For me, The Open provided a chance to start a tradition like no other

Guest Contributor Chris Saksa is a young business professional in the Chicago area employed as a Field Recruiting Coordinator for CNO Financial Group in their Bankers Life division. A 2016 graduate of Illinois State University, where he earned a B.S. Degree in Communication Studies: Organizational and Leadership Communication, he is devoted to, among other things, golf, the White Sox, Blackhawks, and, most of all, family. This is his third blog for CliffSchrock.com:

Golf is full of traditions that every year combine special Sundays with the big golf events: the second Sunday afternoon in April with the Masters finish at Augusta; the Players Championship on Mother's Day weekend, and The U.S. Open on Father’s Day weekend (see my post on June 15). And then there's The Open Championship. Oh wait, it doesn’t fall on any big holiday weekend, so my dad and I created our own tradition: Golf and Ribs.

When I was 12 or 13, and pretty much every year since, on the Sunday of The Open Championship, my dad and I would drive to downtown Chicago and play a course called the Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course, which is one of eight Chicago Park District Golf facilities. It’s a nine-hole course that overlooks Lake Michigan. It’s a tough course, and you need to keep the ball in the fairway to be successful, much like you would if playing at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

Chris Saksa: Ribs, dad and The Open are a tradition.

So when my dad and I tee the ball up we may be thousands of miles from the St. Andrews, Carnousties and Royal Birkdales of this world, but the competition is real and sometimes so is the wind. However, no matter what happens on the course, we shake hands and then head over to Twin Anchors Restaurant, which is one of the best places to grab a slab of ribs in the city of Chicago. It has been visited by many famous actors, actresses, singers, comedians and athletes, who are passing through town. As my dad and I enjoy our ribs we watch the last few holes of The Open Championship, and now that I am 21 we toast a pint to the winner!

Enjoy the golf everyone!