Writing from Chicago
Monday, August 25, 2025
Often, the host professional for a golf tournament is too occupied to play well. All the details that goes with assisting the operators of the competition can become a burden.
John Varner, head pro at Beverly Country Club, is carrying that burden with ease. Never mind the big tent acting as the clubhouse while the real thing is renovated. Never mind the extra details attendant to that annoyance. Varner went out Monday morning and scored 1-under-par 70 on Beverly’s challenging par-71 layout and lays two back of leader Jeff Kellen of Glenview’s North Shore Country Club entering the final day of play in the 104th Illinois PGA Championship in the itself-remodeled format of 36 holes.
Only Eric Hoff of Bryn Mawr Country Club in Lincolnwood is between them courtesy of a 2-under 69. Nobody else is under par and only five, including Medinah’s Travis Johns and ageless Roy Biancalana of the Hawk Golf Club, matched par on the course, which packs a punch for a 6,745-yard jaunt.
Varner, who shares third place with Chris Boyle of CB Golf Performance, was tickled with his showing, the highlight for which was a 150-yard 8-iron on the 16th hole, which moseyed into the cup for an eagle 2. He called it “chunked,” but a deuce is a deuce.
“In a weird way, hosting took some of the anxiety off,” Varner said. “It distracted me from getting nervous. The rhythm was good, the day was good, the golf course was amazing. I was pinching myself out there many times.”
The last host pro to win the Illinois PGA was Shelby Futch, whose triumph at Twin Orchard Country Club came 50 years ago. He knocked off Bill Ogden and Hubby Habjan by a stroke, pocketing $1,300.
Kellen’s 3-under 68 was also punctuated by an eagle, his on the par-5 11th. It was a major contribution to his inward 4-under 31, including birdies on the 15th and 18th.
“I had 290 yards on 11 and hit it to about two feet,” Kellen said of his eagle. “The momentum, it started on 10, when I hit a horrible tee shot right and got up and down from the cart path. That was kind of a turning point. It could have gone sideways fast.”
“I channeled my inner Richie Dukelow,” said Hoff, referring to his pal, the head pro at nearby Ridge Country Club. “Kept it in front of me.”
Around Beverly
The long-anticipated $12.8 million remodeling of Beverly’s clubhouse is well underway. The two main floors of the interior has been gutted, an overhang covering a balcony is gone, and in a year or so, the members will have new men’s and women’s locker rooms, a new dining area and an exterior look more in keeping with the building’s original 1920 architecture than a pastiche of add-ons and substitutions. … PGA life member Mike Harrigan, who finished tied for 10th in the 1975 IPGA that Shelby Futch annexed, is still competitive, and scored 10-over 81 on Monday. … Jeff Kellen on the 36-hole format: “To come and play a place like Beverly, we’d play seven holes if that’s what they’d let us play.” … The field of 125 averaged 78.86 strokes, with the 200-yard par-3 17th the most testing, at .84 strokes over par. No hole played under par.
– Tim Cronin