U.S. shut out by England in opening day of International Crown

Writing from Gurnee, Illinois

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Hammered again.

Skunked.

Shut out.

Blanked.

Get the idea?

The two United States duos in the 2nd International Crown at the Merit Club were beaten on Thursday by England. Americans Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson never led against Holly Clyburn and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who teamed for a 2 and 1 victory. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller had a 2 up lead on England’s Charley Hull and Mel Reid after six holes, but couldn’t stop Hull and Reid from a birdie-eagle-birdie binge on the next three holes. The Brits were thus 1 up at the turn, and, never trailing thereafter, went on to a 2 and 1 triumph.

If this sounds familiar, it is. Two years ago, when the Crown debuted at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, the Americans were also shut out on the opening day, a deficit they couldn’t come back from in the following two days. The Yanks ended up on the sidelines on Sunday, when the Crown was on the line.

The outcome earned England four points, while Thailand has three and Japan one in the  group with the pointless U.S.

“I felt like we played good golf today, so there’s – that’s what this format is,” Lewis said. “You play good golf and you’re going to lose matches, and that’s the way it goes.”

Golf lacking a defensive component, Lewis is right. She and Piller combined for a 6-under best-ball reading in their 17 holes, but Hull and Reid were 9-under, including an eagle each. Hull was 8-under herself, finishing eagle-birdie to close out the match.

“It was just a great day,” Hull said.

The barrage under par starting at the seventh was the stuff golf dreams are made of. Hull dropped a short into to within 10 feet on the 179-yard seventh and sank it. Reid smashed her 6-iron second shot within 15 feet on the par-5 eighth and sank it for an eagle. Hull returned the favor with a 3-iron to eight feet on the ninth for a birdie 2.

“Charley made everything she looked at,” Piller said.

It was there for the taking for the English duo. Piller made only two birdies, Lewis five.

“It’s always nice to beat you guys,” Reid said with a grin to an American reporter.

Clyburn and Ewart Shadoff got off to a quicker start than their compatriots, a birdie by Clyburn on the par-3 second moving them ahead of Kerr and Thompson. By the end, the visitors were 8-under across 17 holes to the 6-under of the hosts.

“On the back we didn’t play well enough to win,” Kerr said. “I left Lexi a couple times as a partner, and you can’t do that in four-ball if you want to win.”

Thailand appeared to be on the way to a similar sweep of Japan, but Ayaka Watanabe’s birdie at the last ensured a halve for her and Ai Suzuki against Thai duo Ariya Jutanugarn, the sixth-ranked player in the world, and Porani Chutichai. Jutanugarn scored seven birdies, but she and Chutichai never led until the 15th hole – when Jutanugarn authored birdie No. 6 – and lost that advantage when Watanabe poured in her 8-footer on the 18th.

In the other group, Taiwan, a.k.a. the Republic of China to diplomats and Chinese Taipei to the International Olympic Committee, swept Australia, even as they posted four points against the U.S. two years ago. Now, unlike 2014, the quartet wants to keep it going.

“We tried to make as much birdies as we can instead of one play aggressive and one play smart and safe,” former world No. 1 Yani Tseng said. “Me and Teresa (Lu) today, we’d go for every shot almost.”

That brought them a 2-up lead on Karrie Webb and Su Oh after five holes, and while the Australians brought the match square via birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, Lu birdied three of the next four holes and Tseng birdied the one Lu didn’t to run off with a 3 and 2 victory. 

The sweep was completed by Candie Kung – runner-up in the Women’s Western Amateur at Exmoor in 2000 – and Ssu-Chia Cheng’s 2-up victory over Minjee Lee and Rebecca Artis.

South Korea and the People’s Republic of China split, with Korea’s In Gee Chun and Amy Yang beating China’s Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin 2 up, and China’s Simin Feng and Jing Yan scoring a 1 up win over Sei Young Kim and So Yeon Ryu.

“I was nervous on the first tee,” Shanshan Feng said. “I wasn’t shaking, but I could feel like I wasn’t concentrating as normal.”

It was like that for many players. For the Americans, desperate to get back into contention, it may be even more so on Friday morning, when the U.S. plays Thailand. England meets Japan in the other Group B match, while South Korea and Taiwan face off in Group A, and Australia meets China.

Around Merit Club

The quote of the day came from England’s Mel Reid, who couldn’t help note her team’s success compared to the woeful English squad in the Euro 2016 soccer tournament: “We were saying along the way, we’re all pretty big football fans, and we made more points in one day than England did in the whole tournament. Can I just point that out? We’re pretty proud of that, so we’re already on a winner.” ... Galleries weren’t huge, but the estimated 2,500 or so on hand were into it, with a few flags and painted faces in evidence. With tee times running from 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, large crowds aren’t expected until the weekend. ... The 2018 Crown in South Korea was awarded to the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, the site of the 2015 Presidents Cup. ... This year’s Crown is the first of three straight years a significant LPGA tournament is in the Chicago area. Next year, the WPGA Championship is at Olympia Fields, and the 2018 edition will be played at Kemper Lakes in Hawthorn Woods. When the 2000 U.S. Women’s Open was held at Merit Club, the address was Libertyville. Since then, with luxury homes sprouting up around the perimeter of the course, the course and those homes have been annexed by the village of Gurnee, most of which is located to the northeast of the facility.

– Tim Cronin

Duel In The Sun, Mistwood-style

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Two players tied for the lead.

Two more, three strokes back.

A forecast for unrelenting sunshine and heat.

Sound familiar?

It’s the menu for Wednesday’s final round of the 22nd Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, with Big Ten rivals Stephanie Miller and Brooke Ferrell the co-leaders at 6-under-par 138, and Kelly Grassel and Lexi Harkins tied for third at 3-under 141.

Eight players of the 32 who made the cut are under par, with the only professional in red figures Sterling’s Ember Schuldt, at 1-under 143.

Miller, going into her senior year at Illinois, posted a second straight 3-under 69 on Tuesday. Ferrell, a senior at Wisconsin, added a 70 to her opening 68.

It’s the second time Miller, from Elgin, had held or shared the lead entering the final round. Four years ago, when she was in high school, she slumped to an 80 and fell out of contention quickly.

Ferrell, a disciple of Dennis Tiziani, who like her hails from Edgerton, Wis., shared second place last year.

Dana Gattone, with Ferrell the co-leader after the first round, ballooned to 78 on Tuesday from her opening 68 and stands at 2-over 146, tied for 10th and eight strokes out of the lead.

Grassel and Harkins each scored 2-under 70 to stay within contact of the leaders, and will play together in the penultimate pairing at 9:06 a.m. Miller and Ferrell tee off at 9:15 a.m.

The cut fell at 13-over 157, encompassing nine pros and 23 amateurs, the latter group including Monday’s ace owner, Lindsay Dodovich of Chicago. 

– Tim Cronin

Leaders

a-Brooke Ferrell, Edgerton, Wis. 68-70–138

a-Stephanie Miller, Elgin 69-69–138

a-Kelly Grassel, Chesterton, Ind. 71-70–141

a-Lexi Harkins, Crystal Lake 71-70–141

a-Hannah Kim, Evanston 74-68–142

a-Bing Singsumalee, Naperville 71-72–143

a-Taylor Thompson, Galesburg 72-71–143

Ember Schuldt, Sterling 71–72–143

Ferrell, Gattone share first round lead in Illinois Women's Open

Writing from Romeoville, Illinois

Monday, July 18, 2016

One day into the 22nd Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open, and it’s shaping up as an Illinois vs. Wisconsin showdown.

Two Fighting Illini team members and a Wisconsin player fought for the lead in Monday’s first round at Mistwood Golf Club. Wisconsin senior Brooke Ferrell and Illinois junior Dana Gattone share the lead with 4-under-par 68s, while Illinois senior Stephanie Miller is a stroke behind after a 3-under 69.

Eight of the 63 players in the field broke par and another three matched it on a warm day with little wind.

Gattone, of Addison, speckled her career-best 68 with five birdies, with only one bogey staining it. The highlight was the final birdie, a 3-foot downhill putt on the par-3 17th, for it set her up to par the last and finally score less than 69.

“I feel really confident out here,” Gattone said. “It sets up good for me, and for my course management.”

Gattone has a secret weapon for the latter, a pro-style yardage book a friend made for her a few years ago with more distances and details than in the regular yardage book the course sells.

Miller’s 69, which featured four birdies on the back nine, was achieved by “staying patient,” she said. “I just hit some good shots. The key here is putting the ball in good position. I missed three fairways, but when I missed a fairway, I missed in the right spot.”

Miller, who lives in Elgin, came off a family vacation to Alaska on Saturday and only hit a few balls practicing on Sunday.

Ferrell, of Edgerton, Wis., tied for second last year, while Gattone finished fifth and Miller tied for 22nd. Madasyn Pettersen of Rockford, last year’s winner, is in an AJGA tournament this week.

Lindsay Dodovich of Chicago authored the shot of the day, a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, which was a 160-yard test. A 6-iron was the weapon.

“I didn’t see it go in,” Dodovich said, noting how the green falls off to the back left, the pin position for the first round. “I hit it right at my aim point, to the right of the flag. My dad saw it go in.”

– Tim Cronin

Leaders

a-Brooke Ferrell, Edgerton, Wis. 68

a-Dana Gattone, Addison 68

a-Stephanie Miller, Elgin 69

a-Kelly Grassel, Chesterton, Ind. 71

a-Lexi Harkins, Crystal Lake 71

Ember Schuldt, Sterling 71

Frederique Bruell, Shaker Heights, Ohio 71

Jenna Pearson, Wheaton 71

a-Siyun Liu, Shanghai, China 72

a-Taylor Thompson, Galesburg 72

a-Grace Kil, Arlington Heights 72

Remembering Leon McNair

Leon McNair, inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame last year, died Sunday, July 3, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was 75.

The longtime professional at Fox Bend Golf Course in Oswego, for which he was part of the construction crew, fought the disease for which there is as yet no cure valiantly.

A standout at Glenbard West High School and graduate of Southern Illinois, where he was a member of their 1964 NCAA Division II championship golf team, Leon was lured into staying at Fox Bend by architect and construction guru Brent Wadsworth. McNair was at Fox Bend from 1967 until his retirement in 2005.

McNair put Fox Bend on the map with an amateur tournament to show the layout off to the better area players, as well as superior service to build a regular clientele.

He remained active as a member of the board overseeing the First Tee of Aurora and Fox River Valley, and president of Wadsworth Golf Charities. He was Illinois PGA Section president in 1991-92, and the IPGA's Professional of the Year in 1992.

Most recently, he was spearheading Wadsworth's Links Across America initative to boost youth participation in the game.

“The reason we launched Links Across America is, other than a few rare cases, affordable golf for youth does not exist in this country,” McNair said in his Hall of Fame acceptance talk. “The mission was to develop feeder short courses, three-, six- or nine-hole across the country to provide affordable golf, especially for youth, families, adult beginners and individuals with injuries or disabilities."

By last fall, 29 courses had been built in 16 states.

McNair was also honored last fall by the state, which named the portion of Route 34 that runs in front of Fox Bend the Leon McNair Highway.

Memorials may be directed to either The Leon McNair Memorial Fund in care of the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley, 111 W. Downer Place, Aurora, Ill. 60506, or ALS Association of Greater Chicago, 220 W. Huron, Suite 4003, Chicago, Ill. 60654.

Remembering Gary Planos

Writing from Chicago

Monday, March 28, 2016

Gary Planos almost always ended a conversation with a question.

“Do you need anything?”

Now, his legion of friends are asking why he died at 62, so many years too young.

Planos was found motionless Sat., March 26,  at his home in Kapalua, Hawaii, by landscapers who came over to work on his lawn. The cause of death is believed to be a heart attack.

That’s an additional shock, for Gary Planos had the biggest heart in golf. As the senior vice president of the Kapalua resort facility and the tournament director of the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions, Planos knew everyone in golf, a tight family where egos are large and grudges are kept.

Nobody ever had a bad word to say about Gary Planos. As word of his death spread on Sunday, kind words and memories of him came from all corners of the game.

“There was not a finer person in the game of golf,” Golf Channel producer Brandt Packer wrote on Twitter Sunday.

“He was always looking to help any way he could,” Rickie Fowler added, using Planos’ well-earned nickname of “Mr. Kapalua.”

“One of the all-time good guys,” ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski said. “Kapalua was Kapalua because of Gary Planos. Never met a nicer guy.”

Said Morgan Pressel, winner of the LPGA’s tournament at Kapalua in 2008, “My trips to Kapalua will never be the same.”

A caddie at Westmoreland who earned an Evans Scholarship to Illinois, Planos arrived in Hawaii in the mid-1970s with $7,000 in travelers checks and no job. Hired by Chicago native Mark Rolfing, he found one at Kapalua in the bag room. He made $3 an hour and could play the course. Hard work and imaginative thinking moved him up the ladder quickly.

“Westmoreland was my E ticket to Kapalua,” Planos said when the club celebrated its centennial.

Planos stayed close to the Evans program. He was a WGA director, and was usually on hand during the Western Open / BMW Championship, working either the practice range or visiting players in the locker room, reminding them of the beauty of the paradise he worked and lived in.

Baseball great Joe Torre, who has a house on the Kapalua property, would hang out with Planos during the tournament. On the turn of the millennium, he needed 15 rooms at the Ritz-Carlton for Yankees pitcher Andy Pettite for New Year’s Eve. It couldn’t be done, execpt Planos did it.

Planos could always do it. Arranging rides on a whale-watching boat or something similarly exotic were all part of his anything-is-possible mantra. Even after Kapalua outsourced resort and tournament operations in 2011, Planos was the go-to guy for many.

“Gary is Kapalua,” Steve Stricker said then.

“He had the wonderful ability to make everyone feel so special,” current TofC tournament director Nancy Cross told The Maui News. “I was greatly honored to be a part of his team.

“Everybody loved Gary. Pros, agents, media – everybody.”

Services were undetermined at press time.

– Tim Cronin