McCormick Gets a Call to U.S. Senior Open

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org


When Joe McCormick saw an unfamiliar number calling his phone last week, he didn’t think anything of it. Little did he know the message the unknown caller was about to leave was to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“I saw a strange number from New York and didn’t answer it, but I listened to the voicemail and the USGA said they wanted to talk to me.”

McCormick quickly called back and was asked if he’d be interested in filling a position in the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship June 29-July 2 at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass.

“Of course I was interested—who wouldn’t want to play with the best players over 50-years-old?” he said.

McCormick, who turns 52 this December, fired a 1-over par 73 in the U.S. Senior Open at Bearpath Golf and Country Club last month to finish tied for second with Hazeltine National Golf Club professional, Mike Barge.

Beating Barge in a playoff, McCormick finished as the first alternate but assumed it was still a long shot to get an invite.

Salem Country Club was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1926. It has played host to the U.S. Women’s Amateur (1932); the U.S. Women’s Open (1954); the U.S. Senior Amateur (1977); the U.S. Women’s Open (1984) and most recently, the 2001 U.S. Senior Open won by Bruce Fleisher

“Playing on a Donald Ross course, the greens going to be tough because they’re typically sloped back to front, so I’ll have to really be sharp with my short game,” McCormick said. “You’ve got to find the fairway—but you have to do that everywhere.

“I’m a pretty intense person but I’m really going to try to enjoy the experience. Some family is going to be there so it’s going to be fun, but I want to make sure that I enjoy it—and hopefully play well.”

McCormick said his son, Emmet, will be on his bag for the week. After graduating from Hutchinson High School, McCormick played collegiate golf at California State University-Stanislaus where he earned Division III Third-Team All-American honors in 1987.

He won the Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship in 1990 at White Bear Yacht Club and the MGA Amateur Four-Ball the same season at St. Cloud Country Club. McCormick turned professional in 1992 and played for nine years before health issues forced him to retire in 2001.  

After losing sight in his right eye after an accident, McCormick said he didn’t step foot on a golf course for over a decade. Regaining his amateur status approximately seven years ago, McCormick said his desire to compete brought him back to the golf course and he picked up right where he left off by winning the 2015 MGA Mid-Amateur Championship in Rochester.

“I started up about four years ago and just played for fun, but before that I, literally, didn’t touch a club for ten years. I had young kids and didn’t want to be out there. Plus, having one eye, I think golf is hard enough,” he said after his mid-amateur victory in 2015.

"It comes and goes," McCormick said of the vision in his right eye these days, even after receiving a corneal transplant. "It's not as bad as it sounds and you get used to it”.

Gene Sauers narrowly defeated Miguel Angel Jimenez and Billy Mayfair to last year’s championship at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, to collect his first victory on the PGA Tour Champions.