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Golf: North Shore could be new stop on senior tour
Lake Forest's Brad Hopfinger, seen here at Western Amateur earlier this summer, won the recent Illinois State Amateur. After the win, he turned pro. | Tamara Bell~Sun Times Media
Updated: July 15, 2012 2:22PM
The Chicago area could be a player on the Champions Tour next year.
Glenview’s North Shore Country Club is being considered as a host for a June tournament on the senior golf tour, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity because it’s not a done deal, sources close to the club confirmed North Shore is interested in becoming a tour stop.
A vote is expected late this week. An official announcement by the tour is should occur sometime next month.
Last year, North Shore hosted the Western Amateur, one of the top amateur tournaments in the country. In years past, the club was the site of two U.S. Amateurs and one U.S. Open, in 1933.
Encompass Insurance, a division of Northbrook-based Allstate, will be the title sponsor, according to Crain’s. The tournament will be moved from the Tampa area, where the event was played in April at the TPC Tampa Bay golf course.
If approved, North Shore will host the Chicago-area’s first Champions Tour tournament since 2002, when Harborside International presented the SBC Senior Open.
Some of the big names now playing on the senior circuit include Fred Couples, Tom Watson and Jay Haas. Hinsdale resident Jeff Sluman and Lake Forest resident Chip Beck also participate.
North Shore, a classic tree-lined parkland layout, is listed at 7,103 yards and par 72 from the back tees. It played as a par 71 for last year’s Western Amateur.
Lake Forest’s Conway Farms will be the site for next year’s BMW Championship, formerly the Western Open and now one of the World Golf Championship tournaments.
