Even from afar, World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III had an impact on Sunday’s proceedings down the stretch at the CoBank Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in northeast Denver.

With his son, Dru Love, in a playoff for the title, but having hit some poor shots in the last three holes of regulation, the younger Love quickly gave the old man a call.

“He gave me some advice,” Dru relayed later. “He’s been in a lot of playoffs. He’s won a lot of them and lost a lot of them so he knows what he’s doing. He gave me some good advice. I went to the range and did what he told me. And under that much pressure I didn’t hit a single bad shot in the playoff.

“I told him the last three holes (of regulation) I didn’t hit it good. Someone told me, ‘You’re tied for the lead’ after I chipped in for birdie (from 30 feet on No. 15). When they told me that, I got really excited, a little nervous, and I didn’t play very good golf the last few holes. To get in with three pars the last three was actually really good from where I was a few times.

“(Davis) told me to go to the range, slow everything down and take big, long, slow swings and get clean contact. Hit 9-irons 100 yards with big, smooth swings, so you can get your feel back. I had kind of lost it there the last hole, skulling a 9-iron from the rough (with his third shot before hitting his fourth to 6 inches from a bunker 135 yards out and saving par). So he just told me to get back my contact, get some confidence back and go beat ’em. Take ’em down.”

And Dru did just that.

The 24-year-old from Sea Island, Ga., prevailed on the second hole of a playoff in spectacular fashion. Playing the par-5 18th hole — a dogleg right with trouble all along the right side — for the third time in an hour, Love hit a 2-iron from 280 yards that ran up 30 feet short of the hole. And he rolled the putt right into the middle of the cup to defeat Sam Saunders of Albuquerque, who had shot a 12-under-par 60 to force the playoff.

“It feels great to get this done,” said Love (pictured left and above). “I know my dad is really happy for me and we’ll have a big party when I get home.”

Love notched the biggest win of his career and earned $100,000 in the process. Saunders settled for a far smaller check — $20,000 — for finishing second.

Love closed with an 8-under-par 64 despite bogeying his first hole on Sunday. Counting the playoff, he made an eagle and nine birdies in his final 19 holes. He finished with a 19-under-par 197 total in the weather-shortened event.

Dru Love is far from the first member of his family to win significant golf tournaments in Colorado. His dad captured the PGA Tour’s International twice at Castle Pines (1990 and 2003). And his grandfather, Davis Love II, won the CGA Junior Match Play in both 1953 and ’54.

As for Saunders (below) on Sunday, he carded an eagle, 10 birdies and one bogey in regulation. Needing to make a 20-foot birdie on the 18th hole for a 59, he left the putt a foot short and “settled” for a 60, which was two strokes better than the previous course record at GVR.

Coloradans Shane Bertsch and Riley Arp, who were 1-2 going into the final round, each birdied the final hole to share third place at 198, good for $9,500 apiece.

Other Coloradans to place in the top 10 were two-time Colorado Open champion Derek Tolan (seventh place, 203) and amateur Kyler Dunkle of Parker (ninth, 204). Tolan made six straight birdies on the front nine en route to a 65 on Sunday.

While Love’s championship-winning eagle was plenty impressive, he needed a disjointed par on his 54th hole to even force the first Colorado Open playoff since 2008. His drive there went left, narrowly avoiding the hazard. His next shot went about a foot into the primary rough, where he drew a good lie, but skulled his next about 50 yards into a bunker near the right hazard line. Love admitted the shot “rattled me pretty good.”

But from there, he almost holed out a stellar sand shot from 135 yards, leaving himself with just a tap-in par.

“It was the worst shot I’ve ever hit in pro golf, without a doubt, followed up with maybe one of the best,” he said.

Between the final full swing in regulation and the eagle on the second playoff hole, “There’s nothing like being in the moment and pulling shots off. It’s why we play,” Love noted.

“This is my best win ever. I’ve played some better golf, more complete golf, but I’ve never beaten a field this good. It’s rewarding.”

And what did dad say after Dru called him after he won?

“He answered the phone yelling, ‘Way to go!’,” Dru said of Davis. “I’m sure my girlfriend (who was at GVR) was texting him and my family and letting them know what was going in. As soon as that putt went in, I walked in here, grabbed my phone and called him. He just right away (said), ‘Way to go.’ He was real happy. Everybody was real happy. We’re just going to have to celebrate.”

Love’s recovery on the final hole of regulation and his playoff eagle after he had missed a 6-foot birdie attempt on the first extra hole left Saunders with a roller-coaster of emotions.

“It sucks (not to win), but he played great and he made a great putt there. That’s all you can do,” said Saunders, who isn’t to be confused with the golfer with the same name who used to live in Fort Collins and is Arnold Palmer’s grandson. “I would have taken (second) coming into the week, so it was a good week.”

Saunders’ course-record 60 in the final round was a sight to behold as he forced overtime despite starting the day in 17th place and eight out of the lead.

Saunders had been struggling so badly with his game that within the last couple of months he’d contemplated giving up professional golf until he turned things around and recently won the San Juan Open. And on Sunday he tied the Colorado Open scoring record — set by Nick Mason at Saddleback Golf Course in 2007 — and was very close to shooting the elusive 59.

Saunders was 12 under through 16 holes, but missed a 15-foot birdie attempt on 17 and was in the front bunker in two on the par-5 18th. But he hit his sand shot a little fat, then didn’t get his 20-foot birdie attempt to the hole.

“I just wanted to shoot 59,” the former Univeristy of New Mexico golfer said. “You don’t have very many opportunities. But 60 is great. It’s my best competitive round ever (by two). I played great. I just couldn’t miss. so I can’t complain. … It was a great day, so much fun.”

Before Love drained his winning eagle putt, Saunders had hit an outstanding long bunker shot on the second playoff hole and had 8 feet left for birdie.

As for the top Coloradans, Arp (left) essentially hit every green in regulation on Sunday until he slightly pulled his drive on 15 and his ball went into the water, leading to a bogey. His only other bogey was of the three-putt variety, on No. 8.

“I don’t necessarily see it like I lost (the tournament),” the former Colorado State University golfer said. “They came back and beat some guys, including me. It’s not the end of the world. I’m just going to take this and learn from it.”

Bertsch, a veteran of the PGA and Web.com Tour, had two hiccups on his front nine, going into the sand on 5 and pulling his tee shot into the native on 6. Those were the only bogeys of the day for the 36-hole leader.

“All in all I obviously played good golf this week,” the 48-year-old said. “But it only takes one shot just to get you thinking a little bit. And you know these guys are going to come at you. … I feel good about what I’ve found in my game in the last month, but I sure would have liked to win it today.”

Low-Am Honors Another Feather in Dunkle’s Cap: It’s been a good last few weeks for Kyler Dunkle of Parker.

The 2016 CGA Player of the Year qualified earlier this month for the U.S. Amateur, and on Sunday he tied for ninth in the Colorado Open and earned low-amateur honors.

The senior-to-be at the University of Utah shot rounds of 66-70-68 for a 12-under-par 204 total. That was one better in the amateur competition than Griffin Barela of Lakewood, who closed with a 67, and two better than CGA Match Play champion AJ Ott of Fort Collins (69 Sunday).

“This is my fourth time playing this tournament and I’ve missed the cut the last three years by one,” Dunkle (left) noted. “To be able to play well enough this year to where I can take home low-amateur honors, that’s really cool. I played some good golf. I’m really happy. It’s hard to be disappointed when you shoot three rounds under par.

“It was a lot of fun. My dad was caddying for me and I’m sure he was a little more stressed out this week than I was, but it was a lot of fun for us to be out here.”

On Sunday, Dunkle had an eagle from 1 1/2 feet, a birdie where he hit to 3 inches and another birdie to 1 foot. But he also three-putted from 4 feet once.

For the week, he capitalized big-time on the par-5s, playing them in 11 under par.

“It’s been fun to see how much my game has progressed,” the 21-year-old said. “It feel like I’m playing some good golf right now and I’m excited to go to the state am next week and to the U.S. Am in a couple of weeks.”

Award for the CGA, CWGA: After the conclusion of the tournament, the CGA and CWGA were presented with the Robert M. Kirchner Award, which is given to an individual or organization for contributing greatly to amateur, professional and/or tournament golf in Colorado. The CGA and CWGA, each more than a century old, became one organization on Jan. 1 after a two-year integration process, joining forces to serve golfers in the state.

“For over a hundred years, two great organizations have represented amateur golf here in the state of Colorado — from championships to course ratings to the handicap system,” said Chris Nordling, chairman of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation. “And now these two organizations have come together to be one, for hopefully the next 100 years.”

The CGA’s co-presidents in 2018, Juliet Miner and Joe McCleary, accepted the award. (Pictured are, from left: Pat Hamill, founder of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, Miner, McCleary and Nordling.)

“We get to represent over 60,000 golfers in the state of Colorado and we also get to work with young people,” Miner said. “We try to help all the young people so that someday they can play in this tournament and make their parents proud.”

For scores and the payout from the Colorado Open, CLICK HERE.

Who knew they’d hold the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, and a Hartford Hawks reunion event would break out?

On the day The Broadmoor turned 100 years old, two former University of Hartford golf teammates celebrated by both being among the top three players on the leaderboard after 36 holes of the Senior Open at the resort.

Jerry Kelly continues to lead the way at the championship, and Tim Petrovic, his teammate for three years at Hartford, is in third place, with Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez sandwiched in between.

“Yeah, I kind of know him,” a smiling Petrovic said of Kelly.

Asked if there were any good Jerry Kelly stories, Petrovic noted, “We’ve got plenty of those stories. But we better talk about golf today.”

OK, if you insist.

Kelly, the leading money winner on PGA Tour Champions this year, sat atop the leaderboard on Thursday night and didn’t move as the Senior Open moved to its halfway point. The 51-year-old has gone 66-69 for a 5-under-par 135 total at the East Course, good for a one-stroke lead over Jimenez and a two-shot margin over Petrovic.

It should be noted that Kelly and Jimenez played the first two rounds together and will do so again for Saturday’s third round (1:50 p.m. tee time).

“Always it’s nice when you play with people who are playing good,” said Jimenez, a five-time winner on PGA Tour Champions. “It’s like a transmit, you know.”

And, of course, the Hartford boys like to see each other do well. Both were relatively late bloomers to PGA Tour-level golf — Kelly first played a full schedule on Tour at age 28 and Petrovic at 34 — but they’re in contention now for arguably the top title in senior golf.

“He’s always been an extremely good player,” Kelly said of Petrovic. “It’s tough to make it out there. It’s easier to make it once you get out there than it is to get out there. It took me until I was 28. It just took him a hair longer. And then once he got there, he knew he could do it — especially after watching me.”

Kelly has won three times each on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, while Petrovic has claimed one PGA Tour title.

Kelly made four birdies, including via chip-in on the 18th hole (his ninth), and three bogeys on Friday. (He’s pictured above celebrating his chip-in in a USGA photo.)

Jimenez (below in a USGA photo) did something that’s proving very difficult — putting together a bogey-free round at The Broadmoor — to shoot a 68 and trail Kelly by one. He hit 17 greens in regulation on Friday.

Petrovic carded the low round of the championship so far — a 5-under-par 65 — to vault into third place at 137. The 51-year-old has had quite a journey in golf, to say the least.

“I always joke around: I say the book is coming out some day,” said Petrovic, who in the middle of his pro career sold cell phones, delivered pizzas and worked at the YMCA. “If I could tell you where I started, and to end up on the PGA Tour … To get out there and be able to have the career I did from here I came from, it’s pretty much an uphill climb. But I never gave up and I always kind of saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

On Friday, Petrovic shot a 6-under-par 30 on his final nine (the front) and the only blemish on his card was a bogey on No. 13 (his fourth hole).

Among the five players who share fourth place at 1-under 139 is World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III, who is playing his first senior major this week. He’s only competed once since early May, but is still in contention after matching Jimenez’s bogey-free 68.

“I’m still a little jumpy and get a little quick every once in a while,” the 54-year-old said. “I hit some really, really good ones and then once in a while I’ll hit one that’s really bad.

“It’s a little bit of anxiousness. When you put USGA in front of an event, the nerves go up a little bit.”

One of the most unique rounds of the day from among the leaders came from Paul Goydos. Starting on the ninth hole, he went birdie, bogey, double bogey, par, birdie, eagle, birdie en route to a 67 and a 139 total. His eagle on the 418-yard, par-4 14th came via a 9-iron hole-out.

“Those are the scorecards that when you’re checking it to sign it, you check it 27 times because you’re not sure it’s right.”

Jobe Lone Local Player to Make Cut; Rohrbaugh, Johnson Miss By 2, Rohrbaugh Despite Spectacular Finish: Just one of the golfers with strong Colorado ties competing in the U.S. Senior Open will be around to play the weekend.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe shot a 3-over-par 73 on Friday and shares 17th place at 3-over 143, trailing leader Jerry Kelly by eight.

The field was cut to 60 players after two rounds, and Colorado PGA members Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale and Chris Johnson of Castle Rock fell two shots shy of advancing to the weekend, both finishing at 10-over-par 150.

Rohrbaugh, the medalist in qualifying at The Broadmoor for this event, finished birdie-eagle to shoot a second-round 72, holing a 30-foot pitch on No. 9 for the eagle.

“You never want to miss the cut and I felt good going into this event, but (a finish like that) puts you in a much better mood, no doubt about it,” Rohrbaugh said.

Jobe, who shot 70 on Thursday, was 4 over par after five holes on Friday after running the gauntlet by starting on No. 10.

With tough pin placements — Jobe particularly wasn’t a fan of the one at the par-3 fourth — and gusting conditions, “I was hitting good shots and making bogeys,” Jobe said. “I couldn’t hit two better shots on 11 and still made bogey. It was just really difficult.”

But he played his final 13 holes in 1 under par to remain in the hunt. And don’t count Jobe out. After all, he shot a third-round 62 in this event a year ago.

“Today, I played well but didn’t get a lot out of my round,” he said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s good. So you never know. You shoot a 66 or 65, you’re back in the tournament. Jerry (Kelly) is 5 under. He’s going, ‘If I go out and shoot under par each day I win this golf tournament.’ But that’s not easy to do.

“There’s more pressure on (the leaders). I’ve got to kind of do what I did last year. I don’t know if a 62 is out there, but a good round will go a long way toward giving you a chance. If you get within five (going into the last round), you’ve got a chance.”

Johnson, the 2010 Colorado PGA Professional Champion playing in his first U.S. Senior Open, posted a second-round 76 on Friday.

“I struck the ball twice as good as I did yesterday (a 74),” he said. “I ended up three-putting three times on the front nine. That was really my undoing. You get those down in two and it’s a whole different game. You just can’t give away strokes on this golf course because they’re hard to get back.”

Rohrbaugh, the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion, put on a big-time rally at the end of his round.

Wrapping up his day on the front nine, he hit it to 6 feet on No. 6 and to 5 feet on 7, though he missed both putts. He made a birdie from a foot on 8 and eagled 9 with the pitch-in.

“I’ll bet I had 15-plus friends and family out there watching,” he said. “My wife had all these hats made up with ‘One Putt’ on them — that’s my nickname. All my friends and family had them on, and they all flipped them backward as I’m walking down 6 (making them rally caps). So I flip mine on backward.

“I (later) thought, ‘Damn, we should have done that sooner.”

Also locally speaking, former University of Colorado golfer Mikael Hogberg and former Castle Pines resident Esteban Toledo — both at 156 — missed the cut, as did two-time champion and former Buff Hale Irwin (164)
 

Smoltz Improves By 8 Shots: Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who was mic’d for his first U.S. Senior Open, made some amusing comments during his two-day stay at the U.S. Senior Open.

“I feel like Mike Tyson has punched me here, here, here and here,” he said at one point.

But the former Cy Young Award winner got hit a little less on Friday than he did on Thursday. He followed up an 85 with a 77, leaving him at 22-over-par 162, 14 strokes above the 36-hole cut line.

“I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “I learned my game wasn’t ready” to compete at this level. … “It took too long for me to get comfortable.”

Smoltz made two birdies on Friday, including pitching in on No. 12.

“I told them in the (FS1 TV) booth that … I want to see that in between innings” of a baseball game he broadcasts on Fox.

Locals Lend a Hand: Among those helping with rulings and scoring on Friday were more than a handful of people with strong Colorado ties.

Included were former USGA Executive Committee members Jim Bunch and Christie Austin, who along with Bob Austin and Greg With were serving as referees for round 2. Among those handling the scoring areas off holes 9 and 18 were CGA executive director Ed Mate and Colorado-based former USGA regional affairs director Mark Passey.

And former CGA staffer Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of the Rules of Golf and amateur status, was a general Rules rover and is on the Rules Committee for the championship.

Notable: Due to Saturday’s weather forecast, FS1 shifted its U.S. Senior Open telecast window to 1-6 p.m., one hour earlier than originally schedule. Tee times for Saturday will run from 8:46 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. … Among the notable players to miss the 36-hole cut on Friday were World Golf Hall of Famers Mark O’Meara (149), Tom Kite (152) and Hale Irwin (164); Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz (162); plus Corey Pavin (149), Mark Calcavecchia (149) and Tom Lehman (150). … Three amateurs made the cut, with Jeff Wilson and Mike Finster being low ams so far, at 147. … Jay Haas, 64, made his 14th consecutive cut in the U.S. Senior Open and stands at 139, four out of the lead. … Friday’s scoring average was 75.28. Thursday’s was 75.78.

For all the scores from the U.S. Senior Open, CLICK HERE.

For Saturday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

Kenny Perry was sitting within a few feet of a U.S. Senior Open trophy at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs on Monday, but given that he won the championship last summer, he’s got one of his own back home in Franklin, Ky.

“It makes me nervous every day where it’s sitting,” Perry explained during a U.S. Senior Open Championship Preview seven weeks before the tournament comes to The Broadmoor. “I have a little muni (course) I opened in 1995 (named Country Creek). I’ve got the trophy right there on the counter where everybody who comes in and gets a greens fee can see it, have your picture taken with it or whatever. It makes me so nervous because we’ve been broken into four or five times, and I’m afraid somebody is going to get it. But I’ve still got it.

“We keep it shiny, keep it looking nice. When people grab that trophy and just start looking at the names (of the champions), I just sit back and take pictures of them. Everybody is in awe of all the names on that trophy.”

Along with the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Hale Irwin, engraved on that trophy is Perry’s name — twice, in fact. The 57-year-old has won the U.S. Senior Open, arguably the top event in senior golf, two times in the last five years. The only other players who have claimed the title two or more times are Nicklaus, Player, Irwin, Allen Doyle and Miller Barber, the only three-time champ.

And if Perry plays well enough come June 28-July 1 at The Broadmoor, he could join Barber in the three-timers club.

Perry came to The Broadmoor Resort for the first time on Sunday, though he didn’t arrive until late at night. So he truly had his first good look on Monday morning after he woke up. And his first reaction to the resort was the same as many people’s.

“As a golfer, you travel the world, but you don’t see the world,” he said. “You just see golf courses. Last night I flew in from Houston. I got in here about midnight. I didn’t have an idea of what we pulled into, so this morning when I woke up early, they’d given me this beautiful suite. I opened the curtains and there was this panoramic view. There was The Broadmoor out there in front of my eyes. I was like, ‘Wow. This place is amazing already.’

“The place is phenomenal. It’s beautiful. Thank you all for picking a golf course where every hole goes from right to left because that’s (the only shot) I can hit. I noticed there’s a lot of hooking holes out there. That’s right in my wheelhouse. I’m looking forward to coming here.”

Russ Miller, The Broadmoor’s longtime director of golf, gave Perry a quick tour of the East Course, where the championship will be contested. Miller made sure Perry took notice of the Will Rogers Shrine on the side of Cheyenne Mountain above the course as putts break away from it to the point of being very deceptive.

As Dale Douglass, a longtime Coloradan who won the 1986 U.S. Senior Open, noted on Monday, “I wake up having nightmares about having to make a 15-footer at this place.”

Added Ben Kimball, director of the U.S. Senior Open Championship: “This is a very, very interesting venue and every time I come here I tell Russ I struggle to figure out The Broadmoor — and I think the best players in the world will too.”

Perry is sure to be fooled too — at least on occasion — during the U.S. Senior Open, just like about all 156 players in the field will. But he didn’t win 14 times on the PGA Tour and nine times on PGA Tour Champions by lacking for talent. And though he lost two major championships in playoffs — to Mark Brooks at the 1996 PGA Championship and to Angel Cabrera at the 2009 Masters — he’s won four majors on the senior circuit: a Senior Players and a Tradition to go along with his two U.S. Senior Open victories.

“When you’ve got Palmer, Nicklaus, Player on that trophy, it makes you feel pretty special you’re part of that company,” Perry said. “It’s been pretty rough on me my whole life. I’ve always come up a little short in my career. To finally break through and win a couple of these titles really means a lot.

“This takes the edge off the pain I still carry with me to be able to have some major titles associated with my name. It still motivates me very highly. It keeps me going, keeps the fire burning inside of me.”

Elway, Solich Will Team Up in Qualifying: As was noted months ago, U.S. Senior Open honorary chairman and Broncos general manager John Elway will attempt to qualify for the championship on Memorial Day at The Broadmoor. And, as Elway indicated in a video message on Monday, he’ll have a secret weapon of sorts to help bolster his chances.

Elway said George Solich, a co-founder of the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy who himself caddied at The Broadmoor as a teenager en route to receiving the Evans Scholarship for caddies, will be looping for the Pro Football Hall of Famer on May 28.

“He was a caddie down there for a long, long time,” Elway said of Solich, a friend for years. “He told me he’d get me through it and make sure I qualified.

“I’m excited for the opportunity just to play in a qualifier. I don’t have high expectations. My practice for the last three months has been inside the (Broncos) draft room. It’s been the mental side of practice and nothing physical. But I’m glad to be part of the Senior Open and bringing it back to Colorado.”

A lifelong golf amateur, Elway has finished as high as 19th in the CoBank Colorado Senior Open, has made the cut once in the Colorado Open, and has placed in the top 10 14 times in the nationally televised American Century Championships celebrity tournament in the Lake Tahoe area. He and Tom Hart won the 2009 Trans-Miss Four-Ball at Cherry Hills and tied for second in the 2010 CGA Four-Ball.

In all, more than 2,200 golfers posted entries for the U.S. Senior Open, with most of them competing at one of 34 qualifying tournaments. The qualifier at The Broadmoor on May 28 has a full field of 84 players.

Irwin, Watson Conducting Kids Exhibitions: Russ Miller, The Broadmoor’s director of golf, said Monday that two World Golf Hall of Famers will conduct kids exhibitions the week of the U.S. Senior Open June 25-July 1. Former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin, the career victory leader on PGA Tour Champions, will do the honors on Tuesday afternoon (June 26) and Tom Watson on Wednesday afternoon (June 27).

Miller said that in addition to Irwin, Watson and Perry, among those who are planning to play in the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor are Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III (who was previously announced) and Steve Stricker.

In Short: Among those in attendance at Monday’s U.S. Senior Open Championship Preview at The Broadmoor was a who’s who of Colorado golf. On hand were Judy Bell, a former USGA president; Dow Finsterwald, winner of the 1958 PGA Championship among his 11 PGA Tour titles; and Dale Douglass, who owns three PGA Tour wins and 11 on PGA Tour Champions, including a U.S. Senior Open. (Douglass and Finsterwald are pictured above.) Also at the festivities was Broncos placekicker Brandon McManus. … At least 21 hours of TV coverage is planned for the U.S. Senior Open, almost all on FS1. … The Broadmoor’s East Course will play 7,264 yards — and thereabouts — and to a par of 70 for the Senior Open. The 17th hole will be a par-4 rather than a par-5 for the championship. And the seventh and 11th holes will be flipped for the tournament, with both playing as par-4s.
 

In Albrecht’s case, he’s hoping for a strong showing in qualifying to land a berth in the national championship, which this year is being held in his home state, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs June 28-July 1. Also falling into that same category, as we reported late last month, is Broncos general manager John Elway, the honorary chairman of the championship.

Online registration for the U.S. Senior Open began on March 7 and will wrap up on May 16. After that, the USGA will release a list of all the exempt players who have entered the tournament.

But we’ve already gotten an indication of some of the big-name players who are definitely coming — and how they feel about The Broadmoor, the historic venue that will host its eighth USGA championship and second U.S. Senior Open.

Tom Watson, arguably one of the top 10 golfers of all time after a career that’s included 39 PGA Tour victories and eight titles in major championships, recently indicated he plans to return to The Broadmoor, where he finished 23rd in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open. Watson owns 14 career wins on PGA Tour Champions.

“I’m looking forward to playing in the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor — love that place — and of course the British Senior Open at St. Andrews, the Old Course there, that will be neat,” the 68-year-old Watson said on PGATour.com. “Looking forward to those tournaments.”

Another World Golf Hall of Famer who plans on competing at The Broadmoor is Davis Love III, who will be making his U.S. Senior Open debut. In fact, if Love doesn’t play in the Regions Tradition or the Senior PGA Championship in May, it’ll be his first senior major. To date, he’s played in nine PGA Tour Champions events, with a best finish of third place. Love has won 21 titles on the PGA Tour, including a PGA Championship.

“I’m really happy that my first U.S. Senior Open will be at The Broadmoor, one of America’s historic resorts,” said Love, who turns 54 on April 13. “Colorado has been a special place for my family. I won two PGA Tour tournaments at Castle Pines (1990 and 2003 at The International) and my father captured two (Colorado Junior Match Play) tournaments on the state level here in the 1950s (1953 and ’54).

“Having competed in more than 20 U.S. Opens, I know that I’ll have the same type of challenges at the Senior Open because of the course and the world-class field. I’ll have to use all my skills to pass this ultimate test, but I am ready for it.”

Then there’s two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, another winner of The International at Castle Pines (1995), who entered the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month.

“@USGA my entry is in for the US Senior Open at the Broadmoor,” Janzen tweeted. “Excited to play there for the first time. Heard lots of great things about the venue.”

Among the other prominent players exempt for the U.S. Senior Open — and still competing at least on a semi-regular basis — are World Golf Hall of Famers Hale Irwin, Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie and Fred Couples.

Like the championship itself, the Colorado-based qualifying tournament — for players who aren’t exempt — will be contested at The Broadmoor’s East Course, on May 28.