Skokie is most famous for Gene Sarazen winning the 1922 U.S. Open, the first of his seven majors. Norman Xiong hoisted the George R. Throne Trophy in 2017 on the course that has been touched by three of the world’s most renowned architects: Tom Bendelow, Donald Ross and William Langford.
Two things I remember most about the 2017 tournament had nothing to do with birdies or bogeys. First, Doc Redman declined to take the complimentary dozen Pro V1s at registration. Who turns down free golf balls? Second, I won’t forget the day it was so unseasonably cold and windy I rode around in the golf cart with a fleece blanket covering my legs. In July! I was teased, but I was warm and cozy.
The list of non-golf memories during my nine Western Amateurs is lengthy, although not as long as Cameron Champ was off the tee at Skokie. I witnessed him effortlessly hit driver onto the green on a hole that measured more than 400 yards.
Fittingly, some of the highlights are from the 2019 tournament at Point O’ Woods, where the Western Amateur was contested from 1971–2008. It was my first trip to Benton Harbor, Michigan. The club staff steered me in the right direction with recommendations for post-round food and drink. The last night, the WGA’s legendary communications director Gary Holaway and I attended a local festival and enjoyed Tom Petty tunes.
That year, Canadian Garrett Rank won the tournament at 31 years old, the first mid-amateur to win in more than two decades. What’s cooler, Rank is also an NHL referee. Sweet 16er Turk Pettit provided levity throughout the week. More than once, he was seen pretending his iron was a shotgun shooting birds out of the sky while walking fairways. Pettit would go on to win the 2021 NCAA Individual Championship.
But the biggest character I came across was lead rules o icial Jon Brendle. As Steve Prioletti, the WGA’s director of amateur competitions, advised me years ago, if you bump into Brendle in the clubhouse, buy him a beer, find a comfy chair and ask him to share his stories. In his past life, Brendle worked as a rules o icial for more than two decades on the PGA Tour, supervising the likes of Fred Couples, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and, of course, Tiger Woods. He was best friends with the late Payne Stewart.
It would be understandable if Jackson Koivun turned pro after his historic freshman season at Auburn when he became the first college golfer to collect all three national awards — Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus — for top player. He went on to win medalist honors at last year’s Western Amateur at Moraine Country Club in Dayton, Ohio.
Instead, the 20-year-old Koivun, of San Jose, California, chose to remain an amateur and headlines this summer’s Western Amateur field at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe.
“It was in the back of my mind, and it was tempting,” Koivun said of the prospect of professional golf. “I know I can match up with those players [on Tour], but I have more maturing to do off of the golf course. It’s a different lifestyle. I need to learn more about myself before I embark on that. I want to make sure I’m ready and confident in myself in all aspects.”
Koivun has experienced a taste of the PGA Tour. Through May of this year, he’s made three cuts in four tournaments over the last two years. He accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in this year’s John Deere Classic (July 3–6) at TPC Deere Run.
Another player to watch is Florida junior Noah Kent. He played at this year’s Masters after finishing runner-up in the U.S. Amateur. Kent took second at 2023 Western Junior at Midlothian Country Club.
“The Western Am is a crown jewel, and one of the events that prepare you to succeed as a pro,” Koivun said. “College and amateur golf is the best it’s ever been, and there’s something to dominating at every level of golf.” —Matt Harness
That halcyon day came in the middle of the tournament’s five-year run at Stonebridge, which featured winners Mike Hill, Dale Douglass, George Archer, John Paul Cain and Hale Irwin.
The ladies also played through on three occasions just after the turn of the millennium. Annika Sorenstam won the first two playings of the Kellogg-Keebler Classic, scoring 21-under-par 195 in 2002 to tie an LPGA scoring record and win by 11 strokes, and opening with a 10-under 62 the following year (as did Rosie Jones), en route to a 17-under 199 to win by three.
A three-peat was not in the cards for Sorenstam, but not because she didn’t try. She tied for second in 2004, five strokes behind winner Karrie Webb. —Tim Cronin