The Illinois Women's Open is a three-day, 54-hole state championship of
golf administered by the Chicagoland Golf Publishing Company of
Naperville, Illinois, and the non-profit Chicago Friends of Golf.
The tournament, founded in 1995 by Chicagoland Golf editor and publisher
Phil Kosin Phil Kosin (born August 1950 – August 10, 2009) was an American journalist, columnist, radio host, commentator, blogger and newspaper publisher from Chicago. In 1989 he founded the ''Chicagoland Golf'' newspaper, serving as its editor and p ...
, is open to female-at-birth professionals and amateurs age 17 and over who reside within the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Special age and residency exemptions are also considered.
The traditional dates of the Illinois Women's Open are the Thursday, Friday and Saturday immediately following the week of the
British Open in late July. The IWO championship field is limited to the top 84 players, and a qualifying round to determine the final field is scheduled if needed. The event's home course is the upland links-style
Mistwood Golf Club in
Romeoville, Illinois, designed by
Ray Hearn.
Each year's champion has her name added to the
Elaine Rosenthal Memorial Trophy, which honors one of Chicago's and the nation's early women's golf pioneers. Rosenthal played in many championships in the late 1910s through the mid-1930s, representing the Chicago area and playing out of
Ravisloe Country Club in
Homewood, Illinois. She volunteered her services as part of "
The Dixie Kids" a foursome of talented teenage golfers who barnstormed the United States in 1917–18 playing exhibition matches. Those charity matches marked the first time in the history of golf that spectators paid for tickets to watch a golf event. In this case, the money raised went to the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
to buy medical supplies for use on the battlefields of Europe. Equally remarkable are the identities of the four teens: Rosenthal and
Alexa Stirling were the women;
Perry Adair and
Bobby Jones were the men.
Tournament hosts
*1995–1998
Odyssey Golf Course,
Tinley Park, Illinois
*1999–2021
Mistwood Golf Club,
Romeoville, Illinois
Winners
* a – denotes amateur
* P – playoff
*Source: Chicagoland Golf Publishing Co., Phil Kosin and Joanne Miller
Notes
{{notelist
External links
Official site
State Open golf tournaments
Women's golf tournaments in the United States
Golf tournaments in Illinois
Women's sports in Illinois