Western Golf Association

You know, Chicago's not only a great sports town, it has always been a great golf town.

Of course, it's the home of the Western Golf Association, which is one of the oldest golf organizations in the United States.

And, uh, there's always been great attendance at PGA Tour events there and major championships there.

So golf, a very, very...

You talked about footprint.

And with the way that the PGA Tour is going and a lot of people focusing on the Northeast Corridor, Philly and New York and Boston, how about you in terms of the idea of how important Chicago is, whether it be to annualize as the Western Open used to be and now the WGA through the BMW, and I think effectively has used all these different markets.

Do you think it's really important that the tour be in Chicago every year?

Yes, not just because of the size of the city and bias being a guy who grew up in the Chicago area and off and on has lived here for parts of my life, adult life.

That is always the debate if you would take Carmel up to SF or if you're taking Long Island to spend time and play the best golf in the country.

I think Chicago has hosted major championship caliber golf.

I mean, stretching back to the early 1900s, I completely understand why the WGA, and I am good friends with WGA, and I'm happy to work with them, especially on initiatives involving the First Tee.

I have friends who are Evans scholars.

And we just finished up a rowing season, I think it was 87, and we played golf together.

after the national championships and he happened to be on the board of directors at Medina and the Western Golf Association and asked if I had a passport and it was just one thing led to another and America was and is the land of opportunity.

And so you come over and chasing the carrot and you continue to chase the carrot and eventually things morph into whatever they meant to morph into.

Where did your love for golf start from? Where did that begin?

So we're looking at the PGA of America.

We're looking at the Western Golf Association.

We're looking at the USGA, the LPGA, the Corn Fairy.

Senior Tour coming back.