Strange, Zoeller Bow Out

By Dave Shedloski

Kettering, Ohio – A rising tide lifts all boats goes the saying. But 92 golfers in the field of 156 have that sinking feeling because they are gong home after Friday's cut at the U.S. Senior Open.

Benign conditions at NRC Country Club's South Course led to a scoring onslaught that left the cut at 3-over-par 145, which is a record in both aggregate score and relation to par. That eclipses the 4-over 146 cut line from last year's championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.

Sixty-four players kept up the pace to qualify for the final 36 holes, but former U.S. Open winners Curtis Strange, Andy North and Fuzzy Zoeller were not among them. Strange bogeyed the last hole to shoot 75 and miss by one with a 146 total. Zoeller ended up with 147 and North followed a 70 with a 78 for 148.

Arnold Palmer, who won a U.S. Open and a U.S. Senior Open title, bowed out of major championship competition with an 81 to end up at 166. "As far as trying to compete in major championships such as the Open … this is it," said Palmer, 75. "I'm through doing that."

Other former U.S. Senior Open winners who bowed out Friday were Graham Marsh (146), Dave Eichelberger (151) and Larry Laoretti (152). Dale Douglass, the 1986 U.S. Senior Open winner, was the oldest player in the field to make the cut. Douglass, 69, shot 73-70-143 to make his first cut since 2002.

Four amateurs made the cut led by Randy Nichols, a 12-time Indiana Player of the Year, and George Zahringer of New York, the 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. Both men were at even-par 142. Former Senior Amateur champ Greg Reynolds, who played with Palmer the first two rounds, was a stroke back at 143, as was former Maryland Amateur winner Pat Tallent, who made the cut for the second time in as many starts.

"This, probably, will go down as one of my greatest highlights in golf," said Reynolds, 58, playing in his third Senior Open but making his first cut. "Not just making the cut, but getting a chance to play with (Palmer). That was a great thrill for me. He was very enjoyable to play with, a class guy."

Former major league baseball pitcher Rick Rhoden shot 74-145 to make the cut on the number.

Dave Shedloski is a free-lance writer whose work has appeared previously on www.ussenioropen.com.