SOUTH BEND — If you are a golf enthusiast and desire to play over the next 35 days, you might want to check where you can relieve your itch before you show up looking for a tee time. Six South Bend area courses will host a variety of amateur and professional tournaments over the next five weeks.
Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame, the Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design which was the site of the 2019 United States Senior Open men’s championship won by Steve Stricker, welcomes 156 of the best professional and amateur male golfers from around the state for the 108th Indiana Open beginning Monday and concluding Wednesday.
On the same day, Erskine Park Golf Course is the site for the opening round of the 54-hole 96th Women’s Metro. The 18-hole municipal course at the corner of Miami Street and East Ireland Road will also be a part of two other Metro championships being contested during that time – the 99th Greater South Bend Men’s Metro (July 22-23, July 29-30) and the Senior Men’s Metro (Aug. 12-13).
South Bend’s other municipal golf courses – 18-hole Elbel Park northwest of South Bend and 9-hole Studebaker Park next door to Riley High School – will also see Metro action as will Knollwood, the private country club in Granger. Studebaker, home of the acclaimed First Tee program of Michiana, is the site for the Junior Metro championships for boys and girls July 25-27.
South Bend Country Club, designed by noted architect and teaching professional George O’Neil and opened in 1916 on Chain O’Lakes west of town, once again will welcome the LPGA’s Epson Tour for the 54-hole Four Winds Invitational Aug. 10-12.
Golfers wishing to compete in the Men’s Metro, Junior Metro and Senior Men’s Metro can do so by visiting the website, southbendmetrogolf.com.
Indiana Open
Two-time champion Seth Fair, who won last year at Westfield’s Club of Chatham Hills after finishing runner-up to 2021 champion Michael Davan of Zionsville, is not among the field. But several recent champions include Davan (who also won in 2019), Eric Steger (2020) and amateur Michael Sharp (2018).
Seeking his first title is 2022 runner-up Purdue golfer Peyton Snoeberger of Williamsport. Snoeberger showed his mettle while playing in snowy conditions at the US Open local qualifier in early May at South Bend Country Club and advancing. Among the locals in the field are Warren assistant professional Alec Dutkowski, professionals Mat Blair of Rolling Prairie and Justin Holt of LaPorte and amateurs Earl Williams of Nappanee and Brayden Miller of Leesburg.
The 156-player field will use both the first and 10th tees Monday and Tuesday at the par-71 Warren which can be stretched to 7,020 yards. The field will then be cut to low 60 and ties for Wednesday’s final round.
Women’s Metro Open
Like the Indiana Open, the defending champion is not returning for the tournament which begins Monday at Erskine, visits Elbel on Tuesday and concludes Thursday at Erskine. Former Penn High School standout Madison Chesnutt, who won last year with 229 total, has elected not to defend.
Lori Horan, who won the first of her 23 Women’s Metro titles in 1979 and was runner-up along with Selah Unwin to Chesnutt, is expected to compete again along with 2021 champion Gillian Lippert and Saint Mary’s head coach Jordan Koehler.
Greater South Bend Men’s Metro
Zach Hale is expected to defend his title in the tournament which begins July 22 at Elbel Park, continues at Knollwood July 23 and then concludes with its final two rounds at Erskine Park July 29 and 30. Hoping to add entrants, tournament director Tony Stearns has opened the field to golfers who have a physical residence within a 25-mile radius of area code 46601 and also to past champions regardless of where they physically live.
Last year, the left-handed Hale, who played his high school golf at Penn, closed with a final-round, even-par 70 at Erskine Park for a five-over 291 total which was two strokes better than two-time champion Ben Szklarek and former Saint Joseph High standout Sean Egan, who both closed with 69s.
Szklarek, who has been working and living in Chicago, could elect to be in the field which is expected to also include 2021 champion Bazil Furry and two-time champion Tyler Ham.
Greater South Bend Junior Metros
Saint Joseph High School teammates Beau Basney and Tate Guyton will likely battle for the overall boys title again when the tournament is held July 25-27 at Studebaker. Lillian Norris, a sophomore at Penn, is the defending girls 13-14 champion. Boys and girls ages 6 through 16 are eligible to compete.
Greater South Bend Senior Men’s Metro
Dan Tobin is the defending champion in the tournament for men 50 and older after beating Martin Nash in a two-hole playoff last Aug. 14 at Erskine. This year’s tournament opens at Elbel Aug. 12 and concludes the following day at Erskine.
Four Winds Invitational
There will be a new champion crowned this Aug. 12. China’s Yan Liu, who won last year’s Epson Tour event at South Bend Country Club in a playoff with Idaho’s Gabby Lemieux and Finland’s Kiira Riihijarvi, is competing on the LPGA Tour. So, too, is 2021 Four Winds champion Lilia Vu, who is currently second on the money list with more than $1.1 million after capturing the LPGA’s first major, the Chevron Championship, in April.
This article originally appeared on the South Bend Tribune: Local golf tournaments kick off this week