At the Ready
Defending champion Dylan Meyer should be well prepared when the Western Amateur returns to Skokie Country Club
By Rory Spears

This article appeared in the July 2017 issue of Chicago District Golfer.
As defending champion at the Western Amateur, Dylan Meyer knows all about the high level of competition the field attracts. But he’ll be well prepared for it.
In the weeks leading up to the 115th Western Amateur, from July 31-Aug. 5 at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Meyer’s preparation will have included, for starters, going up against the top collegiate players at the NCAA Championship. A month later, Meyer was given the opportunity to put his game on display on an even greater stage — the PGA Tour. He and Nick Hardy, a teammate at the University of Illinois, both were given sponsor’s exemptions into the John Deere Classic.
“It’s awesome getting that kind of exemption,” said Meyer, “especially here in Illinois, with all the Illini fans. . . . For Nick and I to represent Illinois at this event is going to be amazing. To see those fans come out like they did at Rich Harvest is going to be so awesome, seeing the Orange and Blue and things like that. It’s such an empowering feeling to play well and play better for those people who come out.”
The field at Skokie is headed by Meyer, from Evansville Ind., who enters into his senior year this fall. With 2015 Western Amateur champion Dawson Armstrong confirming his return to the event, the two most recent winners are set to play at Skokie.
“We’re excited to be bringing the Western Amateur and our elite field of amateur players back to Skokie,” said Vince Pellegrino, WGA Senior Vice President of Tournaments. “We received tremendous support from their membership and staff in 2010, and Skokie features one of the finest courses in the Chicago area. This classic course has withstood the test of time and will pose a formidable challenge to these future stars of golf. With players from eight countries competing, the Western Amateur is truly an international event.”
The club opened in 1897, and its current routing was designed by famed architect Donald Ross. Skokie has previously held the Western Open in 1909, the U.S. Open (won by Gene Sarazen) in 1922, and the 1998 U.S. Senior Amateur.
At Skokie seven years ago, the Western Am was shortened to 54 holes of stroke play after torrential rains pounded the course.
When the 2010 championship was complete, Stanford’s David Chung walked away with the George R. Thorne Trophy against a field that included current PGA Tour stars Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. Considering the strength of field, always one of the best in the country, and the format, Meyer knows defending his title won’t be easy.
“Playing that many days in a row is grueling on the mind and body,” said Meyer. “It’s something you have to do, to get used to it. You won’t practice long after your day is over, maybe 30 minutes. You need to drink plenty of fluids and get your rest.”
Winning the Western Amateur in 2016 was an achievement Meyer calls a turning point in his career.
“Winning the Western Amateur was great for me,” he said. “I had not won big events, I had won some high school events, but winning the Western Amateur, one of golf’s major amateur events, showed I could endure golf for a long period. Thirty-six-hole match-play days on a hot day, when the greens are baked out, was tough. Winning gives you a bunch of confidence and belief in yourself that you can win.”
Western Amateur co-chairman Tom Mallman says the club is looking forward to the championship.

“In 2015, we shut down the golf course in August,” said Mallman. “We removed all the grass on the greens and fairways, and the golf course now, with another season to grow in and a mild winter, will look spectacular during championship week. We took out trees and widened some fairways to open up the course and give it more of a Donald Ross look. Come championship time, our slick greens, with their subtle breaks, will really challenge the players.”
“We are thrilled to have the championship back,” said co-chair Peter Mone. “We learned a lot from the 2010 championship, and we know our field will be strong, especially with Walker Cup selections being made right after the championship.”
Like Mallman, Mone speaks proudly of the improvements to the club since the 2010 Western.
“While redoing our greens, we recovered all the old green pads so they play like Pinehurst №2, with the false fronts,” said Mone. “Two new elements were added on the seventh hole, which in 2010 was the easiest par 5 for the players to hit in two. The hole now plays like a Z-shaped, Donald Ross par 5. One is grass and one is a high-walled bunker some 315 yards off the tee.”
Skokie’s ninth hole, one of the most revered par 3s in the Chicago area, has a new look with the addition of elevated tee boxes.
“The ninth hole, which used to be 18, is a par 3 that plays 190 yards from the tips,” said Mone. “The newly elevated tees give the hole, with its famous false front, an entirely new look that should be a great test for the players instead of a flat shot over water.”
The Western Amateur is the most extensive test in amateur golf — 72 holes of stroke play with a potential of 72 more holes of match play for the finalists.
Rory Spears has covered golf for more than 30 years and is the host of “Golfers on Golf” on WSBC Radio.
