After his remarkable performance at the British Open, Jordan Niebrugge checked out Buckingham Palace during a short stopover in London. “I don’t really like sightseeing that much,” Niebrugge said.
He’d rather play golf. And he’ll have that wish granted with two huge Chicago-area tournaments, beginning with this week’s Western Amateur at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove. Then he’ll compete in the U.S. Amateur, which begins Aug. 17 at Olympia Fields.
Niebrugge, who turns 22 on Tuesday, won the 2013 Western Am and tied for sixth at the British Open in July. But the Wisconsin resident said no matter how well he plays this month, he will return to Oklahoma State for his final season.
“I want to finish something I started,” he said in a telephone interview. “I only have 18 credits left, and (graduating) is one more accomplishment I can say I’ve done. It’s not going to be too hard of a school year for me, so I can focus on golf and build my game up.”
Niebrugge has never played at Rich Harvest but competed in college tournaments at Olympia Fields and expects both the South and North courses to be “really tough.”
The Western Am field of 156 includes local standouts such as Illinois sophomore Nick Hardy, the Northbrook native who tied for 52nd at the U.S. Open in June, and Texas sophomore Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, who won medalist honors (low man in stroke play) at the 2014 Western Am.
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein