Eugene golf pro slows his pace in bid to qualify for Senior Open championship

Christopher Smith, the director of instruction at the Eugene Country Club and a world-record holder in the novelty sport of speed golf, on July 21 will take his second shot in three years at qualifying for the Senior Open, formerly the Senior British Open.

“I think if I shoot under par, I’ve got a chance,” said Smith, 62. “A pretty good chance.”

Smith, who shot 1-over par in 2023 in Wales, failing to qualify for that year’s Senior Open by a couple of strokes, will tee off Monday at the par-71 Camberley Heath Golf Club, just west of London.

He’s one of about 500 senior (50 and over) golfers who will play at four courses Monday to try to earn around 20 remaining spots in Europe’s only senior major, held since 1987, to be played this year at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire County.

To qualify for a shot to qualify, hopefuls must either be affiliated with a recognized tour or, like Smith, hold PGA membership. They also need a handicap of 0.4 or lower, although Smith said his right now is about +1.4.

Smith, a three-time recipient of the Pacific Northwest PGA Teacher of the Year Award (2003, 2004, 2023), is a PGA master professional in teaching and coaching. 

The majority of the Senior Open field, about 130 golfers, is filled with those who have exempt status: former winners of the tournament, winners of one of golf’s four majors (The Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, British Open), top-60 money winners, and so on.

Smith, a 1981 South Eugene High School graduate, is no stranger to high-pressure situations.

Twenty years ago this fall, he completed an 18-hole round at Chicago’s Jackson Park Golf Course in 44 minutes and six seconds, using just six clubs and running between the holes. His score? 65. Under speed golf rules, adding the number of strokes to the time, Smith’s score, observed by Guinness World Records officials, was 109.06.

The record, set on Oct. 16, 2005, has been broken a few times, with Scott Dawley also shooting a 65 in 42:15 on Sept. 5, 2021, for a score of 107.15 at the U.S. Speedgolf Championships in Springfield, Missouri, according to Golf.com. But neither Dawley’s or any other alleged records were observed by Guinness.

Smith, who recently started a podcast called “Don’t Get Me Started,” is considering getting back into speed golf, he said, after years of helping organize and spur a lot of the buzz around the sport, including in 2012 when Bandon Dunes Golf Resort held the inaugural Speed Golf World Championships.

For now, though, he’s focused on joining the likes of K.J. Choi, the 2024 Senior Open champion, four-time winner Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters champion, and two-time runner-up Padraig Harrington.

As he did in 2023, Smith has entered the qualifying round with friend and fellow golf coach Hugh Marr, a 52-year-old Scot who’s based in London and has coached on the European Tour for many years.

If Smith qualifies, it’ll be the biggest tournament he’s played in since the 2003 Oregon Classic, part of the Nationwide Tour from 1998 to 2008 at Shadow Hills Country Club in Junction City. 

Smith missed the cut in that tournament, but he wasn’t the only South Eugene alum who missed the cut in the 2003 Oregon Classic; so did former PGA Tour players Jeff Quinney and Casey Martin, best known these days as the University of Oregon golf coach.

Smith’s goal for Monday’s round is a 4-under par 67.

“If I shoot 67, I’ll get in,” he said. “This one’s doable.”