2023 U.S. Senior Open – Syndication Server

This amateur making his major debut had his clubs stolen from a parking lot before the U.S. Senior Open

Tony Wise was preparing to play in his first-ever U.S. Senior Open. Then he woke up to broken glass and no golf clubs.

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Tony Wise was preparing to play in the most important tournament of his golf career, his first-ever U.S. Senior Open. Then he woke up to broken glass and no golf clubs.

After playing a round at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, on June 27, Wise left his golf clubs in his car at the hotel he was staying at, and when he woke up, the clubs he left in his car were gone.

Wise was feeling great about his game heading into the U.S. Senior Open, but having his clubs stolen put a damper on what should have been one of the best weeks of his career.

“I was playing as well as I ever have,” Wise said. “I was striking it great.”

The head professional at Frankfort Country Club, where Wise is a member, did a great job of helping him piece together a full set on short notice, but the new driver was a problem at SentryWorld.

Wise, who is a regular on the Amateur Players Tour, qualified for the event by shooting a 67 in Hot Springs, Virginia. The qualifier took place at the Homestead’s Cascades Course.

“I still have to pinch myself,” Wise told a local TV station after winning the qualifier. “Did that really happen?”

See more on the story from our friends at Amateurgolf.com.

Was the U.S. Senior Open SentryWorld’s formal unveiling to the golf world? Mike Whan thinks so

The course — which few of the players had seen prior to the first practice round Tuesday — received rave reviews.

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STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin — The final tee shot has been struck, the last putt has dropped, and the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy has been raised.

Bernhard Langer’s record-setting victory in the 43rd U.S. Senior Open Championship on Sunday at SentryWorld was a fitting end to a week that was by almost every measure a resounding success.

The United States Golf Association doesn’t announce official attendance numbers, but spectators were out in full force, especially on the weekend with Wisconsin favorites Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly in contention.

And the course — which few of the players had seen prior to the first practice round Tuesday — received rave reviews as a challenging but fair test, with only eight players finishing under par.

“SentryWorld, you guys have had a nice secret here in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, we just let the world know about it. This is a true American gem,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said during the trophy presentation.

As the teardown and cleanup commences after a historic week in central Wisconsin and the course gets ready to reopen for public play, what’s next for SentryWorld?

“I would honestly say I don’t know,” Sentry CEO Pete McPartland said. “We don’t have specific ambitions within the game of golf, (but) it’s to maximize every opportunity we have. Anywhere reasonably that this takes us, we’ll go. I know the game of golf’s not going anywhere as far as the role it plays within Sentry. We’re going to keep trying to double down in whatever way we can, but I don’t know what all those things may be.”

Hank Thompson, senior director of the U.S. Senior Open, said Sentry and the golf course checked every box in the two-year lead-up to the tournament and withstood every test during championship week.

“They’re clearly in the hospitality business, but I think that’s part of the DNA in Wisconsin to be quite frank with you,” Thompson said. “At every turn, they’ve wanted to do what’s right for this championship.”

Bernhard Langer poses with the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy after winning the 2023 U.S. Senior Open Championship at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. (Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

The question is did the USGA, which also brought the U.S. Girls Junior Championship in 2019 and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in 1986 to SentryWorld, see enough to bring back the Senior Open?

If the answer is yes, there are plenty of open dates on the calendar.

Newport Country Club in Rhode Island will host in 2024, followed by The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2025. Sites for 2026 through 2029 have not been announced. Spyglass Hill in Pebble Beach, California, will host in 2030 and Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been announced as the site for 2032 and 2042.

Thompson said for the USGA to consider coming back, Sentry needs to make the first move.

“If we get invited back, we’re going to have a hard time not at least looking hard at it and potentially coming back,” Thompson said. “That’s the bottom line for any of our championships. We have to be invited, first and foremost. Until we get an invitation, we might come knock on the back door and say, ‘Can we talk?’ But that’s ultimately what we have to have before we can do that.”

Even if the USGA doesn’t come back soon, there may be other options for prominent golf events at SentryWorld.

Mark Rolfing, an NBC golf analyst and longtime supporter of Sentry, said there are limitations to the events SentryWorld could host, but he offered an event he thinks would be a perfect fit.

“Are they going to have the U.S. Open here? No. Are they going to have the Ryder Cup here? No. But, the Midwest is such a great area to have certain kinds of events that I could see SentryWorld, even with this relationship with the USGA, going into another area,” Rolfing said. “An event that I’m looking at — and I haven’t talked to anybody about this — but I’ve been involved in the event before and I was involved in choosing the site for the event back in 2009 — is the Solheim Cup. To me, this would be a phenomenal Solheim Cup site.”

The Solheim Cup is a biennial women’s version of the Ryder Cup, pitting Europe against the United States.

The 2024 Solheim Cup is at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, and the 2026 event is at Bernardus Golf Club in The Netherlands, but no sites have been announced for future dates on American soil.

“Those kind of events do really well in the Midwest,” Rolfing said. “They’ve been in Des Moines, Iowa, and they just knock them dead there. They’ve been in Toledo, Ohio. Solheim Cup doesn’t work in L.A. It doesn’t work in metropolitan New York area. It works in the Midwest and in markets like this and it works at a place where you have sports fans that are knowledgeable and just rabid fans like you do in Wisconsin.

The 16th hole, the “flower hole”, at the SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. on Monday, July 25, 2022. (Copyright USGA/Fred Vuich)

“The USGA relationship is only going to open up more doors and even though they may not have a financial or partnership relationship with let’s say the LPGA, the relationship with the USGA and the PGA Tour is going to open the door for somebody like the LPGA for a site like this. This place would be perfect for a Solheim Cup, it really would.”

McPartland calls Rolfing “our seeing-eye dog in the game of golf,” so if Rolfing thinks SentryWorld would be a good site for the Solheim Cup, McPartland isn’t about to disagree.

“He’s very much aligned with us and he’s always thinking on our behalf. And he’s seldom been wrong,” McPartland said. “So if Mark thinks that, it’s probably a very good idea.”

Rob Labritz, who tied for fourth place Sunday, had praise for the course and the fans for making it a memorable experience.

“Great golf course, great crowds. And then just great play,” he said. “SentryWorld is a heck of a golf course. Then the Wisconsin people out here are just awesome. They just get behind golf. … My hat’s off to everybody out here. It was pretty awesome.”

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Bernhard Langer captures U.S. Senior Open for record 46th Champions tour win

It was a seemingly always a matter of when, not if. Now it’s official.

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It was seemingly always a matter of when, not if. Now it’s official.

Bernhard Langer won for the 46th time on the PGA Tour Champions on Sunday when he captured the 2023 U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

His 46th victory breaks a logjam he’s had with Hale Irwin since February. It’s his second U.S. Senior title and it’s a record 12th senior major for Langer, the ageless wonder who turns 66 in two months. It marks a 13-year gap between his two U.S. Senior titles, by far the biggest stretch on the senior circuit. He’s the only golfer to win all five senior majors.

Langer started his final round with a two-shot lead. Through five holes Sunday, he got to 9 under for the week to stretch that lead to five over one of the local favorites Jerry Kelly. On the seventh hole, Langer’s approach came to rest on the edge of the cup and the ensuing tap-in birdie gave him a six-shot lead.

That cushion allowed him to navigate a bogey-bogey-bogey finish and he made it all official with a final-round 70 to secure a two-shot victory over the other local favorite, Steve Stricker, who closed with a 69. Kelly was third at 4 under.

Langer’s accuracy and ability to putt from off the green over the weekend allowed him to avoid hitting a single chip shot over the closing 36 holes.

The best final round score Sunday – in fact, the best score of the week – was Steven Alker’s 6-under 65. Padraig Harrington, the 2022 U.S. Senior Open champ, finished 6 over, tied for 18th.

The 2024 U.S. Senior Open will be contested at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island.

U.S. Senior Open venue SentryWorld has become a force in the golf world by getting whatever it wants

A major decision would ultimately define the future of this company: What to do with SentryWorld Golf Course?

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STEVENS POINT, Wis. — It’s the kind of decision that can cement a legacy, for better or worse, and for Pete McPartland, it came without a safety net or any time for second-guessing.

When McPartland took over as CEO of Sentry Insurance in 2012, he was immediately staring at a major decision that would ultimately define the future of the company: What to do with SentryWorld Golf Course?

Wisconsin’s first destination golf venue, which opened in 1982, was foundering after not getting the attention it needed and was no longer living up to the vision then-CEO John Joanis had for the course when he commissioned Robert Trent Jones Jr. to do the original design.

McPartland figured he had three options: sell the course and get out of the golf business; let it continue on the path it was on with perhaps some modest enhancements; or make an investment in the course with the hopes it would pump life back into a dying dream.

“The management team that had been running Sentry had not invested in the golf course and I believe, not to speak for them, but they felt it was an ancillary and possibly even distracting part of our business,” McPartland said Wednesday while sitting in a hospitality suite overlooking the 18th green.

More: NHL star Joe Pavelski excited to see major championship golf at SentryWorld in his hometown

Sentry CEO McPartland makes tough decision

It was a monumental decision for anyone, let alone for someone still feeling his way as the “new guy” on campus.

He solicited feedback, which was mixed, but ultimately the decision was his alone.

“It had been a subject that was sensitive to talk about,” he said.

After much deliberation and handwringing, McPartland decided. Sentry would go “all-in” on the golf course and what he calls the hospitality business, and it changed not only the fortunes of SentryWorld but also the insurance company.

“I didn’t feel pressure,” he said. “I absolutely knew it was the right thing. But I also knew the conscious willingness to let the golf course and, for that matter, restaurant that we have atrophied was a conscious decision that I was flying in the face of prior management. There were a lot of people that felt for financial discipline reasons, spending money on recreation, in essence, inherently represented unwise judgment. I knew there were a lot of people that think that.

“But I knew that it was certainly affordable given the size and success of the company and this would attract more customers and we needed, as an insurance company, to engage more with our own customer base. We were not as outwardly projecting as an insurance company as we needed to be.”

Restoring SentryWorld was the first step

A decade later, the fruits of McPartland’s decision were evident this week when the United States Golf Association brought the U.S. Senior Open to central Wisconsin for the first time.

McPartland said it was important at the time to return SentryWorld to its place in history as the state’s first destination golf course.

“This course means a lot to central Wisconsin. … It ushered in the era of the Kohlers and Erin Hills and, ultimately, Sand Valleys and so on,” he said. “This course had a place in history that was important.”

The first step in bringing SentryWorld back to life was getting in touch with Jones Jr. in 2013 to ask about redesigning his original layout, along with his young protégé and highly respected golf course designer Jay Blasi.

“We asked Bob at the time, is there anything you would have done over in retrospect now that you’re an older designer and you were a young designer when you built SentryWorld? And he said, ‘You know, there’s five or six holes that have been bugging me for a long time.’ We said, ‘Great, you have a do-over.’ So he had a do-over and redesigned it,” McPartland said.

The course reopened in 2015 to rave reviews. That was followed by revitalizing the restaurants at SentryWorld, the USGA bringing the U.S. Junior Girls Championship to the course in 2019, and building The Inn at SentryWorld, a hotel that runs along the 18th fairway that opened in 2022.

The USGA was so impressed with SentryWorld in 2019 that it announced in February 2021 it would bring the U.S. Senior Open to SentryWorld in 2023, which prompted another round of renovations at the course the past two years to prepare for this week’s event.

Players warm up on the driving range before a practice round for the 2023 U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. (Photo: Tork Mason/USA TODAY)

‘Anything that this golf course wants, it gets’

McPartland calls SentryWorld a “support piece” to the insurance company, with the massive resources of the core business being used to maximize the hospitality side of the business.

“The golf course became — I use this term when I talk about it — the golf course became the spoiled daughter of the insurance company,” McPartland said. “Anything that this golf course wants, it gets. Anything that (general manager) Mike James, who runs all of this, wants for the golf course or for that matter anything else, he gets.”

McPartland believed the golf course, an adjacent hotel and other amenities at SentryWorld would make it more likely customers and business partners would come see them, rather than Sentry employees having to travel to visit them.

“We reasoned that having a real neat golf course would make our campus and the desire of people to come see us more attractive,” he said.

It has worked exactly how McPartland envisioned. Not only has the USGA found a home at SentryWorld, but Sentry has found a home alongside some of the major players in the golf world.

Sentry has prominent place in golf

In 2017, Sentry became the title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s season-opening Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. That agreement was extended last August to go through 2035, and Sentry has become active in the Maui community as well as brought many of its customers and business partners to the island through the years.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan also asked if Sentry would like to become involved with First Tee, a program that introduces younger, often economically disadvantaged kids to the game of golf.

“If you become a part of the pro golf fraternity, if you’re a well-behaved, good member of it, and I certainly think we have been, other kind of accoutrements will come our way,” he said. “Didn’t solicit it. Didn’t push for it. It became a part of it. So somewhere along the line, I think we fit in and we got kind of taken under the wing by the PGA Tour and the USGA and others.”

So with all that has happened for Sentry and SentryWorld, it’s natural to wonder if McPartland thinks about the road not traveled.

What if he had decided in 2012 to get the company out of the golf business forever?

“I don’t dare think about that because my mind stops. I don’t want to think about that,” he said. “I do think a little bit if we hadn’t done everything we’ve done, where would Sentry Insurance Company be and the answer is we wouldn’t be as large, we wouldn’t have grown within our Fortune 1000 rankings the way we’ve grown. We’ve grown significantly as a Fortune 1000 company. So the branding, the customer engagement, the extent to which that helped define the culture of us as an insurance company, we couldn’t have done it without the game of golf and without the investment that we’ve done in hospitality on this campus.”

As he watched the game’s best senior golfers and thousands of fans walk around SentryWorld the past few days, McPartland couldn’t help but get a little sentimental about what has transpired since taking over in 2012.

“It really hit me this week,” he said. “Here we are, a major USGA tournament and, by golly, we have our own golf course and I’m hearing good things from the players about our own golf course in our own campus. So this week it hits me like a frying pan in the head the totality of everything that we’ve done. It’s very warming.”

Editor’s note: Jay Blasi also serves as a Golfweek’s Best rater ambassador.

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Rod Pampling leads, local favorites Steve Stricker, Jerry Kelly hit speed bumps at U.S. Senior Open

Pampling, with his seven birdies, two bogeys and one double, is sleeping on the lead after one round.

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STEVENS POINT, Wis. – At one point Thursday afternoon, 17 of the top 20 names on the U.S. Senior Open leaderboard had begun their first round on the back nine of SentryWorld. That included early leader Rod Pampling, who opened his tournament at 2-under on the back before finishing at 3-under for the day.

Then Steve Stricker set off the first tee box just after 2 p.m.

A tournament favorite coming in as the winner of the first two majors on the senior tour – and with the home-state good vibes emanating from his galleries – Stricker began his tournament with a solid 2-under 33 on the front with two birdies and seven pars.

The Madison resident was just one of just four players to not bogey at least one hole on the front nine.

The round seemed set up for Stricker to have a strong closing nine to supplant Pampling and his round of 68.

Then something odd happened.

The turn proved trouble for Stricker, as his tee shot ran up against a tree on the par-5 10th. His left-handed recovery attempt landed in a divot, and an admittedly over-aggressive bunker shot culminated in a double bogey on a hole that yielded birdies for most players.

That set him back to even for the tournament. Stricker then hit it in the water on the par-3 12th, leading to another double-bogey.

“You have to stay away from doubles,” he said. “If I make bogeys there, I shoot 1-under, and that’s the difference. You have to stay away from those.”

He finished with a 1-over 72, snapping his Tour-record 55 consecutive rounds at par or better. He admitted he thought about the streak down the stretch, but he wasn’t able to get one more birdie on his card.

“It can get you – I mean, I doubled 10, and it’s probably ranked one of the easier holes out there today,” Stricker said. “So any hole can come up and grab you. You just have to hit good shots, bottom line. You have to play smart, hit good shots, and not put yourself behind a tree.”

Steve Stricker holds his follow-through after hitting a tee shot on the 10th hole during the first round for the 2023 U.S. Senior Open on Thursday, June 29, 2023, at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Pampling has a two-stroke lead over Mike Small, Retief Goosen and Miguel Ángel Jiménez

Stricker’s playing partner David Toms took advantage of the back nine to start, as he birdied 10, 11 and 12 to capture a share of the lead. But then he, too, backtracked with a 3-over finish down the stretch.

So it was Pampling, with his seven birdies, two bogeys and one double, who would sleep on the lead after one round.

“It was obviously a fun day,” Pampling said. “I’d been playing well for the last month or so. To get here and see the course, it felt good. I drove it really well and made a lot of birdies out there.”

Earlier in the day Mike Small made four birdies on the back nine and also got to 3-under before a double-bogey on No. 9 dropped him to 1-under. He joined Retief Goosen and Miguel Ángel Jiménez at that score in second place, two back of Pampling.

“The pins were really difficult on this front nine,” Small said of Thursday’s setup. “I think the wind came up. The first few holes on the front are down and then coming into the wind a little bit, and there’s more trouble. They’re both hard. The rough is so thick. I don’t think the guys out here – I’ve probably played 15 or 16 Champions Tour events and this is my third one of these – I’ve never seen the rough this thick. These guys, they’re not used to it.”

Small, the University of Illinois men’s golf coach, is one of Stricker’s closest friends as they played together for the Illini in the late 1980s. The two helped Illinois to the 1988 Big Ten championship and were eventually groomsmen in each other’s weddings.

The pair teamed up with Jerry Kelly for some practice round work, too, to try and get a feel for how the first-time championship venue would play.

Struggling with a wrist injury Jerry Kelly manages a par round

Jerry Kelly stalks his putt as it rolls toward the cup on the 9th hole during the first round for the 2023 U.S. Senior Open on Thursday, June 29, 2023, at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis.

Small made six birdies against three bogies and a double, while Kelly battled through a left wrist injury to make four birdies. He was part of a group of 10 players that finished the day at even-par, though Kelly’s two birdies on the back side were negated by a double-bogey on the par-4 13th hole.

“It’s been going out of joint for about a couple months, and it just inflamed so bad the last week or so,” Kelly said of his injury. “I’ve been having it worked on constantly, and that’s aggravating it more. So it’s inflamed. I was hoping it was going to be better. It is better. I could barely play three holes yesterday.”

The Madison native added that if you had asked him when the day started if he’d take even par, he would have gladly accepted it, so he left the first round comforted by the fact he’s not trying to make up ground.

“It’s a good score,” Kelly said. “I’d like that to be my highest. I think it’s out there for the taking right now, there’s no question. You just have to hit it straight. If you don’t hit it straight, it’s not out there for the taking at all.”

Ernie Els, who won two U.S. Opens and recorded five other top-five finishes in the tournament, said “It’s really playing like a U.S. Open. It’s really playing where you’ve got to kind of hit shots where you’re going for the perfect miss – get your wedge out of the way there. You’re going for the perfect shot, but you’ve got to miss yourself where you get it up and down.”

Defending champion Padraig Harrington, who finished tied for 27th at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club earlier in the month, finished his round with a 3-over 74.

But, he felt its difficulty would allow those a few shots back to chase the leaders.

“It is possible to go out there and shoot a really good score if I have a great day,” Harrington said. “It’s not a pretty golf course to be defending on. Maybe I was a bit defensive today because I kind of – you kind of know going to a U.S. Open, I think, first day out you can get a bit defensive.

“Yeah, I have to say I found L.A. Country Club a lot easier than this place. I know this is shorter, but the length doesn’t bother me. L.A. Country Club was a lot easier.”

Mick Smith, Bradley Lanning have mixed results

The two local Wisconsin qualifiers, Mick Smith of Summit and Brad Lanning of Hortonville, had mixed results in their first round.

Smith found his name on the front page of the leaderboard at one point as he got to even par through eight holes but he shot a 3-over 38 on the front nine (his back nine) to finish with a 3-over 74. It did put him in position to make the cut, however, with a strong Friday.

“You gotta hit the fairways – makes it a lot easier,” Smith said, noting he rolled in some long putts to keep his round on track. “I enjoyed it. First experience. It’s just hard work.”

Lanning began his day on the tougher front nine and shot an 8-over 43. He settled down and balanced two bogies with two birdies on the backside to finish 8-over for the round.

“It’s our home – I mean, we’re 40 minutes away – and I’ve played this course a lot,” Lanning said. “I am comfortable here and I think that helped me on the back because I’ve played here quite a bit without all these tents and everything, and the high rough. I just feel like hey, I can play if I hit the shots because I’ve seen the golf course before. We’ll see how it goes (Friday) and if I can get some momentum and get a few putts going, maybe, hopefully, I’ll make the cut.”

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Davis Love III withdraws from 2023 U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld

Love withdrew just ahead of the opening round of the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Davis Love III withdrew just ahead of the opening round of the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Love was selected by U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson to serve as a vice captain for the 2023 matches which will take place from Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. He was one of 72 exempt players in the field and was scheduled to make his third appearance at a U.S. Senior Open.

He was replaced in the field by 55-year-old Tom Werkmeister, the first alternate. Werkmeister went off in a threesome with Jerry Kelly and Kevin Sutherland at 9:42 ET and will play with that pairing through the first two days. The event will be broadcast on Golf Channel from 12-3 p.m. ET and 6-8 p.m.

On Wisconsin! The 43rd #USSeniorOpen is officially underway at @SentryWorld.

Brad Lanning had the honors.

— USGA (@USGA) June 29, 2023

This isn’t Werkmeister’s first appearance in the event, in fact, it’s his fourth. He finished T-43 in 2019 when the tournament was staged at The Warren Course at Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind.

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This local teaching pro is gearing up for what may be his biggest golf moment at the U.S. Senior Open

One thing separated Smith’s consulting company from the others in the area: TrackMan.

Mick Smith had one question for his caddy, Craig Czerniejewski, as he walked off the 11th hole after recording a bogey in his U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Stevens Point Country Club.

“‘How are we doing?’” Smith said.

The response?

“He said, ‘We’re tied for the lead,’” Smith said. “And that surprised me a bit but it gave me a bit of fire in my belly and a feeling of, ‘Alright let’s get in there and I can still win this.’”

Smith, an Australian who lives in Summit, then saw his lead expand to two strokes after he birdied the next two par-5s. Not long after that he learned he had won the qualifier to earn a spot in his first major, the 43rd edition of the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld Golf Course in Stevens Point.

“It was one of the highlights of my life,” Smith said. “It will be a moment I won’t forget and I’m still very excited (about it). For the last week, I have woken up early every morning and it was the first thing on my mind.”

Smith switched from tennis to golf as a teenager

Smith, 50, grew up in Sydney, Australia, playing tennis. But by 15 years old he realized he wasn’t good enough to play professionally, so he looked for another sport.

“My uncle gave me some clubs and we lived near a golf course, so I used to sneak on before and after school and play,” Smith said. “I loved playing and before I knew it I was hooked on golf, got good pretty quick and it all went from there.”

Aside from his early successes, Smith said what drew him to golf was the independence that the sport provides.

“I had a pretty strict dad and he was a good tennis player, so he would come and watch and if I didn’t play well I would get a bit of a rousing on,” Smith said. “But he wasn’t that good at golf, so when I got into golf it was basically all me and I was left alone to do it. I enjoyed that side of it.”

Smith first moved to the United States in 1997 to play golf at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama.

“A friend of mine got a scholarship to Colorado State and the intermediary guy who set that up said to him, ‘Do any of your mates, who are decent players, want to come over and play? There is a junior college in Alabama looking for a good player,’’” Smith said.

“I had always wanted to come to America, so I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it’ and like two weeks later I was on a flight to a junior college in Alabama.”

Following his time at Wallace State, Smith returned to Australia for a year, which included some time on the Australian PGA Tour.

“I didn’t do any good (there) so I came back to America and basically been here ever since,” Smith said.

Later this year, Smith will receive his dual citizenship.

“I’ve spent half my life in America and half in Australia, so I feel very at home in both places,” Smith said. “My kids have grown up here, so yeah, it will be great to get.”

Analytical software TrackMan keeps Smith’s golf game sharp

Once Smith moved back to the United States, he started working at golf courses and giving golf lessons. His coaching career took off in 2014 when he bought a house in Summit.

“I was going a bit bonkers in the wintertime from not doing anything and we’ve got a three-car garage that’s double deep, so I had the idea to build a golf room in the back of the garage,” Smith said.“It saved my sanity in the winter and probably helped my golf game a lot as well.”

But one thing separated Smith’s consulting company from the others in the area: TrackMan, a radar analytical system that uses Doppler technology to track and record 3D characteristics of a sports ball in motion.

Smith said the TrackMan simulates the way a golf ball would travel on a real course with near-perfect accuracy, a feature that has kept his game “fine-tuned.”

Getting a mindset for biggest stage of golf career

Smith has been on a heater lately in Wisconsin PGA Section events, winning the WPGA Championship in 2020 and 2021 and the WPGA Match Play Championship in 2022.

He said it is moments like those and qualifying for his first major that make him glad he stuck with the sport.

“Golf is a very fickle game. One day you’re great and the next day you can be awful,” Smith said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve definitely dealt with that better and not let it get to me as much. I keep working, doing the right things and keep believing things are going to work out and it’s great when they finally do.”

But he enters the U.S. Senior Open at a slight disadvantage, as his only experience at host site SentryWorld Golf Course was a practice round a few weeks ago.

“Nobody’s really been on property there playing for a long time so the course is immaculate,” Smith said. “The rough was very thick, but as they said, they can cut the rough down, but they can’t make it grow.

“It was thicker than what it would be for the tournament they said, so I was happy to hear that. But it was good to see and get some pictures in my mind of the shots I’ve gotta play.”

Smith said based on his practice round, one key to his success will be to drive the ball well. And after watching this past U.S. Open on TV, he has begun to understand what he is about to enter.

“You see how tough it can become,” Smith said. “Being 50 and played a lot, I’ve started paying attention and focusing on the things I want to do and not building up any walls as far as negativity or worrying about how hard it can be.”

Smith’s preparation came to an abrupt stop two weeks ago, however, when he paused all practicing due to back issues. He resumed golf activities June 16 after several visits to the chiropractor.

“It was the first time I’ve been able to swing without pain so that’s been good,” Smith said, adding that he believes he is still in a good position going into Thursday’s opening round despite this setback.

As one of two local players, along with Hortonville’s Brad Lanning, in the 156-player field, Smith said he will have several family members and friends around to watch the event, including his brother, Mark, who is flying in from Sydney.

“He’s my older brother so it’ll be good to see if his younger brother can do something half decent,” Smith said jokingly. “But no, it will be great to share the moment with him.”

Smith, a big Ernie Els fan, said he is looking forward to competing with and meeting one of the professionals that will be playing in the event.

However, once he steps onto the course and tees off, he said the switch flips and the only thing that will be on his mind is winning.

“It’s not my job to worry about what they’re doing,” Smith said. “My job is to play my style of golf and get the ball into the hole as best I can. If I do that, then everything will take care of itself.”

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SentryWorld renovation a decade ago teed up this week’s U.S. Senior Open

One of the key architects in the SentryWorld renovation shares the details of rerouting the Wisconsin layout.

Editor’s note: Jay Blasi is a California-based golf course architect originally from Wisconsin. He served as project architect, working in collaboration with Robert Trent Jones Jr., on SentryWorld’s 2013 renovation. He also serves as a Golfweek’s Best rater ambassador, which includes writing for Golfweek.

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – SentryWorld plays host this week to the U.S. Senior Open, the third USGA event at the course and it’s first major of any kind. The route the course took to get here, both from an ownership standpoint and a golf design perspective, is unique.

The course is owned and operated by Sentry Insurance, which has been headquartered in Stevens Point since 1912. In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, Sentry developed a one-of-a-kind campus. Decades before Google and Facebook were lauded for their innovative work environments, Sentry crafted a massive headquarter building complete with swimming, basketball, barber shop, auto center and more, the theory being that an attractive campus and quality of life for employees would allow Sentry to attract and retain top talent when competing against firms in big cities.

John Joanis, Sentry’s CEO at the time, also wanted golf as part of the mix. He hired Robert Trent Jones Jr. to design a course in a flat, wet and rocky pine forest. The Jones team created large water bodies and routed holes through the forests. It was the addition of No. 16 – the Flower Hole – that gained most of the attention.

SentryWorld opened in 1982 and was unique to Wisconsin. It was a sight to see, complete with white sand bunkers, bent grass fairways, caddies in full outfits and the flowers. Before the four courses at Kohler, before Erin Hills, before Sand Valley, it was SentryWorld as Wisconsin’s first destination golf course.

Shortly after SentryWorld opened, Joanis passed away. Over the next 25 years the course aged, as with most other courses. By 2010 the course was tired – it essentially was at a fork in the road. Should it go away or devolve into a muni-type layout, or should Sentry reinvest and restore the luster to the gem. Enter Pete McPartland.

McPartland took over as Sentry president and COO in 2010 and chairman of the board in 2013. He was unwavering in his belief that SentryWorld is the front door to Sentry Insurance, and it needed to be special. Under McPartland’s leadership the company embarked on a journey to transform SentryWorld into the destination it is today (and once was). The layout received Golfweek’s award as top renovation in 2013.

Not only has Sentry completely redone the golf course, it has rebuilt and expanded its giant fieldhouse, added on-course dining pavilions and crafted a boutique hotel dubbed The Inn that opened in 2022. In addition to campus investments, the company has become the title sponsor of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on the PGA Tour, the official insurance partner of the USGA and a corporate trustee of The First Tee.

Sentry’s path to becoming a leader in golf was unique, and so too was the evolution of the golf course.

After extensive study from 2010 to 2012, Sentry decided to completely rebuild the golf course in 2013 – all new irrigation, greens, tees, bunkers, paths, drainage and more. And the biggest decision was to reroute the golf course.

Many owners and clubs don’t reroute because they know the course as it is and are afraid of change. But the cost to reroute – if you are already redoing irrigation, drainage, tees, greens and bunkers – is nominal and the impact can be profound. Routing and green complexes are probably the two biggest factors in how well a course is perceived, so not addressing a less-than-ideal routing is a huge missed opportunity for any course that is renovating.

No. 4 at SentryWorld was converted from a par 3 into a par 4 during the 2013 renovation. (Copyright USGA/Fred Vuich)

When studying a golf course routing, it is important to assess what is working well along with opportunities for improvement. In the case of SentryWorld, the majority of the holes fit the land nicely and just needed more breathing room after 30 years of tree growth. Some holes with sharp doglegs through the woods felt awkward given technological advances in golf. The range was too small, and the short-game practice areas were limited.

There was also little variety throughout the round, with water on the left on eight of nine holes, plus trouble left and right on 17 of the 18 holes. The good news was there were unused pockets of land within the site.

The original layout was organized as two clockwise loops of nine holes. The front occupied the northern half of the property with the back nine on the southern side. As you played the course and studied the routing, there were some awkward spots that stood out.

The routing for SentryWorld in Wisconsin before the 2013 renovation – the yellow circles indicate areas of the course that were not utilized in the original routing. (Courtesy of Jay Blasi)

Hole 1: The dogleg was too sharp for opening hole, and the transition to No. 2 was awkward.

Hole 3: The dogleg was sharp, and the water and bunker on the outside of the dogleg were awkward.

Hole 9: A hidden creek and trees blocked the route to the green on the right.

Hole 11: There was hidden water left of the green.

Hole 13: There was a sharp dogleg with blind water through the fairway.

Hole 17: There was a sharp dogleg with a turning point at an awkward spot, and an impossible approach.

Looking at the image, you also can identify several spots on the property that were not being utilized for golf (yellow circles).

The area left of No. 3 green.
A peninsula of land on north side of the lake left of No. 3 and 13.
The woods right of No. 9 fairway.
A wooded area right of No. 11 green.
An area right of No. 12.
The woods between Nos. 17 and 18.

And so begins the puzzle of using the open spaces to get to the routing you see today.

Here are the 10 moves that were made to get to the current layout:

A: Combining Nos. 1 and 2 into a long par 5, which is the new No. 10. This allowed us to eliminate the awkward tee shot on No. 1 and the awkward transition to No. 2. It also allowed us to expand the driving range.

B: Add a new par 3 out to the peninsula north of the lake, which is the new No. 12. This allowed us to take advantage of a great natural green site and spread out the routing.

C: Change the tee angle on No. 13 by 90 degrees. The new hole plays straightaway over the water, eliminating the sharp dogleg and blind water. The key to this change was Sentry installing a new bridge across the lake.

D: Open the right side of No. 9. This allows players options off the tee and on the second shot for the par 5.

E: Shift the 11^th green to the right up the hill for the new second hole. This makes for a straight hole playing slightly uphill and eliminates the blind water. It also opens up a space for back tees on No. 6.

F: Eliminate the old No. 12 and create a new hole in the woods right of the old hole, which is the new No. 3. This takes advantage of some topography and offers a new shot with water behind.

G: Extend No. 4 back, converting it from a par 3 to a par 4. This allows for a seamless transition from the new No. 3 and offers a drivable par 4 with options.

H: Open the right side of No. 17 and shift the green to short of the water. This provides players with options off the tee and a short, tricky approach with water behind the green.

I: As evidenced above, this made for new hole numbers in the routing. They are as follows:

Old 10 = Now 1
Old 11 = Now 2
Old 12 = Now 3
Old 4 = Still 4
Old 5 = Still 5
Old 6 = Still 6
Old 7 = Still 7
Old 8 = Still 8
Old 9 = Still 9
Old 1 & 2 = New 10
Old 3 = Now 11
New hole = 12
Old 13 = Still 13
Old 14 = Still 14
Old 15 = Still 15
Old 16 = Still 16
Old 17 = Still 17
Old 18 = Still 18

The renumbering allowed us to recapture the original tee shot from the course when it first opened while keeping the Flower Hole as 16.

All told, the changes to the routing allowed us to eliminate the awkward shots, highlight some great unused parts of the property, add 400-plus yards to the course and add variety, playability and flexibility.

The changes also allowed Sentry to attract the U.S. Senior Open.

Photos: U.S. Senior Open 2023 from SentryWorld

A star-studded field has descended on Stevens Point, Wisconsin, for the 2023 U.S. Senior Open.

Stevens Point learned two years ago it would host the event. The USGA announced the news in February 2021, marking the third USGA Championship at the site. The other two were the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in 1986 and the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 2019.

Sentry Insurance developed the public facility in 1982 as part of a sports complex that includes indoor tennis courts, banquet space and restaurants. At the heart of the 200-acre property lies the championship layout.

In 2013, Robert Trent Jones Jr. oversaw a major renovation that was led by architects Bruce Charlton and Jay Blasi, a Golfweek rater panelist and contributing writer.

Here’s a look at some of the best shots of the week.

Can Steve Stricker win a U.S. Senior Open on the same course where he won a Wisconsin state title 39 years ago?

Nearly four decades after winning the WIAA state golf tournament, Stricker makes his long-awaited return to SentryWorld.

STEVENS POINT, Wisc. — Steve Stricker has come full circle.

Nearly four decades after winning the WIAA state golf tournament, the Edgerton native makes his long-awaited return to SentryWorld Golf Course. But this time to win his second U.S. Senior Open title.

“It’s great to be able to hop in your car, drive up the road to compete here at a place that I won at 39 years ago. It’s pretty crazy that all this time has flown by. It’s a special spot,” Stricker, now of Madison, said Tuesday. “This is one of the first golf courses in Wisconsin, like the new-design kind of course that we were able to play as junior golfers.

“It’s pretty special to be able to come back here full circle. To play a Champions Tour major out here is pretty neat.”

Since his arrival in Stevens Point on Monday, the 56-year-old said a few memories have returned from his first-place performance in 1984.

“I remember the flowers (on the 16th hole). That’s what I remember. I remember shooting 76 and 76. Now that’s not going to get it done this week here,” Stricker said. “I remember my family and friends obviously being here. (But) beyond that and the couple scores that I shot, that’s about it.”

More: How to watch the U.S. Senior Open

More: ‘It’s great for the economy’: Local businesses prepare to host visitors during U.S. Senior Open

Rough and fairways will be ‘legitimate test’ for golfers

Hosting a U.S. Golf Association championship is not new for SentryWorld, as the course most recently held the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 2019.

But this week’s 43rd installment of the senior major will be the biggest-profile event on the 7,177-yard course in its 42-year history. In addition, it is the first major championship to be held in central Wisconsin.

The course, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones, went through the largest round of renovations in its history in 2021. It has been closed since late September, as fine-tuning was done to prepare for this week.

“It’s in great shape,” Stricker said. “Looking forward to the start of it.”

Much talk leading into this week has been about the length of the roughs and the need to drive the ball accurately.

“Depending on how they set it up, it’s a legitimate test. It’s going to be a challenge,” Stricker said. “Unless they’ve mowed (the rough) here the last couple days, it’s very thick. It’s very penal. If you’re going to be playing out of the rough, it’s going to be hard to get the ball on the green, first of all, or even close to the hole.”

Stricker said he hadn’t come up with a game plan yet as far as playing aggressively Thursday and Friday, especially on three par-5s on the course, but the key will be to hit it in the fairway.

“It really is going to be as simple as that, to be able to try to go for it. I don’t have a lot of extra power in there,” Stricker said. “I may be able to get it out there another 5 or 10 extra yards if I swing a little bit harder, but it’s going to be about getting it in play in the fairway.”

His wife, Nicki, will caddy again this week. She caddied for Stricker when he won the AmFam Championship earlier this month with a record 18 under par at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison. It was his fourth title in the 11 tournaments he has competed in this season.

“It’s her bag any time she wants it,” Stricker said. “She couldn’t make it today, but she’ll be here tomorrow and the rest of the week. Sometimes she has enough of it and sometimes she’s like, ‘Yeah, I want to go’ so it’s totally up to her.”

A win the Strickers won't soon forget 🥲 @amfamchamp @stevestricker @nicstricker @bobbistrick @IzziStricker pic.twitter.com/DBcCMojr2X

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) June 11, 2023

‘Different pressure’ for Stricker this time

Stricker’s history in majors in the Badger State hasn’t been the best. He missed qualifying for the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits before finishing tied for 18th at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Then he had to qualify for the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills after not receiving an exemption.

But recently, the tide has turned.

Stricker helped lead the U.S. to victory over Europe in the 2021 Ryder Cup as its captain. He also has two senior major titles under his belt this season, winning the Regions Tradition by six strokes May 14 before taking the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in a playoff against Padraig Harrington on May 26.

“I’m predicting Steve is going to be one of the guys who has a chance to win and I want to be the guy that makes birdie on this really hard 18th hole to not let him win,” Madison native Jerry Kelly told the Journal Sentinel.

“But you can’t discount what this guy is doing this year. I mean, he’s winning our majors by five and six shots and playing absolutely unbelievable golf. He’s got the best-putter-on-tour moniker for a reason.”

Stricker, who has won eight tournaments in the last two years, said his recent success has come from finding consistency.

“It’s about doing the same things that I’ve been doing,” Stricker said. “I’ve been doing pretty much everything fairly well, driving it in the fairway, getting it on the greens. I’ve been putting better lately (too).”

He said playing in his home state is different than in 2010 and 2017 given where he is in his career.

“I’m kind of enjoying things a little more (now),” Stricker said. “Back in those days when we were playing at Whistling Straits or Erin Hills, I probably felt more pressure.

“I (also) got a different perspective on life and golf lately so, it’s like, ‘Let’s go have fun and see where it goes (sort) of thing.’ That’s kind of the way I’m playing. You can play better that way, I think, and I’m enjoying it a lot.”

It’s part of why Stricker said he doesn’t feel the same type of pressure now.

“Obviously I’m feeling pressure this week. I want to play well. I want to compete and try to have the opportunity to win, but back then that’s a different level” Stricker said.

Nine other golfers have been in the same shoes as Stricker regarding the task at hand: win three consecutive senior major championships.

But none have done it. Bernhard Langer was the last to attempt it in 2017, but he tied for 18th in the U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Perhaps Stricker will end that drought and have another victory Miller Lite.

“To win here would mean a lot. It’s a major championship, first of all. It’s right here in our backyard and I’ve had history on this golf course,” Stricker said. “It would be a really cool, really cool spot to win.”

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