By GARY VAN SICKLE | June 14, 2018

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – I met a couple of Open contestants here Wednesday morning who drive it 225 yards off the tee but think they can be competitive.

Amy Alcott and Hollis Stacy.

Oh, I meant U.S. Senior Women’s Open contestants. It’s a new tournament in the USGA corral, finally giving the, uh, mature women the same chance to compete that senior men were afforded when the USGA started its U.S. Senior Open in 1980. Thirty-eight years later? Yeah, that’s about how far behind women’s equality issues usually lag men’s in our great society.

“The event is a long time in coming,” said Alcott, a World Golf Hall of Famer whose 29 LPGA victories included five major championships. “I want to thank the USGA for stepping up to the plate way before the #MeToo comments were ever made and making this a reality.”

I was a little embarrassed when the USGA’s own news conference, featuring executive director Mike Davis and managing director Jeff Hall, paused briefly at its conclusion and Alcott, fellow Hall of Famer Stacy and Senior Women’s Open director Matt Sawicki stepped onto the podium for an additional session and three-fourths of the 75 or so media in the room got to their feet and exited.