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Touring pro Donald trumps field at U.S. Senior Open QualifierVILLANOVA, Pa. - Mike Donald, a golf professional from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., travels the country and plays on the Champions Tour. A tour player since 2005, he now hopes to make a firm imprint on the senior circuit. Donald took a major step toward that goal Thursday. He carded a 3-under-par 67 at Radnor Valley CC (par 70, 6,481 yards) to head a U.S. Senior Open Qualifier conducted by the Golf Association of Philadelphia. “It’s a national championship. You have all of the best players there,” Donald said. “To get a chance to go out there and play a great golf course against great players and be back amongst some of my friends is amazing. It’s going to be quite a week.” Donald, 54, attempted to qualify for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open earlier this week in Binghampton, N.Y. He decided to stay in the Northeast region to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open to prevent potential conflicts in travel and golf schedule. Donald began his bid brilliantly with a birdie on No. 1 (par 4, 336 yards). He knocked his wedge 85 yards and sunk a tricky, right-to-left breaking 12-footer. “I haven’t been putting all that great, so I was trying to make it, but trying not to three-putt,” Donald, 54, said. Five pars later, Donald rocketed his 4-wood 238 yards to the front of the No. 7 (par 5, 528 yards) green. He gently rolled a downhill 15-footer to within inches of the cup and tapped in for birdie. On No. 9 (par 4, 427), he intended to card a par with safe approach and two-putt combination. However, Donald stuck a smooth 7-iron 158 yards and drained a downhill 15-footer to record his third red figure. “I think it’s the hardest hole on the golf course,” he said. “It’s a tough driving hole, and it’s tough uphill. The green’s very undulating.” As he prepared to start his inward trek at 3 under, Donald felt his nerves uprising. His 6-iron on the par 3, 186-yard 11th hole landed 50-feet above the flagstick. He pushed his birdie try 10-feet past the cup and missed the comebacker to card a bogey. “From that point on, I was shaky. I really struggled on the way in,” Donald said. “I knew 2 under was a pretty good score, and I thought if I could just get in and make a bunch of pars, I’d be OK. But sometimes, making pars is the hardest thing in the world to do.” Donald didn’t seem too overwhelmed on the par 4, 312-yard 13th hole. After his tee shot found the left-side rough, he drilled his sand wedge 60 yards and executed a three-footer for birdie. “I had a branch that was a little bit in my way, and I was just trying to get it over the water,” Donald said. “I didn’t want to do anything dumb and make a double (bogey). The ball came out soft and it ended up close. It was a little bit of luck.” Donald made string of critical par saves to secure red on the scorecard. His approach 7-iron on No. 14 (par 4, 435 yards) caught the greenside bunker, but Donald escaped with a sand wedge and made a 15-footer for par. His approach 9-iron on No. 15 (par 4, 402 yards) came up 10 yards short of the green. Donald felt afraid to chip up, so he grabbed his flatstick and ran the ensuing putt 15-feet shy of the cup. He blasted out of the No. 16 (par 3, 141 yards) bunker and converted a 12-footer to again save par. And for good measure, Donald recovered from a crooked drive on No. 17 (par 4, 416 yards) by knocking his wedge 50 yards and sinking an 8-footer for par. This will mark Donald’s first appearance in the U.S. Senior Open. He’s attempted to qualify for the past four years. At age 24, Donald, a Grand Rapids, Mich. native, joined the PGA Tour, where he built a 17-year career. He won the 1989 Anheuser Bush Golf Classic and tied for 24th in the 2005 FedEx Kinko’s Classic. Donald also has competed in the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open. In the 1990 U.S. Open, he lost to Hale Irwin in a playoff at Medinah CC in Illinois. Also qualifying Thursday were Chris Lange of Overbrook GC, who reached the quarterfinals in this week's Amateur Championship, and Bill Sautter, a professional from Philadelphia Cricket Club. The 2010 U.S. Senior Open will be held at Sahalee CC in Washington on July 29-Aug 1. NOTES - Play was delayed three hours and 15 minutes due to severe weather. David Brookreson of Huntingdon Valley CC aced the par 3, 141-yard 16th hole.
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A Walk Through Time
GAP is the oldest state or regional golf association in the country. It started courtesy of a friendly competition – the Team Matches – and has grown into the preeminent golf association in the country. Along the way, golf history has been made.
