UPDATE: For tee times and scoring, CLICK HERE.
John Elway figures to receive much of the attention from fans and the media on Monday at The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, whether the Pro Football Hall of Famer qualifies for the U.S. Senior Open or not. More than 2,000 fans are expected to watch him try to qualify Monday at The Broadmoor.
Attention comes with the territory for Elway, who has an official role to play for this particular U.S. Senior Open even if he fails to earn a spot in the 156-man field. The Broncos general manager is the honorary chairman for this year’s Senior Open, which the East Course at The Broadmoor will host June 28-July 1.
On the golf course, Elway does have some game. He’s made the cut in the CoBank Colorado Open once, and has posted two top-30 finishes in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open. And he’ll be helped out on Monday by oilman and philanthropist George Solich, an Elway friend who grew up caddying at The Broadmoor. George Solich and brother Duffy have lent their names and support to the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy. Elway is scheduled to tee off at 10:10 a.m. from No. 1 on the East Course.
But the bar will be set high on Monday for Elway and the other 83 competitors in the 18-hole qualifying tournament at the East Course as just two players from the site will advance to the U.S. Senior Open itself.
The field is full of formidable players. Ron Vlosich of Lakewood has qualified for five U.S. Senior Opens and Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale for three, and Rohrbaugh has also won a Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships in recent years. Dale Smigeksy of Fort Collins and Charlie Post of Castle Rock played in the 2017 Senior Open.
On top of that, there’s several Colorado Golf Hall of Famers, in addition to Vlosich — Bill Loeffler (the 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion), Kent Moore and John Olive, who’s competing at his home course. There’s 2017 Colorado PGA Professional Champion John Ogden of Cherry Hills Village; Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West, winner of both a Colorado Open and a Colorado Senior Open; Mike Northern of Colorado Springs, who finished fourth in the 2016 national Senior PGA Professional Championship; amateurs David Delich, a two-time U.S. Senior Open qualifier, and Robert Polk, who went to the 2007 Senior Open; 2016 U.S. Senior Open qualifier John Hornbeck of Wyoming; and Chris Johnson, who along with Rohrbaugh is competing in this week’s Senior PGA Championship.
Besides Colorado, states represented in Monday’s field including Arizona (6), Utah (5), Wyoming (3), Oklahoma (2), California (1), Florida (1), Montana (1), Ohio (1), Tennessee (1) and Texas (1).
Monday marks just the fourth time a U.S. Senior Open host course has also held a qualifying tournament leading up to the event. All told, 34 sites will host U.S. Senior Open qualifying events this spring.
Spectators are welcome for Monday’s qualifying tournament at The Broadmoor, and admission is free.
