• WHAT: The 29th annual U.S. Senior Open.
• WHEN: July 28-Aug. 3. Practice rounds Monday through Wednesday, championship rounds Thursday through Sunday. Tee times begin at 7:15 a.m. Thursday and Friday.
• WHERE: The Broadmoor Golf Club (East Course) in Colorado Springs.
• PURSE: To be determined. Purse in 2007 was $2.6 million, with $470,000 going to the winner.
• COURSE SPECIFICS: 7,254 yards (the longest in U.S. Senior Open history), par-70. Originally designed by Donald Ross and was opened in 1918. Graduated rough will be 1½, 2½ and 4 inches long. Greens will run 10.5-11 on the Stimpmeter.  Championship setup results in course rating of 74.3 and a Slope rating of 140.
• FIELD: 2,810 entries (from players 50 and older as of July 31) were originally received. 156, including 30 amateurs, will compete at the Broadmoor.
• LOCAL PLAYERS IN FIELD: Audie Dean, David Delich, Dale Douglass, R.W. Eaks, Gary Hallberg, Hale Irwin (honorary chairman of tournament), Craig Stadler, Mark Wiebe.
• FORMER CHAMPIONS IN FIELD: Brad Bryant (2007),  Allen Doyle (2005, 2006), Peter Jacobsen (2004), Don Pooley (2002), Bruce Fleisher (2001), Hale Irwin (1998, 2000), Dave Eichelberger (1999), Graham Marsh (1997), Dave Stockton (1996), Larry Laoretti (1992), Dale Douglass (1986).
• OTHER NOTABLE ENTRANTS: Ben Crenshaw, Hubert Green, Jay Haas, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman, Mark O’Meara, Curtis Strange, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller.
• FORMAT: 72 holes of stroke play, with a cut to the low 60 and ties -- and everyone within 10 shots of the lead -- after 36 holes. A playoff, if needed, will be a three-hole aggregate.
• USGA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AT BROADMOOR: 1959 U.S. Amateur (won by Jack Nicklaus on East Course), 1967 U.S. Amateur (Bob Dickson on West Course), 1982 U.S. Women’s Amateur (Juli Inkster on South Course), 1995 U.S. Women’s Open (Annika Sorenstam on East Course). The Broadmoor is scheduled to host the U.S. Women’s Open in 2011.
• TICKETS: Available at 2008ussenioropen.com, at King Soopers stores or by calling 877-281-OPEN. Individual-day tickets are $20 per day Monday through Wednesday, $40 per day Thursday and Friday, and $45 per day Saturday and Sunday. Weeklong passes start at $155. Packages with four any-one-day tickets are $135 each. Kids 17 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a ticketed adult. They also can receive a free cap and lunch. The front row of every bleacher is reserved for kids.
• TELEVISION: 14 hours total. Thursday and Friday on ESPN from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on NBC from 1 to 4 p.m.
• DRIVING RANGE EXHIBITIONS: Hale Irwin Tuesday at 2 p.m.; trick-shot artist Dennis Walters Wednesday at 2 p.m.
• ON THE WEB: ussenioropen.com

      There would be a nice symmetry to it.

      Dale Douglass, who grew up in Fort Morgan, lived in Boulder and now resides in Castle Rock, could take his final bow as a tournament player in Colorado.

      Douglass hasn’t decided for sure, but he does acknowledge that his final event as a tour player could be the U.S. Senior Open, which will be played July 31-Aug. 3 at the Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs.

     “If I make the cut, I may play some more this year,” Douglass said in a recent phone interview.  “If not, that might be it.

    “I’ve had a 45-year career (as a tour player). I ought to be allowed to quit.”

    The former University of Colorado golfer, 72, has been gearing down in recent years. Douglass has played in just three Champions Tour events this year after competing in 11 in 2007. He said he will be exempt for next year’s U.S.

Douglass May Take Final Bow at Senior Open

Former CU player will be oldest competitor in the field at the Broadmoor

By Gary Baines

Colorado Golf Journal, Saturday, July 26, 2008

Dale Douglass

Senior Open and Senior PGA, and leaves open the possibility of playing in those events. But in any case, whether it be next week or next year, the end of Douglass’ competitive career is near.

     “I’ve been home most of this year and am quite comfortable doing that,” he said. “If I do (bow out), I won’t have a press conference and get all teary-eyed.”

     It would be fitting in some ways for Douglass to wrap up his career in Colorado, at a U.S. Senior Open, and at the Broadmoor.

     After all, he’s lived much of his life in Colorado, one of the biggest victories of his career came at the 1986 U.S. Senior Open, and he won a tournament at the Broadmoor in 1983, the Frontier Airlines Open. In addition, Douglass’ father, Hal, served as shop manager and the head pro at the South course at the Broadmoor for 18 years until his retirement in 1991. Also, Dale played in the 1959 U.S. Amateur at the Broadmoor, falling just short of a matchup with eventual champion Jack Nicklaus.

   “I would think it would be a good time,” he said of the possibility of this year’s Senior Open being his finale.

     Douglass, who turned pro in 1960,  had a long career on the PGA Tour, playing 444 events from 1960 to 1990, winning three times and finishing second on seven occasions. But he really made an impression on the then-Senior Tour when he turned 50 in March 1986.

    In his first three events on the Senior Tour, Douglass lost in a playoff then won twice. In all, he chalked up four victories in 1986, with the biggest of those being a one-shot win over Gary Player at the U.S. Senior Open.

    “After having a lull on the regular tour, winning tournaments that first year (on the Senior circuit) was terrific,” Douglass said.

       Douglass ended up winning 11 times on the Champions Tour, the last coming as a 60-year-old in 1996.

     A tournament that he didn’t win but was nevertheless very memorable was the last U.S. Senior Open held in Colorado, in 1993 at Cherry Hills Country Club. Douglass shared the lead on the front nine of the final round, but a balky putter led to a fourth-place finish, three shots behind playing partner Nicklaus.

      “I have great memories from there and felt like I should have won,” Douglass said. “A lot of good things happened there, and my dad and a number of other guys (who were close to me) were there.”

      If sheer longevity is a measure of a career, Douglass stands with the best. Going into 2008, Douglass ranked fifth in all-time tournaments on the PGA and Champions Tour combined, with 1,036. Only Miller Barber, Dave Eichelberger, Charles Coody and Arnold Palmer had more.

     Douglass is the oldest player entered in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open. In fact, he’ll be playing in his 23rd consecutive U.S. Senior Open, the second-longest streak in history. Only Palmer (25 years, 1981-2005) has more consecutive Senior Open starts.

    “That’s not necessarily one of Arnold’s achievements that I want to tie,” Douglass noted.

    Douglass said he’s been practicing hard leading up to the U.S. Senior Open. Prior to late July, he had gone down to the Broadmoor four times, in large part to try to familiarize himself again with the tricky greens. “They’ll drive you crazy,“ he said.

     “Every time I play, I’d like to play well enough to be competitive,” Douglass emphasized. “But I’m not sure I know what that means anymore. Competitive enough to win? I don’t know if that’s realistic. Competitive enough not to embarrass myself? Hopefully.”

     Douglass last made the cut at the U.S. Senior Open in 2005, when he finished 37th.

U.S. SENIOR OPEN