For the third time since 1992 the U.S. Senior Open will return to Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, PA. It will be the eighth USGA championship hosted by the country club. It’ll be an interesting week for Canadians with both Stephen Ames and Golf Town Ambassador Mike Weir looking to build on strong finishes at the Senior PGA Championship.
The Contenders
Mike Weir
Coming off a missed cut at the RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf and Country Club, Golf Town Ambassador Weir looks to bounce back at Saucon Valley Country Club. In 2021, Weir finished T2 at the U.S. Senior Open, three shots back of the champion Jim Furyk.
Stephen Ames
Coming off a great Kitchenaid Senior PGA Championship, Ames is having a terrific year on PGA Tour Champions with five Top 10 finishes on the year. He has two PGA Tour Champions wins to his credit, but hasn’t won a major. Could this be the week?
Steve Stricker and Steve Alker
The two PGA TOUR Champions major winners—Steve Stricker (Regions Tradition) and Steven Alker (KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship)—look to be contenders once again for the week in the Lehigh Valley.
Other notables
Charles Schwab Cup Money List front runners Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bernhard Langer, and Jerry Kelly also look to be front runners for the championship win.
The Venue
Located in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, the massive Saucon Valley Country Club features 60-holes (three 18-holes courses and a six-hole course) numerous restaurants, swimming pools, racquet courts on more than 850 acres of land. Measuring more than 7,000 yards, The Old Course at Saucon Valley celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and was originally designed by British architect Herbert Strong. The Old Course has undergone minor renovations by William Gordon and then by Perry Maxwell and most recently by Tom Marzolf of the Fazio Group.
In addition to this year’s U.S. Senior Open Championship, the USGA has chosen the Old Course for seven of its national championships: the 1951 U.S. Amateur; the 1983 U.S. Junior Amateur; the 1987 U.S. Senior Amateur; two U.S. Senior Opens (1992 and 2000); the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.