by Brent Hovey
Reporter
Aurora -- Walden Country Club golf pro Mitch Camp will tee it up with the big boys soon.
Camp will play in the some tournament as some legends of the game such as Greg Norman, Hale Irwin, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Mark O'Meara and Fuzzy Zoeller.
That tournament is the U.S. Senior Open, which will take place July 31 to Aug. 3 at The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Camp qualified by winning a preliminary tourney at Oak Tree Country Club in West Middlesex, Pa. He shot 66 to win the one-day qualifier by 4 strokes, and was the only one from that location to qualify.
"I played very well," he said. "I didn't have many scary moments. I hit the ball well, putted reasonably well. It wasn't uneventful, just steady."
Camp was 3-under-par after eight holes. He thought at that point there was a chance to win, but didn't know what everyone else's scores were.
"I made birdie on the last hole and thought I needed it for a playoff," said Camp. "You never know in a tournament like this. It only takes one guy to get hot, but I felt good after that birdie."
Camp will take his game to the PGA Champions Tour and the U.S. Senior Open, the third of five majors on the tour.
Members of the tour must be 50 years or older. This was Camp's first attempt to qualify since he just turned 50 within the last year.
Camp said he won't do anything different to prepare for his first major besides a practice round or two the day before the championship.
AS OF JULY 17, he had played only one round of golf in the previous 13 days because of his involvement with the Walden club championship.
It's hard not to get excited about an opportunity like this, but Camp is doing his best to approach it like any other golf tournament he has played in.
"I'm excited to play, but at the same time I'm trying to act like I'm not," he said. "I expect to play well and make the cut, but at the same time I don't have much time to practice so I'm not going to worry about it.
"I've played well for the last five or six months. I'm just going to try to do what I've been doing over that time."
Camp can tell himself all that stuff and try to take a "no big deal" approach, but it is a big deal and he realizes it.
"It's the biggest event I've ever played in," he said. "So there's a little extra pressure. I'm really excited and looking forward to it.
"It's going to be a whole lot of fun and not just the golf. It's a great place to visit and my family will be there, and some members from Walden, too."
Camp said he knows some of the guys on the tour because he played college golf and mini-tour golf with them. Two of Camp's college teammates are in the field, he added.
"I'll get to see a lot of guys I haven't seen in 25 years," said Camp. "It's not really a reunion but it will be fun and interesting. I'm just going to try and keep my emotions in check, and stay level-headed."
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