A couple of weeks ago, without any fanfare, James L. Awtrey flew to Chicago, drove out to Medinah Country Club and played a round of golf with some powerful members.
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He thinks he shot 84. He knows he was impressed.
“Everthing we look for,” Awtrey said, “that place has.”
This is important stuff, because Awtrey is the chief executive officer of the PGA of America, an organization that oversees the Ryder Cup, golf’s most prestigious portable event this side of the U.S. and British Opens.
Medinah would like very much to stage a Ryder Cup, as soon as 2003, the next available slot for the biennial shootout on American soil. And Awtrey allows that the storied club in Chicago’s West suburbs will receive “serious consideration” before a site is announced toward the end of next year.
Awtrey spoke Wednesday, the eve of the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club. In August of 1999, this same tournament, the last of the sport’s four annual majors, will be at Medinah.
“A lot of Medinah people are here, looking ahead two years,” Awtrey said. “I just met with some of them this morning. They’ve heard that other clubs interested in a Ryder Cup are making presentations. The Medinah delegation wanted to know if we needed one from them. I said no.
“If we had any questions about Medinah’s qualifications, we wouldn’t be going there with the PGA in 1999. They have a great traditional course, proximity to a big city and airport, access roads, hotels, restaurants, plus plenty of land with two other courses besides their championship course, No. 3. So, no, we don’t need any slide shows.”
But the Ryder Cup competition between the U.S. and Europe has become such a hot commodity that clubs throughout the country covet the prestige and profit of such a happening. So it is by no means a slam-dunk for Medinah, despite the distinct possibility that it could produce another financial bonanza for all, similar to the 1990 U.S. Open there.
“Yes, our decision will be partly business,” Awtrey said. “But the PGA of America owns Valhalla in Louisville, where we had the PGA Championship a year ago. We form partnerships with the clubs we visit, which is the way it should be. So if it was all about money, we’d go to Valhalla.”
Awtrey’s mention of partnership is significant. The PGA Championship of 2005 will be at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., where the 1999 Ryder Cup already has been bequeathed. The last Ryder Cup in America, 1995, was at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y., home of the 2003 PGA Championship.
Partnerships, however, needn’t equate to package deals or promises, and there are several rivals to Medinah in the Ryder Cup race. Colonial in Fort Worth is closing fast, but probably can’t match Medinah for real estate. The more land, the more commerce.
Oak Hill, cramped compared with Medinah, sold 52 corporate tents for the 1995 Ryder Cup. The Country Club has sold all 57 tents for 1999 for $18 million with no advertising.
“There is a limit,” Awtrey said. “You can’t have 50,000 fans at a Ryder Cup, with only 24 players in the field.”
Medinah might find an ally in Mike Gilligan, tournament director for this PGA Championship, a job he’ll perform in two years at Medinah.
“I’m a Chicago guy,” he said. “I grew up in Glen Ellyn, and our family’s moving back to Wheaton. I try to be objective, but a Ryder Cup at Medinah would be something special.”
Awtrey is telling Medinah that if the 2003 Ryder Cup goes elsewhere, don’t despair. There’s always 2007. He must know he has a captive audience in Chicago, where sports fans are born to wait.
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Editor’s note: Bob Verdi is a member of Medinah Country Club.