July 22, 2005

DAYTON - NCR Country Club, the home course of the University of Dayton men's and women's golf teams, will take the national golfing spoltlight next week as it hosts the 2005 U.S. Senior Open. The week-long major tournament begins Monday with practice rounds, while championship play begins Thursday morning. The famed South Course is annually ranked among Golf Digest's Top 100 courses in America.

Legendary golfing names like Arnold Palmer, Ray Floyd, Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Gary Player and defending champion Peter Jacobsen will put the 7,055-yard, home of the Flyers to the test.

"Everybody I talked to since winning the Open last year has said, 'We're going back to NCR. You're going to love that golf course. It's a legendary golf course with great history and tradition,' " Jacobsen said. (From the Dayton Daily News - May 11, 2005)

"NCR is one of the great golf courses in the United States," said Tommy Roy, ESPN's producer for the Open.

Located in Kettering -- a suburb of Dayton, the South Course at NCR Country Club is no stranger to major golf events. It hosted the 1969 PGA Championship, won by Floyd (Player finished second), the 1986 U.S. Women's Open, won by Jane Geddes, and the 1998 U.S. Mid-Amateur, won by Spider Miller. The Flyers annually host tournaments at NCR Country Club at least twice per season.

ESPN will air live coverage of the Open, Thursday and Friday from 1-5 p.m. ET, while Saturday and Sunday's round will be live on NBC from 3-6 p.m. ESPN will also air a preview show Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Nearly 30,000 tickets have already been sold for the U.S. Senior Open, surpassing the original goal of 25,000. Tickets can still be purchased by visiting www.2005usso.com.