31st U.S. SENIOR OPEN

When: Today through Sunday.
Where: Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish.
Course: 6,866 yards, par 70.
Format: Stroke play, 72 holes. 156-man field will be cut to top 70 and ties after two rounds.
Defending champion: Fred Funk (20-under-par 268 total, won by six strokes at Crooked Stick).
Notes: What is it like playing this old-style, tree-lined layout-of-a-gem in the Northwest? The professionals have been signing the same tune all week: We don’t see courses this narrow on the Champions Tour. Veteran Tom Watson compared it to being “at a bowling alley.” With the greens already firm (131/2 on the Stimpmeter to start the week), the golfers know par will good at Sahalee CC – site of the 1998 PGA Championship and 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational – and something around 6-under-par for four rounds could capture the title.
Television: ESPN2 (Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. PDT) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m.).
Tickets: Daily tickets are $20-$45, and week-long passes start at $150.