Broncos Get That Championship Feeling

U.S. Senior Open champion Kenny Perry visits Dove Valley to promote this year’s event.

[easyazon_infoblock align=”right” identifier=”B01MYUE4DK” locale=”US” tag=”coloradoavidg-20″]With the 39th U.S. Senior Open coming to The Broadmoor June 28-July 1,  defending champion Kenny Perry came to meet the Denver press, and was asked about…

John Elway.

OK, so the presser did take place at the Broncos training facility at Dove Valley, where Elway, the honorary chairman of the 39th U.S. Senior Open, works as the president of football operations and general manager.

And yes, on Memorial Day at The Broadmoor, Elway is going to attempt to qualify to compete in the event, teeing off at 10:10 on Memorial Day in the day’s last threesome with Cherry Hills Head PGA Professional John Ogden and Paul Lobato, who holds the same position at Meridian Golf Club.

“What do you think of Elway’s game?” came the question.

Perry couldn’t have fielded it better with a baseball glove, saying he thought the legendary Broncos quarterback had a nice swing but the course setup for a U.S. Senior Open qualifier—with its 30-yard-wide fairways, 3.25-inch rough and lightning-fast Donald Ross greens—was going to be a mental and physical challenge even for guys who tee it up for a living.

Perry should know. He got his name engraved on the Francis D. Ouimet Trophy for the second time last year at the Donald Ross-designed Salem Country Club after a draining battle with Kirk Triplett in which Perry shot an event-record 16-under-par 264.

Salem, like The Broadmoor, is a Donald Ross course. Although Robert Trent Jones designed holes 7-16, the Ross style predominates. Does having won on a Ross-designed course give him an advantage?

“For a guy who hits a high draw, it’s right in my wheelhouse,” he said, referring to Broadmoor East, which he played for the first time yesterday. “And knowing the greens always break from back to front, you don’t want to to be long. There’s always trouble behind, and don’t want to leave yourself with a downhill putt.”

At the end of the press event, Perry joined Broncos players Brandon McManus, Jeff Heuerman and Darian Stewart—who as a group had presented Perry with a Broncos jersey with the number 39—on the practice field for a few shots at an improvised par 3 of about 180 yards.

McManus, who has caddied in tour events, showed the best form, while Heuerman showed why he should not play any Donald Ross courses any time soon. He cleared the flag by 30 yards with pitching wedge.

Upon hearing Perry was around, new Broncos quarterback Case Keenum stopped. After sticking a wedge, he received congrats on his 2017 season from Perry, a lifelong Vikings fan.

While the rest of the media crowded around the Broncos, Perry talked about how USGA events “test every facet of your game.”

The man chiefly responsible for that, course setup man Ben Kimball, was there and explained why he had decided not to make any significant changes to the setup that was at the 2008 Open.

“Only three players were under par for the tournament,” he shared.

The Broadmoor and USGA considered making the 601-yard par-5 third a par 4 and the 545-yard par 4-17th a par 5 (as the Broadmoor members do) in order to create a more exciting finish à la the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor.

“But then I thought that most of the players on 3 were going to play their second shots from the rough, which would mean they would have to lay up in front of the water,” Kimball explained. That would mean the hole that gave up 15 eagles in the 2008 event and was the only hole with an under-par average (4.770) would be tough even to par.

As far as 17, he said that because of the altitude and the length of the players, even if played at 600 yards, the long, relatively straight hole would be reachable. “The holes on the back nine are the toughest on the course,” he said. “It’s more of a test for the players to have the course play as a par 70 (36-34), even if it isn’t as potentially dramatic to watch.”

To Kimball’s point, Perry repeated something he’d said earlier. “Par goes a long way in a USGA event,” the two-time U.S. Senior Open champion said as the rest of the media swarmed McManus, Stewart and Heuerman.

Perry would attend Tuesday’s Rockies game at Coors Field, but without throwing out the first pitch because of a  surgically repaired shoulder.