NORTON, Massachusetts – Four golfers with ties to Massachusetts will be in the field when the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship kicks off at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado beginning this Thursday.
The Championship Proper will feature two days of stroke play on June 28-29, with the top 60 players and ties making the cut to compete in another two rounds of stroke play on June 30 (Saturday) and July 1 (Sunday). The golfer with the lowest four-day total will be crowned champion.
All four of the competitors with ties to Massachusetts advanced to the Championship Proper at one of the 34 sectional qualifiers held across the United States between May 21 and June 11.
Included in that list are nine-time Mass Golf Player of the Year, Frank Vana, Jr., former Massachusetts Open champions Eric Egloff and John Elliot, and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who spent part of his final season in baseball with the Boston Red Sox.
Egloff, the 2005 Massachusetts Open Champion, earned medalist honors and Vana, Jr. the low-amateur title, at the only qualifier held in Massachusetts. That Bay State qualifier was contested at The Bay Club at Mattapoisett on June 5.
Elliot, the 1991 Massachusetts Open Champion, was originally named an alternate following the May 24 qualifier contested at Union, New Jersey’s Suburban Golf Club. Earlier this month, Elliot finished T24 at the 2018 Massachusetts Open Championship.
Smoltz, 51, emerged from a three-man playoff at the 18-hole qualifier contested at Georgia’s Planterra Ridge Golf Club on May 31. He spent 22 years in professional baseball, and all but his final season with the Atlanta Braves organization, accumulating a record of 213-155, with 154 career saves. He is the only Major League Baseball player to ever register 200 wins and 150 saves in a career.
This year’s U.S. Senior Open Championship marks the second career appearance for Egloff, after he advanced in 2016, while this will be the first appearance for Vana, Jr., Elliot and Smoltz.
All of the 151 competitors in the field will be competing for the Francis D. Ouimet Trophy, the legendary golfer from Brookline who famously won the 1913 U.S. Open title at the age of 20, which was contested at The Country Club, where Ouimet lived across the street from.
(All times MDT)
Frank Vana, Jr. (a) (Boxford, Mass.)
Round 1: Tee 1 – 7:10 a.m. | Round 2: Tee 10 – 12:40 p.m.
Eric Egloff (Silver Spring, Md.)
Round 1: Tee 1 – 8:55 a.m. | Round 2: Tee 10 – 2:25 p.m.
John Elliot (Bristol, Conn.)
Round 1: Tee 10 – 7:10 a.m. | Round 2: Tee 1 – 12:40 p.m.
John Smoltz (a) (Alpharetta, Ga.)
Round 1: Tee 10 – 7:21 a.m. | Round 2: Tee 1 – 12:51 p.m.
Thursday, June 28 (Stroke Play, Round 1, 18 holes)
Friday, June 29 (Stroke Play, Round 2, 18 holes)
Saturday, June 30 (Stroke Play, Round 3, 18 holes)
Sunday, July 1 (Stroke Play, Round 4, 18 holes)
• U.S. Senior Open Tee Times
• U.S. Senior Open Qualifying Results
• U.S. Senior Open History
• Tickets
Mass Golf will provide coverage of all its competitors in the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship at MassGolf.org and across its social media platforms. Follow @PlayMassGolf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest information. To join the conversation, be sure to use the hashtag #MassGolf and #USSeniorOpen
