GolfNewsRI

Time…it’s funny how it goes by…. And how things change in just a relatively short amount of… time. 

This U.S. Senior Open was originally scheduled to come to Newport during the summer of 2020. 

Then Providence College basketball coach Ed Cooley and New England Patriots legend Rodney Harrison were going to be honorary chairmen of the event. 

The game of golf was whole back in 2020, there was no LIV Golf League and Tiger Woods had just won the Masters. 

The PGA Tour was seemingly in a good spot. Who Knew. 

Early on in 2020, I was working at another news organization in the state and GolfNewsRI was just an idea that Rich and I talked about in a parking garage. 

But like everything else in 2020, the Senior Open was canceled due to the pandemic and Rhode Islanders were left wondering if it would come back. 

Or did we just get screwed out of hosting a major championship. 

“I wasn’t sure. I knew that they were set up to go Omaha and then Suacon Valley. These tournaments are already on the books, but nothing was on the books yet for 2024. I was surprised as anybody that the USGA, Newport Country Club got together and brought it back this quick,” Billy Andrade told GolfNewsRI in a podcast recently. 

Well, here we are in 2024 and the Senior Open is here. 

“Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes” – David Bowie 

So here we are in 2024 at the Senior Open. 

Ed Cooley is no longer the coach of the Friars, in fact, he jumped ship and now coaches Big East rival Georgetown. 

Needless to say, he is no longer loved in Rhode Island and is not an honorary chairman. 

Rodney Harrison is not an honorary chairman either, though we certainly all still have love for him and is years with the Patriots. 

Speaking of which, in 2020 the Pats were just a year or so removed from a Super Bowl title, but Tom Brady bolted for Tampa. 

Bill Belchick couldn’t rebuild the franchise and is no longer the coach of the Patriots. 

New England will have former player Jerod Mayo as the coach when the season begins in September and the immediate future of the franchise is looking shaky – at best.

Instead, former Red Sox manager – and two time World Series winner – Terry Francona is serving as the honorary chairman in 2024. 

Francona recently retired from managing. 

Here in 2024, I am in the midst of my fifth year building GolfNewsRI and trying to produce some of the best golf content in the region. 

It’s funny, I used to tell people that a benchmark for me was to see where GNRI was in 2024 when the Senior Open comes here.  

Well here we are. 

Just think, if the Senior Open didn’t get canceled in 2020, GNRI wouldn’t have been a thing or if it was, we would have just launched.

I probably wouldn’t be sitting at my workspace in the media room with writers from Golf Digest, Golfweek, Golf Channel and on and on. 

So time… funny how it works.