COURSE RATING: Based on the course setup for the championship, the USGA Course Rating is 74.9, while the Slope Rating is 140.WHO CAN ENTER: The championship is open to any professional and amateur golfer who is 50 years of age as of July 11. An amateur is eligible with a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4. The deadline for entries is June 5.
ENTRIES: The USGA accepted 2,479 entries for the 2012 U.S. Senior Open. The record number of entries is 3,101 in 2002.
SECTIONAL QUALIFYING: Sectional qualifying, played over 18 holes, will be held between June 17-27 at 34 sites around the country.
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, July 11, through Sunday, July 14. In the case of a tie after 72 holes, a three-hole aggregate playoff will be held immediately after the conclusion of the fourth round on July 14.
2012 CHAMPION: Roger Chapman shot a 4-under-par 66 in the final round to win the 2012 U.S. Senior Open Championship by two strokes at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Lake Orion, Mich. Chapman became the first Englishman to win a USGA championship in 42 years. Chapman, who finished at 10 under par for the championship to link himself with Tony Jacklin’s 1970 U.S. Open victory, held off a group of established names in the game, who all finished as co-runners-up: Corey Pavin, Tom Lehman, Fred Funk and Bernhard Langer. In the process, Chapman joined golfing legends Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin as the only players to have won the U.S. Senior Open and Senior PGA Championship in the same year.
With the wind picking up as the final round progressed, Chapman made two birdies on the front nine and added two more at the 11th and 14th holes. His third shot on the par-4 16th hit the flagstick and rolled past the hole leading to the bogey. With Pavin making birdie on the same hole, Chapman’s lead was whittled to one stroke. The 53-year-old Englishman stepped to the tee at the par-3 17th and rifled a 5-iron from 200 yards to within six inches. The pivotal moment in the championship regained Chapman’s two-shot lead.
PURSE: The 2012 purse was $2.75 million and the winner earned $500,000. This year's purse has yet to be announced.
TELEVISON SCHEDULE:
July 11: 4-8 p.m. EDT (ESPN2*)
July 12: 4-8 p.m. EDT (ESPN2*)
July 13: 3-6 p.m. EDT (NBC)
July 14: 3-6 p.m. EDT (NBC)
*-Indicates program will also be broadcast via ESPN3 and ESPN Mobile TV.
PLAYERS IN FIELD WITH MOST SENIOR OPEN APPEARANCES (2013 included): Dave Eichelberger (20), Hale Irwin (18), Graham Marsh (18), Allen Doyle (14), Bruce Fleisher (14), Tom Kite (14) and Tom Watson (13).
ACTIVE CONSECUTIVE U.S. SENIOR OPEN APPEARANCES (2013 included): Dave Eichelberger (20), Tom Kite (14), Hale Irwin (10), Jay Haas (10), Peter Jacobsen (10), Brad Bryant (9) and Loren Roberts (9).
TICKETS: Tickets for the 2013 U.S. Senior Open Championship are available online at www.2013ussenioropen.com. Grounds tickets are $150 (good Thursday-Sunday with parking). Weekly packages and Trophy Club are sold out.
HISTORY: This is the 34th 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 age minimum to 50.
Miller Barber captured the first of his three Senior Open titles in 1982, later winning in 1984 and 1985. In its history, the U.S. Senior Open has had 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 58 years and 13 days.
Dale Douglass is the youngest champion, having won the championship on his first try, in 1986, at the age of 50 years, 3 months and 24 days.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN NEBRASKA: This will be the third USGA championship and the first U.S. Senior Open held in Nebraska. In 1941, Marvin (Bud) Ward defeated Pat Abbott, 4 and 3, to win the U.S. Amateur at the Field Club of Omaha. In 1996, Kelli Kuehne won his her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur title with a 2-and-1 victory over Marisa Baena at Firehorn Golf Club in Lincoln.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN NEBRASKA
Championship Years and Winners
1941 U.S. Amateur (Field Club of Omaha) – Marvin Ward def. B. Patrick Abbott, 4 and 3
1996 U.S. Women’s Amateur (Firethorn G.C.) – Kelli Kuehne def. Marisa Baena, 2 and 1
U.S. SENIOR OPENS IN CENTRAL PLAINS
Years, Courses and Winners
1983 U.S. Senior Open – Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn. (Billy Casper)
1999 U.S. Senior Open – Des Moines Golf & Country Club, West Des Moines, Iowa (Dave Eichelberger)
2004 U.S. Senior Open – Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis, Mo. (Peter Jacobsen)
2006 U.S. Senior Open – Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson, Kan. (Allen Doyle)
OTHER CHAMPIONSHIPS AT OMAHA COUNTRY CLUB: Omaha Country Club has hosted the Nebraska State Amateur on 15 occasions, including 2005. Johnny Goodman, the last amateur to win the U.S. Open and an Omaha native, won the second of three consecutive Nebraska State Amateurs at Omaha C.C. in 1930.
JOHNNY GOODMAN: Johnny Goodman, the last Amateur to win the U.S. Open in 1933, is one of 11 players to win both the Open and U.S. Amateur. Goodman, who attended South Omaha High School, joined golfing greats Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods in accomplishing the feat. He was a caddie at the Field Club of Omaha as a teenager, Goodman, who captured his U.S. Amateur title in 1937, won three consecutive Nebraska State Amateurs from 1929-31. Johnny Goodman Municipal Golf Course is part of the City of Omaha Parks and Recreation.
WINNERS OF U.S. OPEN & SENIOR OPEN
Winners, Years of Championships
Billy Casper (1959, 1966, Open; 1983 Senior Open)
Hale Irwin (1974, 1979, 1990 Open; 1998, 2000 Senior Open)
Orville Moody (1969 Open; 1989 Senior Open)
Jack Nicklaus (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 Open; 1991, 1993 Senior Open)
Arnold Palmer (1960 Open; 1981 Senior Open)
Gary Player (1965 Open; 1987, 1988 Senior Open)
Lee Trevino (1968, 1971 Open: 1990 Senior Open)
PAST CHAMPIONS: Roger Chapman, the 2012 champion, and 11 other past champions are fully exempt from having to qualify for the championship. They are: Brad Bryant (2007), Olin Browne (2011), Allen Doyle (2005, 2006), Dave Eichelberger (1999), Bruce Fleisher (2001), Fred Funk (2009), Hale Irwin (1998, 2000), Peter Jacobsen (2004), Bernhard Langer (2010), Bruce Lietzke (2003), Graham Marsh (1997) and Eduardo Romero (2008).
FUTURE SITES
July 10-13, 2014 – Oak Tree National, Edmond, Okla.
June 25-28, 2015 – Del Paso Country Club, Sacramento, Calif.
Aug. 11-14, 2016 – Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio
PHOTO MEDIA SERVICE: The USGA will offer daily complimentary high-resolution photographs during the U.S. Senior Open (Monday-Sunday) for news use only. For more information and to register, contact photorequests@usga.org.
IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS
USGA Communications Department – (908) 234-2300
U.S. Senior Open Media Center – TBD
MORE INFORMATION: Contact Brian DePasquale of USGA Championship Communications, by email at bdepasquale@usga.org or cell phone at (908) 655-8395, Pete Kowalski of USGA Championship Communications, by email at pkowalski@usga.org or cell phone at (908) 216-8435, or Mary Rung of the USGA by email at mrung@usga.org or cell phone at (908) 625-1600. Media-specific information can be found at http://www.usga.org/MC_Home.aspx.