locations on the list as 927th for Wheatcroft, 473rd for Kim, 396th for Wagner, 259th for Taylor, 298th for Dahmen and 292nd for Romero. The average ranking for the six is 440.83, which is as far from world No. 1 Dustin Johnson as Venus is from Mars. And it’s hard to get there.

Wheatcroft made his move with birdies on his last six holes, then had an idea.

“I tried to keep the round going,” he quipped. “I asked if we could just go to the first tee and start Round 2.”

Maybe it was the kid who kept appearing at each green and cheering for him.

“Every time we would walk by we would kind of fist bump,” Wheatcroft said. “I kept looking, ‘Yeah, he’s back again. Why is he following our group?’ ”

Kim went around Deere Run only slightly less perfectly, sinking a 40-footer and a pair of 20-footers, all for birdies.

“I got a good mental note from the morning warmup today and rolled it great,” Kim said. “It was just a different thought process while going through it. More of a feel than anything.

“I’ve been feeling pretty good about my game the last couple weeks, just haven’t been able to hold it together for the entire day. But it’s nice to get a low one today and see all the new things I’m working on.”

DeChambeau’s withdrawal a painful one

DeChambeau’s troubles began when he flew his tee shot on the par-5 second into heavy rough on the right. It set forth a disastrous turn of events.

“I just didn’t feel great after that,” DeChambeau said after emerging from the fitness trailer with his right shoulder in an immobilizing sling. “Probably overloaded the muscle.”

The 24-year-old stopped his takeaway on the 12th hole, then reloaded and his he second straight shot well to the right. That was the beginning of the end. Even though he was only 3-over through 15 holes, the pain on his tee shot on the par-3 16th was enough for him to turn to fellow competitors Davis Love III and Ryan Moore and call it a day.

“Life just throws you curve balls and you’ve just got to work with them,” DeChambeau said. “It’s not fun. It’s saddening.”

DeChambeau believes he’ll be able to play in next week’s British Open, and plans to fly to Scotland with that in mind after a few days of treatment.

“Oh yeah,” DeChambeau said. “I’m not going to not make the trip. I can still swing and hit a shot. I just don’t think it would be productive to do so. I don’t feel it’s going to be too long a recovery time.”

DeChambeau withdrew from the Valspar tournament in March with a back injury but came back to finish second in the following week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“My body is pretty resilient,” DeChambeau said. “I’m young. I think I can recover in time.”

Instant Tour caddie

Elias Francque, who turns 17 on Friday, received an early birthday present when Steven Bowditch picked him from a large number of Twitter hopefuls to caddie for him this week. Francque, from Park Ridge, started caddieing at Park Ridge Country Club. About 30 loops into his caddie career, he was on the PGA Tour.

“I was nervous on the first tee, but it got better after that,” Francque said. Bowditch scored 2-over 73 on Thursday and is in danger of missing the cut after a double-bogey, bogey finish, but provided a thrill when he holed out for eagle from 172 yards on the par-4 fifth, the only eagle of the day on a par 4 hole.

“Only club the kid pulled all day,” Bowditch kidded.

Francque, who has a pair of uncles who work for John Deere, is staying with his grandparents in nearby Geneseo this week. 

Around Deere Run 

Nick Hardy is tied for 11th after a bogey-free 66, needing only 28 putts. Two weeks ago, Hardy tied for 11th in the Travelers Championship, his first PGA Tour start as a pro. .. Fellow Illinois alum Dylan Meyer put together a 3-under 68 with only one bogey. ... D.A. Points, who went to Illinois almost before Hardy and Meyer were born, scored 2-under 69 and is threatening to make the cut for only the second time in a dozen starts. He last advanced to the weekend in 2011. ... Winfield’s Kevin Streelman also shot 66, matching his opening round of 2013.... Former champion and JDC board member Zach Johnson also scored 69, while three-time champion Steve Stricker returned a 70. ... Vince India of Deerfield, a Monday qualifier, was also at 70. ... Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights put together a 2-over 73, while Iowa grad Brian Bullington of Frankfort, also a Monday four-spot survivor, was at 3-over 74. ... Ninety-five of the 156 players were under par and another 17 were at par. ... The scoring average of 69.645 was the eighth-lowest in a first round since 1991. ... Rory Sabbatini also withdrew after firing a 1-over 72.

– Tim Cronin

Hoffman's 65 leads in Women's Western qualifying

Emilee Hoffman of Folsom, Calif., used an eagle 2 on the par-4 sixth hole of Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville as the centerpiece of her record-tying 7-under-par 65 in Monday’s first round of Women’s Western Amateur qualifying.

In so doing, Hoffman took a four-stroke lead into Tuesday’s second qualifying round over the trio of Doey Choi, Linda Wang and Maggie Ashmore. Their 3-under 69s are a stroke better than another trio, including the highest-placed Illinois resident, Brianne Bolden of Mokena, the runner-up in last year’s IHSA Class 2A championship.

Hoffman tied Mistwood’s women’s course record, a 65 posted by amateur Aimee Neff in the second round of the 2008 Illinois Women’s Open. Though results from two years are missing, Hoffman also appeared to tie the single-round qualifying record for the Women’s Western. Carol Semple Thompson scored a 65 at Firethorn Golf Club, Lincoln, Neb., in 1991.

Allisen Corpuz of Waipahu, Haw., the medalist last year at River Forest Country Club, is in a group at 1-under 71.

The field will be cut to the low 32 on Wednesday in preparation for match play, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday’s 36-hole final. Through 18 holes, there was a nine-way tie for 28th place at 2-over 74. Among those on the outside looking in: Bolingbrook’s Jessica Yuen (6-over 78) and Lemont’s Lauren Beaudreau (7-over 79).

Women's PGA: What, Lexi worry?

Writing from Kildeer, Illinois

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

It’s great – beyond great, in fact – to know you have all the talent in the world and can get the feel of a golf course in one or two circuits of it.

Lexi Thompson can do that.

She’ll do so this week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Club.

“If I can’t figure it out in two days ...” Thompson said Tuesday, channeling Dustin Johnson’s similar comments before the recent U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. “I usually just let my natural talent go.”

That, Thompson has in abundance. Yet she hasn’t won yet this season, and eschewed a practice round on Monday in order to play in the CVS Charity Classic, a one-day outing in Rhode Island that brings together players from the LPGA, PGA and Champions circuits to benefit worthy causes in that state.

Don’t think Thompson is treating the third major of the season in cavalier fashion. She sent her caddie to Kemper Lakes direct from the LPGA tournament in Arkansas, and he walked the course on Monday, confirming yardages and spying the proper line of play.

“My caddie did say it’s a good setup for me,” Thompson said. “I’m a little bit longer and I’ll be able to hit a good amount of drivers hopefully.”

Kemper Lakes will play 6,741 yards, more or less, which is a healthy poke or two for the ladies, and will likely play even longer, at least at first, after last weekend’s downpour, plus a thunderstorm on Tuesday morning, and more rain in the late afternoon, which played havoc with the pro-am. The big show commences on Thursday, but the course may not fully dry out until next week.

Michelle Wie had seen the course before her pro-am circuit on Tuesday, but remembered it not at all. She had an excuse: Her previous appearance here was in 2001, when she played in the U.S. Women’s Public Links Championship as an 11-year-old.

“If I said I remembered this golf course, I’d be lying,” Wie said with a laugh. “I have a lot of great memories but not of the golf course.”

Tuesday’s trek made it obvious to Wie when others believe, that the final three holes, the combination of the long par-4, peninsula par-3 and waterlogged dogleg par-4, which members have named the Gauntlet, will be decisive. 

“Sixteen, it’s a real tricky green,” Wie said. “Seventeen is a great par-3; depending on where they put the pin, it changes the hole completely. Eighteen speaks for itself, water on both ends. It’s just a great layout.”

That will be music to the membership’s ears. 

– Tim Cronin

Women's Western field ready to tackle Mistwood

Writing from Romeoville, Illinois

Monday, June 25, 2018

It’s fitting that Jessica Yuen will be first off the tee Tuesday when the 118th Women’s Western Amateur commences at Mistwood Golf Club. By her estimation, she’s played “hundreds of rounds” on the course.

“I grew up playing this course,” Yuen said. “I’m really familiar with this course. Knowing I’m really comfortable here will really help this week.”

Yuen’s also taken lessons from many members, past and present, of Mistwood’s professional staff. The two-time IHSA champion from Bolingbrook will be a junior at Missouri in the fall, and on quality of play and knowledge of course, has to be considered one of the favorites in the elite 120-player field.

Lemont’s Lauren Beaudreau lives even closer than Yuen but isn’t nearly as familiar with the course. Regardless, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Benet Academy senior, ticketed for Notre Dame and among the higher-ranked juniors in the country, went far this week.

“It’s very challenging,” Beaudreau said of Mistwood. “It makes you pick your way around it. You have to hit every type of shot here. And it’s good for match play, because you can be very aggressive.”

On the other end of the age spectrum is St. Louis star Ellen Port, 57, who has seven USGA championships in her pocket – four Women’s Mid-Amateurs and three Women’s Senior Ams, but hasn’t won this one yet.

“Juniors have something they can play in every day, but someone my age doesn’t have as many events,” Port said. “This is close, and it works with my family’s schedule.”

Port is also using the Women’s Western Am as a warmup for the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open, set for Chicago Golf Club in a fortnight.

“You need to compete,” Port said. “You play your way into shape, and I’m rusty. This is going to be a great time for me to count all my strokes. Any time I get to play in a meaningful round of golf I really appreciate it, and the Western puts on a great tournament.”

Whoever wins will join an illustrious collection of champions and will have fought through an accomplished field. Players who have made it to match play over the years have accounted for victories in 133 of the 282 women’s professional major championships played since the first one, the 1930 Women’s Western Open. That’s a 47.2 percent success rate.

Mistwood will add luster to the achievement. It’s the first time since 2007, when Urbana’s Stone Creek was the site, that the tournament is being played on a public course.

The Women’s Western Am changed the size of its field this year, dropping to 120 from 156, and will cut to 32 players for match play rather than 64. It’s also dropping consolation flights, a vestige harkening back to the time when country club matrons comprised a large part of the field. This is expected to make for an easier championship to run, and gives the WGA a template to build on when it takes over management of the WWGA championships in 2019. The 36-hole final, which dates to 1924, remains and is slated for Saturday.

– Tim Cronin