By Jim Owczarski
Sports Editor
OnMilwaukee.com
On the phone from Romeoville, Ill. on Monday afternoon, Lisbeth Brooks took in the scene: The stone facing around the backsides of the third and ninth green complexes, the peppery, arched bridges leading to a new training and club fitting center – complete with heated indoor-outdoor hitting bays and free coffee.
"It's a really nice course," said the junior at Campbell University, which is located in Buies Creek, N.C. "It's in great condition. The greens are rolling really nicely. I'm really excited."
Brooks was on site at Mistwood Golf Club in the southwest suburbs of Chicago preparing for the 19th annual Phil Kosin Illinois Women's Open, which began Wednesday. It is a club that recently underwent a $6 million renovation of the course by original architect Ray Hearn and the construction of one of the premier practice areas in the Land of Lincoln.
Why is the Waunakee native there? Why else – to test her game.
Brooks won the Wisconsin Women's State Open in June at The Legend at Bergamont in Oregon, just south of Madison but the IWO, as it's known, has turned into one of the premier women's tournaments in the Midwest. It is a 54-hole tournament, with a cut after the first two rounds.
It is open to professionals and amateurs, and the near 90-woman field list includes addresses from 14 states and three countries.
Brooks isn't the only player from Wisconsin trying her hand either – fellow amateurs Jessie Gery of Merrimac, Emily Joers of Waukesha and Alyssa Elliott of Madison are in the field, as is professional Jessica Hauser of Hartland.
All have impressive resumes, but Brooks has been on a roll. She won the Madison city championship to go with her Wisconsin State Open title, and she is reaping the rewards of attending summer classes at Campbell.
"I feel good and I'm hitting the ball well," she said. "I actually spent about half the summer down at school, so I've been working with (Fighting Camels head coach John Crooks) all summer, so that's why I think I've seen a lot of improvement just in the past couple months."
She'll need to be at top form this week at the Phil Kosin IWO, an event named for the long-time Chicago golf writer who created the event.
Two-time champion Nicole Jeray is in the field, who is playing with status on the LPGA Tour this summer. Jeray joins 39 other professionals in the field, many of whom play on the LPGA Tour's developmental circuit, the Symetra Tour. Others, like Hauser, have played on the Canadian Women's Tour.
"It's a deep field," said Brooks, who played in the event last year. "I'm just going to take it one day at a time and it just makes it that much more fun and exciting knowing that you have good competition to compare yourself to. I've just got to take it as an opportunity.
"It's one of the top (tournaments), I think. There's a lot of really good players here. Even though it's not a high, national tournament, it's really good competition. And it's another tournament and I take any tournament seriously. I'm going to take it seriously and try to do the best I can."
Brooks hopes to play well this week of course, but she wants to continue the momentum into the 2013 college season at Campbell University. She already has piled up honors, such as the Big South Conference's Freshman of the Year award two seasons ago and back-to-back all-Big South selections, but she's ready to take the next step.
"My goal is to win my first college tournament, and as a team we're all planning to go to nationals this year," Brooks said. "We have a lot of work to do this year. I've just got to keep doing what I've been doing. I came close (to winning) twice last year so I'm not far away. I know what I need to work on and I guess I have my eye on the prize. I just have to keep picking away at it."
GoCamels.com Editor's Note: Brooks shot 76-74-71--221 and tied for 13th at the Illnois Open
