2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup

Team Strawn completes comeback win at 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup

Rusty Strawn closed out 2022 by captaining his team to an incredible come-from-behind victory at the Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup.

Capping off one of the most dominant years in recent senior amateur golf history, Rusty Strawn closed out 2022 by captaining his team to an incredible come-from-behind victory over Team Hurlbert at the Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup.

Carding a team front-nine score of 7 over, Strawn’s team did enough to chip away at Team Hurlbert and get within one shot. It wasn’t until the pressure turned up on the back nine where Strawn’s team felt the most comfortable.

As one of the top three scorers on his team, Strawn combined with John Wright and James Starnes for a wild 10-under par back nine. The incredible loop, in addition to six of the 10 counting scores being at or under par, opened up a nine-shot lead for the Strawn Men.

Captains Craig Hurlbert (L) and Rusty Strawn at the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup

While Team Strawn flourished down the stretch, 2021 Golfweek Player of the Year Craig Hurlbert and crew couldn’t hold on to their vanishing lead.

Combining for 12 over on the front nine, Hurlbert’s team saw their lead quickly shrink. Grasping for straws, Team Hurlbert was 5 over through 15. Needing a miracle push, eight of the 10 counting scores birdied the par-4 16th, giving Hurlbert’s crew a glimmer of hope with two holes to play.

Unable to muster any more magic, Team Hurlbert carded a 9-over 739. The finish resulted in a comeback win for Rusty Strawn’s crew. Closing out strong, Team Strawn’s final-round 704 was the lowest team score of the week.

Aside from the team championship, four individual titles were awarded.

Ken Kinkopf was able to fend off a slew of challengers to hold on to the Senior division title. Kinkopf’s bogey-free, final-round 67 was the lowest round of the week in the senior division. The win makes it back-to-back Golfweek senior event victories, as Kinkopf took home the Tournament of Champions title in early December.

Rusty Strawn and Mike Combs couldn’t overcome speed bumps from early in the week, tying for second place at 2 over.

54 holes wasn’t enough to settle the Super Senior division. Steve Humphrey and Tim Vigotsky traded blows throughout the second and third rounds, but it was Humphrey who was able to ride the momentum from a final round 1 under 70 to take the championship on the first playoff hole.

Peter Van Ingen closed out a wire-to-wire victory in the Legend division with a final-round 72. The win closes out a strong finish to Van Ingen’s 2022 season, as he finished second in the Golfweek Tournament of Champions and followed that up with a third-place finish in the Society of Seniors last weekend.

2022 Yancey Ford Award winner Joe Pavoni also went wire-to-wire in his Super Legend win. Pavoni used rounds of 76, 80 and 74 to close out a four-shot victory in the 75+ age division.

With Team Strawn hoisting the Challenge Cup, the 2022 Golfweek senior amateur season comes to a close. The 2023 season begins January 16-18 at the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship in Palm Desert, California. Registration is still open here.

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Team Hurlbert maintains lead heading into final round of 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup

It all comes down to this.

With 18 holes left, the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup is primed for a dramatic finish.

2021 Golfweek Player of the Year Craig Hurlbert has captained his team to a six-shot lead after two rounds of play at Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation, Florida. Hurlbert’s team is looking to go wire-to-wire against 2022 Golfweek Player of the Year Rusty Strawn and company.

Hurlbert’s crew went into Thursday’s second round with a 19-shot advantage. Although not as sharp on Thursday, Team Hurlbert used consistent play to maintain its lead. Seven of the 10 players that counted toward Wednesday’s first-round score counted toward the second round: Hurlbert, Gary Durbin, Greg Hendrix, Ken Kinkopf, Tom Lape, Jerry Slagle and Peter Van Ingen.

On the opposite sideline, Rusty Strawn’s team looks to continue its climb back after a positive penultimate round.

With Jacaranda playing tough, two rounds of even par from Mike Combs and Tim Vigotsky were enough to claim low rounds of the day and help close the gap.

Just as dramatic as the team portion is, the Senior Challenge Cup medalist races are setting up for a wild 18-hole shootout.

Overnight leader Rich Buckner fell from his perch Thursday with a 5-over 76. Currently in a tie for third at 3 over with Hurlbert and teammate Gary Durbin, Buckner looks to make up the ground he lost to Kinkopf and Combs, who are at 1 over.

The Super Senior division is a dog race among Team Strawn teammates. Tied atop the leaderboard at 4 over are Mike Arter and Tim Vigotsky. Two shots back is fellow Team Strawn member Marc Fried.

Van Ingen was able to grow his lead to seven shots despite a second-round score of 73. He remains the only Legend to have his score count towards team totals this week.

Joe Pavoni, the 2022 Yancey Ford Award winner, has an opportunity to go wire-to-wire in the Super Legend division. One shot back is Jim Dubois.

The final round of the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup tees off at 7:39 am local time Friday.

If you want to put your game to the test against some of the best senior amateur golfers in the world, check out the 2023 Golfweek events schedule, here to sign up.

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2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup features stacked field

The 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup is more than just the penultimate event of the season.

The 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup is more than just the final ranking tournament of the season. It’s an opportunity to share camaraderie, stories and plenty of healthy rivalries.

The 54-hole stroke play event will be at Jacaranda Golf Club just outside of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and features four different age groups ranging from 55 to over 75 years old. Aside from crowning individual medalists in each age division, the Challenge Cup features a team aspect as well.

Not only are bragging rights and player of the year points up for grabs, but crucial World Amateur Golf Rankings points. The top 20 ranked senior amateur men in WAGR are exempt into the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur. Although the points race for the U.S. senior am ends in August, every event matters.

Captaining the two teams are 2022 Golfweek/USA Today Sports Player of the Year Rusty Strawn and 2020 Golfweek/USA Today Sports Player of the Year Craig Hurlbert. Strawn is coming off an incredible year that was highlighted by wins at the U.S. and Canadian senior amateurs. Hurlbert is getting back in the playing saddle after taking time off to upstart a venture, raising over a billion dollars in investment capital for his newest company, Local Bounti.

Backing them is plenty of firepower: 2021 U.S. Open low amateur Billy Mitchell, Golfweek No. 2-ranked senior am Kevin Vandenberg and 2022 Yancey Ford Award winner Joe Pavoni.

If you want to play premier courses across the country and test your skills against the best senior amateur golfers, check out the 2023 Golfweek senior amateur golf schedule.