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Scott Silvestri
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920-457-4441, Ext. 77741
FAX: 920-459-1656
scott.silvestri@kohler.com
Far Hills, N.J. – Whistling Straits, the critically-acclaimed links course along the shores of Lake Michigan in Kohler, Wis., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2007 U.S. Senior Open Championship. The championship is scheduled from July 5-8.
Designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1998, the Straits Course at Whistling Straits is located along two and one-half miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, 60 miles north of Milwaukee. Vistas of the Great Lake are dramatic from each of its 18 holes. Using land that was previously an abandoned Army base, the design employs extensive sand dunes and fescue fairways to compliment the swirling winds. Its two nines are parallel to Lake Michigan and play from 10 feet to 80 feet above lake level.
“We at Kohler are excited to host this major Championship,” said Herbert V. Kohler, Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Kohler Co. ” The world’s most seasoned veterans of this game will be tested by a course that honors the origins and early character of golf. There’s nothing in tournament play on this side of the Atlantic like Whistling Straits.”
Site of the 2004 PGA Championship this August, Whistling Straits (www.whistlingstraits.com) was host to the 1999 PGA Club Professional Championship. Its sister venue, Blackwolf Run, hosted the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open. This will be the first USGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
The U.S. Senior Open is open to any professional or amateur, 50 or older who has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4. Among the notable winners are Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin. Bruce Lietzke won the 2003 Championship.
Prior to 2007, the U.S. Senior Open will be played at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Mo., from July 29-August 1; at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, from July 28-31, 2005; and at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., from July 6-9, 2006.
The USGA conducts 13 national championships each year, including the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open. Ten of these championships are strictly for amateurs. Visit www.usga.org/champ/ for more information.
