Crooked Stick Golf Club To Host 2009 U.S. Senior Open


October 11, 2005

Far Hills, N.J. - Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., near Indianapolis, has been selected to host the 2009 U.S. Senior Open championship, the United States Golf Association has announced. The exact championship date has yet to be determined.

Crooked Stick, which is hosting its sixth USGA championship, was designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1964.

Recently, the USGA announced that the 2007 U.S. Women's Amateur will be played at Crooked Stick.  Previously, the club has hosted the 1982 Junior Amateur (won by Rick Marik); the 1983 Senior Amateur (won by Bill Hyndman III); the 1989 Mid-Amateur (won by James Taylor); and the 1993 Women's Open (won by Laurie Merten). It was also the site of the 1991 PGA Championship won by John Daly .

In the first week of September, the club hosted a successful Solheim Cup, won by United States of America .  Among the club's prominent members are Marcia Luigs, chairman of the USGA Women's Committee, Dye and his wife, Alice (1978 and 1979 USGA Senior Women's Amateur champion), Nancy Fitzgerald (1997 USGA Senior Women's Amateur champion), former Vice President Dan Quayle, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, and Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning.

"Following an extremely successful Solheim Cup, Crooked Stick is delighted to partner with the USGA in hosting the 2009 U.S. Senior Open," said Steve Baker , co-chairman for the Championship along with Tom Buck .  "Crooked Stick will be an excellent Championship venue for the world's finest senior golfers and will provide fans with an opportunity to experience golf at the highest level."

The Senior Open, open to any professional or amateur who meet the handicap index limit requirement of 3.4 and who turns 50 before the first day of the 2009 championship, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Prior to 2009, the Senior Open will be played at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., from July 6-9, 2006; at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., from July 5-8, 2007; and at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colo., from July 3-6, 2008.