US Senior Open heading to finish on Monday; Hiroyuki Fujita at top

Hiroyuki Fujita © Gallo Images

Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita is eight holes away from winning his first major senior championship, but whether he can secure the US Senior Open title remains to be seen on Sunday.

Play was suspended Sunday afternoon due to a thunderstorm that arrived just after the leader made the turn at Newport (RI) Country Club. According to the USGA, course conditions would not allow play to resume until Monday.

The USGA scheduled early tee times Sunday morning with storms in the forecast, but heavy fog pushed back the start of the day by two hours.

Fujita, who led by two strokes after 54 holes, played his first 10 holes at 2 under par (three birdies, one bogey) to reach 16 under for the championship. He leads the Englishman Richard Bland by three shots.

Richard Green of Australia is in third place at 12 under, and seven-time senior major winner Steve Stricker is fourth at 10 under. The top four on the leaderboard were all through 10 holes before play was stopped.

Fujita, 55, has not won a tournament in the United States but has built a strong career in his home country, winning 18 titles on the Japan Golf Tour. He is also the reigning winner of the Japan Senior Open. He could become the first Japanese man to win a USGA championship.

“Every time I go to one of these majors, I’m just excited to be with these guys. Playing with them is an honor,” Fujita said Saturday.

His closest rival is Bland, the LIV Golf member whose victory in last month’s Senior PGA Championship qualified him for this week.

Bland, who had a 64 on Friday, was not happy with the 69 he shot on Saturday. He started his Sunday round with three straight birdies and posted a 4-under 31 after 10 holes.