Vegas odds add up to 62 at Deere

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Friday, July 12, 2019

Golf’s magic number is 59.

Lately on the PGA Tour, the number is 62.

Six rounds in a row on the circuit, someone has posted a 62. It happened four days running at the 3M open. Roberto Diaz threw a 62 on the board on Thursday at TPC Deere Run. Friday’s second round of the John Deere Classic, Jhonattan Vegas had the honor.

“These guys are good,” goes the slogan the Tour used a few years ago. But a 62 every day? What goes on here?

In Vegas’ case, hard work on the range Thursday night after an opening 67.

“I feel I’ve been struggling with my ball-striking all year for some reason and just decided to reset my posture,” Vegas said. “It was magic.”

Yes, that’s the start of the Deere’s slogan: Magic Happens Here. But magic is achieved only through hard work. Vegas started on No. 10, birdied the par 5, and two holes later decided to start aiming for the cup on every approach.

“I hit a real good 6-iron that I left about 10 to 15 feet,” Vegas recalled. “From there I got loose.”

Birdies on Nos. 13, 14, 16 and 17 followed for an outward 31. A trio of birdies beginning on No. 2 and another on the par-4 eighth brought him in in 31, and another 62 went into the ledger. But on a Friday, all that means is a later tee time on Saturday.

“Every day brings something different,” Vegas said.

If that sounds philosophical, there’s good reason. He’d missed seven cuts in 19 starts this season, including at the U.S. Open, his previous start. But Thursday was good and Friday was better.

Vegas’ aggregate of 129, a spiffy 13-under, earned him the lead in the 49th Deere at the halfway mark. He’s a stroke ahead of Andrew Landry, who equaled his opening 65, two ahead on Cameron Tringale and Lucas Glover, whose 255-yard approach from the middle right of the fairway on the par-5 10th bounced four times, took a hard right and ducked into the hole for an albatross, and three ahead of the threesome of Harold Varner III, Russell Henley and Daniel Berger.

Glover’s double-eagle, achieved with a 3-iron, was the seventh on the PGA Tour this year and the second in John Deere Classic history. Frank Lickliter smacked a fairway wood 257 yards from fairway to cup on the second hole in the first round of the 2000 Deere, the first year it was played at Deere Run. The course usually has a plaque on the spot of the strike, but it’s taken out during tournament week.

“I don’t expect anything,” Glover joked after signing for a 7-under 64. “Frank’s was probably where he was aiming. I was trying to hit it over short left, chip up the green and I pushed it five-eight yards.”

The cut fell at 3-under 138, and brought 80 of 156 players into the weekend’s festivities. One of those – on the number – was Zach Johnson, who became so enthralled with the Deere, he’s been a member of the tournament board for years. But his play hasn’t been up to his usual standard. He bounced back from his opening 1-over 72, which ended a run of 41 straight rounds at Deere Run under or at par, with a 4-under 67 to advance.

“There were more solid shots, but not enough,” Johnson said. “A couple of decent saves, two-putt saves, that sort of thing.”

Johnson won the British Open at St. Andrews in 2015, so would like to be in good form going across the pond.

“There are some things that feel better,” Johnson said. “Some things that I can capitalize with and move up the board. I’m hitting my line with my putter. That would be a distince positive, but I’m struggling to find others.”

Johnson starts Saturday’s play 10 strokes behind Vegas. Odds are that on Sunday night when he boards the tournament charter for Northern Ireland, he’ll still be behind Vegas.

Around Deere Run

Michael Wolff might have been an interesting interview after his even-par 71, which placed him at 4-under 138, but his agent denied reporters the opportunity to question last week’s surprise winner. ... Peter Uihlein scored 1-under 70 and was going to miss the cut at 2-under 140, but was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. ... Illinois favorite Dylan Meyer missed the cut after a second-round 76 and kicked himself for doing so. ... The field averaged 69.948 strokes in the second round and is at 69.774 strokes halfway through the week.

– Tim Cronin

Diaz hungry for more than victory

Writing from Silvis, Illinois

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Roberto Diaz turned professional in 2009. For the decade between then and now, he’s been searching for a victory that comes with both a big trophy and a big check.

Thursday was his 282nd round on the PGA Tour. He used it to carve up the John Deere Classic field, firing a 9-under-par 62 – his career low on the circuit by three strokes – to take a two-stroke lead over Adam Long and Russell Henley into Friday’s second round.

Diaz, who toured each side of TPC Deere Run in 31 strokes, was in the last group to finish. He’d rather do that on Sunday.

For the nonce, he just wants to keep playing as he did under the warm sun and negligible winds of the late afternoon and early evening, with power and touch, a combination that can take a player far.

Diaz hit 14 greens, but his best play of the day, one even better than his 99-yard pitching wedge hole-out for eagle on the par-5 10th, came on the par-5 17th, where he used local knowledge gained in the morning to baby a difficult 40-yard chip shot with considerable borrow from the front left of the green to within 18 inches of the cup.

A hole-out involves a bit of luck. A touch shot is pure skill and talent.

“This morning, I watched a couple of guys on the PGA Tour Live app play that,” Diaz said. “I told my caddie I just wanted to get it on the hill and let it trickle down. I hoped to get it to 10 feet.”

That jumped him to 9-under and two strokes up on Long and Henley, who were at dinner when Diaz was coming up the 18th fairway.

“Right now I’m really hungry,” said the 32-year-old native of Mexico. “Dinner will be fajitas.”

They will rarely have tasted better. Diaz has played better in recent weeks – he finished in a tie for eighth at the Travelers – but finishing has proved problematic. Not Thursday, where an adjustment in his putting methodology resulted in a 23-putt day.

“If your speed matches your line, you have a better chance,” said Daiz, echoing too many teachers to count. “I’d been hitting putts too hard. My caddie said to me, ‘Try to die them in.’ Today, I think I hit one putt too far. Otherwise, they were all to two to three feet. That makes your round more relaxed.”

Nine one-putt greens and two no-putt greens – he ran in a 19-footer from the fringe for a birdie on the fifth hole, which technically doesn’t count as a putt – made his score drop like a bad stock.

Everything went right for Diaz in his bogey-free round, and not too badly for Long and Henley, either. Long’s eight-birdie, one-bogey assault was the best of the morning on the course, after which Henley matched it and Diaz surpassed it.

Long isn’t a rookie like Matthew Wolff (tied for 20th with an opening 67), Collin Morikawa (tied for 78th with an opening 70) or some of the other new kids on the golf block. He’s from Diaz’s generation, 31 and a veteran of several years on what’s now the Korn Ferry Tour. But Long scored a victory in the Bob Hope Desert Classic in January, in only his seventh PGA Tour start, which instilled in him a sense of belonging.

Confidence? That’s another thing. Long admits to having doubts at times. Never mind that he has a trophy.

“It’s the most humbling game in the world,” Long said. “As soon as you hit the best shot you’ve every hit, you hit the worst shot you ever hit. As soon as you make an eagle, you make a double. We’ve all done it. It’s just how hard the game is that you can’t keep it for long.”

Long was 7-under on the 14 holes where he hit the green in regulation or less, and even, with a birdie and his long bogey of the day, on the four where his approach was wayward. But when you can one-putt eight greens and take only 26 putts, you’ll gain on the field.

“Kind of been my downfall the last week or two,” Long said. “I worked with my coach Josh Gregory the last couple days. The same stuff I always kind of battle with. Just keeping the putter face from turning over too much, keeping it a little more steady.”

Henley is seeking his first victory since the 2017 Houston Open. He hasn’t finished better than a tie for 15th this season, that at the Phoenix Open, but the 64 he stitched together on Deere Run’s leafy acreage is, even with a bogey at his last hole, his best score of the season. It came after he’d missed the cut in five of his last six appearances.

“It really just wasn’t a very stressful round,” Henley said. “I didn’t feel like I had to work too hard to make par.”

Six players, including Ryan Palmer, are tied for fourth at 6-under 65.

Around Deere Run

There are two players with the last name of Kim in the field: Whee Kim, who scored 3-under 68, and defending champion Michael Kim, who might as well be known as Woe Kim. Uninvited for a pre-tournament interview, Kim opened with a 2-over 73. He’ll likely need 67 or better on Friday to make the cut, which would be his first success of the season. Kim would be the fourth straight defending champion to miss the weekend. Brian Harman won in 2014 and made the cut in 2015. Since then, Jordan Spieth didn’t defend in 2016 and Bryson DeChambeau withdrew last year. ... Zach Johnson’s 1-over 71 ended a string of 41 under- or even-par rounds at Deere Run. His last over-par jaunt was a 4-over 75 in the third round of the 2008 JDC. ... Former Fighting Illini favorite Dylan Meyer, one of the four-spot qualifiers on Monday, birdied the last to finish at 1-over 72. ... Stephan Jaeger cited an injured thumb for withdrawing after 11 holes, his last the par-5 second, where he took a triple-bogey 8. ... The field averaged 69.600 strokes, the third lowest first round since the tournament shifted to Deere Run in 2000. Thirteen of the 18 holes played under par. There were four eagles on the par-4 14th, a downhill bomber’s paradise that was a drivable 321-yard test. ... Andres Romero had the drive of the day, a 396-yard poke on the par-5 second.

– Tim Cronin

Charity first at Evans Scholars Invitational

Writing from Glenview, Illinois

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

It’s a little more laid back on the Web.com Tour than the PGA Tour, the circuit those playing in this week’s Evans Scholars Invitational aspire to.

Why else would Steve Marino, a doughty professional who has seen time on both circuits, crank up a boom box and play reggae tunes during the pro-am at The Glen Club?

That just doesn’t happen on the big tour.

The stepping-stone league has a different vibe. Rare are the luxury boxes and corporate suites. Few are the televised tournaments – and the ESI, which commences Thursday morning and runs through Sunday, is not one of them. It’s like the PGA Tour, circa 1973 or so. You half-expect Charlie Coody to be on the leader board.

What abounds are quality players. A few weeks ago, hopeful Tyler Neff scored 27 for nine holes in a qualifier for the Nashville stop and wasn’t among those who made it to the week’s tournament. His round of 65 only advanced him to the playoff, and he didn’t make it out.

The biggest name in this week’s field is Angel Cabrera, whose 52 worldwide wins include the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters. He’s 49 and warming up for the senior tour, but should be a threat on the par 72, 7,225-yard Tom Fazio-designed course, where the fairways are reasonably wide and big hitters don’t have an overwhelming advantage.

Not quite as recognizable, but even more likely to contend for the $99,000 first prize from the $550,000 purse, is Alabaman Robby Shelton IV, who made a run at the Western Amateur in 2015 at Rich Harvest Farms, winning the qualifying medal and advancing to the semifinals. Shelton enters the week first on the tour money list.

Shelton has company, as 20 of the top 25 on the tour’s order of merit will tee it up. That crowd includes No. 3 Scottie Scheffler, No. 9 Tyler McCumber – son of two-time Western Open winner Mark – and No. 21 Maverick McNealy.

Local heroes include a pair of graduated Illini from the class of 2018: Nick Hardy of Northbrook and Dylan Meyer of of Evansville, Ind., the latter of whom is trying to adapt to the less-formidable course setups in professional golf compared to the amateur circuit, where hosting clubs often have a big say in protecting par.

Brad Hopfinger and Vince India, both of whom have won the Illinois Open on this course, are also in the field. India won the state championship last year, but his schedule on the circuit precludes him from defending, so this is his only appearance in the area this year.

The entire purpose of this endeavor isn’t really crowning a champion, but raising money and awareness for the Evans Scholars Foundation, the caddies-to-college program created by Chick Evans, the champion of yore, and his mother. At the moment, the program is funding the education of 985 caddie-scholars from Pennsylvania to the West Coast, with a heavy concentration of them coming from the Chicago area. To that end, Edward Jones has kicked in to allow free admission to the tournament, and CIBC helped finance the pro-am.

Around The Glen Club

Among the amateurs swatting it in the pro-am was Mike Keiser, the Chicago-based course developer who expects to make some news concerning a Chicago-area layout shortly. ... Caddie master extraordinaire Greg Kunkel, WGA boss John Kaczkowski and KemperSports prexy Josh Lesnik were also in the am portion of the field.

– Tim Cronin

Olympia Fields fires Keith Foster

Writing from Chicago

Sunday, December 23, 2018

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced golf course architect Keith Foster had pleaded guilty to smuggling endangered species, which carries up to a five-year prison term on top of a $275,000 fine he agreed to pay and turning in all the illegal goods he’d imported.

On Friday, Olympia Fields Country Club fired Foster. The club announced its action at 12:04 p.m. Sunday, saying in an announcement to club members it “has severed all contracts and its relationship” with the 60-year-old architect, who ran an antique store in Virginia, and, it’s now known, an illegal business within that, on the side.

“We have done our best to mitigate the club’s damages resulting from his admitted offenses and are proceeding to formulate a plan to move forward with another architect,” the club told its membership.

Foster had been hired by Olympia to create master plans for upgrading the North and South courses, and had completed at least the South Course plan. What will happen to that plan is now unknown.

He had been selected from three other finalists: Tom Doak, Jim Urbina and Andy Staples. The club could circle back to one of those three or start a new round of interviews. The timetable called for no work to be done until the fall of 2020, which now comes after Saturday’s awarding of that year’s BMW Championship to Olympia’s North Course.

Foster, whose design for Shepherd’s Creek in Zion is one of the Chicago area’s most popular courses, has become known for his restoration work in recent years. His restoration of Philadelphia Cricket Club won raves and helped lead to more work, including a contract with Congressional Country Club near Washington.

Congressional fired Foster on Saturday. He also has contracts to renovate Omaha Country Club in Nebraska and Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas, Tex. Their status is unknown.

– Tim Cronin

Olympia Fields to host 2020 BMW, whoever the sponsor is

Writing from Chicago

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Olympia Fields Country Club has found the Western Golf Association’s 2020 playoff tournament under its Christmas tree.

It may or not be called the BMW Championship, but it will be played on Olympia’s famed North Course in August of 2020, the club announced to members on Saturday.

Olympia’s board of governors unanimously approved hosting the penultimate tournament in the PGA Tour’s playoffs on Thursday night, new club president Joe Tapajna announced to the membership.

The sixth hosting of the WGA’s premier championship will mark the 100th anniversary of Olympia’s first hosting of the Western Open, when the 1920 edition was won by Jock Hutchison.

The deal had been in the works for over 18 months, Tapajna said.

“We love to host championship golf,” Tapajna said. “We think it energizes our members. It gives us the opportunity to give us a little extra push to do the things we should do in terms of improving ourselves.”

BMW’s current deal with the WGA, which began in 2007 and prompted the renaming of the Western Open, concludes with the 2019 BMW at Medinah Country Club. So far, neither a renewal of the sponsorship, the end of the sponsorship, or a new sponsor has been announced. The lack of a renewal announcement at this year’s BMW at Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia has led many to believe the German automaker, whose sponsorship has included funding Evans Scholarships when a player would make a home-in-one during the tournament, will not be back.

BMW of North America, now headed by Bernhard Kuhnt, is said to be less interested in using golf sponsorship to drive sales as previous chief Ludwig Willisch.

Olympia Fields’ announcement said the club was hosting the tournament for both the financial benefit it will bring to the club and the “ability to showcase our facilities on national television and keep OFCC in the focus of the U.S. and international golf community.”

Olympia Fields jumped back into hosting tournaments with the 1997 U.S. Senior Open. Since then, it’s hosted the 2003 U.S. Open, 2011 U.S. Girls Junior, 2015 U.S. Amateur and 2017 Women’s PGA.

This will be the sixth Western Open / BMW Championship at Olympia Fields. Aside from 1920, the club also hosted in 1927 (Walter Hagen), 1933 (MacDonald Smith), 1968 (Jack Nicklaus) and 1971 (Bruce Crampton).

Olympia also has a long-standing connection with the WGA through the Evans Scholars caddies-to-college program. Only Beverly Country Club has had more caddies gain the Evans scholarship.

Cog Hill was in a long run as the host of the Western Open when BMW came in as the sponsor and the tournament was moved from July to September. Aside from moving the tournament out of Chicago every other year to boost sales, the automaker’s North American’s management quickly became dissatisfied with Cog Hill’s location, which prompted a move to the north shore for a three-tournament run at Conway Farms in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The 2019 tournament at Medinah will be the first WGA championship there since the 1966 Western Open.

In related news, Olympia is effectively adopting a wait-and-see policy with consulting golf course architect Keith Foster, whose guilty plea for smuggling endangered species into the country to sell through his Virginia antiques store will result in a sentencing in March. Foster, who could be imprisoned for up to five years, has already forfeited $275,000 and turned over the unsold illegal merchandise.

Foster has already submitted a detailed plan for upgrading both courses at Olympia Fields that would have to be approved by the membership. No work would be performed on either course until after the 2020 season.

– Tim Cronin