Toledo, Ohio – Severe storms ripped through the Toledo area Friday and Saturday, affecting Inverness Club.
According to course superintendent Steve Anderson, the course absorbed a total of nearly 3 inches of rain in two one-hour spans on Friday and Saturday. Also, a large tree to the left of the 17th fairway, close to the seventh green, toppled on Friday and crews were busy getting it removed on Monday.
Anderson said that the club was dealing with some storm and flood damage, and maintenance crews could be seen hauling away cartloads of debris. The club lost significant tree branches in various spots. We’re at 350 man-hours in cleaning up everything, he said.
However, everything inside the ropes is perfect, said Anderson.
Player Withdrawals And Additions
On Monday, two-time U.S. Senior Open champion Allen Doyle withdrew from the championship, citing health reasons. Also on Monday, Tom Pernice Jr. and Scott Hoch withdrew from the championship. The alternate who will take Doyle’s place is Mike Hulbert of Orlando, Fla., who competed in sectional qualifying on June 27 at Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y. Hulbert shot 69 to earn the second alternate position.
Pernice withdrew so he could compete in The Greenbrier Classic this week on the PGA Tour. Hoch withdrew for health reasons.
The alternate who will take Pernice’s place is Jack Weeks, an amateur from Milton, Mass., who competed in sectional qualifying on June 21 at the Bay Club at Mattapoisett (Mass.). Weeks shot 70 to earn the first alternate position. The alternate who will take Hoch’s place is Steve Schaff of Gainesville, Fla., who competed in sectional qualifying on July 1 at Dunedin (Fla.) Country Club. Schaff, a Toledo native, made a hole-in-one on the way to shooting 70 to earn the first alternate position.
In another move, Guy Livesay was added to the field on Sunday because the USGA released a spot it was holding for a non-exempt winner of the Senior British Open championship. The winner, Russ Cochran, was already exempt into the championship.
Livesay, an amateur from La Habra, Calif., who competed in sectional qualifying on June 27 at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club, shot 74 to earn first alternate position.
Couples, Pooley, Reid Out
Fred Couples withdrew from the U.S. Senior Open Championship on Friday because he is not fully recovered from a back injury. Also withdrawing were Don Pooley, the 2002 U.S. Senior Open champion, because of a back injury, and Mike Reid, who cited fatigue.
I am sorry to have to withdraw from the U.S. Senior Open, said Couples, who was runner-up to Bernhard Langer in the 2010 U.S. Senior Open. I had hoped to return to play at Inverness, but I have been injured since the Senior PGA Championship, and I am still in the rehab process. Currently, I would not be properly prepared for the four days of competition at a U.S. Senior Open, but I know there will be a great field and I’m sure there will be some spectacular golf.
The alternate who will take Couples’ place is Rob Wilkin of Lenexa, Kan., who competed in sectional qualifying on June 29 at The Country Club of Loch Lloyd (Mo.). Wilkin shot 71 to earn first alternate position.
The alternate who will take Pooley’s place is Ronnie Black of Tucson, Ariz., who competed in sectional qualifying on June 27 at Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y. Black shot 69 to earn first alternate position.
The alternate who will take Reid’s place is Bob Affelder of Berlin, Md., who competed in sectional qualifying on June 23 at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club (Green Course) in Williamsburg, Va. Affelder shot 72 to earn first alternate position.
Ken Klavon is the USGA's online editor. E-mail him at kklavon@usga.org.