2009 USGA Senior Amateur Championship Fact Sheet

Sept. 12 – 17, 2009
The Beverly Country Club
Chicago, Illinois

PAR AND YARDAGE – Beverly Country Club will play at 6,654/6,672 yards and a par of 36-35—71.

ARCHITECT – Beverly Country Club was designed by George O’Neil and opened in 1908. Donald Ross redesigned the course in 1918. A renovation of the course, guided by golf course architect Ron Prichard, was completed in 2008.

HOLE BY HOLE:

COURSE SETUP – The USGA Course Rating® for the Senior Amateur at Beverly Country Club is 72.7 and USGA Slope Rating® is 133.

Tees, fairways and collars, height of grass – ฝ inch
Putting greens – 10-10.5 feet on USGA Stimpmeter
Primary Rough – 2.5 inches
Intermediate Rough – 1 inch (6 feet width)
Fescue Bunker Faces – 3 inches

USGA AND ILLINOIS – The 2009 USGA Senior Amateur will be the 57th championship conducted in the state of Illinois, ranking it fourth among states hosting the most USGA championships. The last USGA championship in the state was the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Cantigny Golf Club in Wheaton. The Senior Amateur is making its fifth appearance in Illinois (1962, 1973, 1979, 1998).

It is the second USGA championship hosted by Beverly Country Club, which was also the site of the 1931 U.S. Amateur won by Francis Ouimet.

WWW.USGA.ORG – Log on to the official Web site of the USGA at www.usga.org for the latest news and scores during the championship.

ADMISSION – Admission and parking is free. Tickets are not needed for this USGA championship and spectators are encouraged to attend.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY –

• Saturday, Sept. 12 — First round, stroke play (18 holes)
• Sunday, Sept. 13 — Second round, stroke play (18 holes)
• Monday, Sept. 14 — First round, match play (18 holes)
• Tuesday, Sept. 15 — Second round, match play (18 holes); Third round, match play (18 holes)
• Wednesday, Sept. 16 — Quarterfinals, match play (18 holes); Semifinals, match play (18 holes)
• Thursday, Sept. 17 — Final, match play (18 holes)

WHO CAN PLAY – The USGA Senior Amateur Championship is open to amateur golfers who will have reached their 55th birthday on or before Sept. 12, 2009, and who have a USGA Handicap Index® not exceeding 7.4.

QUALIFYING – Sectional qualifying was held at 51 sites from Aug. 10-20.

ENTRIES – A total of 2,182 contestants entered the 2009 championship. The record of 2,498 entries was set in 2005.

EXEMPT PLAYERS – There are 21 players currently fully exempt from qualifying for the 2009 USGA Senior Amateur Championship:

Buddy Alexander, Gainesville, Fla. – 1986 U.S. Amateur champion
Mike Bell, Indianapolis, Ind. – 2006 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Mark Bemowski, Mukwonago, Wis. – 2004 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Sam Farlow, Birmingham, Ala. – 2007 USGA Senior Amateur runner-up
Frank Ford III, Charleston, S.C. – 2007, 2008 USGA Senior Amateur semifinalist
Vinny Giles, Richmond, Va. – 2008 USGA Senior Amateur quarterfinalist
John Grace, Fort Worth, Texas – 2008 USGA Senior Amateur quarterfinalist
Stu Grendahl, McFarland, Wis. – 2007 USGA Senior Amateur semifinalist
Joseph Keller, Osterville, Mass. – 2008 USGA Senior Amateur quarterfinalist
Stanford Lee, Tumbling Shoals, Ark. – 2007 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Tom McGraw, Montgomery, Texas – 2006 USGA Senior Amateur runner-up
Randy Nichols, Brookville, Ind. – 2008 USGA Senior Amateur semifinalist
John Pallin, Kenosha, Wis. – 2008 USGA Senior Amateur quarterfinalist
Bill Ploeger, Columbus, Ga. – 1999 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc, Mich. – 2002 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Mike Rice, Houston, Texas – 2005 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, Calif. – 2001, 2003 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Bill Shean Jr., Hinsdale, Ill. – 1998, 2000 USGA Senior Amateur champion
Robert Vallis, Bermuda – 2009 British Senior Amateur champion
Mitch Voges, Simi Valley, Calif. – 1991 U.S. Amateur champion
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. – 2008 USGA Senior Amateur runner-up

HISTORY – The USGA Senior Amateur was added to the schedule in 1955. Entries were open to golfers age 55 and over who had handicaps not over 10 strokes. Addition of the USGA Senior Amateur gave the USGA exactly twice as many championships as it had conducted before World War II, when there were just four: the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, and U.S. Women’s Amateur, started in 1895, and the U.S. Amateur Public Links (1922). From World War II until 1955, the USGA added four more: the U.S. Junior Amateur (1948), the U.S. Girls’ Junior (1949), the U.S. Women’s Open (1953), and the USGA Senior Amateur (1955). The USGA now conducts 13 national championships, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

The first USGA Senior Amateur, at Belle Meade Country Club, in Nashville, Tenn., drew 370 entries from 30 states and the District of Columbia. J. Wood Platt, 56, the eight-time Philadelphia Amateur champion, defeated George Studinger of San Francisco, Calif., 5 and 4, in the final.

In 1959, J. Clark Espie, who had won in 1957, became the Senior Amateur’s first two-time champion. Lewis W. Oehmig, a record six-time finalist, is also the only three-time winner (1972, 1976, 1985).

Senior Amateur contestants may ride in carts, a concession not allowed when the championship was first played. Traditionalists, who believed walking was vital to a valid national title, finally gave in because the championship is played in the fall, when it is difficult to obtain caddies. Carts have been allowed since 1969.

2008 CHAMPION – George "Buddy" Marucci Jr. of Villanova, Pa., defeated George Zahringer of New York, N.Y., 2 up, at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Marucci will be unable to defend his title this year, as he will be serving as captain of the USA squad at the 2009 Walker Cup Match, which overlaps with the Senior Amateur.

PAST CHAMPIONS IN THE FIELD – There are eight former USGA Senior Amateur champions in the field, including a pair of two-time winners in Kemp Richardson (2001, 2003) and Bill Shean Jr. (1998, 2000), who is a member of host Beverly Country Club. The other past champions in the field: Bill Ploeger (1999), Greg Reynolds (2002), Mark Bemowski (2004), Mike Rice (2005), Mike Bell (2006) and Stanford Lee (2007).

FOR THE WINNER – The champion receives:

• A gold medal and custody of the Frederick L. Dold Trophy for the ensuing year
• An exemption from local qualifying at the next U.S. Open Championship
• An exemption from sectional qualifying at the next U.S. Senior Open Championship, if still an amateur
• An exemption from sectional qualifying at the next two U.S. Amateur Championships
• An exemption from sectional qualifying at the next two U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships
• An exemption from sectional qualifying at the next 10 USGA Senior Amateur Championships
• An exemption from sectional qualifying at the next two U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships, if otherwise eligible

THE TROPHY – The USGA Senior Amateur Championship Trophy was presented in 1955 by Frederick L. Dold of Wichita, Kan., who had retired from the USGA Executive Committee after five years of service.

FUTURE SITES – The 2010 USGA Senior Amateur will be played at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla., from Oct. 2-7. The 2011 championship will be played at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va., from Sept. 10-15. The 2012 championship will be conducted at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, N.J., Sept. 29-Oct. 4.

USGA MEDIA CONTACT – Dave Fanucchi will be the USGA media representative on site. Prior to the championship, he can be reached at (908) 234-2300, ext. 1993 or by e-mail at dfanucchi@usga.org. His cell phone number is (908) 655-6271.