Oak Tree Gang paired together, Oklahoma pros await call and other Senior Open news
Ken Martin is the latest pro added to the field at the 2014 U.S. Senior Open Championship. Martin was added Sunday when an eligible senior player did not win this week’s PGA Tour event.
Martin, a 55-year-old professional from Port St. Lucie, Fla., competed in sectional qualifying on June 17 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club). Martin, who will play in his first U.S. Senior Open, shot 72 to claim the first alternate position.
Still hoping for a call are Oklahoma pros Tracy Phillips, Ron Streck and Jim Woodward, all of whom earned alternate spots at their respective qualifying sites. Phillips, who missed by a single shot, said on the Swing Fit Golf Oklahoma Radio Hour he was told by the USGA that his chances were slim as he was about 24th on the list of possible alternates.
Pairings for the first and second rounds are below and the USGA again has come up with some interesting pairings for the early rounds. Oak Tree Gang members Willie Wood, Gil Morgan and Bob Tway are in the same group, as are the winners of past majors at Oak Tree in 1984 U.S. Amateur Champion Scott Verplank, 1988 PGA Champion Jeff Sluman and 2006 Senior PGA Champion Jay Haas.
A pairing that could help decide the championship goes off at 8:07 a.m. Thursday on Hole 10. Rocco Mediate, Tom Lehman and Colin Montgomerie will be an entertaining group to watch and any of the three could be in the mix on Sunday.
Oak Tree National trivia: In 1984 Mediate knocked off two-time defending U.S. Amateur champion Jay Sigel early in match play, helping pave the way for Scott Verplank to go on to win the U.S. Amateur and launch his career. Montgomerie ended years of frustration on U.S. soil by winning the Senior PGA Championship this spring. And Lehman, who overpowered Southern Hills to win the 1996 Tour Championship with his ball striking, is exactly the kind of player who could avoid a lot of the inherent trouble at Oak Tree by consistently hitting greens in regulation.
Pros with Oklahoma ties will be among the first to strike a shot on hole No. 1 Thursday at 7:15 a.m. when Rocky Walcher of Oklahoma City, who played several years on the PGA Tour, joins Bryan Norton of Mission Hills, Kan., and Ron Vlosich of Lakewood, Colo., in the first pairing.
Norton also has extensive Oklahoma ties. He was part of the 1981 Oral Roberts University team that finished second in the NCAA Championships. One of his teammates on that team, Bill Glasson, is also competing this week, while another, Jim Kane, has been a long-time teaching professional out of Oak Tree National and is now director of the Patriot Cup for the Folds of Honor Foundation which will be doing a special presentation on Tuesday. Also in that starting lineup at ORU was Joey Rassett, who went on to play on the PGA Tour and now resides in Florida.
Note: Due to high heat and humidity, spectators may bring one clear bottle of water, up to 16 ounces in size and sealed, through the admission gates. In addition, spectators may purchase a regular bottle of water for $2.50 at all concession areas, and they will receive a second bottle free of charge. "Due to the forecast for hot and humid conditions, there is a need to take precautionary measures for hydration and spectator safety," said Senior Director of the U.S. Senior Open Championship Tim Flaherty. "Spectators are of the upmost concern and we thank the club and championship officials for working together to provide this service."
All Times CDT
Thursday (July 10), hole #1 / Friday (July 11), hole #10
7:15 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Rocky Walcher, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Ron Vlosich, Lakewood, Colo.; (a) Bryan Norton, Mission Hills, Kan.
7:25 a.m. – 1:10 p.m. – Mike Standly, League City, Texas; Jerry Smith, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Patrick Horgan, West Palm Beach, Fla.
7:36 a.m. – 1:21 p.m. – Jose Coceres, Argentina; Dick Mast, Lynchburg, Va.; Ronnie Black, Tucson, Ariz.
7:46 a.m. – 1:31 p.m. – Mark O’Meara, Houston, Texas; Hale Irwin, Paradise Valley, Ariz.; Peter Jacobsen, Portland, Ore.
7:57 a.m. – 1:42 p.m. – Michael Allen, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Corey Pavin, Los Angeles, Calif.; Joey Sindelar, Horseheads, N.Y.
8:07 a.m. – 1:52 p.m. – Fred Funk, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Olin Browne, Tequesta, Fla.; Roger Chapman, England
8:18 a.m. – 2:03 p.m. – Peter Senior, Australia; Michael Goodes, Brown Summit, N.C.; Jeff Maggert, The Woodlands, Texas
8:28 a.m. – 2:13 p.m. – Woody Austin, Derby, Kan.; Bart Bryant, Winter Garden, Fla.; Kohki Idoki, Japan
8:39 a.m. – 2:24 p.m. – Joel Edwards, Irving, Texas; (a) Thomas Brennan, Covington, La.; Lonnie Nielsen, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
8:49 a.m. – 2:34 p.m. – Kirk Triplett, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Christopher Williams, South Africa; Sam Randolph, Fort Worth, Texas
9 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. – Stu Blasius, Midland Park, N.J.; Ron Skayhan, Huntington Beach, Calif.; Rob Gibbons, Molalla, Ore.
9:10 a.m. – 2:55 p.m. – (a) Ted Pecora, Glencoe, Ill.; Quinn Griffing, Fort Wayne, Ind.; (a) Mike Peck, Irving, Texas
9:21 a.m. – 3:06 p.m. – Craig Brischke, Forest Lake, Minn.; (a) Lewis Stephenson, Mansfield, Texas; (a) Bryan Askew, Decatur, Ala.
Thursday (July 10), hole #10 / Friday (July 11), hole #1
7:15 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Jim Ragland, Jacksonville, Fla.; Patrick Burke, Trabuco Canyon, Calif.; Frank Esposito, Florham Park, N.J.
7:25 a.m. – 1:10 p.m. – Francisco Minoza, Philippines; Sonny Skinner, Sylvester, Ga.; J.C. Anderson, O’Fallon, Mo.
7:36 a.m. – 1:21 p.m. – John Harris, Minneapolis, Minn.; James Mason, Dillard, Ga.; TBD
7:46 a.m. – 1:31 p.m. – John Riegger, Henderson, Nev.; Marco Dawson, Merritt Island, Fla.; Jeff Hart, Solana Beach, Calif.
7:57 a.m. – 1:42 p.m. – Steve Elkington, Australia; Mark Calcavecchia, Tequesta, Fla.; Bernhard Langer, Germany
8:07 a.m. – 1:52 p.m. – Rocco Mediate, Greensburg, Pa.; Tom Lehman, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Colin Montgomerie, Scotland
8:18 a.m. – 2:03 p.m. – Bill Glasson, Stillwater, Okla.; Tom Byrum, San Antonio, Texas; Kiyoshi Murota, Japan
8:28 a.m. – 2:13 p.m. – Gary Koch, Tampa, Fla.; (a) Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn.; John Cook, Orlando, Fla.
8:39 a.m. – 2:24 p.m. – Steve Pate, North Ranch, Calif.; (a) Jeff Wilson, Fairfield, Calif.; Miguel Angel Martin, Spain
8:49 a.m. – 2:34 p.m. – Barry Lane, England; Danny Edwards, Scottsdale, Ariz.; John Inman, Durham, N.C.
9 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. – Charles Bolling, Glen Cove, N.Y.; Anthony Smith, Clovis, Calif.; David Podas, Los Angeles, Calif.
9:10 a.m. – 2:55 p.m. – Shawn McEntee, Napa, Calif.; (a) Mark Gardiner, Mascoutah, Ill.; Ron Schroeder, Montgomery, Texas
9:21 a.m. – 3:06 p.m. – (a) Roger Newsom, Virginia Beach, Va.; Kevin Muir, Birmingham, Mich.; Bruce Stewart, Molalla, Ore.
Thursday (July 10), hole #1 / Friday (July 11), hole #10
1 p.m. – 7:15 a.m. – Robin Byrd, Satellite Beach, Fla.; Mikael Hogberg, Sweden; Hendrik Buhrmann, South Africa
1:10 p.m. – 7:25 a.m. – Wesley Short Jr., Austin, Texas; Scott Dunlap, Duluth, Ga.; Damon Green, Kissimmee, Fla.
1:21 p.m. – 7:36 a.m. – Seiki Okuda, Japan; (a) Pat O’Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore.; Duffy Waldorf, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
1:31 p.m. – 7:46 a.m. – Philip Golding, England; Gene Sauers, Savannah, Ga.; Brad Faxon, Barrington, R.I.
1:42 p.m. – 7:57 a.m. – Mark Wiebe, Aurora, Colo.; (a) Douglas Hanzel, Savannah, Ga.; Kenny Perry, Franklin, Ky.
1:52 p.m. – 8:07 a.m. – Jeff Sluman, Hinsdale, Ill.; Jay Haas, Greer, S.C.; Scott Verplank, Edmond, Okla.
2:03 p.m. – 8:18 a.m. – Willie Wood, Edmond, Okla.; Bob Tway, Edmond, Okla.; Gil Morgan, Edmond, Okla.
2:13 p.m. – 8:28 a.m. – Scott Hoch, Orlando, Fla.; Brad Bryant, Lakeland, Fla.; Bob Gilder, Corvallis, Ore.
2:24 p.m. – 8:39 a.m. – Scott Simpson, Poway, Calif.; Hal Sutton, Shreveport, La.; Tom Kite, Austin, Texas
2:34 p.m. – 8:49 a.m. – Dan Forsman, Provo, Utah; Doug Garwood, Stevenson Ranch, Calif.; (a) Michael McCoy, West Des Moines, Iowa
2:45 p.m. – 9 a.m. – Gerard Courville, Stratford, Conn.; J.K. Kim, Republic of Korea; David Lundstrom, Victoria, Texas
2:55 p.m. – 9:10 a.m. – Ty Roush, Mason, W.Va.; Ricky Touma, Olney, Md.; (a) Pete Williams, Juno Beach, Fla.
3:06 p.m. – 9:21 a.m. – Bill Harvey, Albuquerque, N.M.; (a) Doug Williams, Honolulu, Hawaii; John Dimarco, Cherry Hill, N.J.
Thursday (July 10), hole #10 / Friday (July 11), hole #1
1 p.m. – 7:15 a.m. – Darrell Kestner, Glen Cove, N.Y.; Jeff Coston, Blaine, Wash.; (a) Craig Steinberg, Agoura Hills, Calif.
1:10 p.m. – 7:25 a.m. – Lance Ten Broeck, Oak Lawn, Ill.; Jerry Haas, Winston Salem, N.C.; Benjamin Bates, Pensacola, Fla.
1:21 p.m. – 7:36 a.m. – Dave Eichelberger, Honolulu, Hawaii; David Ishii, Aiea, Hawaii; Larry Laoretti, Palm City, Fla.
1:31 p.m. – 7:46 a.m. – Steve Lowery, Birmingham, Ala.; Peter Fowler, Australia; Rod Spittle, Canada
1:42 p.m. – 7:57 a.m. – Kevin Sutherland, Sacramento, Calif.; Billy Andrade, Atlanta, Ga.; Joe Durant, Pensacola, Fla.
1:52 p.m. – 8:07 a.m. – Tom Pernice Jr., Nashville, Tenn.; Vijay Singh, Fiji; Mark Brooks, Fort Worth, Texas
2:03 p.m. – 8:18 a.m. – Steven Jones, Tempe, Ariz.; Loren Roberts, Germantown, Tenn.; Larry Mize, Columbus, Ga.
2:13 p.m. – 8:28 a.m. – Simon Brown, England; Joe Daley, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Russ Cochran, Paducah, Ky.
2:24 p.m. – 8:39 a.m. – Paul Wesselingh, England; David Frost, South Africa; Bruce Vaughan, Hutchinson, Kan.
2:34 p.m. – 8:49 a.m. – Steen Tinning, Denmark; Gene Jones, Orlando, Fla.; Esteban Toledo, Mexico
2:45 p.m. – 9 a.m. – Jerry Tucker, Stuart, Fla.; (a) Patrick Brady, Reidsville, N.C.; Rob Boldt, Concord, Calif.
2:55 p.m. – 9:10 a.m. – (a) Tom Brandes, Bellevue, Wash.; Mark Anderson, St. Simons Island, Ga.; Ted Norby, Carlsbad, Calif.
3:06 p.m. – 9:21 a.m. – Steve Schneiter, Sandy, Utah; (a) Joe Palmer, West Des Moines, Iowa; Tim Parun, San Diego, Calif.
(a): amateur
2014 U.S. Senior Open Championship – Par & Yardage
Oak Tree National will be set up at 7,219 yards and will play to a par of 35-36–71.
HOLE BY HOLE
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total
Par 4 4 4 3 4 4 5 3 4 35
Yardage 407 474 469 175 454 438 511 201 411 3,540
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Total
Par 4 4 5 3 5 4 4 3 4 36
Yardage 437 383 585 206 599 364 455 180 470 3,679