‘Walrus' Wonderful In Opening Round

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Town and Country, Mo. – On the ninth green at the U.S. Senior Open Thursday, Craig Stadler hovered over his ball that had been swallowed by the penal rough 15 feet from the hole. Arching an eyebrow, Stadler hit a lazy chip that picked up speed. The ball stopped a foot short, bringing a fist-bump from fellow competitor John Jacobs.  

Stadler shrugged, forcing a smile. It had been that kind of day for "The Walrus" at Bellerive Country Club. 

Stadler began the first round of the championship on the back nine, riding a bogey-free day to a 5-under-par 66 and a two-stroke lead halfway through the opening round. Two players, including former USGA employee David Eger and Bob Gilder stood two strokes off the pace after carding 3-under 68s.

John Aubrey, on the strength of a hole-in-one, Andy Bean, Walter Hall and Dan Halldorson shot 2-under 69s.

 The par-71, 7,117-yard layout, the longest in Senior Open history, invited low scores partly because of an overcast, humid and windless day. But as some players meandered away from the scoring area, several of them thought they had slept through the first three rounds. Hole locations were difficult, even though the greens average 8,930 square feet at Bellerive. In contrast, last year's greens at The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, averaged 3,778 square feet. 

"The course was fair, but it was extremely tough for a Thursday," said

	David Eger took 27 putts Thursday, scoring five one-putts. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

defending champion Bruce Lietzke, who shot a 4-over 75. "I don't know if they [the USGA] were trying to send a message."

Tom Watson, runner-up the last two years, said he was surprised to see "Sunday locations" so early.  

"It wouldn't be an Open venue if it wasn't difficult," said Arnold Palmer after shooting 12-over 83. "It's supposed to be tough." 

None of it seemed to faze Stadler. The 1973 U.S. Amateur champion just didn't make many mistakes, hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens. The missed green came on the 419-yard, par-4 ninth when his approach shot from the first cut of rough landed in the suffocating junk.  

"I didn't make my mistakes until the last hole," said Stadler, whose 66 was the third-best opening round score in the championship. "I just didn't get into trouble." 

It would be hard to argue with him. Stadler used back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14, and 17 and 18 to shape the round.  

On the 452-yard, par-4 18th, a hole that players cited as having a tough hole location, Stadler made a 40-footer. It was a location, tucked right, that Sadler called "marginal." 

"But I made a 40-foot bomb so I certainly can't complain," said Stadler.  

Besides hole locations, the other subplot was the overall softness of the course. Heavy moisture in the air contributed to more receptive greens, allowing players to fly everything at flagsticks with little penalty. 

Like Stadler, Eger was buoyed by four birdies on his first nine. A bogey on No. 18, his final hole, marred an otherwise remarkable round. Making consecutive 15-footers for birdie on the seventh and eighth holes provided confidence. For about a month Eger, the senior director of Rules and competitions at the USGA from 1992-95, has been searching for his swing since suffering a bone-jarring car accident in Kansas City that left him with neck and back injuries.

Coming off a 33rd-place showing at the British Senior Open, Bob Gilder put himself in early contention with a 3-under 68. (USGA)

Eger nearly won the U.S. Amateur in 2000 at Baltusrol, reaching the semifinals at age 49. He also played on the World Amateur Team that won in Germany that year, then was added to the Walker Cup team in 2001.

 "Anytime you shoot under par at a U.S. Open, it feels pretty good," said Eger, who was a semifinalist at the 2000 U.S. Amateur at Baltusrol and a member of the 2000 USA World Amateur Championship team and the 2001 USA Walker Cup squad. 

Coming off the British Senior Open, where he finished tied for 33rd, Gilder opened with a bogey before rattling off four birdies over his next six holes.  

Gilder also played Bellerive in the 1992 PGA Championship and believed, at 7,148 yards, the course played much longer back then than it day Thursday.  

"I was a little surprised," he said. "There are some long holes. If you miss the fairways, they do become longer." 

Bellerive surrendered three aces. Aubrey, playing in his first Open, used an 8-iron to card the hole-in-one on the 145-yard third hole. Amateur Pat Tallent also aced No. 3, while Mike McCullough notched his on the 179-yard 13th.  

Story written by Ken Klavon, USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.