U.S. Senior Open 1 U.S. Senior Open Championship 41st Record Book 2021 2 U.S. Senior Open Steve Stricker Wins the 2019 Championship Going into the final round of the 40th U.S. Senior Open When the championship was sealed on 18, Stricker celebrated Championship at Notre Dame’s Warren Course, anyone other with Nicki and his two daughters, Bobbi and Izzi. After 21 U.S. than Steve Stricker must have felt like one of those early season Open starts, two U.S. Amateurs, one U.S. Junior Amateur and Fighting Irish football opponents. Yes, they were going to get a now one U.S. Senior Open, he finally was a USGA champion. nice experience playing in the shadow of the Golden Dome, but their chances of winning were slim. “It was a challenge, especially today when you come out with a six-shot lead, you have everything to lose and nothing to gain,” With a six-stroke lead and his game seemingly on autopilot, said Stricker, who got emotional in his post-round interview with Stricker wasn’t about to go down in history as the guy who suc- Fox’s Joel Klatt. “And I played that way today. I played very cau- cumbed to final-round, major-championship pressure. tiously and tried not to make a mistake. This game is hard when you play that way. I really didn’t have the freedom like I had the Obliterating the 36- (126) and 54-hole (192) championship scor- first three days, and rightfully so. I am trying to win this tourna- ing records and matching the 18-hole mark with a first-round ment and I am glad that I did.” 62, Stricker finished off his historic week with a championship- tying, six-stroke margin of victory over good friend Jerry Kelly None of his pursuers – most notably Kelly and Toms – could and defending champion David Toms. Gary Player and Fred Funk make Stricker sweat enough on a day when temperatures also won by six in 1987 and 2009, respectively, the latter also in creeped into the mid-80s. Kelly, who shared second last year Indiana at Crooked Stick Golf Club (Carmel). at The Broadmoor, made consecutive birdies on Nos. 9 and 10, but didn’t make another until the par-5 17th. He settled for a 69. Although his Sunday effort over the 7,004-yard layout was the Toms, who shot 68, made back-to-back birdies on 6 and 7, only highest of the week (69), the 52-year-old Madison, Wis., native to give shots back on 9 and 12. still set a new 72-hole scoring mark of 261, and his 19-under total was one off the record by Funk. Bob Estes (70) was the only other player to finish double-digits under par at 10-under 270. Kirk Triplett, the runner-up in 2017, More importantly, his name will be inscribed on the Francis D. finished fifth, shooting a final-round 69 for a 72-hole total of Ouimet Memorial Trophy alongside some of the greats in the 8-under 272. game, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Billy Casper. The 2020 USA Ryder Cup captain now NOTABLE owns two senior major championships in 2019, having claimed the Regions Tradition in May. Steve Stricker is the eighth player to win the U.S. Senior Open in his first attempt, and third wire-to-wire champion with “It was just a dream week,” said Stricker, who came into the ties, joining Simon Hobday (1994) and Olin Browne (2011). He championship off a disappointing playoff loss to Kelly in the is the first player to win with four rounds in the 60s since previous week’s American Family Insurance Championship in Roger Chapman (2012). Madison, a PGA Tour Champions event he hosts. “There’s been a lot of years trying to get one of these [USGA trophies]. To get this Tom Watson, the 1982 U.S. Open champion who made it a gold medal and the trophy in a USGA event means a lot.” record 17-for-17 in cuts made in the U.S. Senior Open this week, matched or bettered his age (69) for the third time in Just how machine-like was Stricker? four rounds. Watson carded a 2-under 68 for a 72-hole total of 278. He played 57 consecutive bogey-free holes – from hole 6 on Thursday to the 10th hole on Sunday – and registered just two At 250 yards, the fifth hole measured as the longest par 3 for the entire week, which matched the championship record by in U.S. Senior Open history. The previous long was the 12th Craig Stadler (2004). hole on the East Course at The Broadmoor, which played 244 yards during Round 1 in 2008. Stricker’s ball-striking wasn’t as stellar as the first three days – he hit just 9 of 18 greens – but he did what all USGA Open Scott McCarron, the current leader of the Charles Schwab champions need to do when holding a significant margin: make Cup standings, carded the round of the day, a 6-under 64, a ton of pars. He birdied the opening hole and chipped in from moving from a tie for 46th to a tie for sixth. 46 feet on the par-3 12th. He immediately fist-bumped with his caddie/wife, Nicki, one of the few outward signs of emotion he Qualifiers Doug Garwood and Fran Quinn each posted even- displayed. par 70s to earn a share of 14th and a spot in the 2020 U.S. Senior Open. The low 15 and ties are exempt into the next “Nicki and I had been talking that we’ve been looking for a chip- year’s championship. in,” said Stricker, “and I said right before I chipped it, I’m still looking for that chip-in, and she’s like, ‘I am, too.’ So maybe the Tommy Armour III, who started the final round tied for fifth, power of us both thinking about it, it came true.” withdrew after nine holes on Sunday. U.S. Senior Open 3 40th U.S. Senior Open Championship Results June 27-30, 2019 The Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. Par: 35-35—70, Yardage: 6,943 • Entries: 2,796, Purse: $4 million Rd.1 Rd.2 Rd.3 Final Pos. Pos. Pos. Pos. Player, Hometown Scores Money T9 T10 2 1 Steve Stricker, Madison, Wis. 62-64-66-69-261 $720,000 T2 2 T5 T2 David Toms, Shreveport, La. 62-67-70-68-267 $350,440 T26 3 T3 T2 Jerry Kelly, Madison, Wis. 64-64-70-69-267 $350,440 1 1 1 4 Bob Estes, Austin, Texas 67-65-68-70-270 $188,477 T15 T10 T8 5 Kirk Triplett, Paradise Valley, Ariz. 64-68-71-69-272 $156,983 T26 T4 T5 T6 Scott McCarron, Mooresville, N.C. 72-69-70-64-275 $114,444 T9 T17 T5 T6 Chris DiMarco, Denver, Colo. 66-66-73-70-275 $114,444 T2 T17 T8 T6 Paul Goydos, Long Beach, Calif. 67-69-69-70-275 $114,444 T58 9 T3 T6 Miguel Angel Jimenez, Spain 66-71-67-71-275 $114,444 T6 T20 T15 T6 Stephen Ames, Canada 70-67-66-72-275 $114,444 T15 T4 T8 T11 Tom Lehman, Scottsdale, Ariz. 68-69-70-69-276 $79,185 T41 T20 T17 T11 Woody Austin, Derby, Kan. 68-69-70-69-276 $79,185 T15 T32 T17 T11 Paul Broadhurst, England 71-67-68-70-276 $79,185 T2 T12 T17 T14 Fran Quinn, Holden, Mass. 68-70-69-70-277 $63,216 T9 T4 T11 T14 Doug Garwood, Los Angeles, Calif. 70-69-68-70-277 $63,216 T6 T12 T29 T14 Retief Goosen, South Africa 66-65-72-74-277 $63,216 T58 T20 T26 T17 Tom Watson, Bucyrus, Kan. 69-68-73-68-278 $46,359 T26 T43 T26 T17 Steve Jones, Chandler, Ariz. 71-66-72-69-278 $46,359 T26 T55 T17 T17 Jay Haas, Greenville, S.C. 70-68-71-69-278 $46,359 T15 T12 T11 T17 Duffy Waldorf, Las Vegas, Nev. 65-69-74-70-278 $46,359 T41 T20 T17 T17 Jeff Gallagher, Marion, Ind. 69-67-72-70-278 $46,359 T58 T32 T17 T17 Kent Jones, Albuquerque, N.M. 70-67-69-72-278 $46,359 T2 T4 T15 T17 Ken Duke, Stuart, Fla. 70-70-66-72-278 $46,359 T15 T50 T39 T24 Tom Byrum, San Antonio, Texas 73-67-72-67-279 $28,798 T58 T20 T26 T24 Lee Janzen, Orlando, Fla. 70-70-71-68-279 $28,798 T81 T12 T17 T24 Wes Short Jr., Austin, Texas 68-70-72-69-279 $28,798 T6 T17 T17 T24 Phillip Price, Wales 72-68-70-69-279 $28,798 T41 T32 T45 T24 Joe Durant, Pensacola Beach, Fla. 67-69-73-70-279 $28,798 T9 T20 T34 T24 Vijay Singh, Fiji 65-72-71-71-279 $28,798 T26 T4 14 T24 Colin Montgomerie, Scotland 68-72-68-71-279 $28,798 T41 T50 T56 T24 Scott Parel, Augusta, Ga. 67-73-67-72-279 $28,798 T9 T20 T45 T24 Bernhard Langer, Germany 66-68-70-75-279 $28,798 T72 T55 T45 T33 Gary Orr, Scotland 70-68-72-70-280 $20,464 T81 T20 T39 T33 Ken Tanigawa, Phoenix, Ariz. 68-69-72-71-280 $20,464 T81 T50 T34 T33 Roger Chapman, England 70-69-70-71-280 $20,464 T41 T32 T29 T33 Jeff Sluman, Delray Beach, Fla.