New Format in Store for 2007 CCIW Men’s Golf Championship

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The 2007 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Men’s Golf Championship will have a new look to it when student-athletes from each conference school tee off on April 20.

The athletics directors of the CCIW recently approved a change in the tournament format, moving from two rounds to four rounds, spread out over two weekends and played in two locations. The first two rounds will be held April 20-21 at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook, Ill., while the third and fourth rounds will be held May 4-5 at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., near the Quad Cities. This will be the first time that the CCIW Men's Golf Championship will be more than two rounds, while it is also the first time since 1986 that the CCIW Men's Golf Championship will not be held at the Pontiac Elks Club.

The winner of the tournament will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship, held May 15-18 in Fishers, Ind., and Carmel, Ind. This will be the first season that the conference will be given an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship as the NCAA approved automatic qualifiers for golf in January 2005, effective with the 2006-07 season.

“This format change is a welcome addition to the CCIW Men’s Golf Championship,” CCIW Commissioner Chris Martin said. “We are certainly thankful to Bolingbrook Golf Club and TPC Deere Run for hosting our golf championship and we look forward to working with them in the upcoming weeks.”

Bolingbrook Golf Club, designed by noted architect Arthur Hills, is an upscale, 18-hole championship golf course owned by the Village of Bolingbrook and operated by KemperSports. The course offers a 76,000-square-foot clubhouse with a state-of-the-art golf shop, casual and fine dining, corporate meeting spaces, banquet facilities, executive locker rooms, men’s and women’s lounges and a fitness facility. The Golf Academy at Bolingbrook Golf Club offers a bent grass tee that accommodates 70 hitting stations, target greens, short game area and professional instruction. For information regarding Bolingbrook Golf Club, visit www.bolingbrookgolfclub.com.

TPC Deere Run, part of the Tournament Players Club network, is one of 23 facilities across the United States, founded by then PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman. TPC Deere Run is an 18-hole course designed by Illinois native D.A. Weibring, and is located between the Rock and Mississippi rivers in Silvis, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa. The course opened in 2000 and has been the annual host for the PGA’s John Deere Classic. For information regarding TPC Deere Run and tee times, visit www.tpc.com/daily/deere_run/index.html.

Carthage won the 2006 CCIW Championship held at the Pontiac Elks Club, finishing with a team score of 608, while 2005 winner Illinois Wesleyan was tied for second with Millikin (618).

The CCIW has been sponsoring men’s golf since its inception in 1947. Millikin leads the way with 18 team titles in school history, followed by Augustana’s 16 and Illinois Wesleyan’s 10.