Tag: Bob Royak

Three Player of the Year titles up for grabs at 2023 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions

Player of the Year honors are up for grabs.

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.

Big names highlight the field at Golfweek International Senior Invitational

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).

Rusty Strawn, others lead Golfweek Player of the Year Classic after first round

The star-studded senior division is being paced by 2021 Golfweek Player of the Year.

The Golfweek Player of the Year Classic, held at Tampa Palms Country Club in Tampa, Florida is the official start to the Player of the Year race for the four divisions represented this week.

The star-studded senior division is being paced by 2021 Golfweek Player of the Year Rusty Strawn. His 1-under 71 is good for a split of the leadwith Tampa’s own Miles McConnell. McConnell used three birdies over a six hole stretch to cement his red number. Stawn had a more colorful card, needing five birdies to negate a double bogey and two other bogeys throughout his round for his share of the lead.

Bob Royak’s even-par round separates the rest of the field with seven golfers within four shots of the leaders.

Super Senior Steve Humphrey holds a slim lead over the rest of the field despite a dreaded snowman on the par 4 10th. Without the eight, the Ocala, Florida native would have had a commanding five shot lead heading into the second round, but as it stands, he sits atop the leaderboard by one stroke following an opening 75.

South Carolina’s Duke Delcher trails Humphrey by a shot but leads the trio of golfers that set out to chase Humphrey down from their perch at 6 over par.

Pete Allen leads the way for the Legends. His opening round 73 is good for a four shot lead over Jack Mahan. Legend division 2021 Player of the Year Jim Kamis lurks five shots behind Allen.

In the Super Legends division it’s Sarasota, Florida’s Jim Pfrogner who holds a one shot lead following an opening 3-over 75. Defending Player of the Year Walt Martin trails by one stroke.

Round two of the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic begins at 8 a.m. ET on Monday.

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