Olin Browne posts his first victory in 30 years at the US Senior Open Championship
Olin Browne, the 52-year-old veteran from Florida, romped to a big win at the US Senior Open Championship at the Inverness Club Toledo, Ohio, when he took the better of the field by three shots on Sunday, July 31.
Browne’s much awaited victory came after a professional career of a staggering 30 years, and after the ageing American and his wife Pamela had lost all hope to win the coveted title.
“This goes back a long way for us,” said Browne, who has played amazing golf throughout the weekend but slumped to a level-par final round of 71, though still good enough to take him all the way to the summit.
“I guess from the middle of the back nine on it became a match-play situation, and I've got zero experience in match play,” Browne said, referring to the raging contender Mark O’ Meara, who stalked Browne for all the last 18 holes. “But it's about putting
your ball in play, keeping it out of the junk. The bottom line is minimize your mistakes, maximize your effort, and that's all you can do.”
Falling for a bogey on the par-five, 8th, Browne made the turn with one-under and pulled in a birdie on the 18th to close for a level par. O’ Meara, who dropped two shots on the front nine and also carded two birdies, made the turn
for his back nine, treading carefully to pull in two more birdies. He was still three shots behind Browne who successfully claimed his first title on the tour along with a winning share of $470,000.
“This is a huge victory for him,” O'Meara said. “I know it's his first win out here on the Champions Tour. It's a major championship. I think Olin should be very proud of himself.”
O’ Meara was one of the favourites for the event, having won the 1998 Masters and the Open Championship. He settled for an outright second with his aggregate of 12-under, 272. Mark Calcavecchia, the sturdy American who opened up the Open Championship with
blistering strokes, finished for an outright third, trailing Browne by four shots.
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