| Events at the Village Links of Glen Ellyn |
|
Golf Events of Interest at the Village Links of Glen Ellyn A Listing of All Major Events at the Village Links Illinois State Match Play Championship In 1972, the Village Links hosted a significant outside tournament for the first time - the Illinois State Match Play Championship. This championship was conducted by the Northern Illinois Men's Golf Association (NIMAGA). The tournament co-chairs were Ace Ellis and Merritt Cook Sr. The format was 18-holes of medal play, with the low 32 players advancing to single elimination match play. The tournament returned to the Village Links seven more times in the following decade. Metro Amateur In 1976, local amateur golfers Merritt Cook Jr. and Len Fiocca conducted the Metro Amateur at the Village Links. The Metro Amateur was played at the Village Links five consecutive seasons, with the final event in 1980. While the Metro Am was short lived, it featured some of the strongest fields ever to compete at the Village Links. Future PGA tour players Gary Halberg, Gary Pinns, and David Ogrin all competed in multiple events at the Links, including the Metro AM. The Illinois State Match Play Championship and Metro Amateur were the only major outside tournaments conducted on the original Village Links 18-hole course. In 1977, the Village Links original back nine was paired with the third 9-holes to form a new 18-hole layout that would be in play from 1977-2002. Western Open Qualifying In 1980, the Village Links hosted the Western Open Qualifying for the first time. The PGA Tour had instituted a one day Monday 18-hole qualifying for four spots in each PGA Tour event. The Western Open Qualifying became a fixture at the Village Links, being held there every year, except for 1986 when the Links hosted the Illinois Open and 2003 when the course was closed for renovation. The twenty-fifth and final Western Open Qualifying was held at the Links in 2006, the last year of the Western Open before the event became the BMW Championship. Originally the Western Open Qualifying was conducted by the Illinois PGA. In later years, the IPGA was assisted by the PGA Tour. Illinois State Amateur Qualifying In 1983, the Village Links hosted the first of two qualifyings for the Illinois State Amateur Championship. This 18-hole qualifying was conducted by the Chicago District Golf Association. U.S. Amateur Qualifying In 1984, the Village Links hosted a 36-hole qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship. This was a one day qualifying conducted by the Chicago District Golf Association. It was the first time that the Village Links ever hosted a 36-hole qualifying, and the first time that it hosted a qualifying for a USGA national championship. Since then, the Village Links has hosted a total of five U.S. Amateur Qualifyings. U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying In 1985, the Village Links hosted a 36-hole U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying, conducted by the Chicago District Golf Association. This was the first time that the Village Links hosted a U.S. Open Qualifying. The Village Links has hosted five U.S. Open Qualifyings, with the most recent in 2005. Illinois Open In 1986, the Village Links hosted the Illinois Open. This was the first and only time that the course hosted a three day medal play tournament, as this required that the course be closed to the public for three days. The tournament was conducted by the Illinois PGA. USGA Qualifyings The elimination of the Western Open Qualifying in 2007 left a void in the Village Links schedule that created new opportunities to host other single day events. For over 25 years, the Village Links had given priority to the Western Open Qualifying. After the elimination of the Western Open Qualifying, the Village Links was able to consider a number of other events. In 2007, the Village Links began regularly hosting qualifyings for USGA national championships. The first of these was a U.S.Women's Open Sectional Qualifying that year. Since then qualifyings for the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Mid-Amateur have been conducted. A U.S Public Links Amateur Qualifying is planned for 2011. A Listing of All Major Events at the Village Links Western Open Qualifying 25 times (1980-1985; 1987-2002; 2004-2006) Western Open Pre-Qualifying (2006) Illinois Open Championship (1986) Illinois State Match Play Championship 8 times (1972, 1973, 1977-1982) Illinois Amateur Qualifying 2 times (1983, 1987) Metro Amateur 5 times - (1976-1980) US Amateur Qualifying 5 times (1984, 1988, 1993, 1997, 2008) US Junior Amateur Qualifying (2008) US Mid-Amateur Qualifying (2010) US Open Qualifying (Local) (1990)
US Open Qualifying (Sectional) 4 times (1985, 1990, 1995, 2005) US Public Links Qualifying (2011) US Senior Open Qualifying (2009) US Women's Open Qualifying (Sectional) (2007)
|
