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.
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.
The new No. 3 at SentryWorld, created during a 2013 renovation, plays out to what had been an unused peninsula that was covered with trees. (Courtesy of Jay Blasi)
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.
The routing for SentryWorld in Wisconsin after the 2013 renovation – the letters are areas of the greatest change, as described in the story below.(Courtesy of Jay Blasi)
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 11th 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.
A star-studded field has descended on Stevens Point, Wisconsin, for the 2023 U.S. Senior Open.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin – It had been 39 years since Jerry Kelly walked the pristine, manicured fairways and greens at SentryWorld.
Needless to say, his memory of the golf course was a bit foggy.
“It’s pretty much all been redone. I kind of remembered one of the par fives. The Flower Hole was No. 7 back then, I think,” Kelly said.
The Madison golfer was on the grounds last Thursday for his first look at the venue for this week’s U.S. Senior Open Championship, essentially cramming for a major test that could have many answers to the same question.
“I pretty much played at least 27, maybe 36 holes today,” he said during a phone interview shortly after Thursday’s lengthy practice session. “Hit three drivers off a bunch of tees. Hit utility, 3-wood, driver on a few other ones just because of bunkering and trying to hit it short. See if you want to squeeze something up, see if you want to get up close to it or you really want to lay back. A million putts from the centers of the greens out to all the corners – uphills, downhills, sidehills. Short-side bunker shots.”
And what did Kelly learn about the course he last played during the 1984 WIAA state tournament, when he shot 77-82 and finished in 10th place seven shots behind another state golfing legend – Steve Stricker?
“I think it’s about as classic of a Wisconsin parkland, wooded golf course as you’re going to find,” Kelly said. “What they’ve done with this golf course … there’s nothing tricked up about this golf course. The only tricked-up situation you could get into is set-up, and that’s entirely on the USGA side. This golf course is awesome.”
Here’s what Kelly had to say about the course, the state of his game heading into the major championship and his prediction for the winning score:
On the thick rough at SentryWorld
“It’s very uniform and it’s very thick. So even if they top it, those morning rounds with the wet grass it is going to be impossible really. A few guys with some good lies may be able to advance it 150, 170 but nobody’s going to chance it when they’re going over some of the water and into greens like that. There’s going to be a lot of punching it out of the rough and hitting wedge shots in. It is that thick and that deep. It’s Wisconsin. We know how to grow rough here.
“A lot of the guys were sending me pictures. It was up to their shins in some spots. And I’m like, ‘Guys, understand you have an illusion of getting a tournament course ready.’ You have to grow it out so it can be uniform once you do cut it. They’ve done a fantastic job. But holy crap, it is still really thick and really deep. … It’s gnarly right now. You’ve got so many strands that you have to go through that it’s definitely stopping the club here. It’s crazy stuff.”
On staying patient in a major
“It’s really going to be a cool championship and it’s going to be a U.S. Open style test. I’m going to have to have my patience hat on. I don’t always have that on. I lose patience hats all the time. I leave them in hotels. I leave them in my car. They’re all over the place. … But I have got absolutely nothing sideways about this golf course. I was talking to it all day because I was by myself. I had no one else to talk to but the golf course. I was like, ‘You are awesome.’ It’s fun to play.”
The fifth hole as seen at the Sentry World Golf Course in Stevens Point, Wis. on Monday, July 25, 2022. (Copyright USGA/Fred Vuich)
On the keys to winning
“No. 1, you have to get the ball in the fairway. I mean, that’s A-No. 1. You can’t play out of this rough to these greens. It’s absolutely not possible. You can’t even go at a bunch of these greens if you happen to put it in the rough with some of the water and some of the creeks and things like that. No. 2, if you do get the ball in the fairway there’s a few greens that slope away and you really have to pay attention to what you’re hitting into them and you may not be able to go fly something back to a pin. And it may come up short. And it may be like, ‘Oh, what’s he doing. It’s a terrible shot.’ But if I land it 5 feet further, it bounces forward and goes in the water. I did that on 12 today. Ball-striking is going to be key, but again fairway is going to be most key because these greens are very difficult.”
On finishing 11th at the American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge two weeks ago after a first-round 72
“I did this to myself at University Ridge. I was like, ‘Man, this is the hardest this place has ever played.’ I’m going, ‘You shoot 2, 3 under you’re golfing your ball here.’ Next thing you know there’s a 10-under the first day (by Justin Leonard). I played the front side and there’s no scoreboards on the front side, so I didn’t realize the guys were going low until I made the turn. I think I made the turn at even or 1-over, something like that, and I’m like ‘I’m in the game. Just get some birdies.’ I talked myself out of shooting low because I thought it was going to be a grind. These guys just attacked like they always do and blew by me so far on the first day and now I’m playing catch up and it just wasn’t a great situation. That’s one of the few times where I let myself think about a score. ‘Oh, it’s not going to be as low so I can just kind of make sure that I do the right stuff and do all this stuff,’ where normally I’m attacking the golf course.”
On the winning score this week
“You’re going to have to shoot low to win. I think there’s no question about that. Do I see a 20-under? I don’t. There’s going to be too many bogeys. There’s enough trouble around this golf course. There’s really no trouble around (University) Ridge. This there’s actually trouble and when you get in the rough, it’s a major penalty where it wasn’t there. I never put a number on things because of Mother Nature. If the wind blows, my goodness hitting the fairways is going to be tough. If the wind blows, distance control into those sections of greens is going to be tough. There’s an awful lot of slope that can bring balls back into water in a lot of different places. Whether it firms up or softens, there’s difficulty in both of them. If it blows and it’s cold, I’d say good luck at this place because it’s long. I am not a long hitter and I hit a lot of long clubs today. With that said, it’s the U.S. Open. We know what we’re in for when we sign up to these tournaments. That’s exactly what we want because it should separate the field quite a bit. It’s going to be an incredible finish.”
STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin – What do Arnold Palmer, Brett Favre and the Mona Lisa have in common? They each hold a connection to SentryWorld’s golf history.
As tens of thousands of golfers and fans start gathering at SentryWorld for the U.S. Senior Open, they’re about to step into more than 40 years of history and meticulously designed greens.
The Stevens Point Journal took a look back over 41 years of its archives for a deeper look at the history of golf at SentryWorld.
In the beginning, there were trees, rocks and swampland
SentryWorld final round on the 1982 layout, assistant pro John Knoll (left) in a caddie suit from 1982 opening day, head professional Brian Dumler (center) and superintendent Gary Tanko (right) standing at the tee of the “flower hole” with beds removed.
Work on the site started in March 1981, turning a rocky swampland area full of trees into a championship-level golf course. Crews cleared out many trees and turned their rock problem to SentryWorld’s advantage, preserving some in their natural setting, while crushing others to use on cart paths and service roads. Construction took a year and a half – half the time it took to build most courses at the time.
A Stevens Point Journal article from Aug. 19, 1982, said SentryWorld’s new golf course turned a desolate area into a majestic splendor, showing a model of modern technological advances and human resources. Even before its opening, golf experts were predicting the 200-acre par-72 course would rise to levels of other premier courses.
Four self-contained golf courses in one site were built to major U.S. tournament standards, setting up SentryWorld as a challenging course for skilled players, but with three other tee options that would accommodate less-talented players.
Bob Reith, a SentryWorld professional, called the course challenging and elegant, and said SentryWorld’s flower hole, featuring 80,000 flowers, was the only hazard he enjoyed looking at.
The entire project, including an indoor sports center, cost about $10 million and featured 80 acres of an employee park, four lakes, a softball field with lights, six lighted outdoor tennis courts and a practice driving range with practice bunker and practice putting green. The project also included 12,000 feet of fencing, 83 sand bunkers with 5,000 tons of bunker sand, 800 new trees and 5 acres of flower beds.
‘My Mona Lisa’
Emma Zhao as she walks down the 16th hole during the second round of stroke play at the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
Renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones II designed SentryWorld’s course. At the time, he said he had designed about 100 golf courses, and he added to his father’s legacy of 300 courses designed throughout his career.
An Aug. 21, 1982, article said Jones was regarded as the “Picasso” of his profession, but the architect referenced Leonardo da Vinci while talking about SentryWorld.
“I like to refer to this as my Mona Lisa,” Jones said during a press conference held ahead of the grand opening. “This course comes so close to perfection the way it is now that we really don’t have to do much more with it. It’s pure and unique.”
Jones went on to say he wanted to set a new standard for golf courses in central Wisconsin, considering various skill levels while designing the course with tournaments in mind. Jones called Sentry Insurance CEO John Joanis his co-author on designing the course. Joanis said SentryWorld would welcome hosting future PGA tournaments, but PGA officials would not be allowed to alter or modify the course.
The course was also designed to accommodate 70,000 spectators, and Jones said the course would add a dimension to the local economy.
“Our impact here is already strong with a payroll of $35-$40 million,” he said in the article. “It won’t change the economy but will add to the desirability of people coming here.”
The golf world took notice
The par-4 3rd hole at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisc.
The course officially opened to the public Aug. 30, 1982, and by Oct. 8, 1982, 400 golfers played at the 18-hole facility.
In less than two years, SentryWorld began appearing on lists of notable golf courses. An April 18, 1984, article said SentryWorld was drawing national media attention.
“If this keeps up, there aren’t going to be many places in the United States unaware of the name and location of Stevens Point,” the article said.
According to the article, USA Today asked the American Society of Golf Course Architects at its annual meeting to put together a state-by-state list of best-designed courses. The ASGCA came up with a list of 130 golf courses, just 1% of 13,084 courses operating across the country. The group chose 65 designed before 1982 and 65 built since 1982. SentryWorld was the only Wisconsin course selected for the list, and it was also named one of the top six courses in the country.
By Aug. 1, 1986, SentryWorld had hosted junior tournaments, its own tournament, and the United States Golf Association’s women’s amateur public links meet. The Wisconsin Division of Tourism brought travel writers in as part of a Wisconsin Great Golf Escape Familiarization Tour, where travel writers from Wisconsin, Ohio, and Illinois added SentryWorld to a list of places to visit.
Bob Puhala of the Chicago Sun-Times said visiting SentryWorld was a fantastic time.
“Chicago is busy and many golfers are looking for a nice course to golf at,” he said in the article. “SentryWorld is a wonderful place to come for a weekend trip.”
Sentry Challenge Cup hosted top golfers like Arnold Palmer
On April 18, 1985, SentryWorld announced its plans to host a mini tournament on-site, originally calling it the “Sentry Shootout.” Tournament organizers brought in leading golf professionals like Arnold Palmer, Miller Barber, Bob Toski, Dave Marr, Jan Stephenson and Betsy King for an event that would serve as a test for how SentryWorld could host larger events in the future. At the time, SentryWorld estimated it could handle 3,000 to 5,000 spectators between parking and food.
Throughout planning, the tournament name changed to the Sentry Challenge Cup. On Aug. 27, 1985, 5,000 people watched the six professionals play for a $50,000 prize.
Russian delegates travel to SentryWorld for research
In a June 16, 1987, article, Jones said SentryWorld’s golf course was still one of the best-kept secrets in the nation, but that secret didn’t last long. By December that year, Dave Hoffman, a golf magazine publisher who owned a golf shop in California wrote a book called “America’s Greatest Golf Courses,” and he wrote that SentryWorld had joined an elite minority of venues that offered a magnificent test of golf available for the public.
In November 1988, a group of Russian delegates traveled to SentryWorld for research. Russia planned on building the first 18-hole championship golf course in the U.S.S.R., about 18 miles west of Moscow. Russia was aiming to open its $3 million facility, including tennis, swimming, aerobics, bowling, fishing, winter activities and a hotel in 1991.
While the group also toured courses in New Jersey, Illinois, Minnesota and California, the group wanted to visit Stevens Point because of a similar climate and terrain that included water and a forest with birch and pine trees. The Russian group also hired Jones to design their course.
Brett Favre took to the greens (at least) twice
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre poses with wide receiver Don Beebe, SentryWorld head pro Brian Dumler and assistant pro Brian Steinke. Favre was a regular at SentryWorld in 1997, the year of his third straight MVP and mentioned on his TV show that SentryWorld is one of his favorite courses.
A Nov. 11, 1997, article declared Brett Favre liked playing at SentryWorld.
The Green Bay Packers quarterback flew to Stevens Point twice in September and October that year to play at SentryWorld, according to Stevens Point Municipal Airport logs.
The article said after team practice, Favre and a few buddies flew into Stevens Point, got in 27 holes of golf and then flew back to Green Bay.
According to information from SentryWorld, Favre was a regular at SentryWorld that year and mentioned on television SentryWorld was one of his favorite courses.
SentryWorld underwent major renovations
SentryWorld closed its courses at the end of the 2012 season for a series of renovations, including redesigning several holes and adding new grass on greens and new sand in the sand traps. One of the focuses of the renovation was to make the course more accessible for rookie players.
Jones, who designed the original course, also designed the renovations.
In 2013, SentryWorld announced plans to renovate its sports center, originally built in the early 1980s, to make it a tourist destination and a hub for larger events. SentryWorld also announced its field house, pro shop, Sport Plate restaurant and meeting and banquet space would be renovated.
Renovations were finished by Sept. 8, 2014, but golfers only played by invitation for the rest of the season.
By the end of 2014, SentryWorld reopened its indoor driving range, and the full course reopened May 2, 2015.
While the pandemic affected SentryWorld’s golf season in 2020, the golf course remained closed through 2021 as crews spent the year renovating the course ahead of the 2023 U.S. Senior Open and constructing The Inn at SentryWorld.
The Inn at SentryWorld, overlooking the golf course’s 18th fairway, opened on March 29, 2022, and the course with its renovated layout opened on June 1, 2022.
Today, SentryWorld is well-connected
Grace Summerhays, left, fist bumps her brother Preston Summerhays, right, after winning on the 18th hole during the round of 32 at the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. on Thursday, July 25, 2019. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
Sentry became the title sponsor of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2018. In an Aug. 24, 2022, article the PGA Tour and Sentry announced they extended that sponsorship through 2035. While the Tournament of Champions began in 1953 in Las Vegas, the tournament has been held at the Plantation Course at the Kapaula Resort in Maui since 1999.
Last January, mayors of Stevens Point and Kapaula, Hawaii, signed proclamations declaring January as Maui-Stevens Point Connected Communities month.
Stevens Point also learned two years ago it would host the U.S. Senior Open. The USGA announced in February 2021 it would host the 43rd U.S. Senior Open Championship June 29 to July 2 at SentryWorld. The U.S. Senior Open marks the third USGA championship at SentryWorld, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in 1986 and the U.S. Girls Junior Championship in 2019.
“The Senior Open is a major championship and it’s widely regarded as the major golf championship in senior golf,” Mike James, general manager of SentryWorld and vice president of Sentry Services told the Stevens Point Journal in February 2021. “We’re excited to host the Senior Open and really showcase SentryWorld at that major championship level. We’re proud of our golf course. We’re proud of our authentic, parkland-style golf course. We’re looking forward to showing it to the world.”
Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.
Harrington had a six-shot lead at one point in the final round before holding on to win by one.
Padraig Harrington started the final round of the 2022 U.S. Senior Open with a five-shot lead. He stretched the lead to six with a birdie on the eighth hole.
But that’s when Steve Stricker, whose U.S. squad demolished Harrington’s team at the 2021 Ryder Cup, got to work.
Stricker, who already has one senior major this season, made birdies on Nos. 8, 9, 12, 14, 17 and 18 to finish at 9 under, one shot off the lead. He was three holes ahead of Harrington, who was sputtering along and had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 but got a much needed birdie on the 15th hole to get to 10 under.
From there, Harrington parred his way home, securing a one-shot win and capturing his first senior major.
Harrington’s last win came five years, eight months and three days ago as he last hoisted a trophy at the 2016 Portugal Masters on the DP World Tour.
He now has four professional majors, adding this U.S. Senior Open to his two Open Championships (2007, 2008) as well as the 2008 PGA Championship.
Harrington is the first international winner of the U.S. Senior Open since Colin Montgomerie did it in 2014.
Stricker shot the best round of the day Sunday with a 6-under 65 and finished solo second. Mark Hensby was solo third at 4 under.
Champions tour rookie Rob Labritz, who probably had the most fun this week, finished at 3 under in a three-way tie for fourth. He was playing just his 12th Champions event and second USGA event. The last USGA event he played coming back in 1988. He was medalist honors at PGA Tour Champions Q-School last December.
Harrington all but locked up the 42nd U.S. Senior Open title with a 5-under par 66 Saturday, good for a five-shot lead.
Sure, it was cool to see Padraig Harrington run away from the field and all but lock up the 42nd U.S. Senior Open title with a 5-under par 66 Saturday (good for a five-shot lead with 18 holes to go) here at Saucon Valley Country Club.
But there was plenty more going on before the television cameras rolled that registered on the cool meter.
Such as:
Really? Just like that?
Watching Miguel Angel Jimenez, who drew a nice crowd despite not being in contention, chip in for birdie on the par 5, 6th hole made us duffers understand even more why we’re duffers.
The cooler part was how nonchalantly he did it. He wasn’t smoking his usual cigar at that point (the stogie would come later in his round), but he simply strolled up to the flag to get a look, walked back to his ball (which was about 10 yards off the green, and knocked it in.
A tip of the cap and a bow followed, then a smile, and off to the next tee.
Not so fast
Golfers like it quiet and when the door to a portable toilet slammed as Jerry Kelly was in his backswing on the fifth tee, the always affable Kelly didn’t flinch. Or grumble. Or yell, like so many others do.
He just stepped back, regrouped, and proceeded to crush one down the right side of the fairway.
“Carte” blanche
Over two decades ago, Casey Martin caused an uproar in the golf world when he used a cart.
Here, a handful of players, including Scott Verplank, are using carts and nobody seems to care.
Players on the Senior Tour are “encouraged” to walk the course, but carts are permitted.
Thanks, mate
Australian Stuart Appleby did one young fan a favor by reaching into the cooler provided to the players on each tee and grabbing a couple bottles of water and handing them over.
With temperatures in the 90s, it was a really nice gesture.
Early birds
It’s easy to show up later in the day to watch the final groups (the last pairing didn’t go off until 2:55 p.m.), but kudos to those who made it for the morning play.
A 3-over par 74 left Rocco Mediate in a tie for 15th Saturday heading into the final round of the 42nd U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley Country Club.
Players like Jim Furyk, Mark O’Meara, Colin Montgomerie and Vijay Singh were in the morning wave and the fans showed up to see some of their favorites.
Big Easy turns back the clock
Hearing a dad tell his sons to watch “that guy” and see how easy he makes it look was cool and funny at the same time.
Who knows if the guy knew that Ernie Els’ nickname is the “Big Easy”? It didn’t really matter.
What mattered was how the 67 Els carded (tied for the second-lowest round of the day) moved him from a tie for 13th into sole possession of fourth at 4-under par heading into Sunday’s final round.
And speaking of rolling it
Ken Tanigawa’s sixvstraight birdies (on holes seven through 12) not only rocketed him up the leaderboard but also set a U.S. Senior Open record for consecutive birdies.
He finished the day with a 2-under par 69 and heads into Sunday in a tie for 13th.
Rob Labritz fist bumps his caddie on the 15th hole during the 2022 U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley C.C. (Old Course) in Bethlehem, Pa. (Steven Gibbons/USGA)
Puttin’ on the Labritz
Rob Labritz continues to be the feel-good story of this tournament. (In full disclosure, I’d never heard of him, either).
The 51-year-old Champions Tour rookie, who had to go through qualifying to even get into this field, shot his third-straight 2-under par 69 Saturday and finds himself tied for second place with Gene Sauers at 6-under par.
Not bad for a guy who never played on the PGA Tour (although he did play in eight PGA Championships, twice finishing as low club professional) and is making just his 12th Champions Tour start.
Do it again Sunday
The USGA moved the tee on the 10th hole up, shortening the par 4 to just 284 yards, and enticing every player to try and drive the green.
Some did, some didn’t, but the crowd loved it nonetheless. Let’s hope there’s another drivable par 4 in the mix for Sunday’s final round.
Truer words were …
Saucon Valley’s perfect fairways, glass-like greens and overall pristine conditioning led one fan to sum things up perfectly.
“This place looks nothing like the course I play Sunday mornings.”
It’s setting up to be a battle of the 2021 Ryder Cup captains at the U.S. Senior Open.
It’s setting up to be a battle of the 2021 Ryder Cup captains at the U.S. Senior Open.
Padraig Harrington posted a bogey-free 65 that featured six birdies Friday to get to 6 under after two rounds and take a one-shot lead over Steve Stricker at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Stricker fired a second-round 69 despite a double-bogey 7 on his sixth hole to finish at 5 under.
Stricker and Harrington finished 1-2 at the first major on the PGA Tour Champions’ 2022 schedule at the Regions Tradition in May, but it was a runaway, six-shot win for Stricker, who led his team to a Ryder Cup rout over Harrington’s Great Britain & Ireland squad.
Maybe this time will be different for Harrington, who is seeking his first win in his 11th outing on the senior circuit.
Rob Labritz is in solo third after two days. Steven Alker, who has four wins and 17 top-10s in 20 starts since joining the Champions tour, shot a 67 to get to 3 under. He’s among a group of five golfers tied for fourth.
Also in that group is Jay Haas, who bested his age by one during Thursday’s first round. He shot a 72 on Friday. Defending U.S. Senior Open champ Jim Furyk shot a and is tied for 54th and made the cut on the number at 5 over.
In his 304th tournament on the PGA Tour Champions, Bernhard Langer accomplished a first.
Bernhard Langer joined the PGA Tour Champions in 2007. He’s amassed 43 wins on the circuit, second all time. He’s the leading money winner on the tour with $32,860,401 in on-course earnings.
But Friday, Langer, 64, achieved a first in his 304th tournament on the senior circuit.
He missed a cut.
Langer posted scores of 74-75 at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, over the first two days of the U.S. Senior Open to finish at 7 over, tied for 71st. He missed the cut by two strokes and undoubtedly felt awkward driving away from the course on a Friday, knowing he won’t be back for the weekend.
It should be noted that most Champions tour events don’t have a cut. The U.S. Open, along with four other senior majors, are tournaments that do have cuts.
Bernhard Langer has been playing senior majors for the last 14 years. This is the first time he won't be around for the weekend — MC for the first time after 64 senior majors. Legend.
Langer’s opening round this week had two bogeys and a triple bogey. Friday, it was worse, as he carded four bogeys and a double bogey. He had just four birdies over two days.
The only other time Langer didn’t finish a senior event was when he had a WD in 2015 ACE Group Classic.
