WHISTLING STRAITS TO HOST 2007 U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Whistling Straits Country Club in Kohler, Wis., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2007 U.S. Senior Open Championship.  The championship is scheduled from July 5-8.

Designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1998, the Straits Course at Whistling Straits is a links-style course located along two and half miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, north of Milwaukee.  Using land that was previously an Army base, the design employs wide fescue fairways and sand dune bunkers to compliment the windy conditions that are prevalent.  All four par-3 holes and four more holes are adjacent to Lake Michigan and play from just above beach level to 80-foot bluffs.   

 “We at Kohler are excited to host this major Championship,” said Herbert V. Kohler Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Kohler Co.  “The world’s most seasoned veterans of the game will be tested by a course that honors the origins and early character of golf.  There’s nothing in championship play this side of the Atlantic like Whistling Straits.”

 The site of the 2004 PGA Championship, Whistling Straits (www.whistlingstraits.com) has also played host to the 1999 PGA Club Professionals Championship.  It will be hosting its first USGA Championship.  Its sister venue, Blackwolf Run, hosted the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open.

 The Senior Open is open to any professional or amateur, 50 or older who has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 3.4.  Among the notable winners are Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin.  Bruce Lietzke won the 2003 Championship. 

 Prior to 2007, the U.S. Senior Open will be played at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Mo., from July 29-Aug.1; at NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, from July 28-31, 2005; and at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., from July 6-9, 2006.

 The USGA conducts 13 national championships each year, including the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open.  Ten of these championships are strictly for amateurs. Visit www.usga.org/champs/index.asp for more information.

GMO Secures U.S. Bank Sponsorship

The Greater Milwaukee Open has reached a landmark sponsorship agreement with U.S. Bank, it was recently announced  by Bryce Edwards, President of the tournament's Board of Directors and Dan Croak, the event's Tournament Director.

The agreement, unprecedented in the tournament's history, begins with this year's event and runs through 2006. The partnership is highlighted by U.S. Bank becoming the title sponsor for the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Open's new name. In addition to the name change and national recognition that U.S. Bank will receive as the title sponsor of the event, U.S. Bank also becomes the primary television advertiser on both the weekend network broadcast of the tournament on CBS and the early round coverage of the event on USA Network.

"We are excited and proud to be partnering with U.S. Bank to bring the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee to our community," said Edwards. "The Greater Milwaukee Open has brought the PGA TOUR to Wisconsin for the past 36 years and this agreement helps to insure that professional tournament golf will continue to be a part of Milwaukee's sports landscape for years to come," Edwards continued. "It is wonderful that a company with such a rich tradition in the city has stepped forward, sharing the tournament's goals of charitable giving and continuing to bring the best golf in the world home."

"It's terrific to be involved with such an outstanding organization and to be the title sponsor of a PGA TOUR event that shares our history in Milwaukee," said Jerry Grundhofer, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of U.S. Bancorp, parent company of U.S. Bank.

"This sponsorship gives us the opportunity to showcase U.S. Bank locally and on a national stage and demonstrates our continued commitment to the greater Milwaukee area, where U.S. Bank has a long history of service to the community," Grundhofer continued. "This event allows us to give back to the people who mean the most to us, our customers and the community, and enables us to contribute to the local economy in a new way. The U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee is great for the community, great for the bank and great for the charities that will continue to benefit from this PGA TOUR event."

The U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee will be held at Brown Deer Park Golf Course from Monday, July 19 to Sunday, July 25. The tournament is a non-profit event that contributed over $500,000 to Milwaukee charities last year and in excess of $3.9 million since the event's move to its current site in 1994. Last year's tournament was won by Kenny Perry during one of the best four week stretches of golf in recent memory.

"The Greater Milwaukee Open has been a fixture on our schedule since 1968, not only bringing the excitement of the PGA TOUR to the area, but also providing significant support to local charities," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "Now, through its new sponsor relationship, the newly named U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee has the opportunity to impact the community even further. U.S. Bank is a company that shares our long standing commitment to giving back, and we are proud to welcome it to our family of tournament sponsors."

Aurora Health Care and Kraft Foods will continue their long standing relationships with the newly named event. Aurora Health Care is a community-owned Wisconsin health care provider and a nationally recognized leader in efforts to improve the quality of health care. A number of Kraft brands such as Tombstone Pizza, Kraft Cheese, and Oscar Mayer are produced in the State of Wisconsin.

The Aurora Health Care Pro-Am will be contested on Wednesday of tournament week. Kraft Foods' popular ticket promotion program will be run in grocery stores throughout the state during the months of May and June.

"The continued involvement of Aurora Health Care and Kraft Foods is integral to the success of the tournament," said Croak. "We are thankful for all that they have done for us in the past and look forward to their continued participation."

U. S. Bancorp, with assets of $189 billion, is the 8th largest financial services holdingcompany in the United States. The company operates 2,243 banking offices and 4,425 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp is home of the Five Star Service Guarantee which assures customers of certain key banking benefits and services or customers will be paid for their inconvenience. U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank.

Information on tickets and business packages to the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee is available by calling (414) 540-3800.