Players to watch: U.S. Senior Open Championship

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Like any USGA major, the U.S. Senior Open moves around each year, bringing players to different cities and challenging new venues.

This is the first year the tournament will take place at The Broadmoor, a historic resort at the base of majestic mountains, including the famous Pikes Peak.

The 156 competitors will face changes in altitude -- at 6,000 feet above sea level, the ball tends to fly about eight percent further -- and a 7,254-yard, Donald Ross-designed course as they vie for the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Senior Open Championship Trophy.

But it won't be new for all of the Champions Tour players, since several, including Mark O'Meara, John Cook, Hale Irwin, Mark Wiebe and Craig Stadler, participated in the Broadmoor Men's Invitational while they were amateurs and know the East Course, which is the longest in U.S. Senior Open history.

Because of their experience and their current Champions Tour record, Irwin and Cook made our list of players to watch. Joining them are eight others with a shot at the top prize.

Bernhard Langer

Why? Let's see, after a solo fourth at last week's Senior British Open, he's the new leader in the Charles Schwab Cup race. It's not a spot he's unfamiliar with, since Langer sat at the top for seven weeks following his two wins in March. When Langer doesn't win or finish inside the top 10 -- something he's done 10 times in 14 starts -- he's still viewed as a threat to win each and every week by his opponents and the media.

Hale Irwin

Irwin is a University of Colorado alum, a Boulder, Colo., native and the winner of the prestigious Broadmoor Men's Invitational as an amateur in 1967. Ties to Colorado and The Broadmoor plus his record as the Champions Tour's all-time winningest golfer equals a player with a good chance for victory. Irwin's best finish this year came in his last event -- 12th at the 3M Championship -- so perhaps things are turning around in an otherwise lackluster season. Well, lackluster for Irwin, who has won every year but one in 13 years on the Champions Tour.

Jay Haas

How can you not pick Jay Haas as a favorite at a major? He won the first one of the season at the Senior PGA Championship and has a shot at victory every time he tees it up. If he wins this week, it'd be his third victory this season and would practically lock up the Charles Schwab Cup points race. Haas had been the leader until Bernhard Langer passed him last week.

John Cook

He's come oh-so-close to that first Champions Tour win this season and his second victory overall. Cook has played so well this year that he's third in the Charles Schwab Cup standings -- the competition that rewards players who finish in the top 10 -- without a victory. He lost in a playoff at the Senior British Open on Sunday and has nine other finishes inside the top 6 this season. Cook won the 1987 INTERNATIONAL (which took place in similar, higher altitude conditions in Colorado) and could finally capture a victory this week after a year of close calls.

Jeff Sluman

Slu's had a great year, with a win and several other top 3s sprinkled in with a handful of top 10s. His heartbreaking loss at the Senior PGA Championship in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y., was overcome by his win two tournaments later at the Bank of America Championship. Sluman captured a major on the PGA TOUR 20 years ago -- perhaps it's time for major No. 2.

Loren Roberts

Roberts has three won majors out of the five on the Champions Tour. To complete the Major Five, all he needs is a win at the U.S. Senior Open Championship and the Senior PGA Championship. Roberts, one of the best putters on the Champions Tour, could cross one of those off the list at The Broadmoor this week. In his last six starts, he has a win and two seconds. Needless to say, he's pretty hot heading into the season's third major.

Joey Sindelar

He's steadily improved since joining the Champions Tour in April, with his best finish a tie for third at the Senior PGA Championship. Sindelar captured his fifth of seven titles on the PGA TOUR at the INTERNATIONAL in 1988, so he has experience winning in Colorado and could make The Broadmoor the site of his first Champions Tour triumph.

Fred Funk

Since his win at the first event of the Champions Tour season, Funk has finished inside the top 10 only once. Granted, he still has status on the PGA TOUR and is spending most of his time over there, but Funk probably expected to perform better on the 50-and-over circuit after such a stellar showing in 2007. One disclaimer -- Funk did have surgery on May 14 to repair cartilage in his right knee, so that likely explains his lukewarm record. Funk's recovered now, though, and ready to turn his Champions Tour year around with win No. 2.

Tom Watson

Watson is the Tiger Woods of the Champions Tour. He doesn't play in as many events as the other pros, choosing to focus on the majors and a few other tournaments. Yet, each year without fail, Watson earns enough Charles Schwab Cup points with his limited schedule to finish as high as players who've teed it up nearly every week. Case in point -- Watson has played in just seven events this year, won twice, finished inside the top 10 five times and is seventh in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. In his past six starts at the U.S. Senior Open, Watson has three runner-up finishes and two other top 10s. He's hungry to win this one.

Ben Crenshaw

If the Champions Tour bestowed a "Best Player Never to Have Won" label on anyone, the honor would go to Crenshaw. While none of the previous nine players mentioned would be a surprise to win this week, a Crenshaw victory might be a long shot. But even though he has never won since joining the Champions Tour in 2002, Crenshaw has come close. His best finish this year was a tie for third at the Toshiba Classic and last year he was runner-up at the U.S. Senior Open. Will he go one better this year?