Illinois Women's Open Champion Samantha Troyanovich, Photo by Zach Dillman of This & That Photography

A Stellar Month Ends With the Phil Kosin Illinois Women's Open

If you’re a fan of competitive golf—and since you’re reading this paper right now, you most likely are—it gets no better than July in Chicagoland. This is the month when the area’s golf courses spring to life, especially this year.

From the young to the seasoned, from amateurs to pros, July 2012 pretty much had it all. Consider a few of the tournaments that took place in Chicagoland (and just a bit beyond):

• The Illinois Open Championship, the state’s most prestigious tournament, at The Glen Club in Glenview
• The John Deere Classic, the only PGA
Tour tournament staged in Illinois this year, at TPC Deere Run in Silvis
• The Chick Evans Junior Match Play Championship, a prestigious Illinois Junior Golf Association event for players ages 12–18, at Itasca Country Club

Not to be outdone, of course, was the Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open, which took place from July 25–27 at the Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville. Kosin, the late publisher of Chicagoland Golf (the precursor to this paper) started this tournament in 1995 as a way to enhance women’s golf in the area.

From its humble beginnings, the Illinois Women’s Open has grown into a major locally based tournament. This year’s edition attracted numerous quality competitors from beyond the state’s borders, such as Lauren Mielbrecht (Gulf Stream, Fla.), Brittany Johnston (Akron, Ohio), Jennifer Hong (Granger, Ind.), Heather Angell (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Alexis Bennett (Dallas, Texas), Jessica Smith (Bardstown, Ky.), Amanda McPhee (Winchester, Mass.) and Brittany Penny (Peoria, Ariz.)

Given the increasing national flavor of the Illinois Women’s Open, it should come as no surprise that the tournament was won this year by someone from a different state: Samantha Troyanovich, who hails from Grosse Point Shores, Mich. The finish provided plenty of drama, as Troyanovich held off Burr Ridge’s Samantha Postillion and Mielbrecht in a one-hole playoff. Troyanovich, Postillion and Mielbrecht all shot a 1-over-par 215 to force the playoff in the three-round tournament.

As Chicago Area Golf columnist Rory Spears reported in last month’s issue, a revamped Mistwood course awaited the Illinois Open field. Supervised by the original Mistwood architect, Ray Hearn, the renovations included 19 new sod-faced bunkers, which added a new element of strategy.

By all accounts, the changes were a smashing success. Throughout the tournament,
players were struck by how professionally the course played, especially the
new bunkers.

Though the book is now closed on July, there is still plenty of great golf to be played in the Chicago area. The 110th Western Amateur Championship, played at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, concludes August 4. And September will bring the main event: the Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club. Staged from September 25–30, the Ryder Cup promises to be one of the most hallowed moments in the history of Illinois golf.

So strap in, golf fans. The good times have only just begun. CG