NEWPORT, Rhode Island – One of New England’s biggest sporting events of the year kicks off this week and it’s taken a long time of planning.
The U.S. Senior Open was supposed to be played in Newport in 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19. A year later, the USGA decided that the competition, for men aged 50 and over, would be delayed at host club Newport Country Club and rescheduled June 27-30, 2024, making its fifth USGA championship appearance at the historic club that dates back to 1893.
Golf aficionados are feeling the buzz and have jumped at an opportunity that doesn’t come around too often – to see in-person a field filled with many Golf Hall of Famers and some of the most recognizable names and accomplished players ever.
The absolute best senior players in the world are here for the second-oldest major on the senior-tour calendar. Also, similar to the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., this week’s event in Newport gives golf-starved fans a chance for an up-close look at a famously exclusive golf club.
The 156-player field is filled with past champions that includes charming stories of players who qualified their way into the tournament. Their stories will be told as the week unfolds, but the golf course and the property are the real stars this week.
Newport Country Club is one of the oldest, most exclusive golf clubs in America. Shortly after opening in 1893, Newport hosted the USGA’s first-ever tournament, the 1895 U.S. Amateur and a week later, it hosted the first U.S. Open in the tournament’s illustrious history.
The 44th U.S. Senior Open marks the first USGA championship at Newport, one of the organization’s five founding clubs, since the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open. Hosting the Senior Open is something of a full-circle moment for the club, as it will become just the sixth course to host the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and now the U.S. Senior Open. Newport joins historic venues — Cherry Hills Country Club, Hazeltine National, Oakmont, Pinehurst No. 2 and Winged Foot — as the only courses to host all four.
The champion lineage is impressive because Tiger Woods invaded Newport in 1995 and erased a two-hole deficit down the stretch to win the second of back-to-back U.S. Amateur titles. Eleven years later, Annika Sorenstam worked overtime, winning an 18-hole Monday playoff after surviving a weather-induced 36-hole Sunday on the shores of the Atlantic.
Arguably the best men’s and women’s players of all time have hoisted a trophy at Newport. At 7,024, the par-70 setup isn’t exactly a brute test in terms of distance. And, don’t let the gorgeous views fool you, because a prevailing wind off the Atlantic Ocean will be a factor in scoring, with firm-and-fast greens and the famous US Open rough challenging stray shots.
As is the case with USGA events, the eventual champion will have to pass a challenging tee-to-green test that requires using every club in the bag. There are natural hazards all over the place, including the brutal 241-yard par-3 along Ocean Ave where the sea breeze will wreak havoc and likely make for a must-see spot for spectators and TV viewers. The 125 bunkers — more than 30 surrounding greens — are going to make ball-striking imperative.
There are five former U.S. Open champions in the field (Ernie Ells, Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen, Michael Campbell and Jim Furyk) as well as four Masters champions (Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Vijay Singh and Mike Weir). On top of that, you can add four more who have PGA Championship wins in their career and five more who have raised the Claret Jug as Open Championship winners. The favorites include Richard Bland, Steve Stricker, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington.
Witnessing major championships in New England at any level creates lasting memories for sports fans and the 2024 U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club is destined to be a special and cherished experience!
On the web: USGA.org
