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7-30-10
Just a month after Wisconsin hosted the Western Junior Championship, the prestigious Western Amateur Championship will also be contested in the Badger State’s backyard. The 108th Western Amateur will be played Aug. 3-7 at Skokie CC in Glencoe, Ill.
John Hahn of Las Vegas will be on hand to defend the title he won last year at Conway Farms GC in Lake Forest, Ill. The field includes players from 150 countries and nine of the top 10 players on Golfweek’s magazine’s amateur rankings.
The only Wisconsin player in field as of the end of July was Jack Schultz of Whitefish Bay, who plays at the University of Michigan.
Among the elite list of past champions are names such as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Justin Leonard, Ben Crenshaw, Francis Ouimet and Wisconsin’s own Andy North. North won his Western Amateur title in 1971.
Chicago amateur legend Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. – for whom the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars program is named – also won the title eight times.
The event begins with two stroke play qualifying rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday of tournament week, followed by a cut to determine the low 44 players and ties. Then another 36 holes of stroke play will be contested on Wednesday, with the low 16 players advancing to match play. The championship match is scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 7.
The Western Amateur is open to the public, but tickets are required. They may be purchased at the gate for $10. Kids 16 and under are free.
Among the perks of attending is a chance to walk the fairways of Skokie CC, a beautiful private club founded with a nine-hole golf course in 1897. Most of the course’s current championship routing was laid out by legendary architect Donald Ross.
Skokie CC previously hosted the 1909 Western Open, the 1922 U.S. Open and the 1998 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
In June, Blue Mound G&CC in Wauwatosa hosted the Western Junior Championship, won by Patrick Rodgers of Avon, Ind. It was the tournament’s second visit to Wisconsin, after being played at University Ridge GC in 1993.
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