Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions

Player-of-the-Year races are tight entering Golfweek TOC at PGA National

The 54-hole event will feature four divisions (Senior, Super Senior, Legends and Super Legends) and will be played Dec. 13-15.

In Golfweek’s Senior Player-of-the-Year race, Kevin VandenBerg is all but untouchable. The 58-year-old from Pulaski, New York, has amassed a 3,350-point lead in Golfweek’s National Senior Amateur Rankings to this point in the season and is positioned to repeat as Player of the Year.

That doesn’t mean he’ll stay home for Golfweek’s final event of the season. Instead, VandenBerg, who is coming off top-3 finishes at the International Senior Invitational, Reynolds Senior and SOS Fall Classic, will tee it up at PGA National’s Fazio Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for this week’s Golfweek Tournament of Champions. The 54-hole event will feature four divisions (Senior, Super Senior, Legends and Super Legends) and will be played Dec. 13-15.

VandenBerg is part of a deep field in the senior division, which also includes Iowa golf legends Mike McCoy, the 2023 Walker Cup captain, and Gene Elliott as well as 2019 Golfweek Player of the Year Ken Kinkopf and 2020 Golfweek Player of the Year Craig Hurlbert.

In the Super Senior division, the rankings add some drama to the competition. Greg Goode of Salina, Kansas, recently overtook Jim Starnes of Ft. Myers, Florida, at the top of the rankings. But Goode, who gained big points from his division win at the Golfweek Desert Showdown, only leads Starnes by 43 points.

The Super Senior field for the Tournament of Champions also includes Marcus Beck, the Tallahassee, Florida, resident who won Player of the Year honors in this division last year. Beck is ranked No. 5 in the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings.

Notable names in the Legends division include Pete Allen, defending champion in this event, and Greg Osborne, who, earlier this year, led the Legends rankings at the same time his older brother John led the Super Legends rankings.

Perhaps the most impressive start belongs to Bev Hargraves of Little Rock, Arkansas. Hargraves has the Player of the Year title all but locked up after frontloading his schedule in an effort to do just that. After a top-5 finish in the Golfweek Desert Showdown last month, however, Hargraves began a 45-day stretch of radiation treatment for prostate cancer. In the run-up to the Desert Showdown, Hargraves told Golfweek he might suspend that treatment to compete in the TOC.

“If I need to, I’ll do it,” he said.

And here he is.

Don Donatoni, the Malvern, Pennsylvania, resident who trails Hargraves by 1,610 points, is also in the field.

In the Super Legends rankings, the top three players in the rankings are only separated by 420 points, and all three men will play in the TOC.

John Osborne of Vero Beach, Florida, leads Johnny Blank of Frostburg, Maryland, by 145 points. George Owens of Virginia Beach, Virginia, is another 275 points behind that.

Vance Welch leads tightly contested 2023 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions

Scoring was hard to come by Wednesday.

Wednesday’s second round at the Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions at The Forest Golf and Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida, saw wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour, making scoring a premium all day long.

Among those who took advantage of the adverse conditions was Maryland’s Vance Welch. Already twice a Golfweek events winner in 2023, Welch has an opportunity to cap off a four-win season before the calendar flips to 2024.

Welch began the day one stroke back of first-round leader John Barry at 1-over par.

Even on the day and 1 over for the tournament through 27 holes, Welch turned up his game while the winds churned off the nearby Gulf Coast. Three birdies on his first four holes to start the back nine dotted Welch’s scorecard to quickly put him at 2-under par.

A tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole rode the right to left wind a bit too hard, finding trouble just 6 inches out of bounds. A double bogey dropped Welch back to even, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 put him back in the hole with a four-shot swing back to 2 over in just three holes.

Finishing strong with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 to cap off his round, Welch was pleased with how he finished, despite the hiccup.

“As soon as I saw the ball go out of bounds, I said ‘You know what, I’ve had some good breaks today, this is the bad one…I’m not going to let it bother me.’ I just came off three birdies, so I can’t complain too much.”

A big reason as to why Welch was able to rebound and keep the throttle down late into the round?

“I videotaped my practice rounds,” Welch said. “It’s something I’ve never done before…I was watching it and as the round went on, I was not finishing my swing. I don’t know if I was tired [or what], but it really showed me some flaws in my game that I need to fix. I’ve hit the ball fantastic the past two days, I’ve only hit one bad shot.”

Welch’s film study has paid off as he now holds the 36-hole lead, two shots clear Jim Doing (3 over). Patrick Stayer (4 over), Ken Kinkopf (5 over) and round 1 leader John Barry (5 over) all look to give chase on Thursday to take the title in what will be a windy and rainy final round.

Super Seniors (65-69)

Overnight leader, Greg Goode, grew his one-shot lead with a three over 75. Duke Delcher (5 over), Mike Arter (6 over), James Starnes (7 over) and Golfweek No. 2 Steve Humphrey (8 over) are all vying to close out a come-from-behind victory.

A win for Goode would secure a top-five finish in the Golfweek Player of the Year race, while a runner-up finish for Humphrey would put him ahead of No. 1 Marcus Beck for the PoY Super Senior title with one event remaining in the season.

Legends (70-74)

Pete Allen continues to sit on the top of the leaderboard in the Legends division. Enjoying a three-shot lead after the first round, Allen (6 over) now holds a four-shot lead following a second-round 76.

Paul Schlacter (10 over), Vince Scarpetta (11 over) and Sam Robinson (11 over) round out the podium with 18 holes remaining.

Super Legends (75+)

Despite gusty conditions, 18-hole leader Gary Hardin (3 over) bested his age, bouncing back from an opening-round 75 with an even-par 72 on Wednesday. He holds a four-shot lead on Jack Marin (7 over). Cole Henry (8 over) sits in third place after a double bogey on his final hole cost him the low round of the day of 71.

Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions underway at PGA National

With our calendars flipping to December, another senior amateur golf season is coming to a close.

As the season winds to an end, one of the deepest fields of the season takes center stage at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Players from all over the country ranging in age from 55 to over 75 years old are bringing their A-game to this year end event. By week’s end, four men will be crowned as a champion of champions and one final stake of success before we turn the page on 2022 completely.

Andy Hydorn leads the senior division through one round of play. Through tough weather and scoring conditions, Hydorn was able to card a round of 1-under 71.

Hydorn kept a clean card with only one bogey and a pair of birdies on the front nine. The Houston native holds a one-shot lead over Kansan Greg Goode. Three more players lurk just two shots behind Hydorn at 1 over.

Super Senior Steve Humphrey holds the honor of low round of the day. His opening-round 2 under performance paces not just the super senior age division but the entire field. Scoring was no problem for Humphrey. The Florida native tallied six birdies throughout the day, but a handful of bogeys kept Humphrey from jumping too far in front.

Stephen Fox and Tim Vigotsky share second place after matching each other with rounds of 4-over 76.

Jupiter, Florida’s Joseph Gilmore paces the field in the Legend age division. He made four birdies to keep his score in check to take an early lead at even par. Don Donatoni, Sam Robinson and Peter Van Ingen are all within three shots of Gilmore as the tournament turns to Thursday’s moving day.

Super Legends Joel Hirsch and Frank Polizzi share the top spot in the 75+ division. Both carding rounds of 2 over, the pair look to separate themselves from the pack who looks to track them down.

Round 2 of the Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions switches over to the Tom Fazio design at PGA National. If you are interested in playing championship level golf courses around the globe, check out the full 2023 Golfweek amateur golf schedule to put your game to the test.

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Top-ranked senior Gene Elliott leads Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions

Top-ranked senior amateur Gene Elliott is back where he is most familiar: atop the leaderboard.

Gene Elliott, the top-ranked senior amateur, is back where he is most familiar: at the top of the leaderboard.

With 18 holes to play at the Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions at The Forest Country Club Bear Course in Ft. Myers, Florida, Elliott should feel pretty comfortable.

The 59-year-old from Iowa has already had a year for the record books, winning both the U.S. Senior Amateur and the British Senior Amateur. He also has a track record at this event where he has won twice since its inception in 2018.

Elliott began the second round two shots back of co-leaders Dave Bunker and Jerry Gunthorpe, who each began the day at 2 under. Carding birdies on holes Nos. 2, 3, and 4, Elliott made quick work in erasing the deficit. Despite a bogey on the par-4 16th, he did enough to take the top spot heading into Friday’s final round.

Bunker negated any ground made up on the field in the first round with a second-round 75. Having four bogeys on his card, the top-ranked Canadian senior slid from a tie for first to solo second at 1 over. As for Gunthorpe, a trio of back-to-back bogeys throughout the day saw him fall into a tie for sixth at 4 over.

Seven golfers are within five strokes of Elliott heading into Friday’s final round. The two co-leaders from round one find themselves still atop the Super Senior division. Randy King and Edward Turner account for two-thirds of tomorrow’s final pairing as they sit at 5 over with Keith McKelvy.

Defending Legend champion Jim Rollefson leads the pack that will be looking to chase Charley Yandell, who backed up his opening 1-over 73 with yet another to take a commanding four-stroke lead in the Legend division.

Gil Stenholm of Illinois bounced back from a first round 78 with a 1-over 73 on Thursday to go 7 over for the tournament. The 75-year old leads by two over Jack Marin who sits in solo second. Round 1 leader Steve Wilson and defending champion Charlie Busbee lurk at 10 and 11 over respectively.

Four golfers will take home trophies and have bragging rights as a ‘Champion of Champions’ following play on Friday.

Leaving the cold at home, Jerry Gunthorpe, Dave Bunker share lead at Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions

Jerry Gunthorpe and Dave Bunker headline the leaderboard after Round 1 at The Forest Country Club.

The runner up from the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur, Jerry Gunthorpe, and top Canadian senior Dave Bunker headline the leaderboard after the first round of the Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions at The Forest Country Club Bear Course in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Firing a pair of 2-under 70s on Wednesday, the snow birds flew south, leaving any rust they had at home and starting out in form to open the tournament. Gunthorpe, a native of Michigan, has been beating balls on his indoor simulator he built in his home. Even through seven holes, Gunthorpe dropped a 40-foot bomb on the par-5 ninth for an eagle, giving him a two shot swing. That putt brought him back to red numbers after trading a birdie and bogey earlier on the front nine.

With another bogey on No. 14, the 58-year old Michigander claimed another birdie on the par-4 16th to get himself back to 2-under, making the eagle on No. 9 the difference maker.

As for Bunker, his day got off to an odd start with a double-bogey on the par-4 4th. Carding a birdie on No. 9, Bunker rattled off three more birdies in a five hole stretch on the back-nine to more than negate his mistake early on in the day.

Reigning U.S. Senior Amateur champion and two-time winner of this event in 2018 and 2020, Gene Elliott sits in solo fourth, just three shots off the lead with 36 holes remaining. Separating him from the top is Joe Shaktman of Coral Spring, Florida, who opened the tournament with a 1-under 71. Nine golfers are separated by four strokes making Thursday’s moving day all the more interesting.

In the Super Senior division, defending champion Doug Hopton-Jones is tied with John Armstrong, Randy King and Edward Turner at 3 over. Charley Yandell leads the Legends flight after almost shooting his age, posting a 1-over 73. He leads by two in the age 70-74 bracket.

In the Super Legends flight for golfers 75 and up, California’s Steve Wilson, who dropped in two birdies en route to an impressive three-over 75 just two weeks shy of his 80th birthday, who leads.

Second-round action tees off at 8 a.m. ET.

Golfweek Senior TOC will decide final standings in several age brackets

With only three Senior National Ranking tournaments left in 2020, each division is still up for grabs except the Super Legends.

Golfweek is opening the door to the exclusive Forest Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida, for the top senior players in the nation. The Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions will be played Dec. 2-4 on the Bear Course. The field features 96 of the nation’s top senior players 55 years of age and older, broken into four divisions: Seniors (55-64), Super Seniors (65-69), Legends (70-74) and Super Legends (75 and older).

The high-calibur field includes some of the game’s top senior amateurs, including Gene Elliott, the top-ranked senior player in the world. The Des Moines, Iowa, resident recently played in the inaugural East West Matches with some of the game’s best amateurs, and before that, captained the winning team at the Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup.

With only three Senior National Ranking tournaments left in 2020, each division is still up for grabs except the Super Legends where Walt Martin has locked up the first ever Super Legends National Trophy. The Senior National Rankings can be found here.

Craig Hurlbert - senior amateur golf — Craig Hurlbert

In the Senior Division, former Georgia state representative Allen Peake trails Craig Hurlbert of Magnolia, Texas, by 1,732.5 points. With 2,800 points still up for grabs in 2020, Peake needs to run the table to overtake Hurlbert.

In the Super Senior Division, Mark Fried of Solon, Ohio, leads John Armstrong of Frostburg, Maryland, by 349.2 points but with Fried sitting out the Senior TOC, there is a good chance Armstrong will take over the No. 1 spot.

In the Legends Division, two other Maryland players are fighting for the top spot. John Blank of Frostburg, Maryland, leads George Washburn of Frederick, MD by 977.5 points. Both are in the field at the TOC and both have been playing well.

In the first year of competition for the Super Legends Division, Walt Martin of St Augustine, Florida, has the title locked up with a 2,788.3-point lead over Charlie Busbee of Stockbridge, Georgia. Both are in the field in Ft. Myers.

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