Organized by the USGA, the U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf. It was introduced in 1980 when the lower age limit was 55, but this was reduced the following year to 50 and has remained there ever since. The competition format is 72-hole stroke play over four days, with the field cut after the first two 18-hole rounds. Until 1998, playoffs were over 18 holes, the day after the final round, but they’ve since evolved into a best 2-hole aggregate score then sudden death hole-by-hole if required, immediately after regulation play concludes.

Although the U.S. Senior Open is a relatively new USGA championship, the prize awarded annually to the winner is one of the oldest. Starting in 1894, the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy was originally used for an interclub competition between the Tuxedo Club of Tuxedo Park, New York and three other invited clubs – Shinnecock Hills, Saint Andrew’s and The Country Club – which were all founding members of the USGA.

The Country Club retained possession of the trophy until the mid-1950s, when it was presented to the USGA Golf Museum for exhibition. While preparations for the inaugural U.S. Senior Open were being made, The Country Club suggested the trophy be used for the tournament and formally dedicated to Francis Ouimet, the two-time U.S. Amateur champion and winner of the U.S. Open in 1913 at Brookline.

Roberto De Vicenzo from Argentina won the inaugural contest at Winged Foot, holding off a strong challenge from amateur Bill Campbell, who won the US Amateur in 1964 and would become the USGA president two years later. The prize purse in those days was $100,000, which is considerably less, even allowing for inflation, than the $4 million on offer by 2017.

Three in every four champions have been American and Miller Barber leads the way with most home-based victories, winning three times between 1982 and 1985. Five other golfers have each won the event twice, including Gary Player (1987, 1988) and Jack Nicklaus (1991, 1993). Both Gary Player and Bernard Langer have won the U.S. Senior Open and Senior Open titles.

Six clubs have each hosted the championship on two occasions: Broadmoor Resort in Colorado (2008, 2018); Inverness Club in Ohio (2003, 2011); Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan (1981,1991); Salem Country Club in Massachusetts (2001, 2017), Saucon Valley Country Club in Pennsylvania (1992, 2000); and Scioto Country Club in Ohio (1986, 2016).