PEABODY – MSONEWSPORTS.COM will have complete coverage of the U.S. Senior Open beginning next week. Hear from the golfing legends and check out the leaderboard. More details coming soon.
Ray Bourque, who retired as the most prolific scoring defenseman in National Hockey League history and was a longtime Boston Bruins captain, has been named honorary chairman of the 38th U.S. Senior Open Championship. The United States Golf Association (USGA) will conduct the U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club, in Peabody, Mass., June 29-July 2, 2017.In his role as honorary chairman, Bourque, 56, will support the sixth USGA championship to be held at Salem Country Club. The course was the site of 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 final-round 68 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 two-time Senior Open champion Jack Nicklaus, were tied for the lead.
6/22/17 Update: WITHDRAWAL – Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis.
STEVE STRICKER has withdrawn from the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship on Thursday, June 22 because of his playing schedule.
Stricker, who was fully exempt and was expected to play in his first year of eligibility for the U.S. Senior Open, will be replaced in the field by Danny Mulhearn, of Wheaton, Ill., the first alternate from the Aurora, Ill. sectional qualifying site.
“In looking at my playing schedule and other obligations for the upcoming months, I feel it is best for me to withdraw from the U.S. Senior Open next week,” said Stricker, who tied for 16th at last week’s U.S. Open Championship. “With playing both the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions this year and the final push I needed to make these last two months to qualify for the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, has my mind and body telling me that I need to rest and recharge. This was without a doubt a hard decision, but one that I feel is needed in order for me to get ready for the next stretch of events and to play at the level I expect of myself.”
Mulhearn, a 50-year-old, shot 71 at Aurora Country Club on June 5. He is playing in his first U.S. Senior Open. Mulhearn is the head golf professional at Glen Oak Country Club, in Glen Ellyn, Ill.
WITHDRAWAL – Dave Eichelberger, Honolulu, Hawaii
DAVE EICHELBERGER has withdrawn from the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship on Thursday, June 22 because of health reasons.
Eichelberger, who was fully exempt and won the 1999 U.S. Senior Open Championship, will be replaced in the field by amateur Steve Fink, of Las Vegas, Nev., the first alternate from the Murrieta, Calif. sectional qualifying site.
Fink, a 60-year-old, shot 72 at Bear Creek Golf Club on May 22. He is playing in his first U.S. Senior Open.
Eichelberger, 73, competed in 23 consecutive U.S. Senior Opens which dates to 1994. It is the third-longest streak in the history of the championship. Dale Douglass and Arnold Palmer played in 26 and 25 consecutive Senior Opens, respectively. Eichelberger has played in 40 USGA championships, including 14 U.S. Opens.
