Established in 1980 as a result of the growth in senior golf at professional and amateur levels, the first edition of the U.S. Senior Open was for golfers aged 55 and over. This was then reduced to 50 the following year, and was, perhaps fittingly, won by Arnold Palmer.
In 2010 at Sahalee Golf Club, Bernhard Langer became the first European to lift the Francis Ouimet Memorial Trophy as he won the second of his record 11 Senior Major Championships. The two-time Masters Tournament winner finished three strokes ahead of Fred Couples to win his second Senior Major that season.
Two years later Roger Chapman made history as the first European to win both the U.S. Senior Open and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in the same season. The Englishman triumphed by two strokes from Fred Funk, Langer, Tom Lehman and Corey Pavin.
Colin Montgomerie emulated Chapman’s achievement in 2014 and is the last European winner of the U.S. Senior Open. Double Senior Major Champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez has come closest to winning since then, with runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2018.
2021 will mark the second time that Omaha Country Club will have hosted the U.S. Senior Open. Opened in 1927, it was renovated in 1951 by Perry Maxwell. In 2013, Kenny Perry won the first U.S. Senior Open held there, the second of his four Senior Major Championships.
