PLAYING THE U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Glace Bay man living in Ottawa has qualified.
A Glace Bay native will be sharing the tee box with some golfing greats later this month.
John Kelly, who lives in Ottawa, qualified to compete at the U.S. Senior Open tournament at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass., June 29-July 2. The 57-year-old earned a spot in the event by winning a qualifier in Indiana, Pa., on May 24, shooting a 69 for the lone spot available.
“We drove down the day before and got a practice round in,” Kelly said. He and a friend made the trip to compete in the qualifier. “We didn’t expect much because the other locations we’ve gone to before, the qualifiers had maybe three spots available and then you have a little more of a chance.
“We were a little discouraged when we discovered that there was only one spot, but when you don’t expect much, sometimes that’s when you play your best.”
Kelly grew up in Glace Bay in a large family. When he was 11, his mother signed up him and two of his brothers for the junior program at Lingan Golf and Country Club. He’d return to the course in 2001 to win the Homebuilders championship — also known as the Roadbuilders — a longstanding event dubbed by many as the unofficial Cape Breton men’s golf championship.
Kelly left Cape Breton to join the military in 1979 and has been stationed in Kingston, Ont., Edmonton, Germany, Halifax and Ottawa during his career. He retired from the air force as a corporal after 25 years of service in 2005. While active, he competed for Canada’s national military golf team from 1990 until his retirement.
He’s also a member of the Canadian PGA, and worked as an assistant pro at Hylands Golf Club in Ottawa. Kelly competes in CPGA tournaments, and continues to work in the back shop of the Hylands today.
Kelly said the U.S. Senior Open will be the biggest tournament of his career, and expects there to be some nerves, but hopes to perform when the pressure is on.
“The U.S. Senior Open is similar to the U.S. Open where it’s always set up the toughest out of all the other tournaments,” he said. “I’m just hoping to be respectable…my dream is to make the weekend for sure.”
Kelly said he’s going to do his best not get too star-struck by some of the players he’s watched on television, like Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer. Langer captured the Senior PGA Championship on May 28 with a one-stroke victory over Vijay Singh.
To help offset the cost of the trip, Kelly has set up a GoFundMe campaign at www.gofundme.com/pga-tour-seniors. By Tuesday night, he has raised $3,185 of his $7,500 goal.