BEACHWOOD, Ohio - The 70th Senior PGA Championship, the most historic and prestigious event in senior golf, will feature 23 major champions who have combined for 41 major championships, and who help form a world-class international field and the strongest field in senior golf, May 21-24, at Canterbury Golf Club.
Defending Champion Jay Haas heads a 156-player field, along with eight other past Senior PGA Champions.
At closer inspection, here are more notes about the 70th Senior PGA Championship:
We're Going to Play Like It Was 1973: Seven members of the 1973 PGA Championship field return to Canterbury, site of Jack Nicklaus capturing a 14th major championship. The "alumni" returning and how they finished in 1973 are: J.C. Snead (T-3), Lanny Wadkins (T-3), Hale Irwin (T-9), Dave Stockton (T-12), Tom Watson (T-12), Gibby Gilbert (T-18) and Charles Coody (T-35).
Canterbury Joins Elite Championship Site List: By hosting the 70th Senior PGA Championship, Canterbury Golf Club joins Oak Hill Country Club of Rochester, N.Y., (site of the 2008 Senior PGA Championship) as the only courses to host all five of the rotating U.S. men's premier championships - the PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Senior PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur Championship.
It's a Small World After All: There are 39 players, representing 15 countries at Canterbury Golf Club this week. England, Japan and Scotland each have six players represented. The overall international delegation: Argentina - Luis Carbonetti, Vicente Fernandez, Eduardo Romero; Australia - Wayne Grady, Dave Merriman, Greg Norman; England - Gordon J. Brand, Bob Cameron, Nick Job, Peter Mitchell; Germany - Bernhard Langer; Ireland - Mark McNulty, Denis O'Sullivan, Des Smyth; Italy - Costantino Rocca; Japan - Isao Aoki, Kong Meshiai, Kiyoshi Murota, Naomichi "Joe" Ozaki, Tsukasa Watanabe; New Zealand - Bob Charles, Jim Lapsley; Northern Ireland - Jimmy Heggarty; Paraguay - Angel Franco; Scotland - Gordon Brand Jr., Ross Drummond, Bill Longmuir, Sandy Lyle, Sam Torrance; South Africa - Fulton Allem, Nick Price; Spain - Domingo Hospital, Juan Quiros; Wales - Ian Woosnam; Zimbabwe - Tony Johnstone, Denis Watson.
Sweet Home Ohio: John Cook, who was born in Toledo but grew up in California, returns to his native state this week. Cook, who lost the 1979 U.S. Amateur Championship final at Canterbury to Mark O'Meara, is joined by the following Buckeye State residents: Corey George of Lancaster; Tom Herzan of Findlay, Jim Logue of Canton; and Gary Robison of Canton.
Senior Majors in Ohio: The 70th Senior PGA Championship is the 11th senior major to be conducted in Ohio. The Senior PGA Championship first visited the state in 2002, when Fuzzy Zoeller triumphed at Firestone Country Club in Akron. Ohio also has hosted four U.S. Senior Opens - 1986 at Scioto where Dale Douglass won; 1996 at Canterbury, with Dave Stockton capturing the title; 2003 at Inverness Club in Toledo (Bruce Lietzke); and 2005 at NCR in Dayton, where Allen Doyle earned a crown. Canterbury also hosted the first four Senior Players Championships between 1983 and 1986 won by Miller Barber, twice Arnold Palmer and followed by Chi Chi Rodriguez. Ohio has also hosted 10 PGA Championships since 1945, at Moraine Country Club in Dayton where Byron Nelson won as part of his record 11-event winning streak; Scioto, Miami Valley (the last match play PGA Championship in 1957), Firestone (three times), NCR, Canterbury and Inverness (twice).
Calling All Champions: Defending Champion Jay Haas, who also won in 2006, is joined in the field by the following past Senior PGA Champions: Allen Doyle (1999), Hale Irwin (1996, '97, '98, 2004), John Jacobs (2003), Mike Reid (2005), Tom Wargo (1993), Tom Watson (2001) and Fuzzy Zoeller (2002).
It's a Major Happening: Twenty-three players participating this week at Canterbury own 41 major championships, beginning in 1963 with Bob Charles' British Open victory, the first major triumph by a left-hander in golf history. Mark O'Meara was the most recent major champion among the delegation, winning the 1998 Masters and British Open.
First-Time Charms: Twenty-one players won the Senior PGA Championship on their first attempt. Since the start of the Champions Tour in 1980 that group includes, Arnold Palmer (1980), Miller Barber (1981), Gary Player (1986), Tom Wargo (1993), Hale Irwin (1996), Allen Doyle (1999), Doug Tewell (2000), Fuzzy Zoeller (2002) and Mike Reid (2005).
Senior PGA Championship Aging Like Fine Wine: The Senior PGA Championship is the oldest event on the Champions Tour. Augusta National Golf Club served as host of the first event in 1937 at the invitation of the legendary Bobby Jones. After two years in Georgia, the tournament moved to Florida where it was held for more than 60 years in the following cities - Sarasota, Fort Myers, Dunedin, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, North Miami Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. The event began to rotate around the United States in 2001, when Tom Watson triumphed at Ridgewood Golf Club in Paramus, N.J.
Senior Winner of a Senior PGA: Hale Irwin's victory at the 2004 Senior PGA Championship came three days short of his 59th birthday, making him the oldest player to win a major since the start of the Champions Tour. Jock Hutchison won the 1947 Senior PGA Championship at age 62, making him the oldest winner in event history.
Catch Sam If You Can: Hale Irwin's four Senior PGA Championship victories (1996-98, 2004) are second only to legend Sam Snead's six wins (1964-65, '67, '70, 72-73). Gary Player (1986, '88, '90), Al Watrous (1950-51, '57) and Eddie Williams (1942, 45-46) each have three wins in this event. Irwin joins Snead, Player, Jock Hutchison (1937, '47) and Don January (1979, '82) as the only men to win the Senior PGA Championship in two separate decades.
Overtime Golf: The Senior PGA Championship has only had 12 playoffs in its history, the most recent when Jay Haas edged Brad Bryant in 2006 at Oak Tree Golf Club in Edmond, Okla.
37 PGA Club Professionals in Field: Kirk Hanefeld of Acton, Mass., leads a contigient of 37 PGA Club Professionals who will be competing this week at Canterbury. Hanefeld won the 2008 Senior PGA Professional National Championship to automatically earn a spot in the field along with 34 other PGA Club Professionals.
Tickets for the 70th Senior PGA Championship went on sale in April and may be purchased by visiting www.seniorpga2009.com.