S.L. Country Club seeks Senior Open

The United States Golf Association may finally stage one of its events in Utah.

No, it won't be the U.S. Open, but it could be the next best thing — the U.S. Senior Open, featuring the best 50-and-older golfers in the world.

The Country Club of Salt Lake City has submitted a proposal to host the Senior Open with the hope of landing the 2008 tournament or one beyond that. It would be the first USGA event ever held in Utah, which is one of just a handful of states never to host a USGA tournament.

However, Mark Passey, the former executive director of the Utah Golf Association, who now works as a regional manager for the USGA, said getting the bid to host the Senior Open is anything but a shoo-in.

"I'm a Salt Laker, so I hope it works out," said Passey. "But there's a long way to go yet. There are other well-known, prominent courses competing for this event. We may get it here in 2008 or beyond."

Passey has been lobbying to get a USGA event in Utah for the past decade and believes the time is right for Utah to get a big event such as the Senior Open. He said USGA executive director David Fay was impressed with the area when he attended the 2002 Olympics and asked Passey to suggest some courses that would be suitable for a Senior Open.

The Country Club, located at 2300 South and 2300 East in Salt Lake, was a natural choice because of its long history and the fact that in the past it hosted the Western Open and Utah Open when it was a regular stop on the PGA Tour.

Country Club head professional Ron Branca is excited about the possibility of hosting the USGA event and said there was a "fervor" among the club members when the possibility was first brought up.

A decision from the USGA could come as early as next week, but is more likely to be three months or longer, said Passey, since the Country Club proposal was just recently made.

"I think this would be a chance of a lifetime," added Branca. "I think it is a wonderful opportunity with a lot of advantages to hosting it."

The Country Club was actually invited by the USGA to submit a proposal for 2006 after the USGA decided not to go to Pumpkin Ridge, a course near Portland, Ore., because of a Champions Tour event that has begun in the same area. The announcement of the 2006 event is expected to come next week when the USGA executive committee meets.