Home Sweet Home?
1973 U.S. Amateur Champ Stadler Returns To Inverness For First Senior Open Appearance

By David Shefter, USGA

Forgive Craig Stadler if he is overcome with nostalgia upon his arrival at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, for the 2003 U.S. Senior Open. It was there 30 years ago that Stadler, then a rising junior at the University of Southern California, achieved national acclaim for the first time.

Although his resume at the time included victories in several collegiate tournaments, the stocky San Diego native had never accomplished anything as grand as the U.S. Amateur championship. In fact, he had failed to qualify in two previous attempts.

But in the steamy late-August northwest Ohio heat, Stadler rolled through the 200-player draw, winning eight consecutive matches (in 1973 there was no stroke-play qualifying and it was the first time since 1964 that the Amateur utilized a match-play format) to capture the coveted Havermayer Trophy. He defeated David Strawn in the 36-hole final, 6 and 5, completing a run where he only played Inverness' 18th hole twice (once in the morning 18 of the final) in the entire championship.

"(Inverness) was a completely different course than it is now with all the changes that they have made," said Stadler, who turned 50 on June 2. "You've heard it from guys before: you always look forward to going back where you have had success and won. I'm thinking it might be a good week. I hope it is."

A killer putter helped Craig Stadler knock off eight opponents en route to the 1973 U.S. Amateur title at Inverness. Buoyed by that victory, Stadler went on to have a highly successful career on the PGA Tour that included 12 victories and the 1982 Masters. (USGA Photo Archives)

Should Stadler win this year's championship, he would become the first person to win the U.S. Amateur and Senior Open on the same course. Two others have won the Amateur and U.S. Open at the same venue: Jack Nicklaus (1961 Amateur and '72 Open at Pebble Beach) and Juli Inkster (1980 Women's Amateur and 2002 Women's Open at Prairie Dunes). Venerable amateur Carol Semple Thompson has also captured two different USGA championships at her home course, Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley, Pa. (1990 Women's Mid-Amateur and 2001 Senior Women's Amateur).

As much as Stadler enjoyed Inverness in 1973, however, he has not had success at this original Donald Ross layout. Six years later at the 1979 U.S. Open, he failed to make the cut, posting rounds of 78-79. At the 1986 PGA Championship, he tied for 30th with a 72-hole total of 288, breaking 70 just once. And at the 1993 PGA, he again failed to make the cut, shooting 73-74.

Stadler is quick to point out that the course has undergone some revisions since his victory. George and Tom Fazio did major work in 1976 as four holes, including one from the original nine holes in 1903, disappeared. Three new holes appeared on the southwest corner of the property, including the par-5 eighth and the par-3 third. Some of the changes did not win overwhelming popularity with the competitors at the 1979 U.S. Open and, thus, Arthur Hills, a Toledoan and Inverness member, has performed extensive work on three of the Fazio holes to blend them more into the course architecture. Hills first focused on holes two through six in advance of the 1986 PGA Championship. He then altered fairway bunkers on the 10th hole prior to the 1993 PGA. And Hills also is responsible for several changes in preparation for the 2003 Senior Open.

"Arthur Hills had a profound impact," said Inverness Golf Course Superintendent Tom Walker, who began working at the course in 1965. "He kept the Donald Ross design and only made subtle changes. Everything just blends in."

Said Stadler, who made two starts on the Champions Tour prior to the Senior Open (he tied for 15th at the Senior PGA Championship outside of Philadelphia):
"The new holes they have added have definitely made it a different golf course. All I remember (from the 1973 Amateur) is I hit the ball every friggin' which way and I made everything. From 20 feet in, it was good. More so than beating half the guys I beat, I think I just frustrated them to death."

A prime example was the afternoon 18 of the final match. With Strawn 7-down after the morning 18, he began the second 18 with a minor rally. He won the first two holes and at the par-3 third, Stadler found the right greenside bunker with his tee shot. Strawn was on the green 40 feet from the hole. But Stadler blasted to within 4 feet and made the par putt to halve the hole. At the 466-yard, par-4 fourth, Stadler ripped a 3-iron approach from the moderately heavy rough to within 6 inches of the hole for a tap-in birdie and a 6-up lead. He was never threatened again.

Ups And Downs

The previous day, Stadler knocked off two reigning champions. In the quarters, he beat 1972 U.S. Amateur champ Vinny Giles III, 3 and 1, and then he defeated 1973 British Amateur champ Dick Siderowf in the semis, 2 and 1.

"That was pretty fun," said Stadler of the quarterfinal and semifinal wins. "It was a great week. I just took the heart out of everybody."

Stadler would only play one more U.S. Amateur, in 1974 at Ridgewood (N.J.) Country Club, but his stay was considerably shorter: a first-round exit. Yet his rise from West Coast standout to national champion carried him to a spot on the 1975 USA Walker Cup team and then to a highly successful professional career on the PGA Tour where he amassed 12 victories, including the 1982 Masters in a playoff over Dan Pohl.

Lately, though, success has been rather limited. He was forced to withdraw from The Memorial because of back pain. This year in 10 PGA Tour events, Stadler has missed five cuts, withdrawn from two other tournaments and cashed just $44,830. Two years ago, he finished out of the top 100 on the money list for the first time in his career. Some of that has been due to family commitments.

For the last three years, he spent most of the fall watching his oldest son, Kevin, compete at USC. Last year, Kevin also qualified for the U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills, advancing to the third round, and the two teed it up together at the B.C. Open in Endicott, N.Y., where the younger Stadler failed to make the cut. They also teamed up to win the Father/Son Challenge in a playoff over Hale Irwin and his son, Steven.

"I haven't had a lot of fun the last few years," said Stadler. "Last year, I had four or five decent events. I played well at Muirfield (at the British Open). I finished like 18th. But 15 years ago, if you played well, you finished one or two. … I felt if I putted decently, I would have a good week."

As Stadler now morphs from PGA Tour regular to life on the Champions Tour (players 50 years of age and over), he is hoping his confidence level will rise with the new challenges of this level of professional golf. He no longer has to compete against the powerful young guns like Tiger Woods, et al, nor will he have to worry about making cuts (except for the majors), but that doesn't mean the competitive spirit won't change.

Players like Hale Irwin, Bruce Fleisher and Gil Morgan have found new life on the Champions Tour. And Stadler is looking forward to getting reacquainted with some old adversaries.

"I was a little apprehensive on (the) Monday (of the Senior PGA Championship at Aronomink)," said Stadler. "I pulled in the parking lot and Andy Bean came driving by. Then Bill Rogers came by. Then I went to the range and the first person I saw was Doug Sanders. There's like a 25-year range between those three. But it's been fun. Everybody's been great. They have all come up and say, 'Hey.' The reception has been great."

A New Direction

As for expectations, Stadler said he hasn't placed any undo pressure on himself to perform. He understands there is no one formula to success at this level. But he does know senior golf offers a mulligan to his professional career. Plus, Stadler isn't planning on making too many more appearances on the PGA Tour. He'll play Pebble Beach because he enjoys partner Glenn Frey's company in that pro-am event and he'll return to Augusta. But that could be the extent of his cameos.

"(On this tour) you can get back to the in the realm where you were 25 to 30 years ago with the same guys and the (winning) attitude comes a little more to the forefront," said Stadler. "You start saying, 'I've played with these guys before, I've been competitive, I've been successful and there's no reason why I can't do it again.' Obviously, it has a lot to do with the golf game. Your confidence level is so high that you start scoring better because of it."

One can bet Stadler will have his confidence when he arrives at Inverness, a venue he knows well and a place that remains special in his heart. Many of his contemporaries are entered as is Giles, the man he beat in the quarterfinals of that '73 Amateur who has been given a special exemption. Strawn, the runner-up, also is trying to get into the field. Now a lawyer in North Carolina, Strawn qualified for the 2000 Senior Open at Saucon Valley and tied for 56th.

"I haven't seen him in a long time," Stadler said of Strawn. "That would be wonderful if he got in. That would be great."

David Shefter is a writer for the USGA. E-mail him at dshefter@usga.org with questions or comments.