David Noto, golf professional at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, will be joining the field for the 46th U.S. Senior Open Championship at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio from July 2–5. He secured his place in the 156-player field by navigating two demanding qualifying rounds that put his shotmaking to the test. This is his first appearance in any USGA national championship final.
The U.S. Senior Open is open to professionals and amateurs aged 50 or older with a USGA Handicap Index of 2.4 or better. The tournament opens with 36 holes of stroke play Thursday and Friday, after which the low 60 scores and ties advance to a final 36 holes over the weekend.
Getting there was a two-stage grind for Noto. At local qualifying on April 9 at Wynlakes Golf & Country Club in Montgomery, Alabama, he shot 1-under par in a field of 69 players, ultimately tying for fourth and advancing with one of 14 available spots. At final qualifying on May 19 at Treyburn Country Club in Durham, North Carolina — the last gate before Scioto — he needed to play his best golf when it counted most.
Here’s the detail that makes this story: Noto knew that he needed to birdie the final hole to qualify on the number at Treyburn. With a spot in the field on the line, he drained the birdie putt on 18, finishing 2-under and punching his ticket to the championship. His trailblazing from the Grove Park fairways through Montgomery and Durham to Columbus is exactly what the USGA’s open qualifying system was designed to reward.
Best of luck in Columbus, David. We’ll be rooting for you!
At the turn…
Donald Ross connection — Designed by the legendary Donald Ross, Scioto Country Club is where a young Jack Nicklaus was introduced to the game. It features a traditional, creek-carved layout with strategic bunkering and undulating, heavily fortified greens. Ross’s name can be found on several courses in WNC, including David Noto’s home course at the Omni Grove Park Inn.
Where to watch — You can catch all of the U.S. Senior Open action at Easy Tiger, downtown Asheville’s newest game-day gastro pub. Chef Gordon Gibbs, who also runs Flour, offers an elevated pub menu built on local ingredients. Best of all for the late-night crowd: The kitchen stays open until midnight.
Local college golf — Sophomore Caroline Patterson became the first UNC Asheville golfer to win an individual conference championship, taking Big South Medalist honors in April. The program also opened the new Sherri and Rob Daniels Golf Center on campus in January with two simulators, a putting area, and player lockers replacing the practice space lost to Helene.
WNC’s valley courses: How your tee time shapes the round.
Most golfers pick a tee time based on availability or personal preference. On WNC’s valley floor, that choice determines which course they actually play.
Valley courses in the region — Burlingame Country Club and The Country Club of Sapphire Valley are perfect examples — sit in terrain cupped by surrounding ridgelines. Morning rounds play in sheltered, calm air as the greens hold overnight moisture, roll slower, and break more predictably. Shadows cover portions of the layout until mid-morning, keeping conditions consistent hole to hole. In the afternoon, these courses can quickly change character.
A few things to consider:
Expect faster greens on the sun-exposed back nine — Morning moisture is gone. Return to your pre-round putting green warmup assumptions and reset. You’ll find that you need less pace on every lag putt.
Watch the ridge line, not just the flag — In afternoon, wind doesn’t come from a consistent direction; it gets deflected by the terrain. The flag may hang still while a crosswind 30 feet up is pushing your approach.
Book mornings for scoring rounds — If you’re playing a course for the first time and/or competing, morning tee times will typically give you more consistent, predictable conditions.
As the morning shade retreats, always remember that the character of the course will change. The thermal air rising from heated ridge faces will push crosswinds onto holes that play dead calm at dawn. Greens get firm and quick, and the same putt that tracked cleanly in the morning can skip-and-run by early afternoon.
Next time you book a tee time at a WNC valley course, remember: While the scorecard may be the same at 7 AM and 3 PM, the course conditions are not.
