U.S. Senior Open fits Bob Rannow to a tee


Bob Rannow, PGA pro at Ocean Dunes Golf Links

You will have to get up early Thursday to catch Florence's Bob Rannow play in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament at the Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

Rannow, the PGA professional at Ocean Dunes Golf Links, will tee off on hole No. 1 at 4:41 a.m. PDT. Fox Sports 1 will start national television coverage at noon.

"It's a real big thrill to get to play golf with people I've gotten to know play golf on TV for so long," Rannow said Saturday, while hosting the annual Kiwanis Club tournament at Ocean Dunes.

"The cool part for me is that I feel like my game is at a pretty good spot. It could be really good. Only time can tell."

Rannow leaves Sunday with his wife, Katherine, and daughter, Hannah. He will get practice rounds Tuesday and Wednesday at the Warren Golf Course, working to qualify for the weekend with good play Thursday and Friday.

Tee times for the first two rounds of the 40th U.S. Senior Open are online at https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2019/u-s--senior-open.html#!starting-times.

Friday he tees off at 10:16 a.m. PDT on hole No. 10.

"So far, the ball flight looks good, the way I'm rolling the putter looks pretty good, so hopefully I can keep that going and enhance it to some degree." Rannow said.

"The strategy part, what club off what tee, is a big part of what success I have. I try to find the widest part of the fairway you can find, but also being aggressive enough to push it in so you can get an aggressive look at a birdie, creating a birdie opportunity."

Rannow, 50, is paired with fellow PGA pro Jon Fiedler, 66, of Camarillo, Calif., and amateur Eddie Hargett, 58, of Blythewood, S.C., for both rounds.

All three made the field at sectional qualifiers, Rannow at Woodburn, Ore., Fiedler at Pasadena, Calif., and Hargett at Silver Spring, Md.

"The history of the event, what the USGA does in terms of creating a challenging environment, it's not going to be easy, I'm sure," Rannow said.

"If I do what I do when I'm on, play the kind of golf I'm capable of playing, I think something great could happen."

NOTES

Bob Rannow was born in Lincoln City and graduated from Taft High School ... He attended the University of Oregon and graduated with a degree in history ... He was a member of the Ducks golf team. ....

Rannow played a year on the Canadian Tour and made a couple of attempts at the PGA Tour before entering the golf business fulltime as a teaching professional.

"The people I get to be involved with everyday are incredible people," Rannow said. "The customer's having fun, and we're trying to do whatever we can to make their day fun. It's like (the TV sitcom) Cheers, where everybody knows your name. It's challenging, but that's what we try to do."