INDIANA — In a sense, Wednesday turned into a battle of survival for those attempting to advance in U.S. Senior Open Qualifying.
With three different weather suspensions due to lightning and heavy rains over Indiana Country Club, ten players earned an opportunity to compete in Final Qualifying for the 46th U.S. Senior Open.
The penultimate group to finish Wednesday, David Brown and Brent Will, emerged atop the rest of the pack, with each player earning co-low scorer honors and solidifying their spots in the next stage by posting 1-over scores of 72.
“Everyone had to deal with the weather,” said Brown, who earlier in the week was victorious in the WPGA’s first Senior Series event at Hannastown Golf Club. “You just try to hang in there and do your best.”
For Will, the suspension of play came at an advantageous time.
“I thought I was in the mix at the turn,” said Will. “My son was telling me the scores, but I didn’t want to know. And then I made a triple (bogey) on 12 and thought, 'my gosh, I’m out of it.' He said, ‘no, you’re fine.’ And that’s when the delay happened, right after that.”
Play was initially delayed at 9:50 a.m. due to lighting, a little over an hour into play. It was briefly stopped again later due to heavy rain and then a lengthy suspension hit just before 4 p.m. following a steady downpour.
“We got to come in and relax a bit and then kind of reset," said Will of the final pause in play. "I came back out of the break and made a 12-footer for par. Once I made that, I was like, ‘let’s just par in and see what happens.’”
Brown, who has won three WPGA Amateur titles and four WPGA Senior Amateur championships, played in a U.S. Senior Open in 2012 at Indianwood Golf and Country Club in Michigan.
“I’m originally from Somerset and always followed West Penn Golf and saw his name in everything,” said Will of Brown. “He’s a legend. It was the first time I met him, first time I got to play with him. He’s a true gentleman. It was spectacular to watch him.
“I mean, the first four holes, he made like 120 feet worth of putts. I was like, ‘oh gosh, here we go.’”
Brown’s putting prowess was particularly impressive due to the devious greens of Indiana Country Club, widely regarded as some of the most difficult in the region.
“The greens were spectacular,” Brown said. “If you hit a good putt, you had a chance to make it.”
For Will, it is his first time advancing in U.S. Senior Open qualifying. He was an alternate after U.S. Open Final Qualifying years ago.
The two men will be joined by eight others in Final Qualifying, with hopes of playing in the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio from July 2-5.
Garrett Frank and Kevin Shields each shot 2-over, Kham Vong and Erik Bertrand were 3-over, John Aber, Scott Berliner and Jeff Mallette were 4-over and Rob Moss was 5-over. Jerry Mulubah and William Smith will be alternates, shooting 5-over and 6-over, respectively.
The ten players moving on will do so with the ambition to reach the premier competition for senior golfers in the country. And for Brown, it’s a chance to return and add to a career full of accomplishments.
“I remember Tom Watson holding the door open for my son when we went in the men’s locker room,” said Brown of his last trip to the U.S. Senior Open. “That’s a good memory.”
For any media inquiries, please contact WPGA Director of Communications Josh Rowntree.
