Displaying items by tag: Del Paso Country Club

 

Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento.

The United States Golf Association has announcedthat Sacramento's storied Del Paso Country Club will play host to the 2015 U.S. Senior Open Championship June 22-28, 2015, .

With a list of past champions that includes such legends as Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus and Hale Irwin, the U.S. Senior Open is considered the world's premier championship in men's senior (ages 50 and over) golf.

A recent economic impact study done on the championship estimates that the U.S. Senior Open will pump an estimated $17 million into the Sacramento region's economy over seven days. More than 150,000 spectators are expected at Del Paso over the full week.

Del Paso, which underwent an $11.5 million makeover in 2007, has held USGA events before - the 1957 and 1976 U.S. Women's Amateurs, the 1960 Senior Women's Amateur and the 1982 U.S. Women's Open.  Thirty-three years after the USGA last set up shop at Del Paso, the 2015 U.S. Senior Open will come to Northern California for the first time ever.

The U.S. Senior Open features more than 15 hours of live television coverage on network and cable television and will be seen in 50 countries worldwide.

Tom Watson is expected to be in the field for 2015 Senior Open at Del Paso.Current Champions Tour stars who can be expected to play in Sacramento are Fred Couples, Curtis Strange, Nick Price, Bernhard Langer, Peter Jacobsen, Mark O'Meara, Mark Calcavecchia and the ageless Irwin. Three-time major champion Vijay Singh turns 50 in 2013. Davis Love III turns 50 in 2014 and will be eligible to play, as will Sacramento native and Del Paso member Kevin Sutherland.

Since its inception in 1980, the U.S. Senior Open has been contested on some of the most famous courses in the world - Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C., Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Mich., Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills, Colo., and Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

"Sacramento looks forward to hosting the 2015 U.S. Senior Open," said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "It's an exciting opportunity both to support our regional economy and to showcase Sacramento on a national and international stage."

Del Paso Country Club opened in 1916, making it the oldest private course in the Sacramento Valley. Renowned golf-course designer Kyle Phillips oversaw the re-design that was completed in 2006. The course was lengthened to the extent that it now measures more than 7,100 yards from the back tees. The renovation included switching to rye-grass fairways and bent-grass greens and constructing a first-rate practice facility that will be popular with the U.S. Senior Open contestants.

"With the estimated hotel room nights upwards of 25,000, this will be one of the largest sporting events that Sacramento has ever hosted," said Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Steve Hammond.  "The duration of the tournament, coupled with the international television exposure, positions Sacramento to realize the benefits of this event even after its conclusion."

The field at Del Paso will feature 156 professionals and amateurs, including all of the top players on the Champions Tour.

In the years leading up to 2015, the U.S. Senior Open will be held at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Lake Orion, Mich. (2012); Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Neb. (2013); and Oak Tree National in Edmond, Okla. (2014).

 

Editor's Note: Readers anticipating a visit to the Sacramento area may want to check out Taste California Travel's Resource Directory. In it are links to the websites of hundreds of Lodging and Dining options, as well links to area wineries and brewpubs.