Sacramento's Del Paso Country Club To Host 2015 U.S. Senior Open
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Sacramento has landed a major sports event. Del Paso Country Club announced Monday that it will host the 2015 U.S. Senior Open Championship.
The event to be held June 22-28, 2015 is expected to have a $17 million economic impact. The U.S. Senior Open is considered the world's premier championship in men's senior (ages 50 and over) golf.
"We are extremely excited to be hosting one of the most prestigious events in all of golf," said Dan Spector, a Del Paso member who will serve as chairman of the 2015 U.S. Senior Open. "We think the entire Sacramento community will embrace one of the biggest and most important sporting events to ever come to our town."
Del Paso Country Club has hosted USGA events before, including the 1957 and 1976 U.S. Women's Amateurs and the 1982 U.S. Women's Open. The Sacramento region last hosted a professional golf tournament in 2005, the LPGA Longs Drugs Challenge in Lincoln. The Champions Tour made an annual stop in the area from 1987 to 2001 for the Gold Rush Classic.
"My very first trip to Del Paso was about 13 months ago," said Tim Flaherty with the USGA, "and from the minute I've been here, I've been excited about this."
The tournament will be featured in 15 hours of network television and will be seen in 50 countries worldwide.
Some current pro golfers who are expected to play in the 2015 Senior Open are are Fred Couples, Curtis Strange, Nick Price, Bernhard Langer, Peter Jacobsen and Mark O'Meara.
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.
Sutherland said the city will feel the difference when the tournament is in town.
"There's always a tremendous atmosphere. You just know that there's something special going on in that town," he said.
Sacramento area businesses reportedly have committed $2 million in sponsorship dollars toward the event, which is expected to attract some 140,000 visitors to the capital city.
