National Golf Championship is Returning to Salem Country Club

Salem Country Club in Peabody will host the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship, the U.S Golf Association announced on Wednesday.

The event, which is scheduled from June 29 to July 2, 2017, will be the sixth U.S. Golf Association event at Salem Country Club.

 “The USGA is delighted to return to Salem Country Club and the New England region,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. “Salem Country Club was a demanding and competitive test for the best senior players in 2001, and the club is associated with two of the USGA’s greatest champions in Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Hollis Stacy. We expect an enthusiastic setting for conducting a successful 2017 U.S. Senior Open.”

The last time Salem Country Club hosted the U.S. Senior Open in 2001 Bruce Fleisher defeated Gil Morgan and Isao Aoki by one stroke.

In announcing Salem Country Club’s selection, the USGA pointed to the club’s connection to golfing legends.

“Babe Didrikson Zaharias claimed her third Women’s Open in 1954 in memorable fashion. Zaharias was just months removed from surgery for colon cancer, and the disease would claim her life two years later, yet her four-round total of 291 was 12 strokes better than her nearest competitor. She remains the championship’s oldest winner at age 43. In 1984, Hollis Stacy also won her third U.S. Women’s Open at Salem with a final-round 69 that provided her with an overall total of 2-over 290 and a one-stroke victory over Rosie Jones,” said the USGA.

“Salem also hosted the 1932 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1977 U.S. Senior Amateur championships. Virginia Van Wie won the first of three consecutive Women’s Amateur titles by defeating six-time USGA champion Glenna Collett Vare, 10 and 8, in the final. Dale Morey recorded his second U.S. Senior Amateur championship with a 4-and-3 victory over Lewis W. Oehmig,” added the USGA.

Salem Country Club, which was established by 12 Salem residents in 1895, opened for play in 1925. Donald Ross, who is a well-known figure in golf course history, designed the course and it’s considered one of his finest.

“Salem Country Club is pleased and honored that the U.S. Senior Open Championship will return to our demanding and storied course in 2017,” said William H. Sheehan III, general chairman of the 2017 U.S. Senior Open. “Our entire membership looks forward to welcoming many of the game’s greatest players, the tens of thousands of golf enthusiasts who will be in attendance and the millions who will be watching on television.”

The Senior Open will bring golf fans to Peabody and the North Shore and could mean a shot in the arm for local businesses in the summer of 2017.

“The City of Peabody is extremely proud to be the host city for the 2017 U.S. Senior Open Championship,” said Peabody Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr. “Golfers and spectators alike can expect the very best of accommodations, dining options, shopping and recreational opportunities that our friendly and welcoming community has to offer.”