METAMORA, Ill. – Professional golfers and celebrities from a wide-range of genres are teeing it up this week in central Illinois.
The inaugural OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois Championship will be held at the Metamora Fields Golf Club. Events run through Saturday. The four-round stop on the All Pro Tour starts Wednesday, and features a field of 156 players. First place wins $30,000 from a prize pool of $160,000.
One of the pros in the tournament is Sean Walsh of Euless, TX. He has two top-25 finishes in three starts in the All Pro Tour season.
Walsh says the quality of players in the tournament this week are close to what one would see on more well-known tours.
“These are the guys who are going to be in PGA Tour fields in the next two to three years, and Korn Ferry next year, for sure,” Walsh said. “These are the next guys.”
One person excited to see the pros this week is Metamora Fields course designer D.A. Weibring. The Illinois State graduate is a 13-time winner on five different tours, including the PGA Tour and the PGA Champions Tour.
Weibring says the pros on the APT remind him of his early days, grinding to try and get a tour card.
“They’re on the road every week. They’re trying to get in the Korn Ferry, that’s where this tour has really supported it,” Weibring said. “If they didn’t qualify in Springfield, they came over here, they got an event to play. It’s a challenge, but if you love it and you’re competitive, you just keep your head down and keep getting better.”
Weibring noted how well the course has held up despite the current drought conditions in the area. He also says the property at Metamora Fields has come a long way since it was just a corn field.
Prior to the tournament’s start, a celebrity Pro-Am took place on Monday and Tuesday. Celebrities participating in the Pro-Am include former NFL quarterback and lead game analyst for the NFL on CBS Tony Romo, country music artists Mitchell Tenpenny and Meghan Patrick, Bradley basketball head coach Brain Wardle and legend Marcellus Sommerville, University of Illinois athletes and coaches including football head coach Bret Bielema, and more.
Romo was one of three celebrities, along with UFC fighter Dustin Jacoby and Peoria basketball legend Shaun Livingston, who visited the OSF Children’s Hospital Tuesday morning. Romo said visiting the hospital was one of the reasons he wanted to participate in the event.
“For anybody it’s tough, but for children it’s always a little bit tougher. And I wanted to come out and say hi to them and then to support the cause,” Romo said. “They’re doing some really revolutionary things there. Some of the 3D imaging stuff that they’re doing virtual. I mean, it’s going to help a lot of sick people I think going forward. It was really impressive today, and I was really excited to see that, as well as the kids.”
All proceeds from the tournament will go to the Children’s Hospital.
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