Notebook: Four players to tee it up in 2010 U.S. Open

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The Champions Tour is idle until the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, NY (Binghamton) June 21-27. Lonnie Nielsen will defend his title at En-Joie Golf Course where he shot a final-round 63 to win by three strokes over Ronnie Black and Fred Funk.

• After successfully negotiating U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying, Champions Tour members Tom Lehman and David Frost will take their places in the field at Pebble Beach alongside Tom Watson and Fred Funk. Watson was awarded a special exemption by the USGA while Funk was exempt after earning victory at the 2009 U.S. Senior Open Championship. Lehman (69-66--135) was one of 16 players to qualify at Brookside GCC and The Lakes GCC in Columbus, Ohio while Frost (66-68--134) joined 11 others who made it to the U.S. Open at Germantown CC and Ridgeway CC in Memphis, Tenn. Tom Pernice, who was at the same site as Lehman, failed to advance, missing by a stroke, as did Tom Kite at Columbine CC in Littleton, Colo. Corey Pavin missed by two strokes at Bull Valley CC in Woodstock, Ill.

• Scott Langley, a junior at Illinois, won the 2010 NCAA individual title with a 10-under-par total through 54 holes for a two-stroke victory last week in Ooltewah, Tenn. Last week, Langley won his U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier in St. Louis, earning the single spot available by three strokes. He will arrive at Pebble Beach with some knowledge of the course. Langley combined with Dana Quigley to win the pro-junior title at the 2006 Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, a Champions Tour event that pairs a First Tee youngster with a professional in a team competition. Langley represented the First Tee of Little Rock at the 2006 event.

• Speaking of the First Tee Open, it was announced June 14 that the National Association for Home Care & Hospice will serve as title sponsor for the 2010 Champions Tour event at Pebble Beach over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-5). The tournament will be known as the Home Care & Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

• Here's a look at the current top three on the Charles Schwab Cup points list:

• Nick Price (Principal Charity Classic) is the third World Golf Hall of Fame member to win an individual title on the Champions Tour this season, joining Tom Watson (Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai) and Bernhard Langer (Allianz Championship, Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am). The last time three Hall of Famer's won individual titles in the same year on the Champions Tour was 2007, when Watson, Langer and Hale Irwin achieved the feat.

• Mark Calcavecchia celebrated his 50th birthday June 12 and is scheduled to make his Champions Tour debut at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open June 21-27. Calcavecchia finished 66th at the Memorial Tournament, his 737th start on the PGA TOUR. During that period he made 517 cuts (70%) and accumulated 13 victories, including the 1989 British Open.

• Five-time British Open and World Golf Hall of Fame member Tom Watson established his own website recently. Fans can visit http://www.tomwatson.com/ and find updates on Watson's blog, golf instruction, and charity involvement along with photos and video galleries.

• The Big Three -- Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player -- joined forces June 8 to help raise more than $15 million in a single day to benefit the Mountain Mission School. The trio played a 19-hole scramble event at The Olde Farm Golf Club in Grundy, VA in which they competed against 19 different teams of three amateurs. The event was organized by Jim McGlothlin, founder of The Olde Farm and a longtime benefactor of the school.

DAY-BY-DAY HISTORY AT THE U.S. OPEN

• 6/14/10 -- Fred Funk celebrates his 54th birthday knowing he will start later in the week in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Funk earned an exemption to his 21st U.S. Open by winning the 2009 U.S. Senior Open.

• 6/15/86 -- Raymond Floyd comes from three shots behind with a final-round 66 to win the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

• 6/16/06 -- Jay Haas sets a new PGA TOUR record for career cuts made when he makes his 591st career cut at the U.S. Open. He would eventually finish T37 at Winged Foot. Tom Kite held the previous mark at 590.

• 6/17/79 -- Hale Irwin wins his second U.S. Open title when, despite a closing-round 75, he prevails by two strokes over Gary Player and Jerry Pate at Inverness Club in Toledo.

• 6/18/62 -- Jack Nicklaus wins the first of 73 PGA TOUR titles when he defeats Arnold Palmer (71-74) in an 18-hole playoff at the U.S. Open at Oakmont.

• 6/19/77 -- Hubert Green wins the first of two major titles when he prevails by one stroke over Lou Graham at the U.S. Open at Southern Hills in Tulsa. Green played the final four holes knowing a threat had been made on his life.

• 6/20/82 -- Tom Watson chips in on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach to defeat Jack Nicklaus to win the U.S. Open by two strokes.

Quote to note:
"It's a great change of pace. New courses, new towns, new holes to screw up." -- Mark Calcavecchia, referring to his departure from the PGA TOUR to the Champions Tour.