For a golf course rich with history, the Inverness Club and city of Toledo witnessed more history in the making as Olin Browne won his first major championship with the 2011 U.S. Senior Open Sunday.

Browne struggled on the front nine holes of the final round of the tournament with an even par of 71, relying on the strength of the previous rounds to clinch his first wire-to-wire victory over Mark O’Meara.

“I don’t think it matters how you win,” Browne said. “But it certainly was a lot harder, and I think this will be a confidence boost for me to know that I can hang in there when I don’t have my game, and I sure as heck didn’t have my game today.”

Rich Nachezel, president of Destination Toledo, said nearby cities like Bowling Green would benefit from visitors passing through the city on their way to Toledo because of the number of people traveling through the region.

Cities like Bowling Green benefit from the patronage of local golf enthusiasts in Northwest Ohio who flocked to the 2011 Open in Toledo.

David Marr, analyst for the Golf Channel, detected a great deal of golf enthusiasm from the Northwest Ohio area and noted the passion golfers have to “cram … into a short season” to deal with the winters.

“This part of the country is a very big supporter of the game, and I think the fact that all that support has to be compressed into a short season, you feel it in a sort of an extra dense kind of a form,” Marr said.

Browne’s victory concluded the second U.S. Senior Open and ninth major championship for the Inverness Club, which includes the 2003 Senior Open, the 1979 U.S. Open and the 1986 and 1993 PGA Championships.

Judd Silverman, Championship Director and a member of the tournament Board of Advisors, said the course extends invitations to the United States Golf Association for the tournament.

“I think they were eager to come back to Inverness,” Silverman said. “After 2003, it made perfect sense to come back again.”

Silverman said the tournament is good for the region as well, generating hotel room sales and bringing in 2,200 volunteers from 15 states to help.

Joel Whitmore, president of Northwood Schools Athletic Boosters in Northwood, Ohio, works with supporters at concessions with a certain percentage of profits going toward his organization.

Whitmore complimented the staff and patrons, who were “very tip friendly,” and enjoyed interacting with some players that came by for a snack, particularly Fuzzy Zoeller.

Businesses that sponsored the event were able to have their workers watch the tournament inside air-conditioned tents.

Morgan said the tents allow firms to spend time with clients in a more casual setting.

“When you come out here, you don’t spend half an hour with [the clients], you spend two or three hours with them,” Morgan said.

She said the national prominence of the tournament helped the experience.

“It’s a great thing for the area,” Morgan said. “We’re very fortunate to have this course here and to have the opportunity to bring this kind of event to Northwest Ohio.”

Club professional David Graf said that many of the contestants in the tournament competed at the club in the latter championships.

“To have them come back from when they were in their heyday or in their prime was certainly special, and it’s great for the fans to connect with,” Graf said.

Joey Sindelar, who tied for fourth place with Hale Irwin in this tournament, said he was “a young member of the old guys’ tour” at the age of 53.

“There are still guys playing in this event who were legends to me,” Sindelar said. “That’s part of the huge thrill of it, is … walking the history of what golf has been the last 30 years, and it’s really a lot of fun.”

Sindelar and Marr complimented the setup of the course and the surrounding infrastructure with a hotel close to the course and an easy commute.

“From a media perspective, it is unbelievably easy to cover this championship,” Marr said. “From a viewer’s perspective, you get to come in and you are first row, with Hall of Fame members hitting great shots, making a bunch of birdies, and if you’re lucky and close enough to them, they give you a putting tip before they go out and play.”

Sindelar said he enjoys playing on courses designed by Donald Ross, including Inverness.

“To me, this is classic, fabulous golf,” Sindelar said.