Suburban's Mark Mccormick Ready For U.S. Senior Open
By Stephen Edelson, Asbury Park Press
Five years may have passed since Mark McCormick played in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, but the Middletown native, and head pro at Suburban Golf Club in Union, is reminded of it quite often.
"When members at the club introduce me to guests, I’m not Mark McCormick, PGA, golf professional at Suburban,’’ he said. ``I’m Mark McCormick, who played in the U.S. Open. They're like, `he played in the U.S. Open?’ So that’s pretty much my name now.’’
That’s how important playing in an Open is. It’s the seminal event in a playing career and a defining moment to everyone else.
And this week, McCormick will be back at it.
The 2008 New Jersey Open champion will be at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass., for the U.S. Senior Open, where the 54-year-old, along with his longtime caddy, former E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, will take on the best 50-and-up players on the planet, vying for a piece of a $4-million purse that makes it the richest event in senior golf.
Jim McGovern of White Beeches will also represent New Jersey in the event. The field includes Tom Watson, Lee Janzen, Fred Couples, Mark O'Meara, Vijay Singh, Nick Faldo and many other famous names.The first two rounds will be televised on Fox Sports 1, with the weekend rounds on Fox.
Playing at Olympic was a daunting task for any club pro, much less a 49-year-old. But at Salem, a classic Donald Ross designed layout, McCormick feels a whole lot better about his chances.
``I’m feeling like I can play with these guys,’’ he said. ``In 2012, I was totally overwhelmed and I was playing against guys half my age, and I was just pretty much there to enjoy it. Of course I was hoping to play well, but, I think for this one, I have a chance to compete. I think making the cut is the big mindset. I definitely have more expectations for this event than Olympic.’’
Bill Britton, the director of instruction at Trump National in Colts Neck, made the cut in back-to-back U.S. Senior Opens, finishing tied for 53rd in 2010 and tied for 50th in 2012.
When McCormick, along with Brian Gaffney, who was then the head pro at Rumson Country Club, made it through sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open in 2012, they had a matter of days to get ready for the biggest tests of their careers. This time, McCormick’s had a month to prepare since firing a 67 to finish as the qualifying medalist at Bonnie Briar Country Club in Larchmont, New York.
``At the U.S. Open you were just thrust right into it,’’ he said. ``We had our three-day member-guest right after sectional qualifying and before the Open, so I didn’t even touch a club for a week before going to Olympic, which was kind of crazy.
"One of things that caught me off guard back in 2012 is that I wasn’t in very good physical condition. And I would have to say I’m in 100 percent better shape now five years later than I was at age 49. Because one of the things I realized while I was out there was that not only is there a lot of stress on your brain mentally, but it just physically drains you, and I wasn’t prepared.’’
It’s been a good year for the McCormick family on the golf course.
Ryan McCormick, the 26-year-old former star at Mater Dei Prep and St. Johns, where he won a Big East championship, is competing on the Asian PGA Tour and qualified for his first PGA Tour event earlier this year. It was the same back in 2012, when Ryan won the New Jersey Amateur, the first in a series of area titles he would annex that summer, the same week his father qualified for the U.S. Open.
``I think we kind of spur each other on,’’ Mark McCormick said. ``When he plays well it encourages me to work harder and play better, and I think when I play well it gets him going. It’s kind of nice the way it works. I think it definitely helps me when I see him do some things and it kind of reminds me, `hey, I still have an opportunity to do some things as well.’’’
Most important of all is that fact that McCormick feels like he’s playing as well as he ever has right now. So as he goes through the week, making the drive up I-95 with his wife, Linda, or playing a practice round on Tuesday with McGovern and Joey Sindelar, there will be a sense that this truly is a chance to test himself against the very best.
Staff Writer Stephen Edelson is an Asbury Park Press columnist: sedelson@gannettnj.com
