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Alabama QB Jalen Milroe announces he will return to Alabama in 2024

Alabama’s Jalen Milroe to return to the Crimson Tide in 2024

It should not come as much of a surprise, but Alabama quarterback [autotag]Jalen Milroe[/autotag] officially announced that he will forego the 2024 NFL Draft and be returning to the Crimson Tide next season. Milroe finished sixth overall in this year’s Heisman Trophy voting and will likely be the odds-on betting favorite heading into next year.

His growth and resiliency in 2023 has been a blast to watch in real time as he went from being benched in Week 3 against USF to leading the Tide to ten straight wins, an SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff berth. Milroe and the Alabama team are totally dialed in on the work they have this upcoming month, but this question still needed to be asked. During an appearance on the Next Round this morning Milroe was asked if he would be back to which he laughed and definitively said yes.

After beating Georgia and sneaking into the Playoffs Alabama fans should be soaking up every second of this season, but man it’s hard not to look forward to 2024. With Milroe returning now and a 12-team Playoff, it’s pretty hard to imagine that the Tide won’t be in the thick of it next year as well.

Jalen Milroe confirms that he will, in fact, be returning for his senior year. @AlabamaFTBL @JalenMilroe pic.twitter.com/8lrm3uOh5O

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) December 14, 2023

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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.

Bradley Karns seals local win, Scott Masingill goes wire-to-wire at Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Championship

The 2023 Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior Amateur had everything you could ask for as a golf fan. A winner chasing records; a sweaty, down-to-the-wire finish; and four new champions were crowned this week at Wine Valley Golf in Walla Walla, …

Seniors (55-64)

Bradley Karns began Wednesday’s final round three shots back of the leader, Jon Lindstrom.

With over 275 rounds recorded, a 2016 Washington State Senior Amateur win and a runner-up finish in last year’s event all at Wine Valley, Karns felt confident in his abilities to get the job done.

“When you get to this age and you’re kind of in the mix a little bit, playing in tournaments,” Karns told Golfweek. “You just kind of [put your] head down and continue to grind.”

Lindstrom struggled towards the back half of the front nine, carding a front nine 38 and dropping two strokes to Karns as they made the turn. With a birdie on the par 3 11th, Karns moved his way into a tie for the lead, setting up a shootout over the final seven holes.

Lindstrom regained the lead with a birdie on No. 13 only to relinquish the lead on No. 16 with a bogey.

Karns would get his first solo lead of the tournament on No. 17 thanks to another bogey from Lindstrom. Using his local knowledge, the three-time U.S. Senior Am qualifier made easy work of the par 5 18th, taking his first Golfweek Senior Amateur win by one stroke over Lindstrom.

“I’ve played enough and competed against high-level players, that I feel very comfortable when I go tee it up,” he said. “So, I just try to put my head down and keep grinding away… There’s some really good players around the Pacific Northwest and I’m just trying to fit in is all I’m trying to do.”

For Lindstrom, his runner-up finish will move him inside the top 5 of the Golfweek Senior Amateur rankings. Previously 6th in the rankings coming into the week, Lindstrom benefits two-fold as the top 5 players were not in the field.

Super Seniors (65-69)

With a 16-stroke lead heading into the final round, the only question remaining for Scott Masingill was not if he was going to win, but by how many.

“Yesterday, we talked about confidence,” Masingill told Golfweek. “You know, you can be too confident and think ‘I don’t really have to concentrate.”

No matter how experienced you are or how well you may be playing, golf has a funny way of humbling you.

Masingill had a tap in left for par on the par-4 9th. Sweeping it into the hole, it lipped out and resulted in a bogey for the 1971 Pac-8 conference champion (1971, Oregon State). Closing the championship with a 3-over 75, Masingill had wise words that everyone can benefit from:

“There’s the right amount of confidence and there’s the right amount of intensity. You can’t try too hard and you can’t assume that you’re such a good player that you can just go out and play and everything will work out, because it won’t.”

Despite the uncharacteristic day, Masingill closes the week at Wine Valley with the best score to par across the entire field at 7 under 209 and a 17-stroke win in the Super Senior division. Not too shabby for the 72-year-old Idaho legend.

Dan Parkinson (10 over) and Frank Maxwell (12 over) rounded out the podium spots.

Legends (70-74)

Michael Jonson retained his 36-hole lead, taking the Legend division crown with a 10 over 226. Greg Tatham (12 over) takes runner-up honors.

Super Legends (75+)

Oklahoma’s Craig Collins (10 over) takes the 75-and-up division crown. Three straight sub-80 rounds of golf gave him a one-shot victory over No. 2 ranked Bill Engel. Tightly contested, the top six finishers in the Super Legends bracket were separated by just six shots.

The Golfweek Senior Amateur Series tees off yet again next week, this time just outside of Atlanta, Georgia for the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club in Cartersville, Georgia.

Coverage for the event will begin on Tuesday, October 3.

10 Alabama seniors named to Reese’s Senior Bowl watchlist

The Reese’s Senior Bowl released its first watchlist less than a week before the start of the college football season. Alabama had 10 seniors that made the list.

The 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl watchlist was released on Wednesday morning. A total of 10 Alabama players were named to the watchlist.

The Senior Bowl was first played in 1950 at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Since 1951, the game has been played annually in Mobile, Alabama. The game was implemented to allow college seniors to showcase their skills and talents in front of fans and NFL scouts.

The opportunity has helped a lot of players over the years. Some of the former Alabama players who participated in the Senior Bowl are Joe Namath, Ozzie Newsome, Mac Jones, Najee Harris, and Jake Coker.

Roll Tide Wire takes a closer look at the 10 players who were recently named to the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl watchlist.

Four champions crowned at Golfweek Senior National Match Play

Here’s how everything unfolded.

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After three days and 40 total matches, the Golfweek Senior National Match Play has crowned four champions across each of its respective age divisions.

Forty-two top senior amateur players from around the country ranging in age from 55 to 79 years old made Duke University Golf Club their playground for the past week, carding scores that would not only flirt with their ages, but in some cases shatter them.

Aside from the title of champion, winners of each bracket take home a trophy and add 1,200 Golfweek Player of the Year points to their name. As the season begins to slow down, Player of the Year points are becoming more and more important to those vying for the top spot come year’s end.

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 or national ranking was used to determine seeding.

Senior Bracket (55-64)

Four-seed, Brian Keenan, earned his way into the final with a 5-and-4 win over No. 13 Brian Kennedy and a 2-and-1 win over No. 5 Allen Peake on Wednesday. In the semifinals, Keenan took down No. 8 Craig Hurlbert 1 up to set up a final against No. 6 Ken Kinkopf.

Kinkopf’s journey to the final was seemingly a breeze. Riding a hot hand all week, Kinkopf won his first two matches 8 and 7 and 4 and 2. The latter came against Golfweek No. 3 Kevin VandenBerg, a favorite heading into the week. Cruising to a 6-and-5 victory in the semifinals against No. 7 Kirk Wright, Kinkopf was a likely favorite heading into the final match.

Picking up right where he left off, Kinkopf took the first hole with a par on No. 1. Countering the early lead, Keenan tied the match immediately with a par of his own on No. 2 before taking the lead with a birdie on No. 4.

Knowing Kinkopf could heat up at any moment, Keenan kept applying pressure, taking a 3-up lead as the match made its way to the back nine.

With Kinkopf running out of steam after a stellar week, Keenan was able to win three of the first four holes of the back side to command a 5-up lead through 13 holes.

Not going down without a fight, Kinkopf holed out for eagle on No. 14 out of a greenside bunker to pull back within four.

“He [Kinkopf] told me he had me right where he wanted me,” Kennan chuckled. “He’s a friend and I was glad to have a chance to play him. He’s won a lot of these [Golfweek] events over the years so it was nice for me to get the “W” against a friend like that.”

For Keenan, the win puts a bit of wind in his sails as he heads just an hour down the road from Raleigh, North Carolina, over to Pinehurst to play in the Senior North & South next week.

Super Senior Bracket (65-69)

No. 2 seeded James Starnes took down No. 7 Bill Hardaker 3 and 2 and No. 3 John Armstrong 2 and 1 on his way to the Super Senior final. Meeting him there was 4-seed Keith Waters who went 2 up on No. 5 Greg Goode and top-seeded Marcus Beck en route to his championship run.

Starnes and Water needed all 18 holes to decide their match with Waters coming out on top, winning four of the final six holes to swing the match from 2 down to 2 up in his favor.

Legends Bracket (70-74)

Pete Allen (No. 5) and Bev Hargraves (No. 3) squared off for the Legends title.

Allen went 4 and 3 against No. 12 Fred Clark and No. 4 John Osborne in Wednesday’s play before taking down No. 1 seed George Walker in the semifinals. Hargreaves received a bye in the first round, rolling to a 19-hole win against Donald Kuehn in the quarterfinals and beat No. 2 Sam Robinson 3 and 2 in the semis.

With both men in the top six in the Golfweek Player of the Year rankings, this match had the most riding on it when it came to the year-long race.

Allen commanded a 3-up lead as the two made the turn with Hargraves unable to get anything to fall in the hole. Matching each other shot for shot from hole 8 to 14, Hargraves was finally able to get on the board with a par on the par-3 15th.

Needing a win on 15 to close the match, Allen lived up to his nickname ‘Pointblank Pete’. Carding a par, Allen won the championship match 3 and 2. With the win, Allen slides up two spots to 4th place with Hargraves just 23 points in front of him with just a handful of points events left in the year.

Golfweek No. 2 Sam Robinson closes the gap between himself and No. 1 George Walker as Robinson won the Legends bracket consolation match 3 and 2. Altogether, the top four spots in the Golfweek Legends Player of the Year rankings are separated by just over 1,200 points, making the final stretch run a fun one to watch.

Super Legends (75+)

The top two seeds in the Super Legends division met in the final.

Top seed, John Blank played his way in with a 7-and-5 win over No. 8 Ben Dowdey and a 4-and-3 win over No. 5 Joe Pavoni. Two-seed George Owens went 5 and 3 over No. 7 Richard Kline and advanced to the final after No. 6 John Casstevens withdrew midway through the semifinal match due to injury.

In the final it was Owens who came out on top in a back-and-forth battle. After four lead changes, Owens was able to ice the match with a 1-up victory on the 18th hole.

With the win, Owens closes the gap between himself and Blank, with Bill Engel providing a slight buffer between the two men. Engel was able to earn 275 points this week despite playing down an age bracket, finishing fifth in the Legends bracket.

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.

5 Chiefs among senior, coach and contributor semifinalists for 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame

Five former members of the #Chiefs organization were named senior or coach/contributor semifinalists for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 12-person committee has trimmed their list of senior and coaching/contributor candidates down to 60 semifinalists for the 2024 class. A number of former members of the Kansas City Chiefs are up for enshrinement this year, including two players, one general manager, one coach and one scout.

The next step in the process is to reduce each group to 12 finalists, which will occur later this month on July 27. In late August the committee will convene to select one coach/contributor and up to three seniors for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024.

Below is a quick look at those who’ve made it through to the semifinalist round:

Mike Combs wins playoff in come-from-behind victory at 2023 Golfweek Senior National Championship

Surviving the gauntlet that became the East Course were two men who lurked just off stage all week.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]The stage was set for an incredible finish at the Golfweek Senior National Championship at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Golfweek No. 1 Vance Welch, Carolinas Golf Association Hall of Famer, Paul Simson and Ironman athlete Walker Taylor were all favored to take home the championship heading into Wednesday’s final round. With hundreds of wins and championship pedigree between the three men, it seemed like it was a lock for the winner to emerge from the final group.

Not so fast.

The winds were howling throughout the final round, making the East Course at Grandover Resort play even trickier than expected. With driver taken out of the hand on many holes throughout the week, the options off the tee ramped up with the winds.

Early in the round, it looked as though Simson was going to coast to yet another victory. Two under on the front nine, Simson opened up a six-shot advantage over Welch and a four-shot swing over Taylor.

The final round proved to be an onslaught for the favorites as Simson erased his front nine work to finish with a final round 75, good for a T3 finish at 2 over. Taylor matched Simson’s tournament total (+2), unable to keep bogeys off of his card for a 77.

For Welch, his front nine, 43, became insurmountable as he posted a birdie-free 81 to slide from the 36-hole lead to a ninth-place finish (+6).

Surviving the gauntlet that became the East Course were two men who lurked just off stage all week.

Sherrill Britt was consistent all week, hanging inside the top five, and teed off in the penultimate group in the final round just two shots off of the leaders. Mike Combs began the day five back but knew he had a chance thanks to the windy conditions.

“It had to be gusting to 30 miles an hour,” Combs told Golfweek.

It was so windy that Combs’ ball rolled away from the hole on No. 9 when he was busy fixing his pitch mark.

“It rolled five feet further from the hole because the wind was blowing that hard. It was pretty funny.”

Saving par despite Mother Nature trying her best to thwart it, Combs really gained momentum with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11.

The boost proved to be huge as he took the clubhouse lead at 1 over for the tournament after carding a 1 under 71.

All Combs could do was wait as the final two groups made their way in. Throughout the nervous 20 or so minutes, Combs couldn’t help but think of the shots he left out on the course as he was sure Britt was going to birdie the par 5 18th.

“ I just assumed all of those guys were going to birdie (18) and leapfrog me,” he said. “I was sweating it out.”

With Britt making par on the last, the duo made their way to No. 10 for a sudden-death playoff.

Combs held the tee first and decided to apply the pressure. Nailing a driver down the fairway of the par 4, he left himself a sand wedge into the green.

Britt stuck to his game plan despite Combs finding the fairway. Pulling a 3 wood into the left rough, Britt hit a great wedge to the front of the green but had about 25 feet remaining for birdie.

With the door open, Combs slammed it shut, sticking his wedge to three feet.

With Britt in for par, Combs stood over his putt to win. Then, he backed off.

“I still felt the nerves a little bit,” Combs told Golfweek. “So much so that I backed off the putt once. I regrouped and said ‘Darn it, let’s go’ and confidently stroke this into the back [of the hole].”

Finding the bottom of the cup, Combs pulled off the unlikely. Often the bridesmaid but never the bride at Golfweek championships, the Georgia native and Home Depot executive secured his first Golfweek win with the birdie.

The win catapults him from No. 15 in the Golfweek Senior Amateur Rankings to inside the top 5.

Super Seniors (65-69)

Combs wasn’t the only playoff victor on Wednesday. South Carolina’s Bob Edens (+4) came out on top after a four-hole playoff battle against Randy King.

Legends (70-74)

Charley Yandell completed his wire-to-wire win with a final round 75. Posting a tournament total of 4 over, 220, Yandell cruised to a five-shot victory over Allen Pete (+9).

Super Legends (75+)

Like Yandell, Frank Costanzo went wire-to-wire in his win in the Super Legends division. Back-to-back sub-age rounds of 73 set Costanzo up with a five-shot cushion. His final round 78 was plenty good to hold onto a four-stroke victory and a tournament total of 8 over 224.

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Top-ranked Vance Welch, Walker Taylor share lead at 2023 Golfweek Senior National Championship

Talking to his daughter before the round, Vance Welch found out he is going to be a grandfather again.

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Vance Welch’s day was already made before he even hit a practice shot before his second round at the 2023 Golfweek Senior National Championship at the Grandover Resort (East Course) in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Talking to his daughter before the round, Welch found out he is going to be a grandfather again, this time for a baby girl due in October.

“That just put me in a happy place,” he said. “It didn’t matter if I hit a bad shot today. What an awesome day today was when I found out I was going to have another grandchild.”

With a smile on his face, Welch may have been the happiest man to ever be over par for a round. One over through eight holes and seven back of the lead, his golf turned around when he holed out for an eagle on the par-5 18th.

Not looking back, the top-ranked player in Golfweek’s Senior Amateur Rankings closed out his second round with a bogey-free back nine 33, good for a 68 and share of the lead alongside 18-hole leader Walker Taylor (3 under).

With two wins under his belt on the season, Welch acknowledges he’ll have a target on his back during Wednesday’s final round. No matter what happens in Wednesday’s final round, Welch is excited for a post-round celebration.

“My girls live in Raleigh, about an hour away [from Greensboro]…as soon as I get finished tomorrow I’m going to go hug my daughter and rub her belly and hold my girls. Both of my daughters live in Raleigh so I’m looking forward to spending time with them tomorrow night.”

Paired with Welch in the final group are co-leader Walker Taylor and Carolinas Golf Association Hall of Fame member Paul Simson.

Taylor pulled out to a seven-shot lead halfway through the second round after a 3-under front nine. Coming back to the clubhouse at 4 over, Taylor slipped from solo command of the lead and now finds himself in the middle of a dogfight. Tied with Welch and holding a one-shot advantage over Simson, Taylor looks to settle unfinished business after letting the 2022 Golfweek Senior National Championship slip away from him last year.

Simson was back in typical form following a tough first round of 4 over.

“I was pretty disappointed with my round yesterday,” Simson said. “I played a lot better than that 76 and today quite honestly, I played about the same. But I made a few putts and I holed a sand wedge on the 13th hole for my second eagle of the week.”

Out in 4 under, Simson was able to post another red number on his way back in to card a 5-under 67, right in the thick of things at 1 under and two back of the leaders.

North Carolina’s Sherrill Brent is also in the mix at 1 under. Improving upon his even-round start, Brent will lead the way for the penultimate group and look to apply pressure ahead of the final group. His playing partners Rick Cloninger and Michael Arasin both vie for the championship at even par total.

Super Seniors (65-69)

Randy King and Bob Edens look to duke it out in the Super Senior age division. Both at 2 over par and improving upon their first-round scores, the pair have a three-shot lead on the rest of the field.

Legends (70-74)

First-round leader Charley Yandell commands the leaderboard through 36 holes. With one of just four sub-par rounds in Tuesday’s action, Yandell carded a 2-over 74 but still enjoys a five-shot cushion as he looks to go wire-to-wire.

Super Legends (75+)

Sharing the lead after day one alongside Bill Engel, Frank Costanzo’s steady play through the second round has earned him a five-shot advantage with 18 holes to play. Carding consecutive rounds of 73, Costanzo searches for the win on Wednesday.