Rust-Oleum Championship aims to be bigger, better in second year

There's a different feel this year to the Rust-Oleum Championship, which kicked off Monday at Ivanhoe Club near Mundelein.

Last year's inaugural event was put together in a matter of months. As a result, small crowds turned out to watch the up-and-coming professional golfers on the Web.com Tour, a developmental program for the PGA Tour.

The shortened timeline meant organizers had to focus their energy on just getting the competition off the ground, tournament director Scott Cassin said.

Preparations for this year's event started the day after the 2016 tournament ended.

“We had more runway to have more ideas, get more sponsors and look at areas we didn't do so well and improve them,” Cassin said.

One new idea this year was giving advance tickets to partner organizations, which they could sell and keep the revenue. The tournament receives nothing from the sales and there is no service charge to the organizations.

Because all profits from the Rust-Oleum Championship go directly to charity, Cassin said, this gets money into the charitable groups' hands faster.

Selling tickets are nonprofits The Sports Shed, Partners for Progress, Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association, Orchard Village, 12 Oaks Foundations and Nicasa, as well as golf teams from Grayslake North, Grayslake Central, Mundelein, Warren Township and Vernon Hills high schools.

Together they already have earned about $12,000, Cassin said.

Last year's tournament raised about $141,000 for charity, a figure organizers hope to double this year.

“I want to be over $300,000, but doubling it would be good, too,” Cassin said.

Planners are aiming to make the tournament better in every other way as well, including the experience for spectators and players. That includes making Saturday family day, with a kids zone, a bounce house and free ice cream.

“This year is a step up over last year, which will be our goal every year,” Cassin said. “There will be more for the community, more for charities, more for spectators and more for players.”

Jim Sobb, who has been Ivanhoe's PGA head golf professional since the club opened in 1991, said the course's staff is prepared for a busy week.

“But that's what we're doing here. We're taking care of people's needs and also entertaining all week long,” said Sobb, who writes a weekly golf tips column for the Daily Herald.

With the weather expected to be sunny and dry all week, the conditions will be great for spectators and more difficult for golfers, Sobb said. The dry, hard playing surface will lead to shots sometimes bouncing farther than the golfers intend.

Tournament events kicked off Monday with the Forsythe Celebrity Pro-Am.

On Tuesday, Ivanhoe will host local qualifiers for the national Drive, Chip and Putt Championship. Youth players competing in that will share the course with the professionals on nine holes unaffected by the Rust-Oleum Championship. It's free and open to players of all skill levels.

Also Tuesday, some of the Rust-Oleum Championship competitors, along with members of the PGA Tour Wives Association, will visit with residential clients at Orchard Village in Skokie, a center for people with developmental disabilities.

A corporate pro-am is set for Wednesday.

For more information and tickets, visit rustoleumchampionship.com.