June 5, 2025
By Jeff Schoening, Jackson Park Men’s Golf Club Tournament Chairman
All three leagues and six of the seven match play tournaments are underway for Jackson Park Men’s Golf Club. The club’s final match play tournament, Non-Championship Gross Summer, begins on June 30 with an entry deadline of June 17. To register by paying online, please click here.
The Saturday league is run by Dan Fabela, who also manages Venmo. Poor weather has lowered attendance so far this year, averaging 18 fewer players per event to date compared to last year as a whole. Returning this year is our policy of emphasizing the importance of the Field Days and the two-day Jackson Classic by having larger payouts for those events. The club share and first-place payouts for Field Days and the Jackson Classic will be around 35 percent and $120, and for the other tournaments will be around 25 percent and $100. Next up in the Saturday rotation is the Jackson Classic on June 21-22, in which the club Stroke Play Champions will be crowned, for Gross and Senior Gross (55-plus). Champions must play from the blue tees.
The Tuesday league is run by Karl Meier, with Walt Dickhoff managing Venmo. It kicked off March 18. Attendance is up this year, averaging 44 players for the first nine events. Tee times are reserved from 9 a.m. to about 10:45 a.m., plus about a dozen players often make their own tee times before 9 a.m. The league features a Tuesday Championship held over July 8 and 15 and a Tuesday Cup, a season-long event akin to the FedEx Cup. The 32 players with the most points qualify to compete for the Cup in the third-to-last event; the 16 players with the most points after that then qualify for the second-to-last event; and eight players qualify to compete for the Cup in the final event.
The Wednesday league is run by Brian Asplund, who also manages Venmo. This league began play April 30. Even with starting tee times being moved back to 4 p.m. from 3:30 pm, league attendance is up from last year, averaging 61 players per event. This is a popular league, with tee sheets filling quickly. To get on the waitlist for a specific Wednesday, send Brian an email (brian.d.asplund at gmail.com). When registered players withdraw, he will add waitlisted players to the tee sheet.
Match Play
Click here for the Match Play page on the club website, a page well worth bookmarking as it includes brackets, results and other information for each of the seven competitions.
Gross match play began on May 26, run by Cecil Grant. There is a 16-player bracket. Kyle Miller is the 2024 champ.
Net match play began on April 28, run by Patrick Wilson. With only 40 players signed up, we could not have pods for the first round. Instead, there are four brackets with 10 players and many first-round byes. The first round ended on May 25. Dan Fabela is the 2024 champ.
Four-Ball Net is run by John McDermott. There are 58 players (29 teams) playing in two brackets. The first round ends on June 8. Jeff LeCompte and Bruce Peterson are the 2024 champs.
Non-Championship Gross Spring began on April 28, run by Cecil Grant. There are 18 players with three brackets. The first round ended on May 25. Cecil will also run Non-Championship Gross Summer.
Senior Gross began on May 26, run by Jack Whelan. There is a 16-player bracket. Tom Thorson is the 2024 champ.
Legends Net began on May 26, run by Jack Whelan. There is a 16-player bracket. For 11 of the players, this will be their only match play tournament this year, so far. Reed Johnson is the 2024 champ in this event for members 70 and over.
Net and Four-Ball Net have lower participation this year, with 98 players total versus 128 like last year. On the other hand, Legends Net doubled attendance, with 16 players this year. Final match-play attendance numbers will be known once Non-Championship Gross Summer registration closes on June 17. That tournament accepts unlimited numbers of players, who are flighted according to handicap. The brackets generally have an eight-player maximum.