senior golf – Syndication Server

Team Arkansas taps into special bond to win team title at Golfweek International Senior Invitational

Team Arkansas rallied past Team Ireland and two Georgia star-powered teams.

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Team Arkansas played lights-out golf over the final 36 holes at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club to pull off a come-from-behind victory over Team Ireland and two Georgia star-powered teams.

Arkansas team captain, Gordy McKeown, has known his teammates Stan Payne and Wes McNulty for more than 40 years. The three were taught how to play by McKeown’s father, George, at Pine Bluff Country Club in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. George played in four majors, became a life member of the PGA of America in 2000 and was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 2014, George passed away at the age of 76. Not only did McKeown lose his father, but Payne and McNulty lost the man who introduced them to competitive golf.

“For us to get to travel to a great golf course like this and play together and then win,” Payne said to Golfweek. “That’s just a testament to him.”

Team Arkansas used a simple approach for Saturday’s final round, relying on lessons taught to them since their youth by George more than 40 years ago.

“We knew the golf course was playing extremely difficult,” McNulty told Golfweek. “The greens are the defense of this golf course and we all knew if we hit it on the greens and two-putt we’d have a chance to win. I think our scores showed it–none of us took it low-low any day but we all kept it around par and that’s what you had to do today. And it’s a testament to this golf course. It’s a beautiful golf course. It’s a gem.”

Ahead of the final round, Arkansas lurked just one shot behind the 36-hole leaders Team Ireland. With individual leader and eventual champion, Joe Lyons leading the way and his teammates Karl Bornemann and John Reynolds playing well, it seemed as though one shot is all Ireland was going to need to pull away from the field.

Arkansas had plenty of momentum thanks to a 5-under team total of 139. McNulty (3 under) and Payne (2 under) counted while McKeown’s 1 under 71 made him the odd man out. The combined rounds catapulted Team Arkansas into a tie for second and in prime position to overtake Team Ireland who had commanded the lead for 36 holes.

Saturday’s final round brought cool temperatures and wind gusts up to 25 miles per hour, making the pristine greens of Cartersville Country Club even more important to find in regulation.

Even par through the turn as a team, Arkansas made their move on the back nine. Five birdies and an eagle combined for Payne and McNulty not only gave Team Arkansas the lead, but a four-shot victory to take home the team title.

“We were sitting in Whataburger last night and we were talking about George, Gordy’s dad,” McNulty said. “And did he envision that for us – I think he did. He wanted us to play golf at a high level and do these things together.”

”That was his biggest thing,” McKeown chimed in. “He wanted all of us to do it together.”

Perhaps with a bit of help from George, Team Arkansas, who has over 13 USGA starts between them, takes home a team win and a bond that will last a lifetime.

Joe Lyons, Team Ireland lead 2023 Golfweek International Senior Invitational

Rain made Cartersville Country Club in Georgia play longer than it did in the first round.

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Joe Lyons and his fellow countrymen are 18 holes away from a wire-to-wire victory at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational.

Lyons maintained his three-stroke lead at 6 under despite a second-round 2-over 73. Off and on rain made Cartersville Country Club play longer than it did in round one, making scoring a premium. The wet conditions allowed Lyons to lean on his knowledge from back home and adapt it to the Bermuda grass he’s not fully accustomed to.

“I’m not all that new to Bermuda,” Lyons told Golfweek. “I have an idea. I still wouldn’t say I’m entirely comfortable on it [Bermuda grass]. Basically, I’m just hitting bunker shots out of the rough and trying to convince myself.”

One thing Lyons is a bit more familiar with? Leading.

“It’s always hard when you’re you’re out on your own in front. I’ve won events back home potter to post. It’s a difficult thing to do because you’re sleeping on the lead. You know the stats are not good for people following a low round but I’m very happy with today’s round.”

With a history of being able to close out championships, Lyons has a simple game plan for Saturday’s final round, albeit a difficult game plan to execute.

“Just try to play like yesterday.”

Giving chase are Utah’s Shane McMillan and Oklahoma’s Michael Hughett, both at 3 under. Behind them are two members of the ‘Georgia Mafia’, Bob Royak (2 under) and Mike Combs (1 under). Wes McNulty (1 under ) hopes to help Team Arkansas erase Ireland’s one-shot lead.

Three more players are in a tie for seventh at even par and another six players are within seven shots of Lyons, making every shot count come Saturday.

On the team side, Ireland holds a slight one-shot lead after a second-round charge from Team Arkansas.

All three players from Arkansas carded sub-par rounds, with McNulty (69) and Stan Payne (70) acting as the counting scores. Gordy McKeown carded a 1 under 71 to move inside the top 10 at 1 under for the championship.

Bob Royak’s Georgia team (even), one of five in the field, is three back of Ireland. South Carolina (1 over) and California (2 over) round out the top five. Five more teams are within eight shots of the lead.

With cool, breezy and sunny conditions anticipated for Saturday, plenty of scoring opportunities should make the final round a fun one.

Live scoring can be found on Golf Genius (GGID: 23GWISI).

Joe Lyons, Team Ireland lead after first round of the Golfweek International Senior Invitational

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club. Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke …

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Ireland is taking care of business early at the Golfweek International Senior Invitational at Cartersville Country Club.

Individual leader, Joe Lyons, and his teammates have gotten out of the gates quickly, taking a three-stroke lead over the field after the first round. Lyons did much of the heavy lifting, firing a 7-under 65.

“A very special day for me, really,” Lyons told Golfweek. “We [Team Ireland] came over about a week ago. We’ve been enjoying Southern hospitality for the last week. We’ve played some great golf, played some really cool golf courses last week, getting climatized to playing off of Bermuda [grass].”

The preparation paid off for Lyons, as he hardly missed a fairway all day. The Irishman went out in 2 under with his lone bogey on the day coming on the par-4 8th hole. On his way back in, Lyons caught fire, making birdie on six of his final nine holes.

“Delighted with my day today,” Lyons said. “There’s another two rounds to go, so, I’m an amateur golfer, I shot 65 today, I could easily shoot 80 tomorrow so I’m just going to try to enjoy today and see how it goes tomorrow.”

Helping Lyons build Ireland’s lead, team captain Karl Bornemann (T-24) carded a 2-over 74. Rounding out the trio, John Reynolds (T-44) looks to make his score count in Friday’s round after an opening 76.

On the team side, Oklahoma commands solo second place at 2 under thanks to Michael Hughett (68) and Jon Valuck (74). Ricky Bell matched Valuck’s 74, giving the Sooner State natives plenty of momentum heading into tomorrow.

Team Michigan, South Carolina and California share third place at 1 under par.

On the individual side of the championship, there are a handful of players looking to hunt down Lyons.

Utah’s Shane McMillan rebounded well from an early bogey to post a 5-under 67. Michael Hughett (Oklahoma) used a bogey-free 11 holes to card a 4-under 68 while Michigan’s Jerry Gunthorpe had an up-and-down day en route to an opening salvo of 2 under.

Four more golfers are knotted up at 1 under with nine more players at even par.

Sharing Lyons’ sentiment, anything can happen in amateur golf, keeping the championship up in the air until it’s all said in done. But, if Lyons and his teammates have anything to say about it, the closing ceremony and trophy presentation will be accompanied by the sweet sounds of the Irish national anthem, Amhran Na Bhfiann.

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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.

Steve Humphrey runs away with 2023 Golfweek Super Senior National Championship

Humphrey stays in second place in the Golfweek Super Senior rankings.

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Steve Humphrey held a three-shot lead heading into Thursday’s final round of the Golfweek Super Senior National Championship at The Golf Club of Georgia.

Earning the lead with rounds of 76 and 67, the 66-year-old from Ocala, Florida, stuck to his game plan, immediately making birdie on the reachable par-5 1st. Turning on his cruise control after birdies on holes Nos. 3 and 7, Humphrey put the championship away with a trio of birdies to start the back nine, including a near ace on the par-3 13th.

With a six-shot lead through 13, Humphrey made just one bogey the rest of the home to card a 5-under 67 to take the national championship trophy by eight shots and a 7-under 209 total for the week. The win marks his 12th win since turning 65.

After the round, Mike Arter, who played the final round alongside Humphrey, came up to him with a statistic that would leave a smile on Humphrey’s face.

“After the round, Mike [Arter] said ‘You should want to play with me more often.That’s three times we’ve played in the final group and you’ve won all three tournaments,’” Humphrey told Golfweek,

“I said, well I’m going to the Hesler [Society of Seniors] in two weeks, you wanna go? He’s been a bit of a good luck charm for me.”

Arter finished third (3 over) behind Chris Hall (1 over).

With the win, Humphrey stays in second place in the Golfweek Super Senior rankings but has made plenty of headway towards the top spot, currently held by Marcus Beck.

“The goal is always to be number one,” he said.

After losing out on the Player of the Year honor by just 77 points, Humphrey is glad he’s able to take advantage of ranked tournaments when he can.

“It all comes down to one tournament, making 75 points instead of 150…so each tournament you play in [is important], the higher you finish, the more points you get.”

With Beck walking away with 250 points on the week (T-13, 12 over), Humphrey closes the gap from over 1,500 points heading into the tournament, to just a 588 point difference. With each shot making a difference, Humphrey will look to overtake the top spot at the Society of Seniors Jack Hesler Tournament in two weeks.

Legends (70-74)

Bob Casamento closed out the Legends National Championship with a final round 73. Opening with a 2 over 74 and grinding his way into the lead with a moving day 71, Casamento took a five stroke lead into Thursday’s final round. The margin would hold as he cruised to the winner’s circle with a tournament total of 2 over, 218.

Don Russell (7 over) and Charley Yandell (8 over) round out the podium.

Super Legends (75+)

Alabama’s Wayne Gardner bested his age twice this week en route to victory. Carding 74, 78, 74, Gardner (10 over) bested California’s James Saviar by two strokes to take home the Super Legends National Championship trophy.

Steve Humphrey sets out to win 2023 Golfweek Super Senior National Championship

Currently ranked second, Humphrey is looking to not only win but close the gap between him and No. 1 ranked Marcus Beck.

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Tournament leader Steve Humphrey isn’t nervous as he sleeps on the 36-hole lead at the Golfweek Super Senior National Championship at The Golf Club of Georgia.

“I don’t get nervous,” the 66-year-old said. “We have day jobs. We work for a living, and now we’re doing something we enjoy. I want to win, I don’t go into a tournament that I don’t want to win but I don’t get nervous.”

Sitting at No. 2 in the Golfweek Super Senior rankings, Humphrey is looking to not only win but close the gap between him and No. 1 Marcus Beck.

“I gotta get Marcus [Beck] to not play in every golf tournament so I can catch him,” He joked.

Beck is currently out of the points in a tie for 15th at 11 over.

Steve Humphrey poses with his trophy following win at the 2023 Golfweek Super Senior POY Classic. (Ron Gaines/Golfweek)

For Humphrey, his moving day round Wednesday was a clean one. Playing the back nine first, Humphrey was bogey-free, carding a front-nine 5-under 31. Many of his birdies were essentially kick-ins, as his wedges were on fire.

With a clean card and 7 under through 14 holes, a bogey on his 15th hole (No. 6) found its way onto Humphrey’s card thanks to a 7 iron that flew a bit too long into the 169-yard par 3.

Quickly amending the error, Humphrey bounced back with his eighth and final birdie of the day on the par-4 seventh, sticking his 140-yard approach to a foot. Another bogey on the 8th and a par on the last would force Humphrey to settle for a 6-under 66. His mindset for Thursday? Easy.

“Go make birdies.”

With the low round of the week so far, Humphrey slides by his buddy and first-round leader Chris Hall to take a three-shot lead heading into Thursday’s final round.

Hall’s day simply never got going. With five bogeys on the day, Hall was able to muster his lone birdie on the par-3 sixth to stop some of the bleeding. He’ll begin the final round three back of Humphrey and will look to apply pressure on his buddy, as they’ll be cartmates as they battle for the title.

Rounding out the final group is Mike Arter (2 over) and Robert Allen II (3 over).

Legends (70-74)

Bob Casamento holds sole possession of the lead with 18 holes remaining at The Golf Club of Georgia.

His second round 1-under 71 moved him up the leaderboard while 18-hole leader Don Kuehn fell to a tie for second following a 77 on Wednesday. Casamento commands a five-shot lead over Kuehn and Phil Pavoni. Charley Yandel (7 over) and Don Russell (7 over) round out the top five.

Super Legends (75+)

Wayne Gardner (8 over) looks to complete a wire-to-wire victory on Thursday. Following his opening 74 with a 6-over 78 on Wednesday, Gardner enjoys a slim, one-shot lead over Greg Mokler (9 over). Henry Cole, Jim DuBois and Bill Engel all look to give chase as the trio are tied at 10 over.

Chris Hall in front after opening round at 2023 Golfweek Super Senior National Championship

Hall not only qualified for the U.S. Senior Am but is atop the leaderboard early on at the Golfweek Super Senior National Championship

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Chris Hall isn’t your typical elite senior amateur golfer.

The 65-year-old golf course arborist isn’t able to play in a lot of the big events throughout the year because of his job. Assisting in jobs across the country, Hall most recently completed a project at the Honors course in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is starting another at East Lake soon.

That hasn’t stopped him from completing one of the hardest achievements to accomplish in the senior amateur game – qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur.

In what will be his sixth U.S. Senior Amateur later this summer, Hall was able to forego qualifying for the event, earning an exemption into the event as a top-25 senior golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

“I’m not a ‘professional amateur’,” Hall said. “They get to play nearly every week somewhere. I don’t get to do that.”

Despite not teeing it up regularly, Hall not only qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur but finds himself atop the leaderboard early on at the Golfweek Super Senior National Championship held at The Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta.

Hall carded a bogey-free 3-under 69 in the opening round.

“This is my first super senior event, and I’m still pretty long,” he said. “(The course) takes the longer clubs out of my bag. I’m hitting a lot of 3-wood and rescue off of the tee.”

Feeling his way through the golf course, Hall stuck to his game plan of keeping his ball in the short stuff, resulting in hitting 14 greens in regulation and just 30 putts. Not too bad for a guy new to the 65-70 age division.

So what’s the mentality for Hall the rest of the way? Well, it’s simple.

“Play smart golf.”

Three shots back from Hall is Georgia’s Robert Allen II who looks to piece together another solid round following a first-round 72. Mike Arter (1 over) is in third and will look to close the gap during Wednesday’s second round.

Five more players are tied at 2 over, including Hall’s Central Alabama Community College teammate Emile Vaughan.

Legends (70-74)

Don Kuehn paces the legends age division, shooting a 73. Kuehn takes a one-shot lead into moving day. Three players are tied at 2 over. and five more are within five shots of Kuehn.

Super Legends (75+)

Alabama’s Wayne Gardner bested his age to take command of a one-shot lead in the Super Legends division. With three birdies on his scorecard, Gardner could have flirted with a sub-70 score had it not been for an eight on the par-5 11th hole.

Gardner leads the way with Florida’s Bill Engel just one shot back (3 over) and eight more golfers within five strokes of his lead.

Rex Enright comes from behind to win; Team New Mexico goes wire-to-wire at 38th U.S. Senior Challenge Cup

Enright was glad he had seven years of local knowledge in his back pocket.

Rex Enright began the final round trailing 36-hole leader Randy Haag by three strokes.

As a member of the Canyon Club, host of the 38th U.S. Senior Challenge Cup, Enright was glad he had seven years of local knowledge in his back pocket as he faced off against Haag in the final group.

“After looking Randy’s resume,” Enright told Golfweek. “I was like ‘Oh (expletive) this guy is pretty good… this could be a challenge!”

With more than 300 wins in his amateur career and three wins already in 2023, Haag was definitely a worthy opponent. Resting on his local knowledge, Enright took comfort in his ability to navigate the elevation and sloped greens that prove to be the primary challenge in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“I figured with his (Haag) resume, that I’d have to shoot 67,” Enright said.

Fortunately for Enright, Haag stumbled out of the gates with a bogey, bogey start. On the par 5 4th, Haag five-putted for a triple to sway the leaderboard in favor of Enright.

Down but not out, Haag battled for control of the top spot and earned back a share of the lead as the two men stood on the 17th tee after being down three strokes through 11 holes.

After catching multiple breaks in Wednesday’s second round, Haag’s luck seemed to have run out on the par-3 17th. Hitting his tee shot just a couple of paces too long, he found himself putting back down towards the hole from just off the green in the rough.

Four putting from off the green Haag left the door open for Enright to slam the tournament shut.

Putting the finishing touches on the championship with a two-putt par, Enright went on to par the 18th and claiming the Challenge Cup by two strokes with a tournament total of 2-over 218.

Defending his home course, Enright becomes the first U.S. Senior Challenge Cup individual champion from New Mexico.

Team Champion

Four more New Mexico natives made Challenge Cup history Thursday as Team New Mexico-Slayton was crowned champions. Riding the back of captain Jack Slayton all week, Kevin Sivage, Anton Salome and Bill Squier strolled through the week to win by 15 shots, boasting a three-day total of 6-over to complete a wire-to-wire win.

Legends (70-74)

Slayton not only ran away with the team portion, but also the Legends age division. Touting three straight rounds of 70, Slayton swept the 70-74 year old bracket by six shots and totaling the lowest 54-hole total of the tournament with a 6-under 210. His play nets him low man of the week honors as no other player finished under par regardless of age bracket.

Super Seniors (65-69)

Wyoming’s John Hornbeck was crowned champion in the 65-69 age group, running away with a seven shot victory with tournament total of 4-over 220. New Mexico’s Crispin Fuentes finished second at 11 over.

Super Legends (75+)

Arizona’s David Ralsey capped off the week with a final-round 77 to complete a wire-to-wire win in the 75+ age division.

Randy Haag, Team New Mexico lead 38th U.S. Senior Challenge Cup

The Canyon Club in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is hosting the 38th U.S. Senior Challenge Cup.

Through two rounds, the 38th U.S. Senior Challenge Cup has produced an enormous amount competitive golf. With the Canyon Club in Albuquerque, New Mexico, playing host, the competition, just like the desert temperatures, is heating up.

There may not be a single golfer having more fun this week than 36-hole leader, Randy Haag.

The 64-year-old from California commands a three-shot lead heading into Thursday’s final round. How is he doing it? A combination of a solid game plan, some skill and a pinch of luck.

Even par through his opening nine holes and 1 over for the tournament, Haag turned his game up to 11 when he made the turn. After bombing his drive on the par 4 1st (his 10th hole), Haag came up short with a wedge from 115 yards out. Attributing the shortcoming to the elevation, Haag stayed positive and trusted his sand game, hoping for a chance at a par save.

Catching it perfect, Haag’s bunker shot found the bottom of the hole for birdie.

After saving a handful of clutch pars and adding a couple of birdies to his card, Haag stood on the 9th tee 2 under on the day and looking to cruise into the clubhouse.

“I teed my ball high to launch it over the trees,” Haag told Golfweek. “I hit it hard, but I hit low. It hit the first tree.”

Finding trouble, Haag was unable to find his ball after the ricochet. Just as he was about to call the search off, the group behind Haag found his ball in the fairway of No. 8, saving him from taking a penalty to re-tee.

Thanks to the 80-yard kick left, Haag had a decision to make. With risk protruding everywhere he looked, Haag, decided to trust his go-to 5-wood.

“I said ‘screw it,’” Haag chuckled.

Hitting a high draw, Haag put himself back in play for par. The ninth green at Canyon Club is elevated and features a huge false front. With the pin tucked in the back portion of the green, Haag had a blind shot and was just trying to give himself a chance to get up and down or at worst, a bogey.

What happened next can only be described as pandemonium.

“I nipped it and I saw it kind of jump over the false front and it looked like about the right speed, the right weight, the right line and all of a sudden a marshall behind me is screaming ‘It went in the hole!’”

Just as the ball landed, Haag’s playing partner and good friend Dennis Martin stripped off his shirt, emptied his pockets and began dancing.

“You literally could hit a hundred balls and none of them would go in,” he said.

With the shot resulting in a Harry Higgs/Joel Dahmen moment, Haag closed out his second round at 3 under, giving himself a three-shot advantage heading into the final round.

With over 300 tournament victories throughout his amateur career including three wins and three runner-up finishes so far in 2023, Haag looks upon his recent losses to help him close out a win Thursday.

“I know how to win, but also I know the three tournaments I came second in – I became impatient,” he told Golfweek. “I’m looking at tomorrow a little bit differently. I’m going to play each hole the way I have been, try to hit the right spots and try to not make any big mistakes.”

Giving chase on Thursday is Albuquerque’s own Rex Enright. As one of two players who led the division after the first round with an even-par 72, Enright carded a round of 73 that featured five birdies.

Mark Elliot (Kansas), Dennis Martin (California) and Anton Solome (New Mexico) lurk six back of Haag at 4 over.

With a great final round, Solome has the chance to make it a clean sweep as he is a part of Team New Mexico-Slayton who leads the team portion of the U.S. Challenge Cup.

He, alongside Kevin Sivage, Bill Squier and team captain Jerry Slayton hold a 12-shot lead over the rest of the field.

Two aces were recorded in Wednesday’s second round. Michael Healey (No. 13) and Tim Tyner (No. 3) both carded 1s in the senior division.

Super Seniors (65-69)

John Hornbeck (Wyoming) leads the Super Senior division at 6 over. Crispin Fuentes (New Mexico, 9 over) and Ronald Kilby (Texas, 10 over) round out the final pairing.

Legends (70-74)

New Mexico’s Jack Slayton holds a three-shot lead (4 under) after back-to-back 70s. Arkansas’s Bev Hargraves looks to track him down after rounds of 73 and 70.

Super Legends (75+)

David Rasley of Arizona boasts a six-shot lead in the 75 and up age bracket.

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Joe Pavoni named Golfweek’s 2022 Yancey Ford Award winner

Few match the game-changing impact that 2022 recipient Joe Pavoni has made.

The Yancey Ford Award is awarded to those in senior amateur golf who have made a lasting impact on the game.

Few match the game-changing impact that 2022 recipient Joe Pavoni has made.

Growing up, Pavoni and his brother were introduced to the game by their father and spent most summers playing municipal courses in and around Chicago. Pavoni became good enough to earn a partial golf scholarship at Notre Dame, where he earned a degree in civil engineering. Upon graduation, Pavoni went on to run his own civil and environmental engineering company, leaving competitive golf behind.

It wasn’t until 2004 that Pavoni began playing national-level senior tournaments. Playing in the first-ever Golfweek senior event, Pavoni raised concerns about the yardages and setups. Almost immediately he was heading a three-man committee that would oversee yardages and course setups for every Golfweek senior event.

Helping revolutionize how competitive senior amateur golf is played is deserving enough for the Yancey Ford Award, but Pavoni didn’t stop there.

He created his own senior tournament at Persimmon Ridge Golf Club, his home course, in Louisville, Kentucky. Pavoni was also an advisor tasked with helping create a points system to rank senior amateurs throughout the country and was instrumental in instituting four different age brackets in senior golf that are now widely used across the Society of Seniors, Golfweek events and countless other tours and events nationwide. Most recently, Pavoni was the tournament chairman for the Society of Seniors from 2015-2020.

Using his engineering background, Pavoni helped come up with yardage breakdowns and age breakdowns used regularly in elite senior events.

“What we tried to do was to adjust the yardages so players in different age brackets all hit the same clubs on their second or third shots,” Pavoni told Golfweek. “It’s not a perfect science, but you do the best you can.”

Of course, the reasoning behind adjusting yardages for senior golfers is simple – Pavoni wants everyone to enjoy the game of golf for as long as possible.

“My dad taught this to me when I was 6, 7 years old: the best thing about the game is I can play it until I’m no longer around,” Pavoni said. “You can play it with your friends and enjoy yourself your whole lifetime. What other game can you do that with?”

The adage is something Pavoni has taken to heart. Not only does he play golf, he plays it well. Most recently, the 78-year-old took home a win at the Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup in the Super Legend division, shooting his age or better in two of the three rounds. With the win, Pavoni ended his winless streak after a couple of close calls leading up to the 2022 finale.

As we turn the page to 2023, Pavoni’s legacy in the game continues to grow and now with the Yancey Ford Award, his legacy is cemented.

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