More Than 2,700 Entries Accepted for 2014 U.S. Senior Open Championship
Far Hills, N.J. (PRWEB) May 29, 2014 -- The United States Golf Association today announced that it has accepted 2,715 entries for the 2014 U.S. Senior Open Championship, scheduled for July 10-13 at Oak Tree National, in Edmond, Okla. Twelve past champions are among the 80 players who are currently fully exempt into the field for the championship.
“Players aspire to win the U.S. Senior Open Championship, and that is evidenced by the number of entries,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “We are excited to bring the U.S. Senior Open to both Oklahoma and Oak Tree National for the first time and look forward to awarding the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy to the champion in July.”
The U.S. Senior Open is open to professional golfers and amateurs with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4 who are 50 years of age at the start of championship play.
Sectional qualifying will be played over 18 holes at 34 sites across the United States between June 12-24. There are qualifying sites in 27 states, including five in California and three in Florida. In addition, places in the 156-player field are reserved for eligible winners of official PGA Tour and Champions Tour events in the weeks remaining before the 2014 U.S. Senior Open.
The USGA received entries for the 35th U.S. Senior Open from golfers in 49 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 30 foreign countries. The record for entries was established in 2002, when 3,101 golfers applied to play.
Kenny Perry, the 2013 champion, and 11 other Senior Open champions are fully exempt from having to qualify for the championship. They are: Olin Browne (2011), Brad Bryant (2007), Roger Chapman (2012), Dave Eichelberger (1999), Fred Funk (2009), Hale Irwin (1998, 2000), Peter Jacobsen (2004), Bernhard Langer (2010), Larry Laoretti (1992), Graham Marsh (1997) and Don Pooley (2002).
There are five U.S. Open champions among the 80 exempted players. They are: three-time champion Hale Irwin (1974, 1979, 1990), Steve Jones (1996), Tom Kite (1992), Corey Pavin (1995) and Scott Simpson (1987).
For the fourth consecutive year, only online entries were accepted, beginning on March 5. Dave Tentis, a 52-year-old professional from Woodbury, Minn., submitted his entry eight seconds before the deadline of 5 p.m. EDT on May 28. Kenneth Noonan, a 58-year-old amateur from Pacific Grove, Calif., was the first entrant.
More information about the U.S. Senior Open before, during and after the 2014 championship at Oak Tree National can be found at http://www.usga.org.
A list of the 80 golfers who are fully exempt into the 2014 U.S. Senior Open follows (as of May 28):
Michael Allen
Stephen Ames
Billy Andrade
Woody Austin
Simon Brown
Olin Browne
Bart Bryant
Brad Bryant
Mark Calcavecchia
Roger Chapman
Russ Cochran
John Cook
Fred Couples
Joe Daley
Joe Durant
Dave Eichelberger
Steve Elkington
Brad Faxon
Dan Forsman
Peter Fowler
David Frost
Fred Funk
Bob Gilder
Philip Golding
Mike Goodes
Jay Haas
a-Doug Hanzel
Jeff Hart
Scott Hoch
John Huston
Kohki Idoki
Hale Irwin
Peter Jacobsen
Steve Jones
Tom Kite
Bernhard Langer
Larry Laoretti
Tom Lehman
Steve Lowery
Jeff Maggert
Graham Marsh
Miguel Angel Martin
a-Michael McCoy
Rocco Mediate
Larry Mize
Colin Montgomerie
Gil Morgan
Kiyoshi Murota
Seiki Okuda
a-Pat O’Donnell
Mark O’Meara
Steve Pate
Corey Pavin
Tom Pernice Jr.
Kenny Perry
Don Pooley
Nick Price
Sam Randolph
Mike Reid
John Riegger
Loren Roberts
Gene Sauers
Peter Senior
Scott Simpson
Joey Sindelar
Vijay Singh
Jeff Sluman
Craig Stadler
Kevin Sutherland
Hal Sutton
Steen Tinning
Esteban Toledo
Kirk Triplett
Bob Tway
Scott Verplank
Duffy Waldorf
Paul Wesselingh
Mark Wiebe
Chris Williams
Willie Wood
Bold - U.S. Senior Open champion a - amateur
About the USGA
The USGA conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open, as well as 10 national amateur championships, two state team championships and international matches, attracting players and fans from more than 160 countries. Together with The R&A, the USGA governs the game worldwide, jointly administering the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, equipment standards and World Amateur Golf Rankings. The USGA’s reach is global with a working jurisdiction in the United States, its territories and Mexico, serving more than 25 million golfers and actively engaging 150 golf associations.
The USGA is one of the world’s foremost authorities on research, development and support of sustainable golf course management practices. It serves as a primary steward for the game’s history and invests in the development of the game through the delivery of its services and its ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program. Additionally, the USGA’s Course Rating and Handicap systems are used on six continents in more than 50 countries.
For more information about the USGA, visit http://www.usga.org.
Brian DePasquale, United States Golf Association, http://www.usga.org, +1 (908) 326-1884, [email protected]
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