Oct. 2-7, 2010Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, Orlando, Fla. 

PAR AND YARDAGE - Lake Nona Golf & Country Club will be set up at 6,691 yards and will play to a par of 36-36—72.  

HOLE BY HOLE -  

ARCHITECT - Lake Nona was designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1986. 

COURSE LAYOUT- On either side of the fairways, a 6-foot wide swath of intermediate rough running the length of each hole will be set to 1 inch. Then, there will be a band of primary rough cut at 2 inches. The greens will be set to run at 10½ to 11 feet on the Stimpmeter for the duration of the championship.

COURSE RATING AND SLOPE – Based on the course setup for the championship, the Course Rating is 72.9. The Slope Rating is 138.

WHO CAN ENTER- The USGA Senior Amateur Championship is open to amateurs, age 55 and older, who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 7.4. The deadline for entries was Aug. 18. 

2,287 entries were accepted for the 2010 championship. A record 2,498 entries were accepted for the 2005 USGA Senior Amateur Championship. 

SECTIONAL QUALIFYING - Sectional qualifying, played over 18 holes, was held at 51 sites from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14.           

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE - Practice rounds will be held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The starting field of 156 players will play two rounds of stroke play, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play.  The schedule is as follows:

Oct. 2 (Saturday) – First round, stroke play
Oct. 3 (Sunday) – Second round, stroke play
Oct. 4 (Monday) – First round, match play
Oct. 5 (Tuesday) – Second and third rounds, match play
Oct. 6 (Wednesday) – Quarterfinals and semifinals, match play
Oct. 7 (Thursday) – 18-hole championship final, match play

2009 CHAMPION - Marvin “Vinny” Giles III converted an 18-foot downhill putt on the 18th hole at Beverly Country Club to outlast John Grace, 61, of Fort Worth, Texas, 1 up, for the 55th USGA Senior Amateur title. When the ball disappeared into the hole, the 66-year-old Giles, of Richmond, Va., threw a thundering fist pump and ran halfway around the green before knocking twice on the face of his putter.

With the victory, Giles established a new record for most years between USGA championship titles, last winning the 1972 U.S. Amateur. His 37 years between championship wins eclipsed the old mark held by Bruce Fleisher, who had gone 33 years between his U.S. Amateur (1968) and U.S. Senior Open (2001) victories.

In addition, Giles joined William C. Campbell as the only players to have won a U.S. Amateur and USGA Senior Amateur title.

EXEMPT PLAYERS - 17 golfers are currently exempt into this USGA Senior Amateur Championship by virtue of their play in past USGA and international events. They are:

Stewart “Buddy” Alexander (1986 Amateur champion)
Mike Bell (2006 Senior Amateur champion; 2009 Senior Amateur quarterfinalist)
William T. Doughtie (2009 Senior Amateur quarterfinalist)
Sam Farlow (2007 Senior Amateur runner-up)
Frank Ford III (2008 Senior Amateur semifinalist)
Marvin “Vinny” Giles III (2009 Senior Amateur champion; 1972 Amateur champion)John Grace (2009 Senior Amateur runner-up; 72-hole scorer at 2010 Senior Open)
Stanford Lee (2007 Senior Amateur champion)
George “Buddy” Marucci Jr. (2008 Senior Amateur champion)
Randy Nichols (2008 Senior Amateur runner-up)
John Pallin (2009 Senior Amateur semifinalist)
Greg Reynolds (2002 Senior Amateur champion; 2009 Senior Amateur semifinalist)
Mike Rice (2005 Senior Amateur champion)
Kemp Richardson (2001, 2003 Senior Amateur champion)
Paul Simson (2010 British Seniors Open Amateur champion)
Michael Walters (2009 Senior Amateur quarterfinalist)George Zahringer (2008 Senior Amateur runner-up) 

THE USGA AT LAKE NONA - The 2010 USGA Senior Amateur will be the second USGA championship conducted at Charlotte Country Club. The club hosted the inaugural USGA Men’s State Team Championship in 1995.

FLORIDA AND THE USGA - The 2010 USGA Senior Amateur will be the 18th USGA championship conducted in Florida. The USGA Senior Amateur has been played three times previously in Florida – in 1978 at Pine Tree Golf Club in Boynton Beach; in 1992 at The Loxachatchee Club in Jupiter; and in 2002 at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville. 

TICKETS - Admission to the USGA Senior Amateur is free and spectators are encouraged to attend. 

PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE - The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the USGA Senior Amateur for news use only. For more information and to register, contact photorequests@usga.org.

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS - USGA Communications Department – (908) 234-2300

MORE INFORMATION - Please contact Christina Lance of USGA Championship Communications at (908) 234-2300, ext. 1149, or clance@usga.org.