Potential Stories From U.S. Senior Open Sectional Qualifying

The final field of 156 golfers for the 2003 U.S. Senior Open at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio will start to take shape next week.  More than 75 golfers will earn their places at the Senior Open through sectional qualifying June 2-16.  

A breakdown of available places for each of the 42 sites is listed along with a few story possibilities for your use.

If you happen to identify a good story, please pass it along by a phone call at (908) 234-2300 x1322 or send me an e-mail at pkowalski@usga.org

2003 U.S. Senior Open Sectional Qualifying
42 sites from June 2-16

June 2 (one site)

• Hidden Valley Country Club, Reno, Nev. -- 36 players for 1 spot 

June 6 (five sites)

• Mid-Pacific Country Club, Kailua, Hawaii – 20 players for 1 spot
• Bos Landen Golf Club, Pella, Iowa – 23 players for 1 spot
• Walnut Creek Country Club, South Lyon, Mich. – 55 players for 1 spot
• Sunset Country Club, St. Louis, Mo. – 55 players for 1 spot
• Riverside Country Club, Provo, Utah – 25 players for 1 spot

June 9 (19 sites)

• Indian Ridge Golf Club, Palm Desert, Calif. – 96 players for 2 spots
• Corral De Tierra Country Club, Salinas, Calif. – 54 players for 1 spot
• Green Valley Country Club, Suisin, Calif. – 66 players for 2 spots
• Aurora Hills, Aurora, Colo. – 69 players for 2 spots
• DeBary Golf & Country Club, De Bary, Fla. – 86 players for 2 spots
  
  
• It’s in the name -- Douglas MacArthur takes his shot
• Deer Creek Golf Club, Deerfield Beach, Fla. – 79 players for 2 spots
• 1995 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Mike Schmidt, a former Philadelphia Phillie, tries for his first Senior Open berth
• Fiddlesticks Country Club (Long Mean Course), Fort Myers, Fla. – 69 players for 2 spots
  
  
• John Calabria and Ron Cleland both live on Tiger Lily Dr. in Naples, Fla
• Rivermont Golf & Country Club, Atlanta, Ga. – 106 players for 3 spots
• French Lick Country Club (Hill Course), French Link, Ind. – 42 players for 1 spot
• Country Club at Woodmore, Mitchellville, Md. – 70 players for 2 spots
• Staley Farms Country Club, Kansas City, Mo. – 70 players for 2 spots
• North Ridge Country Club (Lakes Course), Raleigh, N.C. – 69 players for 2 spots
  
  
• David Strawn was defeated by Craig Stadler in the final of the 1973 U.S. Amateur at Inverness
  
  
• Crag Burn Golf Club , Buffalo, N.Y. – 29 players for 1 spot
• Olde Kinderhook Golf Club, Kinderhook, N.Y. – 33 players for 1 spot
• Waverly Country Club, Portland, Ore. – 60 players for 1 spot
• The Springhaven Club, Philadelphia, Pa. – 112 players for 6 spots
• Old Hickory Country Club, Nashville, Tenn. – 57 players for 1 spot
• Sugar Tree Golf Club, Dennis, Texas – 94 players for 2 spots
• Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club, San Antonio, Texas – 52 players for 1 spot

June 10 (five sites)

• Arrowhead Country Club, Montgomery, Ala. – 44 players for 1 spot
• Pauma Valley Country Club, Pauma, Calif. – 96 players for 2 spots
• Willowbend Club, Mashpee, Mass. – 76 players for 2 spots
• Josiah Bartlett of Lincoln, Ver., has the same name as the presidential character played by Martin Sheen in The West Wing (spelling is Bartlet on the show)
• Past PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman forays inside the ropes
• Minnetonka Country Club, Minneapolis, Minn. – 47 players for 1 spot
• Belmont Country Club, Toledo, Ohio – 39 players for 1 spot
• Denny and Doug Spencer of Sylvania, Ohio are brothers

June 11 (one site)

• Deer Run Golf Club, Gibsonia, Pa. – 51 players for 1 spot
• Former Major League pitcher Rich Rhoden, who played for four teams including the 1977 and 1978 National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, plays on the Celebrity Players Tour.  He is the leading winner and money-winner on that circuit

 June 12 (three sites)

• Colonial Country Club (Deerfield Course), Canton, Miss. – 20 players for 1 spot
• Elmwood Country Club, White Plains, N.Y. – 120 players for 3 spots
• TV personality Maury Povich makes another attempt
• Wedgewood Golf and Country Club, Columbus, Ohio – 96 players for 2 spots

June 13 (one site)

• Greenwood Country Club, Greenwood, S.C. – 79 players for 2 spots

June 16 (seven sites)

• Tuscany Falls Country Club, Goodyear, Ariz. – 67 players for 2 spots
• Stockdale Country Club, Bakersfield, Calif. – 62 players for 2 spots
• Alton Duhon, 78, of Los Angeles, Calif., is the oldest in the sectional qualifying
• Butterfield Country Club, Oak Brook, Ill. – 97 players for 3 spots
• Santa Ana Golf Club, Albuquerque, N.M. – 30 players for 1 spot
• Lakeside Country Club, Houston, Texas – 96 players for 2 spots
• The Homestead (Cascades Course), Hot Springs, Va. – 77 players for 2 spots
• Charlie Green is the mayor of Tazewell, Va., population: 4,176 and first settled in 1799
• Loomis Trail Golf Club, Blaine, Wash. – 49 players for 1 spot
• Larry Gilhuly is a USGA green section agronomist
• Lon Hinkle earned national acclaim when his attempts to shorten a par 5 at the 1979 U.S. Open at Inverness by driving across an adjacent fairway resulted in the planting of the ‘Hinkle Tree’