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CHAMPIONS - U.S. Senior Open Championship Preview
From The Sports Network
| DATES: Thursday, July 28th through Sunday, July 31st |
| SITE: Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio |
| COURSE ARCHITECT: Donald Ross (1903), George and Tom Fazio (1978), |
| Arthur Hills (1999) |
| Hole-By-Hole: | 1 - Par 4 395 Yds | 10 - Par 4 358 Yds | |
| 2 - Par 4 380 Yds | 11 - Par 4 373 Yds | |
| 3 - Par 3 170 Yds | 12 - Par 3 194 Yds | |
| 4 - Par 5 511 Yds | 13 - Par 4 460 Yds | |
| 5 - Par 4 480 Yds | 14 - Par 4 445 Yds | |
| 6 - Par 4 465 Yds | 15 - Par 3 228 Yds | |
| 7 - Par 4 405 Yds | 16 - Par 4 476 Yds | |
| 8 - Par 5 566 Yds | 17 - Par 4 470 Yds | |
| 9 - Par 4 413 Yds | 18 - Par 4 354 Yds | |
| ------------- | ------------- | |
| 37 3,785 Yds | 34 3,358 Yds | |
| Annual: | 32nd |
| Television: | ESPN2 - Thursday/Friday -- 3-7 p.m. (et), |
| | NBC - Saturday/Sunday -- 3-6 p.m. (et) |
| Defending Champion: | Bernhard Langer |
| Runner-Up: | Fred Couples |
| Tournament Record: | 267 (Hale Irwin, 2000 - Saucon Valley Country Club) |
| 54-Hole Record: | 199 (Simon Hobday, 1994 - Pinehurst Resort & Country Club) |
| 36-Hole Record: | 133 (Dave Stockton, 1992 - Saucon Valley Country Club) |
| | (Simon Hobday, 1994 - Pinehurst Resort & Country Club) |
| | (Bruce Fleisher, 2000 - Saucon Valley Country Club) |
| | (Loren Roberts, 2005 - NCR Country Club - South Course) |
| | (Tom Watson, 2005 - NCR Country Club - South Course) |
| | (Craig Stadler, 2005 - NCR Country Club - South Course) |
| | (Tim Jackson, 2009 - Crooked Stick Golf Club) |
| 18-Hole Record: | 62 (Loren Roberts, 2006 - Prairie Dunes Country Club) |
| 9-Hole Record: | 30 (Richard King, 1983 - Hazeltine National) |
| | (Gordon Jones, 1987 - Brooklawn Country Club) |
| | (Gary Player, 1990 - Ridgewood Country Club) |
| | (Tom Weiskopf, 1993 - Cherry Hills Country Club) |
| | (Ed Dougherty, 1999 - Des Moines Golf & Country Club) |
| | (Jim Thorpe, John Jacobs, 2000 - Saucon Valley C.C.) |
| | (Jim Thorpe, Jay Sigel, Tom Kite, 2001 - Salem C.C.) |
| | (Allen Doyle, 2005 - NCR Country Club - South Course) |
| | (Andy Bean, L.Roberts, DA Weibring, 2006 - Prairie Dunes CC) |
| Total Purse: | $2,600,000 (2010 figures) |
| Shares: | 1st Place - $470,000; 2nd Place - $280,000; 3rd Place - $180,000 |
| 2010 Finish |
| Player | Score | Player | Score |
| Bernhard Langer | 272 | Michael Allen | 282 |
| Fred Couples | 275 | Peter Senior | 282 |
| Olin Browne | 278 | Larry Mize | 283 |
| John Cook | 278 | Tom Kite | 283 |
| Tom Watson | 281 | Chien Soon Lu | 283 |
| Past U.S. Senior Open Winners |
| Year | Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up |
| 2010 | Bernhard Langer (272) -- Fred Couples |
| (Sahalee Country Club (South, North Courses), Sammamish, Washington) |
| 2009 | Fred Funk (268) -- Joey Sindelar |
| (Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Indiana) |
| 2008 | Eduardo Romero (274) -- Fred Funk |
| (The Broadmoor Resort - East Course, Colorado Springs, Colorado) |
| 2007 | Brad Bryant (282) -- Ben Crenshaw |
| (Whistling Straits - Straits Course, Kohler, Wisconsin) |
| 2006 | Allen Doyle (272) -- Tom Watson |
| (Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson, Kansas) |
| 2005 | Allen Doyle (274) -- D.A. Weibring, Loren Roberts |
| (NCR Country Club - South Course, Kettering, Ohio) |
| 2004 | Peter Jacobsen (272) -- Hale Irwin |
| (Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri) |
| 2003 | Bruce Lietzke (277) -- Tom Watson |
| (Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio) |
| 2002 | *Don Pooley (274) -- Tom Watson |
| (Caves Valley Golf Club, Baltimore, Maryland) |
| 2001 | Bruce Fleisher (280) -- Gil Morgan, Isao Aoki |
| (Salem Country Club, Peabody, Massachusetts) |
| 2000 | Hale Irwin (267) -- Bruce Fleisher |
| (Saucon Valley Country Club - Old Course, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) |
| 1999 | Dave Eichelberger (281) -- Ed Dougherty |
| (Des Moines Golf & Country Club, West Des Moines, Iowa) |
| 1998 | Hale Irwin (285) -- Vicente Fernandez |
| (Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California) |
| 1997 | Graham Marsh (280) -- John Bland |
| (Olympia Fields C.C. - North Course, Olympia Fields, Illinois) |
| 1996 | Dave Stockton (277) -- Hale Irwin |
| (Canterbury Golf Club, Beachwood, Ohio) |
| 1995 | Tom Weiskopf (275) -- Jack Nicklaus |
| (Congressional Country Club - Blue Course, Bethesda, Maryland) |
| 1994 | Simon Hobday (274) -- Graham Marsh, Jim Albus |
| (Pinehurst Country Club - No. 2, Pinehurst, North Carolina) |
| 1993 | Jack Nicklaus (278) -- Tom Weiskopf |
| (Cherry Hills Country Club, Denver, Colorado) |
| 1992 | Larry Laoretti (275) -- Jim Colbert |
| (Saucon Valley Country Club - Old Course, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) |
| 1991 | *Jack Nicklaus (282) -- Chi Chi Rodriguez |
| (Oakland Hills Country Club - South Course, Birmingham, Michigan) |
| 1990 | Lee Trevino (275) -- Jack Nicklaus |
| (Ridgewood Country Club (Center and West Nines, Paramus, New Jersey) |
| 1989 | Orville Moody (279) -- Frank Beard |
| (Laurel Valley Country Club, Ligonier, Pennsylvania) |
| 1988 | *Gary Player (270) -- Bob Charles |
| (Medinah Country Club (Number Three, Medinah, Illinois) |
| 1987 | Gary Player (270) -- Doug Sanders |
| (Brooklawn Country Club, Fairfield, Connecticut) |
| 1986 | Dale Douglass (279) -- Gary Player |
| (Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio) |
| 1985 | Miller Barber (285) -- Roberto DeVicenzo |
| (Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club, Stateline, Nevada) |
| 1984 | Miller Barber (286) -- Arnold Palmer |
| (Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York) |
| 1983 | *Billy Casper (288) -- Rod Funseth |
| (Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota) |
| 1982 | Miller Barber (282) -- Gene Littler, Dan Sikes |
| (Portland Golf Club, Portland, Oregon) |
| 1981 | *Arnold Palmer (289) -- Billy Casper, Bob Stone |
| (Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course), Birmingham, Michigan) |
| 1980 | Roberto De Vicenzo (285) -- William C. Campbell |
| (Winged Foot Golf Club (East Course), Mamaroneck, New York) |
| Top Contenders in the Field |
| Player | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 201 |
| Bernhard Langer | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-6 | T-2 | Won |
| Fred Couples | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 2nd |
| Olin Browne | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 10t | T-3 |
| John Cook | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 5th | T-1 | T-3 |
| Michael Allen | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-6 |
| Peter Senior | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-6 |
| Larry Mize | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 16t | T-8 |
| Tom Kite | 15t | 3rd | T-1 | T-3 | T-3 | T-5 | T-2 | T-1 | mc | T-8 |
| Tommy Armour III | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 11t |
| Scott Simpson | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-5 | T-3 | T-2 | T-6 | T-1 |
| Tom Lehman | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-8 | T-1 |
| Dan Forsman | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 13t | T-1 |
| Joey Sindelar | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-6 | 2nd | T-1 |
| Mark Wiebe | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | mc | T-2 | T-1 |
| Loren Roberts | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-2 | T-8 | 3rd | T-1 | T-4 | T-2 |
| Jay Haas | --- | --- | --- | T-3 | T-2 | T-8 | T-5 | T-9 | T-1 | T-2 |
| Joe Ozaki | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | mc | T-5 | T-3 | T-2 | T-2 |
| Corey Pavin | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-2 |
| Jeff Sluman | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-1 | T-1 | T-2 |
| Keith Fergus | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-2 | T-1 | T-4 | T-2 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-2 |
| Russ Cochran | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 3rd | T-2 |
| Eduardo Romero | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-2 | Won | T-1 | T-2 |
| Bob Tway | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-2 | T-3 |
| Tom Purtzer | --- | T-5 | mc | T-2 | T-4 | mc | T-5 | T-1 | wd | T-3 |
| Hal Sutton | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-4 | T-3 |
| Allen Doyle | T-4 | T-7 | T-4 | T-4 | Won | Won | mc | mc | mc | T-3 |
| Bob Gilder | T-1 | 10t | T-4 | 5th | T-1 | 7th | T-1 | 57t | T-4 | T-4 |
| Don Pooley | --- | Won | T-4 | T-1 | T-2 | T-5 | --- | T-1 | T-4 | T-4 |
| Gary Hallberg | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-1 | mc | T-4 |
| Fred Funk | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-1 | --- | 2nd | Won | T-4 |
| Craig Stadler | --- | --- | T-1 | T-7 | T-7 | T-1 | T-1 | mc | T-3 | T-4 |
| Bruce Fleisher | Won | mc | T-4 | T-1 | T-4 | mc | T-4 | dq | T-4 | T-4 |
| Gil Morgan | T-2 | T-1 | T-1 | T-1 | T-1 | T-4 | T-3 | T-2 | T-2 | T-5 |
| Morris Hatalsky | --- | T-5 | T-1 | 18t | T-3 | T-1 | mc | T-1 | --- | T-5 |
| David Frost | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 62n |
| Graham Marsh | T-4 | 30t | T-2 | T-2 | mc | T-2 | mc | --- | --- | T-6 |
| Mark O'Meara | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-1 | mc | T-6 | mc |
| Robin Freeman | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-8 | mc |
| Brad Bryant | --- | --- | --- | --- | mc | T-1 | Won | T-1 | T-1 | mc |
| Hale Irwin | T-1 | T-1 | --- | 2nd | 25t | T-3 | mc | T-4 | T-3 | mc |
| Tom Jenkins | T-2 | T-3 | T-1 | T-3 | T-1 | T-4 | mc | T-5 | T-3 | mc |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | --- | T-4 | T-4 | T-7 | mc | T-2 | T-4 | T-4 | mc | mc |
| Ben Crenshaw | --- | mc | mc | mc | T-5 | T-1 | 2nd | mc | mc | mc |
| Dave Eichelberger | T-4 | T-4 | mc | T-3 | mc | T-5 | mc | mc | mc | mc |
| Dale Douglass | mc | T-4 | mc | mc | T-3 | mc | mc | mc | mc | mc |
| Peter Jacobsen | --- | --- | --- | Won | T-2 | T-3 | T-3 | mc | mc | wd |
| D.A. Weibring | --- | --- | --- | 6th | T-2 | T-8 | T-5 | T-3 | --- | wd |
| Dana Quigley | T-1 | T-2 | T-5 | 24t | T-9 | T-4 | --- | --- | T-5 | --- |
| Paul Azinger | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| John Huston | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nick Price | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Steve Lowery | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tom Pernice Jr | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Steve Jones | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Mark Calcavecchia |
| Darkhorse - David Eger |
| |
| Last Week's Pick to Win (John Cook) - Finished 11th |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Corey Pavin) - Finished tied for 3rd |
| |
| NOTES: |
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The fourth major of the Champions Tour season, the U.S. Senior Open
Championship takes center stage this week, as Bernhard Langer defends his
title in the 32nd installment of this storied event. A stellar field is
scheduled to battle the difficult Inverness Club layout, as 15 of the top-16
on the money list are expected to compete. Tom Watson is not in the field this
week, as he is playing at The Greenbrier Classic on the PGA Tour.
Tom Lehman captured the first major of the year, the Regions Tradition and Tom
Watson won the Senior PGA Championship, while Russ Cochran won last week at
the Senior British Open.
Not only will this be the second U.S. Senior Open held at Inverness Club, but
it will be the 36th USGA event held in Ohio and the fifth U.S. Senior Open held
in the state. The last Senior Open in Ohio was in 2005 at NCR Country Club in
Dayton. Inverness also hosted the 2003 Senior Open won by Bruce Lietzke. For
the 2011 U.S. Senior Open, the hole routing at Inverness has been changed from
the routing traditionally used for USGA championships in order to ease the
movement of anticipated large galleries. The club?s third through seventh holes
will comprise the championship?s 12th through 16th holes and the club?s 12th
through 16th holes will play as the championship?s third through seventh holes.
Last year, Langer played a brilliant, bogey-free round of 67 on the final day
to defeat local favorite and honorary chairman Fred Couples by three shots.
Held at Sahalee Country Club in Washington, Langer and Couples were tied after
54-holes at 5-under par. Couples broke out early with a birdie on the first,
but a triple-bogey eight on the second doomed the Seattle native. Trailing by
as many as four shots, Couples narrowed the gap to two after birdies on 14 and
16, but pars on the final two holes ended his hopes. For the week, Langer did
not have a three-putt and had just one bogey over his final 45 holes. 39 states
and 11 countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, England,
Germany, Japan, Namibia, South Africa, USA and Zimbabwe) were represented.
Back in 2009, Fred Funk blitzed the field, defeating Joey Sindelar by six
strokes en route to a record-setting performance. His total of 20-under-par
268 was the lowest total in relation to par in the history of the
championship. Funk, the only player in the field to post four rounds in the
60s, closed with a 65 for his first USGA title, in his third Senior Open
appearance. Amateur Tim Jackson made plenty of headlines earlier in the
week, as he opened with rounds of 66-67 to take the lead, however he faded
to tie for 11th with weekend rounds of 73-76.
Not only did Funk dominate the field, but he mastered the Crooked Stick Golf
Club, making 24 birdies, hitting 47 of 56 fairways and finishing second in
greens in regulation (55-of-72). With a one-shot lead heading into the final
round over Greg Norman and Sindelar, Funk steadily pulled away as he posted a
bogey-free round. Crooked Stick played to 7,316 yards, making it the longest
course in Senior Open history.
In 2008, Eduardo Romero, playing in just his second Senior Open, defeated Funk
by four shots to become just the second Argentine winner of the championship,
joining Robert De Vicenzo (1980). Playing on now the second longest course in
championship history (7,254 yards) on the Broadmoor Resort's East Course,
Romero shot rounds of 67-69-65-73. Leading by two heading into the final
round, Romero increased his lead to three by the time the duo reached the 11th
hole. Despite four straight bogeys, Romero's lead swelled to four, as Funk
struggled, including a devastating triple-bogey on 13. Romero parred his final
four holes for the win. Romero led the field in birdies (17) for the week and
in greens in regulation (55 of 72). Mark McNulty, who finished third, was the
only player in the field without a three-putt.
Brad Bryant fired a four-under 68 in the final round in 2007 to win the U.S.
Senior Open, as third-round leader Tom Watson collapsed on the back nine.
Bryant collected his first major championship win, as he finished at
six-under-par 282. Bryant, who trailed by five strokes at the beginning of the
final round, notched the second biggest final-round comeback in U.S. Senior
Open history. Allen Doyle closed with an eight-under 63 in 2005 to overtake
D.A. Weibring and Loren Roberts for a one-stroke win. Watson got to nine-under
with a birdie on the par-four 10th, but dropped six strokes over the next five
holes. Watson posted a seven-over 43 on the back nine en route to a six-over
78 at Whistling Straits that left him alone in fourth at one-under-par 287.
Doyle shot four rounds in the 60s back in 2006, including a 68 in the final
round to come from three shots back to successfully defend his title at the
U.S. Senior Open at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Kansas. Doyle edged hometown
favorite Tom Watson by two shots for his 11th Champions Tour title and fourth
major championship, finishing at eight-under-par 272 to become the third
repeat champion in tournament history, joining Gary Player (1987-88) and
Miller Barber (1984-85). Doyle also became the oldest winner in tournament
history at 57 years, 11 months and 17 days. Roberto DeVicenzo previously held
the record at 57 years, two months and 15 days.
In 2004, Peter Jacobsen posted a three-under 68 in the final round to win his
first career major, and his first Champions Tour event, at the U.S. Senior
Open. Jacobsen finished the event at 12-under-par 272, one shot clear of Hale
Irwin. Jacobsen became a major champion in only his third start on the elder
circuit and just three months after undergoing hip surgery. Jacobsen became
the seventh player to win the Senior Open on his first try. Other players to
accomplish the feat are: DeVicenzo (1980), Arnold Palmer (1981), Dale Douglass
(1986), Lee Trevino (1990), Larry Laoretti (1992) and Don Pooley (2002).
Douglass will be the oldest player in the field at the age of 75 and will set
a new record for most appearances at the U.S. Senior Open with his 26th
consecutive start. Douglass has made the cut 14 times with three top-five
finishes. He is also the youngest champion ever, having won on his first try,
in 1986, at the age of 50 years, 3 months and 24 days.
The 2002 Senior Open produced one of the most exciting tournaments in event
history, as Pooley outlasted Watson in a playoff to capture his first over-50
title. Pooley became the first Senior Open champion to make the field and win
after going through sectional qualifying.
When Bruce Fleisher captured the 2001 title, he joined Palmer and Nicklaus as
the only players in history to win the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur.
Fleisher's 33 years between USGA championships betters a record previously
held by Marlene Streit of 29 years.
In his 15 appearances at the Senior Open, Irwin has two wins, two seconds, a
third, two fifths and has finished outside the top 25 only five times. Irwin
finished tied for 32nd in 2006 and 2009, missed the cut in 2007 and last year,
and tied for 40th in 2008. Not surprisingly, Irwin is the all-time leading
money winner at this event with $1,406,030 in earnings.
There are seven players who have won both the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S.
Open: Orville Moody, Player, Billy Casper, Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino and
Irwin.
Since 1990, player(s) leading or co-leading the U.S. Senior Open after the
third round have gone on to win the championship 11 times, including each of
the last three years. Doyle's comeback from nine strokes in 2005 is the best
come-from-behind win in U.S. Senior Open championship history. It is also the
second-greatest comeback in any major championship. Paul Lawrie came from 10
strokes back to claim the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie.
The championship is played at stroke play over 72 holes. There are 156 players
in the championship field, comprised of those advancing from sectional
qualifying, and those exempt from sectional qualifying. After 36 holes, the
field is cut to the 60 lowest scores and ties and anyone within 10 strokes of
the leader. If a playoff is needed, the U.S. Senior Open will use a multiple-
hole, aggregate score format. If the playoff results in a tie, play will
continue hole-by-hole until a champion is determined. There have only been
five playoffs in U.S. Senior Open history.
Player, Tom Weiskopf, Doyle, Funk and now Langer are the only players to
post four consecutive rounds in the 60s and win -- Player in 1987, Weiskopf
in 1995, Doyle in 2006, Funk in 2009 and Langer last year.
Miller Barber has won more U.S. Senior Open titles than any other player
(three). Barber was victorious at the Portland (OR) Golf Club in 1982, Oak
Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY in 1984 and at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club
in Stateline, NV in 1985.
Foreign-born players have captured the U.S. Senior Open a total of seven
times. Player, a South African, was a two-time winner (1987-88), while
Argentina's DeVicenzo (1980) and Romero (2008), South Africa's Simon Hobday
(1994), Australia's Graham Marsh (1997) and Germany's Langer (2010) each won it
once.
The first U.S. Senior Open in 1980 was originally for golfers 55 and older.
The age minimum was lowered to 50 in 1981, and Champions Tour "rookie" Palmer
won the event at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan.
This is the 32nd U.S. Senior Open Championship. A total of 25 players have won
the first 31 championships. Twenty-eight clubs have hosted the championship
with Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham Hills, Mich., Saucon Valley
Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., and now Inverness Club having served twice as
a Senior Open site. In 2011, the USGA accepted 2,525 entries. The record
was 3,101 in 2002. The Senior Open is open to any professional or amateur
with a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4 who turns 50 on or before July
28, 2011. Entries closed on June 8.
Only three players have won the U.S. Senior Open after also claiming the
Champions Tour event the week before. Marsh was the first to do it when he
claimed the 1997 Nationwide Championship and then won the Senior Open at
Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago. In 1998, Irwin won the Ameritech
Senior Open and then claimed the Senior Open near Los Angeles at Riviera
Country Club. Langer equaled this feat last year when he won the Senior
British Open prior to winning the U.S. Senior Open.
The Champions Tour moves to Minnesota next week for the 3M Championship, where
David Frost is the defending champion.
07/25 18:41:47 ET
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As of July 25, 2011, at 06:42 PM ET
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