PEABODY – MSONEWSPORTS.COM will be providing coverage of the U.S. Senior Open next week from the Salem Country Club. Coverage will feature audio and video golf’s biggest names.
38th U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP – FACT SHEET
June 29–July 2, 2017, Salem Country Club, Peabody, Mass.
PAR AND YARDAGE
Salem Country Club will be set up at 6,815 yards and will play to a par of 35-35—70. The yardage for each round of the championship will vary due to course setup and conditions.
| Salem Country Club Hole By Hole | ||||||||||
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Total |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Yardage | 407 | 485 | 149 | 341 | 209 | 525 | 419 | 422 | 439 | 3,396 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Yardage | 404 | 395 | 162 | 392 | 503 | 218 | 389 | 492 | 464 | 3,419 |
ARCHITECT
Salem Country Club was designed by Donald Ross and opened for play in 1925. Considered one of Ross’ finest works, the course sits on the former Sanders Farm in the Peabody countryside and is anchored by a classic colonial clubhouse. The club was established in 1895 when 12 Salem residents organized Salem Golf Club.
COURSE RATING
Based on the course setup for the championship, the USGA Course Rating™ is 73.9 and the Slope Rating® is 139.
WHO CAN ENTER
The championship is open to any professional or amateur golfer who is 50 years of age or older as of June 29, 2017. An amateur is eligible with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4.
ENTRIES
The USGA accepted 2,680 entries for the 2017 U.S. Senior Open. Entries were filed by golfers in 48 states, including 81 from Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, as well as 25 foreign countries. The record number of entries is 3,101 in 2002.
SECTIONAL QUALIFYING
Sectional qualifying, played over 18 holes, was conducted at 34 sites around the country between May 15-June 12. The sectional qualifying sites were located in 27 states, including five in California, three in Florida and two in Texas.
CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
The starting field of 156 golfers will be cut after 36 holes to the low 60 scorers and ties.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY
Eighteen holes of stroke play are scheduled each day from Thursday, June 29, through Sunday, July 2. In the case of a tie after 72 holes, a three-hole aggregate playoff will commence immediately after the conclusion of the fourth round.
2016 CHAMPION
Gene Sauers made a 5-foot par putt on the 72nd hole to win the 2016 U.S. Senior Open Championship at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Sauers shot a final-round 69 for a one-stroke victory over Miguel Angel Jimenez and Billy Mayfair. His four-round total of 3-under 277 gave him custody of the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy.
Jimenez, the 54-hole leader, missed a 12-foot par putt on the final hole and carded a 1-over 71. Mayfair, who turned 50 five days before the championship, closed with a 3-under 67. The championship finished on a Monday after play was delayed a full day by 3 inches of rain.
Sauers, the 2014 U.S. Senior Open runner-up when he lost in a three-hole aggregate playoff to Colin Montgomerie, took advantage of an early double bogey by Jimenez and two birdies of his own to forge a two-stroke advantage.
Jimenez would later turn the tables on the par-4 15th. The Spaniard made birdie while Sauers blocked his approach shot, skittered his third into a bunker, then salvaged a one-putt bogey.
The two players were deadlocked heading to No. 18 after Jimenez knocked a 6-iron over the green on the par-3 17th, leading to a bogey. Meanwhile, Mayfair birdied Nos. 12 and 15 and narrowly missed a trio of birdie efforts on the closing holes.
Both Sauers and Jimenez badly missed the 18th fairway to the left, and Sauers bounded his approach shot onto the front fringe of the green, while Jimenez found the right-front bunker, setting up their closing par attempts.
Ian Woosnam, of Wales, the third member of the final grouping, fired a 68 to finish alone in fourth. Michael Allen posted a 69 and was solo fifth at even-par 280.
PURSE
The 2016 purse was $3.75 million; the winner earned $675,000.
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
The 2017 U.S. Senior Open will receive at least 20 hours of live network coverage. Fox will air 10 hours of coverage on the weekend. FS1 will air 10 hours over the first two days of play. Joe Buck will anchor the Fox telecasts with Paul Azinger and Brad Faxon in the 18th-hole tower.
Date Network Program Time (Local/EDT)
June 28 FS1 Wednesday at the U.S. Senior Open 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
June 29 FS1
June 30 FS1
July 1 Fox Third Round 1-6 p.m.
July 2 Fox Fourth Round 1-6 p.m.
LIVE STREAMING COVERAGE
The U.S. Senior Open will receive at least 24 hours of live streaming coverage on the usga.org channel.
Date Channel Program Time (Local/EDT)
June 29 usga.org First Round, full coverage 10 a.m.-noon
First Round, featured group 2-7 p.m.
June 30 usga.org Second Round, full coverage 10 a.m.-noon
Second Round, featured group 2-7 p.m.
July 1 usga.org Third Round, featured group 1-6 p.m.
July 2 usga.org Fourth Round, featured group 1-6 p.m.
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship are available for purchase at 2017ussenioropen.com. Weekly tickets are $125 (good Monday through Sunday with parking). Trophy Club tickets are $225. Championship round individual gallery tickets are $50, while practice round tickets are $25.
HISTORY
This is the 38th U.S. Senior Open Championship. The first U.S. Senior Open, played in 1980, was conducted for golfers 55 and older. The next year, the USGA lowered the minimum age to 50.
Miller Barber captured the first of his three U.S. Senior Open titles in 1982 – he also won in 1984 and 1985. The U.S. Senior Open has four two-time winners: Gary Player (1987, 1988), Jack Nicklaus (1991, 1993), Hale Irwin (1998, 2000), and Allen Doyle (2005, 2006). Doyle became the championship’s oldest winner in 2006 at the age of 57 years, 11 months, 14 days.
The youngest champion is Dale Douglass, who won in 1986 at the age of 50 years, 3 months, 24 days.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT SALEM COUNTRY CLUB
This is the second U.S. Senior Open Championship and the sixth USGA championship to be conducted at Salem Country Club.
Salem hosted the 2001 U.S. Senior Open, when Bruce Fleisher defeated Gil Morgan and Isao Aoki by one stroke. Fleisher, runner-up in the previous year’s Senior Open to Hale Irwin, shot a 2-under 68 in the final round that included 12 consecutive pars to finish the championship at even-par 280. During the final nine holes of the championship, five other players, including Aoki and Jack Nicklaus, the 1991 and 1993 Senior Open champion, were tied for the lead at even par. The 33 years between Fleisher’s two USGA victories (1968 U.S. Amateur, 2001 Senior Open) is the second-longest span in USGA championship history, behind Marvin “Vinny” Giles’ 37 years.
Two of the greatest players in golf history have captured the U.S. Women’s Open Championship title at Salem. Babe Didrikson Zaharias claimed her third Women’s Open in 1954 in memorable fashion. Zaharias was just months removed from surgery for colon cancer, and the disease would claim her life two years later, yet her four-round total of 291 was 12 strokes better than her nearest competitor. She remains the championship’s oldest winner at age 43. In 1984, Hollis Stacy also won her third U.S. Women’s Open at Salem with a final-round 69 that provided her with an overall total of 2-over 290 and a one-stroke victory over Rosie Jones.
Salem also hosted the 1932 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1977 U.S. Senior Amateur championships. Virginia Van Wie won the first of three consecutive Women’s Amateur titles by defeating six-time USGA champion Glenna Collett Vare, 10 and 8, in the final. Dale Morey recorded his second U.S. Senior Amateur championship with a 4-and-3 victory over Lewis W. Oehmig.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT SALEM COUNTRY CLUB
1932 U.S. Women’s Amateur: Virginia Van Wie def. Glenna Collett Vare, 10 and 8
1954 U.S. Women’s Open: Babe Didrikson Zaharias won by 12 strokes over Betty Hicks (291-303)
1977 U.S. Senior Amateur: Dale Morey def. Lewis W. Oehmig, 4 and 3
1984 U.S. Women’s Open: Hollis Stacy won by one stroke over Rosie Jones (290-291)
2001 U.S. Senior Open: Bruce Fleisher won by one stroke over Gil Morgan, Isao Aoki (280-281)
OTHER CHAMPIONSHIPS AT SALEM COUNTRY CLUB
1930 Massachusetts Amateur (Fred Wright)
1930 WGAM Amateur (Dorothy Richards)
1936 WGAM Amateur (Mrs. Bradford Whittemore)
1938 Massachusetts Amateur (Robert Adams)
1939 New England PGA (Harold McSpaden)
1940 Massachusetts Amateur (Ted Bishop)
1944 New England PGA (Les Kennedy)
1947 New England PGA (Jerry Gianferante)
1949 WGAM Amateur (Ruth Woodward)
1951 Massachusetts Open (Julius Boros)
1953 Massachusetts Amateur (Ernie Doherty)
1956 WGAM Amateur (Joanne Goodwin)
1962 Massachusetts Amateur (Joe Carr)
1964 Massachusetts Senior Amateur (David McLelland Jr.)
1970 Massachusetts Open (Paul Harney)
1979 WGAM Amateur (Sally Quinlan)
1980 Massachusetts Amateur (Jim McDermott)
1991 Massachusetts Open (John Elliott)
2003 New England Amateur (Michael Welch)
2008 WGAM Amateur (Pamela Kuong)
2013 New England PGA (Ed Kirby)
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MASSACHUSETTS
This will be the 57th USGA championship played in Massachusetts and the second U.S. Senior Open contested in the state. In 2001, Bruce Fleisher made par on the last four holes to post a one-stroke victory over Gil Morgan and win the U.S. Senior Open.
U.S. SENIOR OPENS IN NEW ENGLAND
1987: Brooklawn Country Club, Fairfield, Conn. (Gary Player by six strokes over Doug Sanders, 270-276)
2001: Salem Country Club, Peabody, Mass. (Bruce Fleisher by one stroke over Gil Morgan, Isao Aoki, 280-281)
LONGEST PAR 3s in U.S. SENIOR OPEN HISTORY
244 yards – 12th at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., first round, 2008
239 yards – 12th at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., third round, 2008
237 yards – 14th at Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio, third round, 2016
235 yards – 15th at Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio, second round, 2011
234 yards – 17th at Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif., fourth round, 2015
233 yards – 14th at Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio, second round, 2016
231 yards – 3rd at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, third round, 2013
231 yards – 16th at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, fourth round, 2013
230 yards – 4th at Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif., 1998
228 yards – 6th at Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio, 2003
228 yards – 15th at Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio, fourth round, 2011
LONGEST PAR 4s in U.S. SENIOR OPEN HISTORY
545 yards – 17th at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., second round, 2008
545 yards – 17th at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., third round, 2008
510 yards – 17th at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., first round, 2008
502 yards – 10th at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, fourth round, 2013
501 yards – 10th at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, third round, 2013
498 yards – 8th at Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio, first round, 2016
493 yards – 13th at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., second round, 2008
493 yards – 13th at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., third round, 2008
493 yards – 10th at Omaha (Neb.) Country Club, second round, 2013
492 yards – 13th at Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif., first round, 2015
491 yards – 8th at Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio, third round, 2016
491 yards – 12th at Indianwood Golf & Country Club (Old Course), Lake Orion, Mich., third round, 2012
LONGEST PAR 5s IN U.S. SENIOR OPEN HISTORY
627 yards – 15th at Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif., third round, 2015
608 yards – 7th at Brooklawn Country Club, Fairfield, Conn., 1987
608 yards – 6th at Canterbury Golf Club, Beachwood, Ohio, 1996
604 yards – 15th at Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif., first round, 2015
601 yards – 3rd at The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo., first round, 2008
600 yards – 5th at Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Ind., second round, 2009
600 yards – 5th at Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Ind., fourth round, 2009
600 yards – 14th at Oak Tree National, Edmond, Okla., first round, 2014
U.S. SENIOR OPEN – PAR-70 COURSES (11)
Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (1981, 1991)
Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, N.Y. (1984)
Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club (1997)
Salem Country Club, Peabody, Mass. (2001, 2017)
Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson, Kan. (2006)
The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo. (2008)
Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish, Wash. (2010)
Indianwood Golf & Country Club (Old Course), Lake Orion, Mich. (2012)
Omaha (Neb.) Country Club (2013)
Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif. (2015)
Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio (2016)
WINNERS OF U.S. OPEN AND U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Billy Casper (1959, 1966 U.S. Open; 1983 U.S. Senior Open)
Hale Irwin (1974, 1979, 1990 U.S. Open; 1998, 2000 U.S. Senior Open)
Orville Moody (1969 U.S. Open; 1989 U.S. Senior Open)
Jack Nicklaus (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 U.S. Open; 1991, 1993 U.S. Senior Open)
Arnold Palmer (1960 U.S. Open; 1981 U.S. Senior Open)
Gary Player (1965 U.S. Open; 1987, 1988 U.S. Senior Open)
Lee Trevino (1968, 1971 U.S. Open: 1990 U.S. Senior Open)
THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED AT THE SENIOR OPEN
Colin Montgomerie – the last international winner (2014)
Allen Doyle – the last to defend title successfully (2006)
Roger Chapman – the last to win in his first appearance (2012)
Jeff Maggert – the last to win on his second attempt (2015)
Olin Browne – the last start-to-finish winner with no ties (2011)
Hale Irwin – the last winner to birdie the 72nd hole to win by one stroke (1998)
Gary Player – the last winner without a round in the 60s (1988)
Roger Chapman – the last winner with all rounds in the 60s (2012)
Roger Chapman – the last defending champion to miss the cut (2013)
Don Pooley – the last winner to come through sectional qualifying (2002)
FUTURE SITES
June 28-July 1, 2018: The Broadmoor (East Course), Colorado Springs, Colo.
June 27-30, 2019: The Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.
June 25-28, 2020: Newport (R.I.) Country Club
CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY
The U.S. Senior Open, first contested in 1980, is a relatively new national championship when compared with others conducted by the USGA. Yet the U.S. Senior Open Trophy is actually the oldest among the USGA’s championship trophies.
On Sept. 24, 1894, the Tuxedo Club of Tuxedo Park, N.Y., invited three other clubs to compete in the first American interclub tournament. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Saint Andrew’s Golf Club and The Country Club agreed to the challenge. While there is still some dispute as to which team won, The Country Club team, consisting of H.C. Leeds, Laurence Curtis, Robert Bacon and W.B. Thomas, returned home with the trophy. The sterling silver, hourglass-shaped cup remained in the club’s possession until the mid-1950s, when it was given to the USGA for exhibition.
In June 1980, with the USGA preparing for the first U.S. Senior Open, The Country Club suggested that the trophy be used as the formal award for the championship. The cup was presented “by The Country Club and Golfers of Massachusetts,” and formally dedicated as the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy. Roberto De Vicenzo received it at Winged Foot Golf Club as the inaugural champion. A replica of the trophy, complete with engraving of the 1894 Brookline team, was produced by the USGA in 1997 and awarded to Graham Marsh at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club. The original was then given its second and final retirement.
The original U.S. Senior Open Trophy is on display at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, N.J.
