Senior Open Qualifying at Old Waverly in June

FAR HILLS, N.J. – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced sectional qualifying sites for the 2014 U.S. Senior Open Championship, to be held at Oak Tree National, in Edmond, Okla., July 10-13.

Conducted over 18 holes, sectional qualifying will be held at 34 sites across the United States between June 12 and June 24. Player registration is available now and continues through Wednesday, May 28 at 5 p.m. EDT (www.usga.org/champs/apply).

“The U.S. Senior Open is senior golf’s most prestigious championship and the sectional qualifying process is open to any amateur who meets the Handicap Index®,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “Support from state and regional golf associations allows us to conduct qualifying and help to determine the field at Oak Tree National this July.”

The Homestead’s Cascades Course, in Hot Springs, Va., will host U.S. Senior Open sectional qualifying for the 10th time since 2002. The club has also been the site of eight USGA championships, including the 1966 Curtis Cup, the 1967 U.S. Women’s Open and 1988 U.S. Amateur. Sam Snead, a four-time U.S. Open runner-up who won a record 82 PGA Tour titles, was The Homestead’s golf professional for many decades.

Hillwood Country Club, in Nashville, Tenn., will host Senior Open sectional qualifying for the third straight year and fifth time since 2002. The club’s 2002 qualifier produced the lone player to win the U.S. Senior Open as a sectional qualifier. Don Pooley survived a 3-for-2 playoff to reach that year’s Senior Open, held at Caves Valley Golf Club, in Owings Mills, Md. At Caves Valley, Pooley defeated Tom Watson in a five-hole playoff to win the championship.

Dunedin (Fla.) Country Club will host Senior Open sectional qualifying for the fifth consecutive year. Damon Green, a PGA Tour caddie who has worked with 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, advanced to the U.S. Senior Open from this site in 2011. He tied for 13th at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

For the sixth time in nine years, Florence (S.C.) Country Club is a U.S. Senior Open sectional qualifying site. In 2007, Donnie Hammond qualified for the Senior Open from this site and tied for 22nd at Whistling Straits, in Kohler, Wis. Florence C.C. has held two USGA championships, including the 1963 U.S. Junior Amateur.

Old Waverly Golf Club, in West Point, Miss., will host Senior Open sectional qualifying for the fourth time in the last decade. Old Waverly was the site for the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open and 2006 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur championships.

Three other courses that are serving as sites for this year’s U.S. Senior Open sectional qualifying have hosted USGA championships. Timuquana Country Club, in Jacksonville, Fla., hosted the 2002 U.S. Senior Amateur. Indian Hills Country Club, in Mission Hills, Kan., was the host site for the 2001 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Sewickley Heights Golf Club, in Sewickley, Pa., held the 1966 U.S. Women’s Amateur.

California has the most sectional sites with five, including one at Green Valley (Calif.) Country Club, which is hosting for the fifth time since 2001. Three sectional qualifiers are scheduled in Florida, while Texas will host two qualifiers. There are qualifying sites in 27 states.

The U.S. Senior Open will be held for the first time at Oak Tree National. To be eligible, a player must have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4, or be a professional, and be 50 years of age at the start of championship play.