U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Douglass to set record with 26th Senior Open
7/24/2011Dale Douglass already owns the record as the youngest champion in U.S. Senior Open history.
He will set a record at the opposite end of the spectrum when he tees off this week in the 2011 Senior Open at Inverness Club.
Douglass will be playing in his 26th consecutive Senior Open and that will break Arnold Palmer's record of 25 straight appearances that Douglass tied a year ago.
It will also mark his 600th start as a member of the Champions Tour.
Douglass became the youngest Senior Open champion in his first appearance in the event in 1986 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus. He was 50 years, 3 months and 24 days old when he posted a one-stroke win over Gary Player.
That stands as one of Douglass' 11 wins on the Champions Tour, on which he has earned more than $7 million.
Earlier, he was a three-time winner while amassing $573,351 in earnings during a long PGA Tour career. Two of his wins, including the Kemper Open, came in 1969, when he earned a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. His last victory came a year later at the Phoenix Open.
Douglass' most recent Champions Tour win was in 1996 at the Bell Atlanta Classic. Douglass, who celebrated his 75th birthday in March, will be the oldest competitor in this week's Senior Open, whose former champions are afforded an automatic berth in the field.
--Dave Hackenberg