U.S. Senior Open: Ams Mark Strickland and Christian Raynor poised to play the weekend
Mark Strickland (USGA photo)
It's a story we've seen play out many times before at the U.S. Senior Open.
25 or more amateurs advance through the 18-hole qualifying to earn a berth in the national championship for players aged 50 and over. But usually, just one or two make the cut.
The same could also be said of PGA professionals with no PGA Champions Tour or other exemption status -- they advance to the tournament alongside the amateurs at various qualifying sites around the U.S., but aren't able to survive the USGA setups. That's especially true this week where Sentry World in Wisconsin is yielding so few good scores.
If you want to learn more take a look at our in-depth analysis of
why amateurs have a tough time competing against senior pros. But enough negativity for now. Let's talk about two guys that will play the weekend - Mark Strickland from California and Christian Raynor from Georgia.
The duo posted 8-over totals for 36 holes, and will fight it out for low amateur honors over the weekend. That will give us someone to cheer for, besides emotional favorite Bernhard Langer, who is defying any definition of getting old with his play in Wisconsin.
ABOUT THE U.S. Senior Open
The U.S. Senior Open is one of 14 national
championships conducted by the USGA. Open
to amateurs and professionals who have
reached
their 50th birthday as of the first day of the
championship.
The Senior Open was
first
played in 1980 with a purse of, get this, just
$100,000. Roberto Vincenzo of Argentina was
the
inaugural champion (winning $20,000), and
Arnold
Palmer was a popular winner the following year
in
1981 at Oakland Hills.
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