Prairie Dunes To Host 2006 U.S. Senior Open

Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., has been selected as the site of the 2006 U.S. Senior Open Championship, the USGA announced. The championship will be played from July 6-9.

Prairie Dunes will host its first Senior Open and eighth USGA Championship. The seven previous championships include the 2002 U.S. Women's Open, the 1986 Curtis Cup Match, the 1995 USGA Senior Amateur, the 1988 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 1964, 1980 and 1991 U.S. Women's Amateurs.

"Prairie Dunes, our community and the entire State of Kansas are thrilled to be the host of the 2006 U.S. Senior Open," said Allen Fee, general chairman from Prairie Dunes. "We have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the USGA and this championship certainly will build on that."

Opened in 1937, Prairie Dunes was designed as a nine-hole course by Perry Maxwell. Maxwell's son, Press, added nine holes in 1957. Known for its links-land style, high prairie grass in the rough as well as narrow fairways and undulating greens, Prairie Dunes was created by the Carey family of Hutchinson, Kan.

First played in 1980, the Senior Open is open to all golfers with a USGA Handicap Index of 3.4 or better and have turned 50 years old prior to the start of that year's championship.

Prior to 2006, the Senior Open will be held at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Mo., from July 29-August 1, 2004; and at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, from July 28-31, 2005. The Senior Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA.

For more information, contact the USGA Championships Department at (908) 234-2300 or visit the club's website at www.prairiedunes.com.