At the top of the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic leaderboard, consistency is the key.
At the top of the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic leaderboard, consistency is the key. After two rounds at the Omni Orlando (Florida) Resort at ChampionsGate, Carlos Aranda and Matthew Avril are tied for first in the senior division. Both men opened with 2-over 74 then backed it up with a round of 1-over 73 in Wednesday’s second round.
Aranda and Avril, at 3-over for the tournament, have a one-shot cushion on two chasers, and it’s a packed leaderboard after that. Avril, of Vero Beach, Florida, birdied the par-5 18th hole to find his way to the top of the leaderboard. Notably, Avril won the Florida Azalea Senior in 2023.
Aranda’s two birdies came at the first and eighth holes, and the Springfield, Virginia, native sprinkled in three bogeys, too.
With one round to go, a pair of U.S. Senior Amateur champions are also still in the hunt. Bob Royak, the winner in 2019, and Doug Hanzel, the 2013 winner, are both at 6 over.
Kevin VandenBerg, Golfweek’s Senior Player of the Year for 2023, is at 9 over.
The Super Senior division features a little more separation. First-round leader Marcus Beck, who also took Golfweek Player of the Year honors for 2023 in his division, backed up from a 73 to a 78 on Wednesday, and Steve Sharpe took advantage with a round of 1-under 71. At 1 over total, Sharpe, of Greensboro, North Carolina, now has a six-shot lead on Beck and Doug Harris.
Sharpe was one of only two players in all four divisions who went under par on Wednesday.
Bev Hargraves of Little Rock, Arkansas, remains in a tie for the top spot in the Legends division, but now it’s Jeffrey Knox who shares the spot. Both men are at 5 over, while Peter Van Ingen, the other first-round co-leader, dropped a spot to 6 over.
The first-round leader in the Super Legend division, Bill Engel of St. Augustine, Florida, maintained his solo lead and at 7 over, now has a two-shot cushion on Frank Costanzo and John Osborne.
Only one man, Jay Gregory, broke par in the opening round of the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic on Tuesday and he’s leading the tournament’s senior division.
Only one man broke par in the opening round of the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic on Tuesday and he’s leading the tournament’s senior division. Jay Gregory’s 1-under 71 at the Omni Orlando (Florida) Result at ChampionsGate included 17 pars and a single birdie on the par-5 eighth hole, but that birdie gave him a little edge on two men chasing at even par.
Gregory, of Lineville, Iowa, finished fourth at this event a year ago, a big bump from his T-21 finish in 2022. Interestingly, the Midwesterner may be better known for his work hosting a hunting show on The Sportsman Channel than his golf, though his golf also produced top-10 finishes in a handful of state senior tournaments in 2023. Notably, he won the Iowa Senior Masters, finished sixth in the Minnesota Senior Amateur and was eighth at the Iowa Senior Amateur.
Mike Lohner of Southlake, Texas, and Michael Arasin of Auburn, Alabama, are tied for second in the senior division with rounds of 72. Lohner’s round was similar to Gregory’s in its steadiness – he had just one bogey and one birdie – while Arasin offset two bogeys and a double with four birdies.
Doug Hanzel, the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur champion and a Georgia Golf Hall of Famer, is in the mix at 1 over, which left him solo fourth.
In the super senior division, Marcus Beck kickstarted his 2024 season with a round of 1-over 73 that left him one shot ahead of three players tied for second at 2 over. Beck was Golfweek’s Super Senior Player of the Year in 2023 after winning the Florida Senior Azalea and the Reynolds Senior Invitational, finishing runner-up at the Senior Porter Cup and third at the North & South Senior.
Beck, of Tallahassee, Florida, said his game greatly improved in 2023 after a putting lesson he took with Mike Shannon at TPC Sawgrass.
“Same lesson I got when I was 14 years old,” Beck joked, “but it clicked pretty well and I was happy with that.”
Two players, Bev Hargraves of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Peter Van Ingen of Palm Beach, Florida, are tied for first in the Legends division after opening rounds of 2-over 74. It’s a tight race in that division, with Jeffrey Knox of Jupiter, Florida, and Miles Cumberland of Dublin, Ohio, tied for third at 3 over.
Three players share the lead at 4 over in the Super Legends division: Bill Engel of St. Augustine, Florida, Jack Ramsey of Germantown, Tennessee, and John Osborne of Vero Beach, Florida.
“I know I’d like to become one of the better players in what I call the senior circuit, that’s what I’d like to do,” Kevin VandenBerg said.
Back in the summer of 2000, Kevin VandenBerg swept Michigan’s three major amateur tournaments: the Michigan Amateur, Golf Association of Michigan Championship and the Michigan Mid-Amateur. He still remembers a conversation from the next spring. A younger player approached VandenBerg, in his mid 30s at the time, and questioned why, after that hat trick, he hadn’t turned pro – everyone just assumed he would but VandenBerg, who played college golf and baseball at Kalamazoo College in Michigan and was nearly drafted as a catcher, never had those pro aspirations.
Fast forward to 2021 when VandenBerg turned 55 and entered the senior amateur division. He still harbors no pro dreams, but there is something else now.
“I know I’d like to become one of the better players in what I call the senior circuit, that’s what I’d like to do,” he said. “I’m just trying to focus on my game, take care of the things I can do and improve my game the best I can.”
You get there by playing tournaments. Lots and lots of tournaments. In 2023, VandenBerg, a money manager who owns his own company, Apogee Investment Management, teed it up in competition 44 times between Golfweek senior events, Society of Senior events, local tournaments and USGA qualifiers.
Plus, he said, “I played more in 2022.”
But while 2022 ended with VandenBerg runner-up to Rusty Strawn for Golfweek Player of the Year honors in the Senior division (players aged 55-64), VandenBerg did one better in 2023 and took the title for himself. He finished 144 points ahead of Bob Royak, winner of the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur, courtesy of a T-2 finish at the Ralph Bogart Tournament at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. He knew he needed a finish of third place or better at Copperhead to top Royak.
Kevin VandenBerg
“I didn’t look at the scoreboard until the last day we were on 17,” VandenBerg said, “and I looked at the scoreboard and I think I was fourth or tied for third. I knew I needed to make a birdie on one of the last two holes, probably, and I made a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole and that put me over the top.”
VandenBerg, now 57, was motivated by the realization he had a limited window of time on the low end of the senior age bracket.
“I wanted to try and play in as much as I could to try and take advantage of it,” he said, “so I just wanted to play in stuff when I’m earlier and when I’m healthier.”
Knowing his health would play a big role in his golf, VandenBerg lost 60 pounds in 15 months. It went a long way in taking pressure off his back and knees so that he could keep up with such a demanding tournament schedule. It’s possible to play too much, and VandenBerg felt that a few times in the past two years.
An equipment switch to PXG also briefly set back his game this past spring, bringing his handicap from +4 to 0 in a span of two months, but by April he had begun to figure out his new clubs.
“I’m still working on trying to hone in my putting,” he said, “but I’m really satisfied with where my game is now that my equipment is kind of settled in.”
Notably, VandenBerg won the Two Rivers Senior Invitational in 2023 and reached the quarterfinals of the Golfweek Senior National Match Play. Having won the Plantation Senior Invitational and finished third at the Gateway Senior Invitational to start 2024, VandenBerg now counts 13 top 5s in his last 20 starts.
VandenBerg splits the year between Naples, Florida, and Pulaski, New York. In 2023, his wife Nikki took a year off from her job as a middle school special education teacher so she could travel the senior amateur circuit with her husband. They often traveled by RV – an unusual method among VandenBerg’s competitors.
Golf is always a part of VandenBerg’s daily routine – whether it’s work in the morning and play in the afternoon or vice versa – and he recognizes the good fortune in that. A recent goal has been to get his game to the point that he can be competitive in the major events, and 2024 could be the year for that breakthrough.
“I think it’s helped – a couple of people have talked with me and said that I should feel confident in trying to play in some bigger events and really trying to do better in some of the events,” he said.
Marcus Beck was the Golfweek Super Senior Player of the Year in 2023.
Marcus Beck, 66 and winner of Golfweek Player of the Year honors in the Super Senior division (for ages 65-69), is trying to get back there too. He last competed in the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2016, at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, and made match play.
For Beck, who works for Merrill Lynch, this past season was about testing the water to see how many events he’d like to play. In 2023, he competed in not quite 20. Beck anticipates he may play fewer times in 2024 – instead picking his favorites and returning to those spots – though the pull of the competition schedule is hard to ignore.
“It’s kind of contagious if you do well, you know? You want to go on to the next one,” he said. “You make a lot of friends and you see them again at the next one and then my wife might travel with me, she’s got friends now. So it turns out to be a nice thing.”
Beck won the Florida Senior Azalea and the Reynolds Senior Invitational. A runner-up at the Senior Porter Cup and a third-place finish at the North & South Senior also make the highlight reel.
Beck was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, and still resides there, playing out of Capital City Country Club. His bunker game is sharp, he’s tough inside 100 yards and his distance stacks up well in his age division. The big difference in his game in 2023, though, came from a putting lesson he took with Mike Shannon at TPC Sawgrass.
“Same lesson I got when I was 14 years old,” Beck joked, “but it clicked pretty well and I was happy with that.”
In the Legends division (ages 70-74), George Walker of Fairhope, Alabama, won the Player of the Year title with 7,475 points, which was 1,393 better than Peter Allen of South Port, North Carolina, in second. Walker reached the semifinals of the Golfweek Senior National Match Play.
For the second consecutive year, John Blank of Frostburg, Maryland, won the Super Legends division (ages 75 and over) Player of the Year title, this time by 1,635 points over Bill Engle of St. Augustine, Florida.
For as long as he can remember, golf has been Jim Popa’s life.
For as long as he can remember, golf has been Jim Popa’s life. It has been the family game and the family legacy for the Popas, bringing as many memories in services rendered as rounds played. Jim Popa has left his mark primarily in the former way.
Popa, 69, not only led both the Ohio Golf Association and the Columbus District Golf Association, but was the longtime Executive Director of the Society of Seniors. Despite all that, Popa, now fully retired, never imagined himself a candidate for the Yancey Ford Award, annually presented by Golfweek to an individual who has made significant contributions to senior-amateur golf.
When Ford himself called to tell Popa he was this year’s award winner, Popa was speechless. Near the beginning of Popa’s 24-year tenure with the Society of Seniors, Ford was president of the organization. The two men have remained friends since.
“He’s a wonderful human, he’s a great old Virginia gentleman who just epitomizes what you would hope all golfers would be,” Popa said. “Gentle, competitive, nice guys who just really reflect what we’d like to have as models for senior amateur golfers.”
Jim Popa (Courtesy Ohio Golf Association)
Popa and Ford had shared a vision for the Society of Seniors, and Ford was in Popa’s corner when it came to Popa’s rise to the role of Executive Director. Notably, the two men worked to raise money for and launch a scholarship fund for the sons or daughters of full-time employees of the golf courses where the Society of Seniors hosted its events. To date, nearly 20 scholarships have been awarded.
Popa, an Ohio native, followed in his father Nicholas Popa’s footsteps as the executive director of the Ohio Golf Association, taking up the reins after his father’s death in 1993. In 1998, Jack Hesler, an original member of the Society of Seniors who knew Jim Popa as a board member of the Ohio Golf Association, asked Popa to attend a Society event and provide some feedback. Once there, it took Popa all of five minutes to realize he wanted to be a part of it.
Popa took over as Executive Director in 2014 but maintained the executive director role for both the Ohio Golf Association and Columbus District Golf Association for the next few years. After the summer tournament season in Ohio, he would often take his help on the road in the winter to run the Society’s events.
“I was very honored to have that job,” Popa said of his work with the Society, even though it kept him busy.
The Yancey Ford Award follows Popa’s induction into the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame earlier in 2023. He also has been awarded the Southern Ohio PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in and the USGA’s Ike Granger Award for longtime commitment to golf.
Clearly, Popa’s contributions to golf have been great, even though he didn’t originally intend to make it his job. After graduating from high school, and having done drafting and layout work for his father’s ad agency in Columbus, he enrolled at Ohio State to study commercial art with aspirations of becoming a cartoonist. Upon learning he’d need to take a few chemistry courses when he transferred into the fine arts program, Popa – not a science guy – decided instead to take some time off. He spent the next two and a half years caddying on the PGA Tour, most notably for his brother-in-law Ed Sneed, whose four Tour victories included the 1977 Tallahassee Open with Popa on the bag.
With Sneed, Popa had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the game’s greats in that era, including Arnold Palmer, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Weiskopf and Jack Nicklaus. He gathered enough stories for a lifetime – or a least a thick memoir.
And when it was all over, he landed back in Ohio, once again with golf as his north star.
“After I came back to town, I went to work for my father doing layout work,” Popa said. “One thing led to another, and pretty soon I was going to tournaments with him. We had other people to run the advertising agency, and he and I sort of started running golf in Ohio.”
Jim Popa (Courtesy Ohio Golf Association)
Popa and his wife Martha – who Popa describes as the “great woman” behind his story – raised three children as Popa guided golf in Ohio for three decades. With that service largely behind him, Popa now reserves a place for golf in his life with a weekly game that’s strictly for fun.
“Golf is the greatest game of all,” he said in reflecting on the game to which he gave so much. “I’m convinced that it’s a game where we have taught the young players to be gentleman on the golf course, to shake hands, to wear their hats forward, have their shirttails tucked in. They respect the game, they respect the traditions, that’s what I always try to impress on the young people in my tournaments.”
“When you get to the senior level, these guys, this is the life they’ve led and it’s second nature to them to just be that courteous to each other and to respect the rules and the golf course and respect the people who run the tournaments. That’s what I like the most about the Society.”
The Forest Golf & Country Club in Ft. Meyers, Florida, hosted the event.
Three days of battling wind gusts north of 30 miles per hour and wet conditions at The Forest Golf & Country Club in Ft. Meyers, Florida, took its toll on much of the 96-man field, but four golfers were able to survive the rest to lay claim on the final Golfweek senior amateur tournament of the year.
Seniors (55-64)
Going into Thursday’s final round, Vance Welch held a two-stroke advantage over the field, sitting at 1 over for the championship.
Through 15, Welch needed to play the final three holes even par or better to close out the championship. A double bogey on No. 16 and a closing bogey on 18 saw Welch slip from the top of the leaderboard.
With the costly stumble, Ft. Meyers native Patrick Stayer slid past Welch thanks to a bogey-free final-round 71. Stayer’s final round was the only bogey-free round of the week and was also the lowest round of the tournament in the senior age division.
Patrick Stayer of Ft. Meyers, Florida, won the 2023 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions. (Photo: Golfweek(
Golfweek No. 3 ranked, Kevin VandenBerg, was able to draw himself closer to the No. 1 spot in the Player of the Year rankings with a t-10 finish. Next week’s Society of Seniors Ralph Bogart Tournament will determine the Golfweek Senior Player of the Year as both VandenBerg and No. 2 Jon Lindstrom will be in the field. With No. 1 ranked Bob Royak not playing, Lindstrom and Vandenberg will have an opportunity to take the top spot right at the buzzer.
Super Seniors (65-69)
Steve Humphrey went into Thursday’s final round five shots back of 36-hole leader Greg Goode. Needing at least a runner-up finish to move ahead of No. 1 ranked Marcus Beck, Humphrey knew he had to play some of his best golf.
Carding an even par 72 to finish the event at 8 over par, Humphrey anxiously waited for the rest of the field to come in. Coming off of a birdie on No. 17, Goode bogeyed the 54th hole of the tournament, making way for a three-man playoff between himself, Humphrey and Mike Arter.
Knowing what was at stake, Humphrey took full advantage of the situation, winning the tournament on the second playoff hole. He not only goes home with the Tournament of Champions trophy but now sits atop the 2023 Player of the Year Super Senior rankings.
The playoff win also counts as a title defense for Humphrey who won the TOC super senior division in 2022 at PGA National.
Legends (70-74)
North Carolina’s Pete Allen goes wire-to-wire at The Forest, being one of two Legends to break 80 all three days en route to the championship win.
Nursing a four-stroke lead heading into the day, Allen coasted with a final round 79 to maintain his lead, closing the event out with a 13 over, 229 total. Vince Scarpetta and Bob Casamento tied for second place at 17 over.
Super Legends (75+)
After shooting his age or better the first two days, Gary Hardin (11 over) was able to battle the tough conditions just enough to take a wire-to-wire victory in his age bracket.
With scoring hard to come by, Hardin’s birdie-free 80 was enough to stave off Jack Marin, who finishes in second place at 14 over. John Blank (15 over), Gil Stenholm (16 over) and Henry Cole (16 over) round out the top five.
The best senior amateurs in the United States have descended upon The Forest Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida, for the 2023 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions.
Three of the four age brackets are duking it out not just for the Tournament of Champions title, but for Golfweek Player of the Year honors, too. Alabama’s George Walker ran away with the Legends (ages 70-74) PoY title, clearing the field by nearly 3,000 points for the season.
With three PoY titles up for grabs, every shot matters just that much more this week.
Seniors (55-64)
Florida’s John Barry paces the senior field after 18 holes of play with an opening salvo of even-par 72.
Sitting at 2 under through five, Berry bogeyed five of his next eight holes to fall to 3 over. Locking back in, Barry closed his round strongly with birdies on Nos. 14, 16 and 18 to take a one-shot lead into Wednesday’s second round.
Four players are tied at 1 over while last year’s ToC winner, Ken Kinkopf lurks in solo sixth place at 2 over.
Third-ranked Kevin VandenBerg can pull off a massive comeback, as both No. 1 Bob Royak and No. 2 Jon Lindstrom are not in the field this week. With 800 points separating VandenBerg from the top spot, he needs a win to take a 300-point lead. A second-place finish would put him about 50 points off Royak with one point event remaining on the calendar.
No matter what happens this week, Lindstrom and VandenBerg both have an opportunity to take the top spot, as they are teeing it up next week at the Society of Seniors Ralph Bogart Tournament in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Currently tied for 27th, VandenBerg has a hill to climb, but with tough scoring conditions making the Jack Nicklaus-design playing even harder than normal, VandenBerg’s consistency can easily help catapult himself back into condition.
Super Seniors (65-69)
Fifth-ranked Greg Goode had a consistent day, as he took a one-shot lead into moving day. He closed out an even-par round with birdies on Nos. 14 and 17. Navigating the chilly and breezy conditions, he sets out to fend off Golfweek No. 2 Steve Humphrey (+1), No. 3 James Starnes (+2) and No. 7 Mike Arter (+2).
A win for Humphrey or Starnes would allow them to slide by No. 1 Marcus Beck for Player of the Year honors. A win would also make two Senior Tournament of Champions wins for Humphrey, who took the title last year at PGA National.
Legends (70-74)
North Carolina’s Pete Allen enjoys the largest lead among the four age divisions, commanding a three-shot lead following an opening round 2-over 74.
Allen peppered his card with four birdies, showing promise as the event turns to the final 36 holes.
Paul Schlachter (5 over) and John Osborne (6 over) round out the podium.
Super Legends (75+)
Texas’ Gary Hardin matched his age with a first-round 75. He holds a one-shot lead over No. 6 Super Legend, Jack Marin. Top-ranked Johnny Blank is tied for eighth while No. 2 Bill Engel is one shot behind Blank at 11 over.
With 505 points separating the two, plenty of golf is left before we crown a Player of the Year.
Team Arkansas rallied past Team Ireland and two Georgia star-powered teams.
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Team Arkansas played lights-out golf over the final 36 holes at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club to pull off a come-from-behind victory over Team Ireland and two Georgia star-powered teams.
Arkansas team captain, Gordy McKeown, has known his teammates Stan Payne and Wes McNulty for more than 40 years. The three were taught how to play by McKeown’s father, George, at Pine Bluff Country Club in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. George played in four majors, became a life member of the PGA of America in 2000 and was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2002.
In 2014, George passed away at the age of 76. Not only did McKeown lose his father, but Payne and McNulty lost the man who introduced them to competitive golf.
“For us to get to travel to a great golf course like this and play together and then win,” Payne said to Golfweek. “That’s just a testament to him.”
Team Arkansas used a simple approach for Saturday’s final round, relying on lessons taught to them since their youth by George more than 40 years ago.
“We knew the golf course was playing extremely difficult,” McNulty told Golfweek. “The greens are the defense of this golf course and we all knew if we hit it on the greens and two-putt we’d have a chance to win. I think our scores showed it–none of us took it low-low any day but we all kept it around par and that’s what you had to do today. And it’s a testament to this golf course. It’s a beautiful golf course. It’s a gem.”
Ahead of the final round, Arkansas lurked just one shot behind the 36-hole leaders Team Ireland. With individual leader and eventual champion, Joe Lyons leading the way and his teammates Karl Bornemann and John Reynolds playing well, it seemed as though one shot is all Ireland was going to need to pull away from the field.
Arkansas had plenty of momentum thanks to a 5-under team total of 139. McNulty (3 under) and Payne (2 under) counted while McKeown’s 1 under 71 made him the odd man out. The combined rounds catapulted Team Arkansas into a tie for second and in prime position to overtake Team Ireland who had commanded the lead for 36 holes.
Saturday’s final round brought cool temperatures and wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour, making the pristine greens of Cartersville Country Club even more important to find in regulation.
Even par through the turn as a team, Arkansas made their move on the back nine. Five birdies and an eagle combined for Payne and McNulty not only gave Team Arkansas the lead, but a four-shot victory to take home the team title.
“We were sitting in Whataburger last night and we were talking about George, Gordy’s dad,” McNulty said. “And did he envision that for us – I think he did. He wanted us to play golf at a high level and do these things together.”
”That was his biggest thing,” McKeown chimed in. “He wanted all of us to do it together.”
Perhaps with a bit of help from George, Team Arkansas, who has over 13 USGA starts between them, takes home a team win and a bond that will last a lifetime.
Rain made Cartersville Country Club in Georgia play longer than it did in the first round.
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Joe Lyons and his fellow countrymen are 18 holes away from a wire-to-wire victory at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational.
Lyons maintained his three-stroke lead at 6 under despite a second-round 2-over 73. Off and on rain made Cartersville Country Club play longer than it did in round one, making scoring a premium. The wet conditions allowed Lyons to lean on his knowledge from back home and adapt it to the Bermuda grass he’s not fully accustomed to.
“I’m not all that new to Bermuda,” Lyons told Golfweek. “I have an idea. I still wouldn’t say I’m entirely comfortable on it [Bermuda grass]. Basically, I’m just hitting bunker shots out of the rough and trying to convince myself.”
One thing Lyons is a bit more familiar with? Leading.
“It’s always hard when you’re you’re out on your own in front. I’ve won events back home potter to post. It’s a difficult thing to do because you’re sleeping on the lead. You know the stats are not good for people following a low round but I’m very happy with today’s round.”
With a history of being able to close out championships, Lyons has a simple game plan for Saturday’s final round, albeit a difficult game plan to execute.
“Just try to play like yesterday.”
Giving chase are Utah’s Shane McMillan and Oklahoma’s Michael Hughett, both at 3 under. Behind them are two members of the ‘Georgia Mafia’, Bob Royak (2 under) and Mike Combs (1 under). Wes McNulty (1 under ) hopes to help Team Arkansas erase Ireland’s one-shot lead.
Three more players are in a tie for seventh at even par and another six players are within seven shots of Lyons, making every shot count come Saturday.
On the team side, Ireland holds a slight one-shot lead after a second-round charge from Team Arkansas.
All three players from Arkansas carded sub-par rounds, with McNulty (69) and Stan Payne (70) acting as the counting scores. Gordy McKeown carded a 1 under 71 to move inside the top 10 at 1 under for the championship.
Bob Royak’s Georgia team (even), one of five in the field, is three back of Ireland. South Carolina (1 over) and California (2 over) round out the top five. Five more teams are within eight shots of the lead.
With cool, breezy and sunny conditions anticipated for Saturday, plenty of scoring opportunities should make the final round a fun one.
Live scoring can be found on Golf Genius (GGID: 23GWISI).
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club. Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke …
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club.
Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke lead over the field after the first round. Lyons did much of the heavy lifting, firing a 7-under 65.
“A very special day for me, really,” Lyons told Golfweek. “We [Team Ireland] came over about a week ago. We’ve been enjoying Southern hospitality for the last week. We’ve played some great golf, played some really cool golf courses last week, getting climatized to playing off of Bermuda [grass].”
The preparation paid off for Lyons, as he hardly missed a fairway all day. The Irishman went out in 2 under with his lone bogey on the day coming on the par-4 8th hole. On his way back in, Lyons caught fire, making birdie on six of his final nine holes.
“Delighted with my day today,” Lyons said. “There’s another two rounds to go, so, I’m an amateur golfer, I shot 65 today, I could easily shoot 80 tomorrow so I’m just going to try to enjoy today and see how it goes tomorrow.”
Helping Lyons build Ireland’s lead, team captain Karl Bornemann (T-24) carded a 2-over 74. Rounding out the trio, John Reynolds (T-44) looks to make his score count in Friday’s round after an opening 76.
On the team side, Oklahoma commands solo second place at 2 under thanks to Michael Hughett (68) and Jon Valuck (74). Ricky Bell matched Valuck’s 74, giving the Sooner State natives plenty of momentum heading into tomorrow.
Team Michigan, South Carolina and California share third place at 1 under par.
On the individual side of the championship, there are a handful of players looking to hunt down Lyons.
Utah’s Shane McMillan rebounded well from an early bogey to post a 5-under 67. Michael Hughett (Oklahoma) used a bogey-free 11 holes to card a 4-under 68 while Michigan’s Jerry Gunthorpe had an up-and-down day en route to an opening salvo of 2 under.
Four more golfers are knotted up at 1 under with nine more players at even par.
Sharing Lyons’ sentiment, anything can happen in amateur golf, keeping the championship up in the air until it’s all said in done. But, if Lyons and his teammates have anything to say about it, the closing ceremony and trophy presentation will be accompanied by the sweet sounds of the Irish national anthem, Amhran Na Bhfiann.
There are 28 teams from the United States, three from Europe and one from Canada.
CARTERSVILE, Ga. – Ninety-six of the world’s best senior amateur golfers are set to duke it out for team and individual glory at Cartersville Country Club.
Twenty-eight teams from the United States, three teams from Europe and a team from Canada have descended on CCC. Among them are some of the biggest names in the senior amateur game.
Reigning Walker Cup captain Mike McCoy is captaining Team Iowa alongside teammates Terry Cook and Joe Palmer. Doug Hanzel (Georgia), Jon Lindstrom (Colorado) and Bob Royak (Georgia) are the top three ranked seniors in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). The field boasts 10 of the top 50 WAGR seniors and two of the top 20 European seniors.
This week, it’s not just about the golf legends. Former NFL quarterbacks Stan Humphries and Billy Joe Tolliver are also teeing it up this week. Tolliver and Humphries, who played in Super Bowl 29 with the then-San Diego Chargers, both are feeding their craving for competition as they tee it up with the best in the game.
Nine Europeans have made the trip across the pond to test their game against a stacked field of Yanks.
Leading the charge is Team Scotland, who have No. 4 ranked WAGR European senior Ronnie Clark and are captained by No. 20 ranked Derek Patton.
Team Ireland, Germany and Canada are all vying for the upset to take home the International crown.
As the Golfweek senior amateur season begins to come to a close, the Golfweek Player of the Year race is just heating up. With 16 players inside the top 100 of the Golfweek player rankings, individual PoY points are on the line, making this week just that much more important.
Golfweek No. 1 Bob Royak has less than a 900 point lead on Doug Hanzel. No. 3 ranked Rusty Strawn, No. 6 Jon Lindstrom and No. 10 Mike Combs can all make a huge jump in the rankings this week with a strong finish or even a win.
Combs (1990 Public Links), Hanzel (2013 Senior Am), Royak (2019 Senior Am), Strawn (2022 Senior Am) and Mike McCoy (2013 Mid-Am) are the five USGA championship winners in the field this week with another near countless amount of USGA championship starts among them as well as their fellow competitors.
Play begins Thursday, Oct. 5 at 8 a.m. ET. Live scoring is available on Golf Genius (GGID: 23GWISI).
