Running Updates

Play Called

Kohler, Wis. – Play was suspended for the day at 6:17 p.m. CDT. Completion of the first round will begin at 7 a.m. CDT on Friday. The second round will begin at approximately 8 a.m. CDT.

Play Suspended

Kohler, Wis. – Play was suspended at 5:03 p.m. CDT due to inclement weather.

Woodward hunting birdies

Kohler, Wis. – Far from his home on the grounds of the Drunken Duck Hunting Club, Jim Woodward is making a name for himself in his first U.S. Senior Open. Woodward made a six-foot eagle putt on No. 16 before knocking his tee shot to four-feet on No. 17.

Woodward is three under par headed toward the turn.

Barge continues run, Vaughan enters mix

Kohler, Wis. – Mike Barge birdied the 14th hole. He is now three under with No. 16, the second easiest hole of the day coming up.

Bruce Vaughan, a professional who has played just about every tour in the world, birdied Nos. 16 and 17. He joins Barge and Loren Roberts at three under.

Green enjoying first USGA Senior Championship

Kohler, Wis. – Danny Green, an accomplished amateur player competing in his first U.S. Senior Open, added his name to the leaderboard with a tap in birdie on No. 17. At two under, he is the only amateur under par.

Green is no stranger to being at the top of USGA events. He won the ’99 U.S. Mid-Amateur title, played on the ’01 Walker Cup team, and was runner up at the ’89 U.S. Amateur.

Familiar names climbing leaderboard, one still struggling

Kohler, Wis. – Tom Watson sank a 15-foot par putt on the eighth hole to save par. Watson has made all pars with the exception of an eagle on the second hole.

Loren Roberts, who started on the back, made a three foot putt on No. 16 to move to three under, three shots behind the leader.

Allen Doyle missed a birdie putt on the low side of the hole on No. 16. The two-time defending champion is still at four over before making the turn.

Barge-ing through the front nine

Kohler, Wis. – Mike Barge, Director of Instruction at Hazeltine National Golf Club, bogeyed the ninth hole. Despite the bogey he still shot a 2-under 34.

Barge is the first player in the afternoon wave to post an under par score on the front side.

The last morning wave

Kohler, Wis. – The final morning groups are finishing. Jon Fiedler dropped a 10-foot putt on No. 18 to save par and finish with a 69.

Ron Vlosich didn’t finish the 18th hole as well. A poor drive prevented him from reaching the green in two. He missed a 20-footer to save par and stay at four under.

Eduardo Romero is all alone at the top of the leaderboard with all of the morning groups complete. Fiedler, Vlosich, and Vicente Fernandez are all tied for second with 69.

Argentinean Invasion

Kohler, Wis. – Vicente Fernandez lagged a putt from the front of the No. 18 green to a back hole location and then made his par putt for an opening round-69.

Fernandez’s round changed on the seventh hole after his second bogey, “I said no more bogeys, no more mental mistakes.” He added that he had a strategic plan tonight to keep both his and leader Eduardo Romeo’s minds focused, “we are going to go watch the Copa America soccer game, hopefully Argentina wins.”

Sweet 16

Kohler, Wis. – Each player at two under on the leaderboard has birdied No. 16. Jon Fiedler, now at four under, just sank a birdie putt from off the green to keep the stat intact. The birdie moves him to second place.

Triple for a double

Kohler, Wis. – Two-time defending champion Allen Doyle didn’t get off to the start he would have preferred. Allen made a double bogey after a three-putt.

Fiedler tracking, James falling

Kohler, Wis. – Jon Fiedler birdied the 14th hole and moved to four under. He is in a promising position with the par-5 15th upcoming, the only hole on the backside that has played under par today.

Meanwhile, Mark James, fell to two under after a bogey on the sixth hole. James is making his way through the part of the course that has played the toughest.

El Gato es numero uno

Kohler, Wis. – Pars on his last two holes secured the clubhouse lead for ‘the cat,’ Eduardo Romero. The Argentinean is seeking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Argentinean, Angel Cabrera, who won the U.S. Open earlier this year.

“I played great today. I came here to win this tournament,” stated Romero following his round. He added, “There is a long way to go.”

Romero’s 6-under par, 66, is tied for the fourth best opening round in U.S. Senior Open history. Three players have shot seven under to open the championship. The last to shoot six under was Peter Jacobson in 2004 at Bellerive Country Club. Jacobson went on to win the title.

An unknown Demon Deacon

Kohler, Wis. – David Thorne, playing in the first group, posted the first 18-hole under par score. Thorne went out in 36, and came back in at 35.

Thorne will have to wait to see if his post bests a few former teammates today. He played at Wake Forest, on perhaps the best college golf team ever, with Curtis Strange and Jay Haas.

Romero Gives One Back

Kohler, Wis. - Riding a hot putter through 15 holes, Eduardo Romero used it to his advantage to grab a commanding lead in the first round. However, Romero came back a bit with a bogey on his 16th hole.

Looking at an uphill putt of 51 feet, Romero's ball broke early, leaving him with a 4-foot comebacker. Romero pushed that one 2 feet wide to eventually three-putt to fall back to six under.

‘Jesse’ James stealing birdies

Kohler, Wis. – England’s Mark James, nicknamed ‘Jesse’ by fellow players, is making a run of his own on the course. After finishing the back nine at one under, James birdied the first three holes on the front side. He is four under and in second place.

James has won once on the Champions Tour this year. He won the Allianz Championship, his first event of the year after three weeks of skiing in the French Alps.

Romero Stays Hot

Kohler, Wis. - Eduardo Romero's putter seems to be getting hotter as he knocked in a 12-footer from off the green on the par-4 sixth. Romero opted to putt, after sending his approach from a sidehill lie short of the humped green.

Romero stands seven under par.

Romero Birdies Again

Kohler, Wis. - Eduardo Romero added to his stellar round with a birdie on the 598-yard, par 5 fifth Thursday. Romero, with 125 yards to the hole, got within 7 feet as his ball landed past the flagstick. Backspin carried it from 15 to 7 feet. The birdie put him six under par.

Fiedler not in Strange company

Kohler, Wis. – Jon Fiedler’s birdie at the eighth hole tied him at three under momentarily with Curtis Strange. Strange dropped to one under after a double-bogey on the third hole.

Fiedler, a club professional from California, played golf at the University of Southern California with competitors Craig Stadler and Scott Simpson.

Brief relief

Kohler, Wis. – The sixth hole is playing as the second easiest hole today. The 355 yard par-4 scoring average is slightly under par. The hole is a welcome site as the Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8 are playing as the four toughest.

Zoeller, Jacobson go under par

Kohler, Wis. – Fuzzy Zoeller, the 1984 U.S. Open Champion, birdied No. 10 to go under par for the first time today. Meanwhile, Peter Jacobson birdied the first hole, his 10th, to move to one under. Jacobson won the U.S. Senior Open in 2004.

Romero Can't Gain

Kohler, Wis.- Eduardo Romero missed a prime chance to fall to six under par Thursday when his 7-footer for birdie lipped out on the par-3 third hole.

Romero had the right line but his ball nudged the back of the hole before jumping out. Fellow competitor Hale Irwin carved out consecutive birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 to get to one over par. He stuck his approach to 4 feet of the flagstick on No. 2, then converted a 3-footer on No. 3.

Leaderboard movement

Kohler, Wis. - Kirk Hanefeld continues to take advantage of the par-5s. Hanefeld birdied the second to share the lead at four under with Eduardo Romero.

John Ross, a journey-man professional, moved to second place. Ross birdied No. 12, and then followed with consecutive birdies at Nos. 15 and 16.

A Strange appearance

Kohler, Wis.- Curtis Strange, winner of the ’88 and ’89 U.S. Open is now in third place with a eagle on No. 16. He joins the ’92 U.S. Open Champion, Tom Kite, at two under.

No. 16 is playing as the third easiest hole of the day so far. It is the only hole on the back nine that has a scoring average that is under par.

The Eagle has landed

Kohler, Wis.- The Cat, Eduardo Romero, recorded the first eagle of the championship at the par-5 16th. The hole is 535 yards - long and is named ‘Endless Bite.’ Romero leapfrogged over Kirk Hanefeld into the lead at four under with the eagle.

Romero’s eagle is his fifth of the year on the Champions Tour, moving him into a tie for 14th place in total eagles.

Three is a magic number

Kohler, Wis. – Kirk Hanefeld is the first player to reach three under with a birdie on No. 16, and is now in the lead by himself.

Hanefeld has served for 25 years as one of New England’s top club professionals. He recently was designated as the Touring Professional for The International Golf Club in Bolton, Mass.

A bright start

Kohler, Wis. – Kirk Hanefeld just birdied No. 15. He is now the sixth player tied for the lead at two under. David Thore, playing in the first group, fell back to one under and is nearing the turn.

The scoring conditions on the course are good right now with clear blue skies and a light breeze.

‘El Gato’

Kohler, Wis. – Four weeks ago, an Argentinean nicknamed ‘the duck’ won the U.S. Open. Currently, Eduardo Romero, another Argentinean is in the lead at the U.S. Senior Open. His nickname is ‘the cat,’ or El Gato in Spanish. He is known for his ability to stealthily stalk and overcome opponents.

‘The cat’ birdied the twelfth and thirteenth holes after starting on number ten.

Haas, Irwin begin quest

Kohler, Wis. – Jay Haas is no doubt the hottest player on the Champions Tour currently. Haas, competing in his fourth U.S. Senior Open, has won four times in 16 starts this year.

Some of his toughest competition will come from a fellow competitor in his group, two-time U.S. Senior Open Champion Hale Irwin.

Irwin struck first with a birdie on the first while Haas made a par.

U.S. Senior Open Begins

Kohler, Wis. – Judd Silverman put the first ball in play at the 28th U.S. Senior Open Championship. Silverman, an amateur, is competing in his first USGA event since the 1975 U.S. Amateur. Unfortunately, Silverman went on to bogey the hole. His fellow competitors, Jack Slayton and David Thore, both made pars.