The Web.com Tour event, played for its first two years at Lakewood CC in Westlake, Ohio, will now be held at the club in the northwest Chicago suburbs, near the sponsor’s corporate headquarters. A three-year agreement is in place, starting with this year’s event from June 6-12. A new event, the DAP Championship, will be played at Canterbury GC in Cleveland.
The PGA TOUR and Chicago area-based Rust-Oleum Corporation have announced that beginning this year, the Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship will be played at the Ivanhoe Club in the northwest Chicago suburb of Ivanhoe, Ill., which is very near Rust-Oleum’s corporate headquarters in Vernon Hills, Ill.
A three-year agreement for 2016-18 is in place for the tournament to be played at the Ivanhoe Club, starting with the 2016 Rust-Oleum Championship, which will be played the week of June 6-12.
The Rust-Oleum Championship field will feature 156 competitors and offer prize money of $600,000. The Golf Channel will televise all four competitive rounds in the United States (June 9-12), with the event reaching a potential 93 million more households via the PGA TOUR’s international broadcasting operation.
This will be the third year for the tournament, with the first two tournaments having been hosted at Lakewood Country Club in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake, Ohio. With the Rust-Oleum Championship’s move to Chicago, a new event, the DAP Championship, will be played at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland, Ohio. Rust-Oleum and DAP are members of the same corporate family, RPM International, Inc. of Medina, Ohio.
“The Web.com Tour looks forward to bringing the Rust-Oleum Championship to Chicago, one of America’s great cities for golf,” said Bill Calfee, president of the Web.com Tour. “Rust-Oleum has been a wonderful partner the last two years in Cleveland and we think the move to their hometown and Chicago’s strong affinity for golf will make for a very successful Rust-Oleum Championship. The Ivanhoe Club is going to serve as a terrific venue for Web.com Tour players, who will be in the midst of their pursuit of a PGA TOUR card for 2016-17.”
“With Rust-Oleum’s deep roots in the Chicagoland area, we’re especially excited to host this prestigious tournament right in our own backyard,” said Tom Reed, President and Chief Operating Officer of Rust-Oleum. “More importantly, we’re proud to support the vital and important work of our charity partners.”
The Ivanhoe Club opened in 1991, originally with 18 holes. In 1995, the club added a third nine holes, making it a 27-hole facility. A course renovation was overseen by world-renowned architect Arthur Hills in 2003. The three nines are named Forest, Prairie and Marsh.
Ivanhoe is one of a few select clubs to earn the Certified Signature Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary status in America. In 2006, Ivanhoe embarked on another large capital project, which resulted in its current 10,000-square-foot interior clubhouse renovation.
“Going on 20 years as a member of the Ivanhoe Club, I am so proud and honored that the PGA TOUR has selected our club to host the 2016 Rust-Oleum Championship,” said Rust-Oleum Championship co-chairman Denny Belcastro. “Now everyone can experience the outstanding facilities and golf course design and challenge we as members have enjoyed for years. The Web.com Tour players will be challenged by our best-in-class course and be treated to a world-class experience during the event. The membership is excited and has already taken steps to make sure that this event will be a hallmark tournament on the Web.com Tour.”
The Web.com Tour had an annual stop in the Chicago area from 2002-2008, with LaSalle Bank and Bank of America (2008) serving as title sponsor. Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Kildeer, Ill. was home to the first event in 2002, with The Glen Club in Glenview, Ill. playing host over the last six tournaments.
The Rust-Oleum Championship will be the only PGA TOUR-sanctioned event in the greater Chicago area in 2016.
Tournament management will be provided by Global Golf Management, with Scott Cassin serving as Tournament Director. Cassin is familiar with the Web.com Tour, having served as Tournament Director of the LaSalle Bank Open/Bank of America Open from 2004 to 2008.
“I am excited to be working once again on the Web.com Tour as tournament director of the Rust-Oleum Championship,” said Cassin. “The Web.com Tour is all about competition as well as fun and unparalleled access for the fans, which is exactly what this tournament will provide to the Chicago area.
“In addition, the folks at Rust-Oleum know how to put on a great show and the membership at the Ivanhoe Club has already demonstrated a tremendous desire to support the event, be it volunteering, sponsorship or player amenities. We expect the Rust-Oleum Championship to be another great Chicago tradition,” Cassin added.
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