CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A big week of golf lies ahead for several Fighting Illini alums near and far.
Right here in the Midwest, both Steve Stricker and Illini head coach Mike Small are gearing up for a senior major, while Nick Hardy and Thomas Detry face a strong PGA Tour test in Motown, and four other Illini tee off right in our backyard in central Illinois. Internationally, Thomas Pieters readies for competition in Spain, and Tommy Kuhl gets in another week of competition north of border before making his PGA Tour debut.
PGA TOUR
Nick Hardy and Thomas Detry are set to tee off Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
It is the second straight year that Hardy will compete in the event. He currently ranks 44th in the FedEx Cup standings and is looking to make his third straight cut after a tie for 20th at the U.S. Open two weeks ago, followed by a tie for 38th last week at the Travelers Championship.
Detry is currently 45th in the FedEx Cup standings, just one spot behind Hardy, and looks to get back to the weekend after a missed cut at the Travelers Championship snapped a streak of four straight finishes that dated back to late April and included his tie for 40th last month at the PGA Championship.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Steve Stricker and Illini head coach Mike Small are each making their third-career appearance at the 43rd playing of the U.S. Senior Open this week at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis.
Stricker, a native of Wisconsin, is in search of his seventh senior major title. He won the 2019 U.S. Senior Open and finished as runner-up in 2022, and he has already captured wins in both senior majors played this season – The Regions Tradition and the Senior PGA Championship.
Small will tee off in his third U.S. Senior Open, and his fifth senior major overall. He previously competed in the U.S. Senior Open in 2016 and 2017, and has also notched starts at the 2018 Senior Players Championship and the 2022 Senior PGA Championship during his career.
KORN FERRY TOUR
The Korn Ferry Tour schedule makes its annual stop at Panther Creek in Springfield, Ill., for the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS. This year's event includes four former Illini in Korn Ferry Tour regulars Brian Campbell, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, and Michael Feagles, plus Luke Guthrie, who Monday qualified.
It marks just the third start of the Korn Ferry Tour season for PGA Tour University Class of 2023 alum Dumont de Chassart, who won his debut at the BMW Charity Pro-Am and followed that performance with a runner-up finish at the Wichita Open
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
Thomas Pieters returns to the course this week for the LIV Golf Tour's event in Valderrama, Spain. Pieters and his RangeGoats teammates are currently fourth in the season-long team standings and have posted four consecutive top-three team finishes heading into action this week Northern Spain.
PGA TOUR CANADA
Tommy Kuhl, another 2023 Illinois grad and PGA Tour University alum, will make his third start on PGA Tour Canada this week at the ATB Classic at Northern Bear Golfclub southeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Kuhl has played well in his first two starts, tying for 15th at the Royal Beach Victoria Open and finishing T27 at the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open over the previous two weeks.
This week's event in Alberta is his final tune-up north of the border before Kuhl is set to make his PGA Tour debut at next week's John Deere Classic at TPC Deer Run in Silva, Ill.
