After golf’s scorching summer in the Midwest last year, with Erin Hills in tiny Erin, Wisconsin, hosting the 117th U.S. Open, there’s much more in store this summer.
That event saw more than 200,000 spectators travel to southeastern Wisconsin as the Open returned to the Midwest for first time since 2003, when Olympia Fields (Illinois) Country Club played host. (For more about this great event, don’t miss our interview with Erin Hills co-architect Dana Fry, on page 86.)
This summer has stayed hot for golf in the Great Lakes. We’ve seen the PGA Senor Championship at Jack Nicklaus’s Harbor Shores, in Benton Harbor, Michigan. We’ve seen the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Chicago’s Kemper Lakes. And the 100th PGA Championship returns to prestigious Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis in August. Bellerive previously hosted the tournament in 1992. Worth noting is that 2018 will be the last time the PGA Championship will be played in mid to late summer. In 2019, the event will make a permanent move to the month of May and become the second major championship on the calendar behind the Masters in April.
Meanwhile, two new events are on the golf calendar for this summer. The inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open will be played at venerable Chicago Golf Club, America’s first 18-hole course. The event, to be held July 12-15, will feature both professional and amateur players in the 50-plus age group. (It’s also a great way to see Chicago Golf Club, the inspiration for the new South Course at Arcadia Bluffs, which Fry drew heavily from in the design.)
The PGA Tour Champions is adding two new events to its 2018 calendar with one set for Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The Ally Challenge will be played the week of Sept. 10-16 and for many on the senior circuit it will be a homecoming of sorts as Warwick Hills was the long-time home of the now defunct Buick Open. The names of many current PGA Tour Champions players dot the Buick Open’s list of champions.
Here is a rundown of the 2018 events in the Golftime region:
2018 Pro Golf Preview
July 9-15, Highland Park, Illinois
PGA Tour Champions
CONSTELLATION SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Exmoor Country Club
DEFENDING CHAMP: Scott McCarron
TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: The Senior Players Championship is one of five majors on the Champions tour. Scott McCarron fired a final round 6-under 66 to defeat Bernhard Langer and Brandt Jobe by one shot.
July 12-15, Sylvania, Ohio
LPGA Tour
MARATHON CLASSIC
COURSE: Highland Meadows Golf Club
DEFNDING CHAMP: In-Kyung Kim
TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: A new USGA championship. Eligibility for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open championship will be limited to professional and amateur female players, age 50 and older.
July 12-15, Silvis, Illinois
PGA Tour
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
COURSE: TPC Deere Run
DEFENDING CHAMP: Bryson DeChambeau
TV: CBS/Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: Bryson DeChambeau became the 21st player to make the John Deere Classic their first PGA Tour career victory.
Aug. 2-5, Akron, Ohio
PGA Tour
WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS – BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL
COURSE: Firestone Country Club (South)
DEFENDING CHAMP: Hideki Matsuyama
TV: CBS/Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: Hideki Matsuyama’s final round 61 tied the course record. That round included seven birdies and an eagle.
Aug. 9-12, St. Louis, Missouri
PGA Tour
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Bellerive Country Club
DEFENDING CHAMP: Justin Thomas
TV: TNT/CBS
THE SKINNY: The PGA Championship marks its centen- nial at Bellerive, which last hosted the event in 1992.
Aug. 10-12, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Symetra Tour
PHC CLASSIC
COURSE: Brown Deer Park Golf Course
DEFENDING CHAMP: Brittany Marchand
THE SKINNY: Canadian Brittany Marchand shot a 13-under 203 to win the 2017 championship by three strokes.
Aug. 16-19, Indianapolis, Indiana
LPGA Tour
INDY WOMEN IN TECH
COURSE: Brickyard Crossing Golf Club DEFENDING CHAMP: Lexi Thompson
TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: With her 2017 win at the inaugural championship, Lexi Thompson became the first woman to kiss the famous yard of bricks in victory.
Aug. 17-19, Battle Creek, Michigan
Symetra Tour
FIREKEEPERS CASINO HOTEL CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Battle Creek Country Club
DEFENDING CHAMP: Erynne Lee
THE SKINNY: Erynne Lee recorded seven birdies in her final round to win the championship by two strokes.
Aug. 23-26, Columbus, Ohio
Web.com Tour
NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Ohio State University Golf Course – Scarlet Course
DEFENDING CHAMP: Peter Uihlein
TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: American Peter Uihlein earned the 2017 victory in only his third start on the Web.com Tour.
Aug. 29-Sept. 2, Cleveland, Ohio
Web.com Tour
DAP CHAMPIONSHIP
It won’t have Tiger Woods this year (soon enough), but Warwick Hills Country Club returns to the pro circuit with the Tour Champions’ The Ally Challenge.
COURSE: Canterbury Golf Club DEFENDING CHAMP: Nicholas Lindheim TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: California native Nicholas Lindheim sank a 35-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a three-way playoff to win the 2017 championship.
Aug. 30- Sept. 5, Blaine, Minnesota
PGA Tour Champions
3M CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: TPC Twin Cities
DEFENDING CHAMP: Paul Goydos
TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: Paul Goydos defeated Gene Sauers on the first playoff hole to win the 2017 title.
Sept. 10-16, Grand Blanc, Michigan
PGA Tour Champions
THE ALLY CHALLENGE
COURSE: Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club
DEFENDING CHAMP: N/A
TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: The inaugural championship puts the spotlight back on Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, known for being home to the Buick Open that ended in 2009.
Oct. 15-17, French Lick, Indiana
LPGA Legends Tour
SENIOR LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: The Dye Course
DEFENDING CHAMP: Trish Johnson
TV: Golf Channel
THE SKINNY: Trish Johnson went wire-to-wire to win the first-ever Senior LPGA Championship last year.