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Senior golf championship could return to Fox Chapel
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PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said this morning it is a "high priority" to consider returning the Constellation Senior Players Championship to Fox Chapel beyond this year.
Finchem was on hand for the start of the first round at Fox Chapel and greeted some of the players on the first tee.
"Absolutely," Finchem said. "We have to sit down after the tournament like we always do, sit down with the club and see what the interest level is, although indications are they are very excited.
"We recognize the U.S. Open is going to be back here [at Oakmont] in a few years [in 2016], so we got to take that into consideration. We like to do our planning on a long-term basis. Whatever direction we go, being able to come back here and play would be high on our list."
The PGA Tour and Fox Chapel agreed to host the tournament for one year only with no contingency for future dates. But, Finchem said the positive reaction of the players to the golf course, coupled with what he said has been a favorable response from the Western Pennsylvania community, has increased the possibility the tournament could return to Fox Chapel.
However, Finchem also said the tournament has rotated to different sites recently and that is still a possibility.
"We know how the players feel about the golf course," Finchem said. "We just got into the competition, but we know from the way the week has gone about the enthusiasm of the fans. We have a sense of what the future will be.
"We have a really good working relationship with the club. They were enthusiastic from the get-go. I think it's more a question of sitting down and seeing what makes sense for everybody. It's not a question so much of whether, it's a question of how, and when, and what works. We got some other situations we need to deal with, but this would be a priority for us."
First Published June 28, 2012 12:23 am
