Golf was the talk of the town as the NV5 Invitational took place in Glenview, just north of Chicago. Although mostly a casual golf fan, I couldn’t help but get excited as I watched several days of elite golf.

The NV5 Invitational is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was first played as the Evans Scholars Invitational in May 2019 at The Glen Club, with Scottie Scheffler as winner. Benefiting the Evans Scholars Foundation, the NV5 Invitational is a showcase and audition for the next group of PGA leaders.

Although the tourney opened to the public on Thursday, I attended a special preview on Tuesday. I always enjoy witnessing the calm before the storm of such events. Over the next several days, excitement built as the crowd grew.

Upon arriving, I took a tour of the beautiful clubhouse. Trophies, plaques, photos and other memorabilia tastefully decorated the main entrance and hallways. After that quick history lesson, I ventured to the course, where golfers were already practicing.

Without big crowds I was able to walk the course, checking out all the holes and other elements along the way. Recognized as a Top 100 golf course, Glen Club occupies 195 acres on the former site of Glenview Naval Air Station. It was designed by Tom Fazio, ranked as one of the top 10 golf course architects of all time by Golf Digest.

On Friday tournament leader Ryan McCormick unintentionally became a focal point. After accidentally using his practice ball to start the day, he quickly realized he was now stuck using that ball all day due to the “one-ball” rule, which states a golfer must use only one model ball all day. Because McCormick only had one ball of that model, he had to golf the entire day hoping not to damage or lose that ball, lest he be out of the tournament. Fortunately for McCormick, he managed to get through the day and ultimately finished in third place.

In the end, it came down to Trace Crowe and Patrick Fishburn, whose late eagle forced a sudden-death playoff. After tying on the first hole, Crowe’s birdie beat Fishburn’s bogey. The win will vault Crowe on the tour’s point list. The top 30 finishers receive their PGA cards.

Photo by Michael Atsaves.

— John Wroblewski, online writer