Whistling Straits To Host 2007 U.S. Senior Open Championship 
May 11, 2004
E-mail address: mediarelations@usga.org
Far Hills, N.J. - Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2007 U.S. Senior Open Championship. The championship is scheduled from July 5-8.
 |
| No. 7 at Whistling Straits offers a breath-taking view. (Photo courtesy Destination Kohler) |
Designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1998, the Straits Course at Whistling Straits is a links-style course located along two and half miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, north of Milwaukee. Using land that was previously an Army base, the design employs wide fescue fairways and sand dune bunkers to complement the windy conditions that are prevalent. All four par-3 holes and four more holes are adjacent to Lake Michigan and play from just above beach level to 80-foot bluffs.
"We at Kohler are excited to host this major championship," said Herbert Kohler Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Kohler Co. "The world's most seasoned veterans of the game will be tested by a course that honors the origins and early character of golf. There's nothing in championship play this side of the Atlantic like Whistling Straits."
The site of the 2004 PGA Championship, Whistling Straits ( www.whistlingstraits.com ) has also played host to the 1999 PGA Club Professionals Championship. It will be hosting its first USGA Championship. Its sister venue, Blackwolf Run, hosted the 1998 U.S. Women's Open.
The Senior Open is open to any professional or amateur, 50 or older who has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4. Among the notable winners are Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin. Bruce Lietzke won the 2003 Championship.
Prior to 2007, the U.S. Senior Open will be played at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Mo., from July 29-Aug. 1; at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, from July 28-31, 2005; and at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., from July 6-9, 2006.
The USGA conducts 13 national championships each year, including the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open. Ten of these championships are strictly for amateurs. Visit www.usga.org/championships.aspx for more information.