Tony Banks, an assistant pro at the club, will be taking his 300-plus yard drives to Caves Valley Golf Club in Owing Mills, Md., for the senior national championship.
He didn’t even know until Sunday evening that he would be playing in the event, said Chad Derusseau, head professional at The Legacy.
The USGA called the club and told Banks that he would be taking the place of Bob Duval, who had withdrawn. Banks had finished as first alternate during a qualifying round held at Gates Four in Fayetteville last month.
“He was working when they called,” Derusseau said, “and they worked out the details. Then he came back to work on Monday before leaving for Maryland in the afternoon.”
Now, that sounds like a man who is pretty unflappable, and that kind of demeanor might serve him well in the pressure cooker that is an U.S. Open.
With a cool demeanor and prodigious drives working in his favor, his many friends and supporters at the club are hoping to get a long look at him on television on Friday.
He has a 7:35 a.m. starting time on Thursday and will turn around and begin play on Friday at 12:35 p.m. Thursday he begins on the 10th hole, while Friday he will play the course starting from the first hole.
“We’re hoping that if he does well on Thursday, he’ll get plenty of air time on Friday,” Derusseau said.
The tournament airs on the Golf Channel on Thursday and Friday, beginning at noon each day. The tournament moves over to NBC for the Saturday and Sunday rounds.
Banks will be playing with Bobby Cole and amateur Thomas Jung.
Bruce Fleisher is the defending champion.
