Skokie Country Club to host elite event dating to 1899
Photographs by Charles Cherney
This article appeared in the July 2025 edition of Chicago District Golfer.
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Writer Matt Harness loves the Western Amateur and believes the fan experience even at the highest levels of amateur golf is noticeably informal, as seen here on the par-3 ninth at Skokie Country Club.
My brother gives me a hard time when I talk about the first time I saw Jordan Spieth play golf. It’s similar to someone sharing a story about catching the Beatles live at The Cavern Club in Liverpool in their early days. Every time a Western Amateur alum wins on the PGA Tour, my brother is the first one I text. To his exasperation, it happens at an impressive clip. Since Spieth’s first appearance in 2011 at golf’s third-oldest amateur event (1899), he has gone on to 19 professional victories, including three major championships.
Incidentally, Spieth’s first Western Amateur, at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, was mine, too. PGA Tour stalwarts Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay also were in the field. I didn’t truly appreciate the tournament at the time, but it soon surpassed the Masters as my favorite golf event of the year.
The 123rd edition of the Western Amateur returns to Skokie Country Club for the third time, July 28–Aug. 2. Ian Gilligan won last year at Moraine Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, outlasting Jack Turner in 29 holes, the longest match in tournament history.
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 that 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 official 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 official 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.
After retiring, Brendle grew his blonde hair long and sported a soul patch, explaining that he wanted to look like someone who belonged at the beach. At his home in Banana River, Florida, Brendle cared for parrots, chickens, cats and an occasional squirrel. He fished and played golf with Kelly Slater, arguably the greatest surfer of all time.
Of course, golf is the Western Amateur’s main draw. Many of the game’s greats experienced success at the tournament that is a grueling test of skill, stamina and grit. The final features two players who survived 72 holes of stroke play followed by four rounds of match play. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus — 33 majors between them — are among past winners.
Chicago-area talents Patrick Flavin, Doug Ghim and Nick Hardy gave local fans a lot to cheer for before they embarked on professional careers. Hardy made three Sweet 16s (2014, 2016, 2017), Ghim two (2014, 2016) and Flavin one (2018). Ghim was medalist at Chicago’s Beverly Country Club in 2014, and Hardy beat world No. 1 and two-time major champion Scottie Scheffler in the quarterfinals. The event will return to the south side-Chicago track next year.
I will debate anyone, anytime, anywhere why the Western Golf Association event is superior to the U.S. Amateur. Take the five-year stretch from 2017-2021. Twelve players who advanced to the Sweet 16 have combined to win 19 times on the PGA Tour. By contrast, the U.S. Amateur produced four winners. Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and Davis Riley qualified for the Round of 16 at both tournaments.
The Western Amateur, like its PGA Tour counterpart BMW Championship, is part of the WGA’s bigger mission: to raise money to fund four-year college scholarships for caddies through the Evans Scholars Foundation. There are more than 1,000 men and women enrolled at 24 universities around the country.
One year, I had the privilege of sitting in on a selection meeting when a Bosnian refugee learned he earned an Evans Scholarship. He immigrated to the U.S. from his war-ravaged country. He barely spoke English upon his arrival. Not only did he excel at school, he served as a parent to his siblings; working as a caddie provided much-needed money for his family. I swear the room got a little dusty.
I don’t apologize for populating my brother’s phone with messages. Although he won’t admit it to me, I believe he loves the stories. I hope you enjoyed them, too. l
Matt Harness is an award-winning golf freelance writer and a frequent contributor to Chicago District Golfer.