The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced The Broadmoor Golf Club, in Colorado Springs, Colo., as the host site for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship. This will be the eighth USGA championship contested at The Broadmoor and the sixth on the resort’s East Course. The dates for the championship are June 28-July 1.
“The Broadmoor has been a great partner with the USGA and a friend to golf on the international, national and collegiate levels since the 1920s,” said Diana Murphy, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “The U.S. Senior Open is senior golf’s most coveted championship and we know the East Course will test the players thoroughly as they compete for the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy.”
Donald Ross designed Broadmoor’s East Course, which opened for play in 1918. The course sits on the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of more than 6,400 feet. The East Course is now a combination of holes from Ross’ original layout and holes that were designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1952. The Broadmoor features two other courses, the West and the Mountain, and the resort’s landmark hotel, a 700-room, 18-restaurant facility located on the edge of Cheyenne Lake.
The Broadmoor’s East Course was the site of the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, when Eduardo Romero became the second Argentinean to win the Senior Open, joining 1980 champion Roberto De Vicenzo. Romero finished at 6-under-par 274, including a third-round 65, to post a four-stroke victory over Fred Funk.
In 1959, Jack Nicklaus defeated Charles Coe, 1 up, to win the first of his two U.S. Amateur Championships. The 19-year-old Nicklaus made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 36th hole to clinch the final match, a stroke he says gave him the confidence to become the game’s greatest major champion. Nicklaus would go on to claim eight USGA championships, including the 1991 and 1993 Senior Opens.
The U.S. Women’s Open Championship has been held twice on the East Course. In 1995, Annika Sorenstam shot a final-round 68 to edge Meg Mallon by one stroke (278-279) to win the first of her three U.S. Women’s Open titles. Sorenstam, who won on the 50th anniversary of the championship, became the 13th player to make the U.S. Women’s Open her first American professional victory.
In 2011, So Yeon Ryu of the Republic of Korea defeated fellow Korean Hee Kyung Seo in a three-hole aggregate playoff, the first time the championship used this format to decide the winner. The two players were tied at 3-under-par 281 after 72 holes. Ryu birdied the last two holes of the playoff to win by three strokes.
The Broadmoor’s East Course also hosted the 1962 Curtis Cup Match, when the USA defeated Great Britain and Ireland, 8-1. The USA Team included JoAnne Gunderson Carner, an eight-time USGA champion, seven-time USGA champion Anne Quast Sander, two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur winner Barbara McIntire and Judy Bell, a future USGA president.
In 1967, The Broadmoor’s West Course hosted the U.S. Amateur and Robert B. Dickson edged Vinny Giles by one shot when the championship was conducted in an all-stroke play format. In 1982, the resort’s South Course (now the Mountain Course) hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur, as Juli Inkster defeated Cathy Hanlon, 4 and 3, for her third consecutive title.
The club has also hosted five NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships (1953, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1969).
“The Broadmoor is thrilled to have the opportunity to host its eighth USGA championship, the 2018 United States Senior Open,” said Russ Miller, Broadmoor’s director of golf. “Not only will it be a time to watch and enjoy the greatest senior golfers in the world, it is a tremendous accolade to the city of Colorado Springs and the state of Colorado to be chosen as its site. We are privileged to once again stage such a prestigious and highly recognizable worldwide golf championship.”
The U.S. Senior Open will be the 32nd USGA championship held in Colorado. The USGA last conducted a championship in the Centennial State in 2012, when Cherry Hills Country Club hosted the U.S. Amateur.
The U.S. Senior Open Championship was first played in 1980. The championship is open to any professional and amateur golfer who is 50 years of age with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 3.4. In 2016, the U.S. Senior Open will be contested at Scioto Country Club, in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 11-14. Salem Country Club, in Peabody, Mass., will host the 2017 U.S. Senior Open on June 29-July 2.
USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE BROADMOOR GOLF CLUB
1959 U.S. Amateur (East Course): Jack Nicklaus def. Charles Coe, 1 up
1962 Curtis Cup Match (East): USA def. Great Britain and Ireland, 8-1
1967 U.S. Amateur (West Course): Robert B. Dickson by one stroke over Marvin “Vinny” Giles III (285-286)
1982 U.S. Women’s Amateur (South Course): Juli Simpson Inkster def. Cathy Hanlon, 4 and 3
1995 U.S. Women’s Open (East): Annika Sorenstam by one stroke over Meg Mallon (278-279)
2008 U.S. Senior Open (East): Eduardo Romero by four strokes over Fred Funk (274-278)
2011 U.S. Women’s Open (East): So Yeon Ryu def. Hee Kyung Seo (281-3-4-3 – 281-3-6-4)