By Greg Robertson
ESPN Golf Online
Sunday, July 2

Details
When	Thursday-Sunday
Course	Saucon Valley Country Club (Old course), Bethlehem, Pa.
Par/Yardage	Par 71; 6,749 yards
Purse	$2.25 million (Winner: $400,000)
1999 champion	Dave Eichelberger
Tournament record	14-under 270 (Gary Player, 1987)
Television	Thursday-Friday: Noon-2 and 4-6 p.m. ET (ESPN) Saturday-Sunday: 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC)

The tournament

	Hole by hole
	Hole	Par	Yards
	1	5	553
	2	4	434
	3	4	363
	4	3	154
	5	4	411
	6	5	572
	7	4	425
	8	4	389
	9	3	175
	Out	36	3476
	10	4	334
	11	3	188
	12	5	584
	13	4	434
	14	4	416
	15	4	340
	16	4	382
	17	3	172
	18	4	423
	In	36	3273
	Total	72	6749

A long and difficult course. Narrow fairways and thick rough. The heat of summer. Everything is just the way the United States Golf Association wants it.

Two weeks after watching the younger guys struggle around Pebble Beach -- with one huge exception -- the older set get their shot at U.S. Open conditions. Just how difficult things will be at Saucon Valley Country Club will depend on the weather.

Last year, Dave Eichelberger made it around Des Moines Golf and Country Club in 7-under, one of just six players in red figures. The previous two Senior Opens, nobody broke par. And that's just what the USGA likes to see.

At 6,749 yards, Saucon Valley is one of the longer courses the Seniors see during the year -- especially for a par-71 layout. It all begins on No. 1, a monster 553-yard par-5 where players better be prepared to put the ball in the fairway.

And that's the shortest of the three par-5s on the course. No. 6 measures 572 yards, while No. 12 is 584 yards. And for the big hitters, that leaves no more birdie opportunities over the final six holes unless they are earned.

The last time the Senior Open was played at Saucon Valley, Larry Laoretti was the surprise winner. It remains the only victory in his 11-year Senior career.

But such a surprise is the exception rather than the rule in the Senior Open. Over the 20-year history of the event, the game's biggest stars have risen to the challenge. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Miller Barber, Billy Casper and Hale Irwin all have won.

Other than Laoretti, past winners Tom Weiskopf (4), Simon Hobday (5) and Eichelberger (5) have the fewest career victories. And Weiskopf has been nothing more than a part-time player.

Eichelberger seized control of the tournament on the back nine on Sunday. He broke away from a pack which included Ed Dougherty, Irwin, Gil Morgan and Bruce Summerhays. Dougherty had led the first three rounds and was attempting to match Laoretti with his first Senior win coming at the Open.

The key came midway through the back nine. As Eichelberger was making birdie at the 15th, Dougherty, playing one group behind, was making double-bogey at No. 14. That three-shot swing proved to be the difference.

The Senior Open is the third major this season, with Tom Kite having won the Tradition and Doug Tewell the PGA Seniors' Championship. Both are on the short list of favorites at Saucon Valley.

Others to consider include Irwin, Morgan, Bruce Fleisher, Larry Nelson Dana Quigley and Tom Watson. And never count out Jack Nicklaus, who makes his fifth of an expected eight starts in majors this season.

Trevino, a winner last week at the Cadillac NFL Classic, has also played himself into consideration.

The Senior Tour's final major of the year, the Senior Players Championship, is just two weeks away.