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You can't see the golf course for the trees

U.S. Senior Open: Sahalee is on the short side, but the tree-lined fairways make it challenging off the tee

ERIC D. WILLIAMS; Staff writer | • Published July 29, 2010

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SAMMAMISH - Talk to Northwest native Peter Jacobsen and he'll tell you - the winner of this year's U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club will have mastered the art of tree avoidance, with towering firs lining every fairway.

“Every hole is intimidating off the tee,” said Jacobsen, who won the U.S. Senior Open his first year on the Champions Tour in 2004. “Every hole makes you think about how tight it is. There isn’t one hole that doesn’t look tight.

“You’ve got to hit the ball in the fairway, there’s no question about it. Tee shot is everything.”

That’s sage advice from Jacobsen, 56, who grew up in Portland playing on similar tree-lined courses unique to this area. Length should not be an issue for the 156 golfers slated to tee off this morning. At 6,866 yards, the par-70 track is the third shortest course to host a U.S. Senior Open in the past decade. The only courses shorter were Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., (6,646 yards) in 2006, and Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass., (6,709 yards) in 2001.

But what Sahalee lacks in length it more than makes up for with the hundreds of firs on the golf course designed by Ted Robinson, creating a tunnel effect for golfers on the tee box that places a premium on accuracy.

“The front nine plays different,” Jacobsen said. “The greens are a little smaller and a little more sloping, so you’ve got to put the ball in the middle of the green on the front side.

“The back side plays a little differently. The greens are bigger. There will be a little more shot-making from the fairway on the back nine. But first and foremost you have to hit the ball in the fairway.”

That’s why Jacobson mentions Seattle native Fred Couples, Loren Roberts and last week’s British Senior Open winner, Bernhard Langer, as favorites. They hit it straight and have shot-making ability around the greens.

Others to watch for, according to Jacobson, include last year’s U.S. Senior Open Champion, Fred Funk, along with Jay Haas, Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw.

The 31st edition of the U.S. Senior Open represents Sahalee’s first time hosting the senior national championship.

It’s the second major held at the course – the other was the PGA Championship in 1998.

Thirty-two players who competed in the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee are in the field this week. They include Joey Sindelar, who tied for 40th 12 years ago.

Sindelar echoes Jacobsen’s comments about the trees.

“The big thing is the trees because they change the perspective, especially the first time around,” he said. “Obviously by Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we’ll be more comfortable optically. You can look at your book all day, but we’re just not used to seeing trees, however tall they are – 150 feet, or 120.”

This year’s Senior Open is the 22nd championship conducted by the USGA in Washington state. A month from now, the 2010 U.S. Amateur will be played at Chambers Bay (Aug. 23-29) in University Place, the same course that will host the 2015 U.S. Open.

Four players from Washington state will compete in this week’s event. They include Jerry Johnson of Ocean Shores, Kevin Klier of Colbert, Tom Brandes of Bellevue and Spokane’s Gary Lindeblad.

Count British Senior Open runner-up Corey Pavin as another player to watch for when the event kicks off this morning. The 50-year-old has not won a major on the Champions Tour, but he does have a 1995 U.S. Open title to his credit.

“Carnoustie is a lot like this is some ways,” Pavin said of the venue for last week’s British Senior Open in Scotland. “You have to hit the ball very straight, control it off the tee and keep the ball in play. Obviously, that’s going to be very important this week.

“I like it. There’s a lot of holes where you have to work the ball and hit it certain distances off the tee. If you hit driver it narrows down a lot so you have to lay back. There’s a lot of strategy out here. Tons of strategy. You’ve got to have a game plan and stick with it.”

Langer won his first senior major at Carnoustie last week and is bidding to become the first player since Gary Player in 1988 to win both the Senior British Open and the U.S. Senior Open in the same year.

“In golf, it always helps to have confidence and to be happy with your game,” Langer said of coming into this tournament with a major win under his belt. “But it’s another golf course. It’s a different set-up, a different tournament, so that all changes. But it’s good to be happy with your game.”

Funk, who took home the Ouimet Trophy last year by shooting an Open-record 20-under par – winning by six strokes – expects the winning score to be much closer to par this year with the elimination of two, par-5s, firm greens and the narrowness of the course.

“I just think it’s so difficult,” Funk said. “Unless they soften up the greens, if they soften up the greens a little bit the scores will come down. As they are, if they get a little firmer, if somebody shoots under par here, my hat’s off to them.”

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 Eric.williams@thenewstribune.com

31st U.S. SENIOR OPEN

WHEN: Today through Sunday.

WHERE: Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish.

COURSE: 6,866 yards, par 70.

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Fred Funk (20-under-par 268 total, won by six strokes at Crooked Stick).

NOTES: What is it like playing this old-style, tree-lined gem of a layout in the Northwest? The professionals have been singing the same tune all week: They don’t see courses this narrow on the Champions Tour. Veteran Tom Watson compared it to being “at a bowling alley.” With the greens already firm (131/2 on the Stimpmeter to start the week), the golfers know par will be good at Sahalee CC – site of the 1998 PGA Championship and 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational – and something around 6-under-par for four rounds could capture the title.

TV: ESPN2 (2-6 p.m. PDT today and Friday) and Ch. 5 (1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday).

TICKETS: Daily tickets are $20-$45, and tournament passes start at $150.

PARKING/SHUTTLE: Spectators can reach the course only via shuttle. Parking is free at Marymoor Park near Redmond, located at 6046 W Lake Sammamish Parkway NE, and regular shuttles run between the parking lot and the course.

Todd Milles, staff writer