Tag: 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur

Gene Elliot captures his first USGA title at 66th U.S. Senior Amateur

Gene Elliot didn’t lead until the end of his match against at Country Club of Detroit.

This was the 36th USGA championship for Gene Elliot, but the first time he walked away victorious.

At no point in the final of the 66th U.S. Senior Amateur did he lead, until his opponent, Jerry Gunthorpe, missed an eight foot par putt, opening the door for Elliot to claim a 1-up win at Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.

“That match was so tough that I am not sure, did I win?” said Elliott. “I guess it just hasn’t sunk in yet. Just so much goes with that USGA title that maybe that’s why I haven’t won it in the past. It’s just so important and so meaningful to win a USGA championship.

“I’m relieved. I’m very proud. I didn’t do it by myself. I had a lot of help from a lot of different people, so it is a team win, really.”

Elliot celebrated with his caddie, then had a long embrace with his wife who was able to watch shot for shot.

Along with the win, Gene receives exemptions into a number of future USGA events including the next two U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships and U.S. Amateur Championships.

As for the runner-up, Gunthrope earned his way into the 2021 U.S Mid-Am as well as the 2022 U.S. Amateur.

2021 U.S. Senior Amateur
Gene Elliott hugs his caddie defeating Jerry Gunthorpe to win the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur at Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Photo by Jeff Haynes/USGA

Meet Jeff Wright, the former model and rock star who lost it all but has found his way back to golf at the U.S. Senior Amateur

Get to know the most interesting man in the U.S. Senior Amateur field.

It’s been a few years but Jeff Wright can still feel the embarrassment of being woken up in his car in the middle of the night by security because he was sleeping in the parking lot.

“I’ve slept in the back of my car so many times after being just beaten up on a course over the last couple of years,” Wright said earlier this week from a hotel room in Detroit. “Getting woken up in the middle of the night by security because I’m not supposed to be parked in the parking lot of a tournament I’m playing in and just being humiliated. It’s like, dude, if you had any idea the only reason why I’m here is because I can’t afford to get a hotel but I’m five shots out of the lead.”

Wright hasn’t always been a homeless golfer chasing his dream on the course. In fact, the former millionaire has lived a life most thrill-seekers can only dream of. Coming out of high school in California, he was one of the best players in the country. After losing his game in a short stint at Arizona State, Wright returned home to the University of California-Irvine with a new hobby: the guitar.

“I kind of discovered that I had a little bit of a gift for writing and creativity. Low and behold my human sex education teacher at UC-Irvine, in an auditorium of about 250 people, wants to read my exemplary paper out loud. Everybody on my golf team is there, all my friends, and he goes, ‘This what an A-plus paper should be,’ and I just sunk in my chair. I walked off campus and never went back to school. I was like, ‘I’m done.’”

What came next for Wright was a successful 30 years in the music business where he opened for everyone from Hall and Oates to Train and Sugar Ray, followed by an epic fall from grace that left him, you guessed it, homeless. Despite misstep after setback, the former model, rock star and Millionaire Matchmaker contestant has found his way back to golf and will put his game on display Aug 28-Sept. 2. at the U.S. Senior Amateur at Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan.

Get to know the most interesting man in the U.S. Senior Amateur field.