NEWPORT, R.I. — There are less than 24 hours to go before the first tee shot at the 2024 US Senior Open at Newport Country Club, and the anticipation in the air is palpable.
At any given hole on the course, you can see golfers reuniting with old friends, fans watching strokes intently, and children clamoring for their flags and oversized inflatable golf balls to be covered in signatures. The thrill of the golfers is almost as clear as the excitement of the children. For many of these seniors, their hopes of playing Newport in a US Golf Association event were dashed when the 2020 Senior Open was canceled because of the pandemic; they weren’t sure they’d see the famous course during the remainder of their careers.
Rhode Island native Billy Andrade is arguably the most excited for this weekend. He flew in with Ernie Els and Brett Quigley before hosting a dinner for some of the players at his home in Brighton Tuesday night. “I have hats from the 41st US Senior Open at my house that I just found, so I gave a few guys some hats last night, which was funny because obviously we couldn’t play this during the pandemic,” Andrade said.
“I’m just so thrilled with the USGA and Newport Country Club that they got it back here as quickly as they did. I thought my window was gone when we lost the tournament in 2020, and to have it back this quickly is really cool for me and really cool for all of us.” Bob Royak is another 2020 qualifier who finally will get a chance to play N.