United States Senior Open

The U.S. Senior Open is one of the major championships in men's senior golf. It was first played in 1980 and is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. Initially the lower age limit was 55, but it is now 50, which is the standard limit for men's senior professional golf tournaments. The event is open to amateurs but it is dominated by professionals. It has been played on several different courses. In 2010, the prize fund was $2.6 million, with $470,000 awarded to the champion, Bernhard Langer. Allen Doyle became the oldest U.S. Senior Open Champion in 2006, winning two weeks before his 58th birthday.^[1] The total purse was the highest of any senior tour event until the Posco E&C Songdo Championship, a new Champions Tour event held in South Korea, launched in 2010 with a $3 million purse. However, the first prize in the U.S. Senior Open remains the highest on the Champions Tour (first prize in the Korean event is $450,000). Like other senior majors, players must walk the course unless they receive a medical exemption to use a cart. Winners gain entry into the following season's U.S. Open.

Eligibility

The following players are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, provided they are 50 years old as of the opening day of the tournament. Amateur categories require that the player is still an amateur on the opening day of the tournament.

• Any past winner of the U.S. Senior Open
• Winners of any of the major championships in the last 10 years
• Winners of any of the U.S. Amateur in the last 10 years and runner-up in previous year
• Winners of the Senior PGA Championship in the last 10 years
• Winner of the Senior British Open in the last three years
• Top 25 finishers from the previous year's U.S. Senior Open
• Low amateur in last U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open
• Winners of the U.S. Amateur Public Links, U.S. Mid-Amateur and the USGA Senior Amateur in the last two years and runner-up in previous year
• Members of the Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy teams for the last two competitions
• Members of both Ryder Cup teams for the last five competitions
• Top 30 from the previous year's Champions Tour money list, top 20 from current list
• Top 50 leaders from the Champions Tour career money list
• Winners of Champions Tour events in the previous three years
• Previous year's European Seniors Tour money list leader
• Winners of PGA Tour events in the previous five years
• Winners of the U.S. Open in first five years of age eligibility
• One-time exemption for any winner of a major championship, U.S. Amateur, or British Amateur

Special exemptions are given occasionally, and like other USGA events, many qualify through the local and sectional ranks.

Winners

Multiple winners

The following men have had more than one win in the U.S. Senior Open after the 2010 tournament:

• 3 wins: Miller Barber
• 2 wins: Allen Doyle, Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player

Winners of both U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open

The following men have won both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Senior Open, the majors run by the USGA:

Palmer (1954) and Nicklaus (1959, 1961) also won the U.S. Amateur, previously considered a major.

Future sites

References

External links

• Official website (most of the information is in the archive section)
• Coverage on the Champions Tour's official site