Craig Hurlbert – Syndication Server

Championships set following rain-soaked day at 2023 Golfweek Senior National Match Play

Duke University Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina, is playing host.

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The 2023 Golfweek Senior National Match Play event began with 42 of the country’s top senior golfers ranging in age from 55 years old to 75 and up, now finds eight players vying for one of four championships.

With Duke University Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina, playing host, 16 players teed it up in search of continuing their quest towards 1,200 Golfweek Player of the Year points. With just a few events left in the season, every shot matters as the season begins its final stretch.

NOTE: Seeding for this event was based off of the Golfweek Player of the Year rankings as of August 1st. If the player was not ranked in Golfweek’s PoY rankings, random draw or national ranking was used.

Senior Bracket (55-64)

After a no-contest in the first round and a 3 and 2 victory over No. 1 seed Todd Hendley in the quarterfinals, No. 8 Craig Hurlbert squared off with No. 4 Brian Keenan.

Winning three of the first six holes, Hurlbert took a 2 up lead into the par-5 7th. Both Hendley and Hurlbert walked away with bogeys as Keenan looked to gain a bit of momentum before making the turn.

Knotting it back up with wins on Nos. 8 and 9, Keenan was able to use a hot putter to get the match back to all square.

“Nine was another little turning point,” Kennan told Golfweek. “I hit a so-so chip shot…I curled it [the putt] in and got it to even through the turn.”

After Hurlbert won No. 11 with a par, Keenan drained a 50-foot downhill sliding putt on the par-3 12th to tie the match back up before an hour-long rain delay forced players off of the course.

“That was another one I was just trying to get close,” Kennan said. “It just trickled, trickled, trickled and it went right in the middle. He [Hurlbert] just started to shake his head a little bit, but he’s a good competitor and a friendly, good guy to play against.”

After the rain delay, both players exchanged pars before Keenan was able to win No. 16 with a par. With two holes left to play, pars were exchanged with Keenan coming away with a 1 up victory and an even par round of 72.

Facing Keenan in Friday’s championship match is the hot-handed 6-seed, Ken Kinkopf.

En route to the championship round, Kinkopf has won his matches 8 and 7, 4 and 2 and finally a 6 and 5 victory over No. 7 seed Kirk Wright.

Kinkopf needed just 49 shots through 13 holes to advance past Wright and earn his spot in the championship match. An eagle and four birdies highlighted his card on Thursday. For the week, Kinkopf is officially even through 47 holes of golf. Unlike many of his competitors, Kinkopf continues to play after his match is over to keep his game sharp. The strategy is clearly paying off as both he and Keenan are in top form heading into Friday’s championship match.

Super Senior Bracket (65-69)

No upsets took place in the eight-man Super Senior bracket Wednesday as all four of the top seeds advanced to Thursday’s semifinals.

In the No. 1 versus No. 4 matchup between Marcus Beck and Keith Waters, it was Waters who was able to squeak by the top man in the division with a 2 up win.

No. 2 James Starnes and No. 3 John Armstrong battled it out for 17 holes as Starnes solidified his spot in the finals with a pair of birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.

Legends Bracket (70-74)

Advancing to the semifinals with back-to-back 4 and 3 wins, five-seed Pete Allen looked to take down No. 1 George Walker.

Averaging 225 yards off of the tee, Allen gave up 75+ yards to Walker who, despite his age, is able to drive the ball over 300 yards at times. Tack on the fact that Walker got a first-round bye and Allen needed 30 holes to advance to the semis and Allen would appear to be the David to Walker’s Goliath.

Nicknamed ‘Pointblank Pete’ by John Daly following a pro-am event back in 1994, Pete Allen took the fight to Walker, quickly gaining a 3-up advantage through the first three holes.

It wasn’t until the par-3 8th that Walker was able to get on the board. Two down and making the turn, the horn blew and the match was paused as storms moved through the area.

“It [the rain delay] helped me because I was fading,” Allen told Golfweek.

After the quick rest, Walker returned the hot start Allen had to begin the day with three straight wins on holes 10, 11 and 12. Down in a match for the first time all week, Allen knew he had to get something going if he was going to advance.

Tied through No. 14, Allen made birdie on the par-3 15th with a chip-in birdie to take a 1-up advantage. Holding on to the lead the rest of the way, Pete Allen’s run to the championship continues Friday, facing off against No. 3 Bev Hargraves.

Hargraves defeated second-seeded Sam Robinson 3 and 2 to advance.

Super Legends Bracket (75+)

After a 7-and-5 win in the quarterfinals, top-seeded John Blank looked to continue his strong play against No. 5 Joe Pavoni.

Doing just that, Blank advances to the title match after defeating Pavoni 4 and 3.

Meeting him there is No. 2 George Owens.

Playing his way into the semis with a 5-and-3 win on Wednesday, Owens was in control of his match against No. 6 seed John Casstevens. 1 down through 12, Casstevens elected to withdraw for reasons unknown, setting up a one-two matchup with 1,200 Golfweek Player of the Year points on the line.

Day 1 of Golfweek Senior National Match Play sets semifinal matches

Catch up on the action here.

Forty-two of the top senior amateur players from across four age brackets and traveling from all four corners of the United States have made their way to Duke University Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina, to, well, duke it out.

Over the next three days, four age divisions will crown a match-play champion with each winner receiving 1,200 Golfweek Player of the Year points. With just a handful of events left in the Golfweek senior amateur season, the competition is sure to be cranked up as the season winds down.

Senior Bracket (55-64)

Thirteen players began the event, giving the top three seeds (Todd Hendley, Eddie Hargett and Kevin VandenBerg) byes into the afternoon quarterfinal matches.

First to advance from the morning matches was 2020 Golfweek Senior Player of the Year and 2022 Challenge Cup captain, Craig Hurlbert. As the 8-seed, Hurlbert was set to take on 9-seed Thomas Immenschuh. Unfortunately, Immenschuh had travel issues and was unable to make it to the course in time for the 7:50 a.m. match time. With the forfeit, Hurlbert found himself a date with top-seeded Todd Hendley.

Back-to-back three-putt bogeys put Hurlbert in a quick 2-down hole to start the match.

“I started really slow,” Hurlbert told Golfweek. “But it actually kind of helped me focus.”

Winning the third hole to get it back to one down, Hurlbert worked his way back to even as the pair made the turn.

Winning hole Nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12, Hurlbert was able to put the throttle down in the blink of an eye to take a commanding 3-up lead through 12. Hendley was able to pick up a hole on No. 15 but was defeated on No. 16, 3 and 2.

For Hurlbert, this event is a prime tune-up for the U.S. Senior Amateur later this month.

“I feel like I’m getting close, but all these reps really help,” Hurlbert said. “It’s a Golfweek event so that’s one of the reasons I like to come [play] and the other reason is because it gives you invaluable reps in match play which candidly we don’t get a lot of on the senior circuit so to speak.”

As he continues to come into form, Hurlbert will face off against 4-seed Brian Keenan.

Defeating 13-seed Brian Kennedy 5 and 4 in the morning session, Kennan faced off against 5-seed Allen Peake who won his morning match 1 up against 12-seed Steve Pitts.

Keenan and Peake battle back and forth for much of the day with Peake erasing a 2-down deficit an eagle on the par-5 9th and a birdie on the par-4 10th.

A birdie, par combo on holes 14 and 15 gave Kennan a 2-up advantage allowing him to close out the quarterfinal match on No. 17 with a par.

In the bottom half of the bracket, a couple of mid-seeds have begun their title run.

No. 6 Ken Kinkopf made light work of No. 11 Jeff Kane, winning 8 and 7 for the largest margin of victory of the day, regardless of division. In the afternoon session, Kinkopf faced 3-seed Kevin VandenBerg, only needing 16 holes to defeat him 4 and 2.

No. 7 seed Kirk Wright had a bit of a tougher road to the semifinals. Ten-seed Michael Healey took Wright to 18 where Wright came away with a 2-up win. In the afternoon, 2-seed Eddie Hargett erased Wright’s 1-up lead on the 18th to force extra holes.

Needing 37 holes to grind his way into the semis, Wright will square off with Kinkopf, who, comparatively speaking, is well-rested. The two will battle it out in a rest-versus-rust match for a chance to run the gamut and catapult themselves into the thick of a playoff run for the Golfweek Player of the Year.

Super Senior Bracket (65-69)

Eight men make up the Super Senior bracket, making byes irrelevant.

The entire bracket so far has been chalk as the top four seeds have advanced to the semifinals.

One-seed Marcus Beck defeated 8-seed Jim Webb 6 and 5; 2-seed James Starnes took down 7-seed Bill Hardaker 3 and 2; number 3 John Armstrong defeated No. 6 John Bailey 3 and 2 and 4-seed Keith Waters won 2 up against No. 5 Greg Goode.

Legends Bracket (70-74)

Another 13-player division set up quite a day in the Legends bracket.

Top two seeds George Walker (No. 1) and Sam Robinson (No. 2) were able to take advantage of their byes, playing their way into the semifinals 2 and 1 and 1 up, respectively.

Facing the top two seeds are No. 5 Pete Allen and No. 3 Bev Hargraves.

Allen rides into Thursday on the backs of a pair of 4 and 3 wins over 12-seed Fred Clark and 4-seed John Osborne. He’ll look to take down No. 1 ranked George Walker for a shot at the championship.

Defeating No. 10 Dale Porter 1 up, Sam Robinson will face an Arkansas legend in Bev Hargraves.

Getting a first-round bye, Hargraves needed 19 holes to put away Don Kuehn to advance. Kuehn, typically a Super Legend, played down an age bracket, wanting to test his game. After defeating No. 6 Charley Yandell 4 and 2 in the opening round, Kuehn falls just short of a semifinal run, losing out to Hargraves in extras.

Super Legends Bracket (75+)

The eight-man bracket has a bit more parity than its Legends bracket counterpart.

No. 1 ranked John Blank soundly beat No. 8 Ben Dowdey 7 and 5 for the biggest margin of victory on the day. No. 2 George Owens cruised to a 5 and 3 win over No. 7 Richard Kline.

Playing against Blank in the semifinals is 2022 Yancey Ford Award winner Joe Pavoni. As the 5 seed, Pavoni faced off against No. 4 Marty O’Connell. Pulling away late, Pavoni takes a 3 and 2 win into Thursday’s semifinals.

As the 6-seed, John Casstevens pulled off the best upset of the day within the division, taking down No. 3 John (Jack) Marin on the final hole, 1 up to advance to Thursday’s semifinals.

Gary Albrecht leads 2023 Golfweek Senior Division National Championship

It’s one of the deepest fields in all of senior amateur golf.

The 2023 Golfweek Senior Division National Championship has become a battle in the desert.

Gary Albrecht takes a two-shot lead into the final round at Desert Willow Golf Club in Palm Desert, California, following a 4 under 68 on Monday. The California native carded just one bogey on the day to leapfrog 18-hole leader, Robert Funk, to take the 36-hole lead.

Funk was able to work off an early-round double bogey, closing his scoring with a birdie on No. 17 to get himself back to even on the day and remain 1 under for the tournament. He and Joe Palmer sit at 1 under and lead a pack of players well within striking range.

Mark Lindberg and Leonard Komar are both 1 over and coming off of sub-par rounds Monday. Three more players are in a tie for sixth, just five shots off the lead.

As one of the deepest fields in all of senior amateur golf, the tournament is living up to its billing. Six players, including 2021 U.S. Senior low amateur Billy Mitchell, are just 3 over and six shots back. With such an elite field, the championship is still anyone’s ball game.

For 2022 Golfweek Challenge Cup captain Craig Hurlbert, the week comes to an abrupt end with a WD. Other notables: Jerry Gunthorpe (T17), Craig Larson (T17), Kevin VandenBerg (T29) and Vance Welch (T39).

If you want to tee it up with the best senior amateurs in the game, check out the Golfweek senior amateur schedule here.

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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Team Hurlbert leads following the opening round of the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup

Former Golfweek player of the year Craig Hurlbert and his crew have taken the early advantage over Rusty Strawn’s team at the 2022 Golfweek Challenge Cup. Led by a 2-under-par performance by senior division leader, Rich Buckner, Hurlbert’s team …

Former Golfweek player of the year Craig Hurlbert and his crew have taken the early advantage over Rusty Strawn’s team at the 2022 Golfweek Challenge Cup.

Led by a 2-under-par performance by senior division leader, Rich Buckner, Hurlbert’s team takes a 13-shot lead into Thursday’s second round. The biggest factor in growing the team’s lead? Half of the counting scores for Hurlbert’s team tallied up to even par. Buckner, Ken Kinkopf, Gary Durbin, Kevin VandenBerg and Victor Leoni were the biggest performers as they all carded rounds of 72 or better.

With over 20 players per team, 10 counting scores each day and 36 holes yet to play, a 13-shot lead can be erased in a matter of seconds. Knowing things change quickly when playing a team competition, Strawn is keeping his team in high spirits with a strict curfew of 3 a.m.

Much like the team portion, the individual competition is far from being decided.

Senior leader Rich Buckner holds a two-shot lead over a trio of players. His 2 under round of 69 was the low round of the day in all age divisions. Golfweek’s No. 2 ranked senior Kevin VandenBerg trails by three shots. Both captains are in the top 10 after one day of play as Hurlbert carded a 2-over 73, good for solo eighth. Strawn is hot on his tail at 9 over in a tie for ninth.

A member of Team Strawn leads the Super Senior division. Mike Arter used two birdies on the back nine to close out a strong 2 over 73. Two shots behind Arter, Steve Humphrey, Tim Vigotsky and Marc Fried are all giving chase.

Despite a back nine 40, Peter Van Ingen enjoys a four-stroke lead in the Legends division. Both Dale White and Sam Robinson will look to capitalize on what they hope to be a lack of momentum for Van Ingen as they begin their chase Thursday.

This year’s Yancy Ford Award winner, Joe Pavoni, holds the helm in the Super Legend division following an opening round of 76. His five-over-par effort is good enough for a three-shot lead over Jim Dubois.

Play continues Thursday at Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation, Florida. Come Friday, four medalists will be crowned as well as a team champion. With nearly 50 of the world’s best senior amateur golfers in one place, only time will tell who will stake their claim as champion.

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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.

From farm to tee box: Get to know 2022 Golfweek Challenge Cup Captain Craig Hurlbert

Hurlbert’s incredible 2020 season was capped off by being named Golfweek’s Player of the Year.

Craig Hurlbert spent his summers with his grandfather on his farm in northeast Montana. It was there that he not only was taught the game of golf, but life lessons that have propelled him to the highest places in both business and amateur golf.

Hurlbert’s grandfather, Carl, immigrated from Denmark in 1923. His grandmother, Marie, came over with her family in the early 1900s. They were processed at Ellis Island like so many other European immigrants during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Married in 1930, the couple settled in Montana and in 1940 began what has now become Wheat Wind Farms.

Fast forward 36 years and a 13-year-old Craig picked up a golf club for the first time with his Bapa. The two would play in a league twice a week at Big Muddy Golf Club when Craig helped on the farm in the summer.

Now defunct, Big Muddy was a nine-hole sand-green golf course where they hayed the fairways twice a year. This is where Hulbert and his grandfather fell in love with the game of golf.

“He wasn’t a great player,” Hulbert told Golfweek. “But there’s nobody that loved the game more than he did…He had such a happy spirit on the golf course. He made it super fun. It wasn’t something that I dreaded to do.”

As he grew older, Hurlbert got better at the game back home in Billings “on real golf courses” where he truly honed his craft.

After playing collegiately for a year at New Mexico State, Craig left collegiate golf to study finance and business at San Diego State. Soon after, he earned a Masters degree in corporate finance at Long Beach State. From there, Hurlbert launched himself into the business world.

This left a gap in his golf game. Hurlbert didn’t really play competitively until he started knocking the ball around with some elite senior amateurs at his home club, Carlton Woods, in Houston, Texas.

“I was right there with them.” he said. “I started saying to myself ‘jeez, maybe my game can stack up.’”

At the time, Hurlbert was in no man’s land. At 53, he was too old to hang with the mid-ams regularly and too young to play in most senior events. He used the time as an advantage. With about two years to reform his game into competitive shape, Hurlbert was ready to take on the senior amateur circuit.

Upon turning 55 in the summer of 2017, he dipped his toe in the water, playing just a few events. In 2018 and ’19 he played nearly 30 events combined. He was consistent throughout with eight top 10s, a quarterfinals trip to the Golfweek Senior Amater Matchplay and a runner-up finish at the 2019 Golfweek Tournament of Champions. Although successful, Hurlbert wasn’t satisfied. It was in November 2019 that he turned to his wife, Stephanie, for help.

Stephanie played professionally on the then-Symetra Tour for a handful of years and understands what it’s like to play under pressure against some of the best in the world.

“I came home at the end of ‘19 and said ‘I’m not going to do this anymore if I can’t win,’” Craig recalls telling Stephanie.

She replied with a simple question: What is happening to you under pressure? The question proved to find the flaws as Craig began to be fully honest with himself about his game when under the gun. He worked tirelessly on short putts and worked his driver from a draw to a fade.

“I bet I hit a million five-foot putts between November 15th and January 1st,” Hulbert chuckled. “The draw turned into something I couldn’t control under pressure… So I just worked on hitting a baby fade. I literally wore out a driver I hit so many drivers.”

Already a premier ball striker with plenty of distance, Craig set out into the 2020 season with a refreshed mindset and hunger. Combine that with the lessons he learned as a teenager on the farm with his Bapa, Hurlbert was sure to break out.

Teeing it up at the Old Corkscrew Senior to begin his 2020 season, Hurlbert was able to reap what he sowed during the offseason. He not only won his first senior amateur title, but he did so in a playoff against the 2019 Golfweek Player of the Year, Ken Kinkopf.

Proving it wasn’t a fluke, Hurlbert followed the win up with another win the following week and a third-place finish after that. The start of a great season was supplemented with another win at the Golfweek Senior National Matchplay and the Society of Seniors Founders Cup. With just one finish outside the top 15, Hurlbert’s incredible 2020 season was capped off by being named Golfweek’s Player of the Year.

“It was a process of playing and learning what you didn’t do good enough,” he said. “I had to play in 18-20 events for two years to really understand what was going on inside of my body.”

After such an impressive year, Hurlbert took 2021 off to focus on his business ventures. On December 3, 2021, Local Bounti, a company that he co-founded in 2017 and is the CEO of, went public at the New York Stock Exchange.

The company is quite literally centered around his roots.

Local Bounti is an agricultural company that produces sustainable and non-GMO greens year round and is headquartered in Hamilton, Montana, just a few hours west of Billings where Hurlbert grew up.

With lessons that started on the banks of the Big Muddy River in Montana at a nine-hole sand-green golf course, Hurlbert has continued his grandfather’s American dream.

Armed with his grandfather’s wisdom, a killer golf game and savvy business senses, Hurlbert looks to defend his team’s title at the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup. He captained his team to a win over Gene Elliott’s squad in the 2021 Cup. Facing off against Rusty Strawn’s team this year, Hurlbert will be a playing captain as his team looks to repeat.

“Rusty (Strawn) is a dear friend,” said Hurlbert. “When we play in these tournaments, three, four, five of us all go out to dinner for the couple nights that we’re there… I’m really looking forward to the Cup this December and getting the guys back together.”

The 2022 Golfweek Challenge Cup will be played at Jacaranda Golf Club’s East Course in Plantation, Florida, December 14-16. Captains select players via blind draw to add to the drama of such a fun and competitive week.

Registration for the Challenge Cup is still open here.

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