Latest news with #GolfweekPiratesClassic
USA Today
01-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bryan Hoops sets the pace at Golfweek Senior Division National Championship
Bryan Hoops sets the pace at Golfweek Senior Division National Championship The last time Bryan Hoops teed it up in a Golfweek event, he came within inches of the title. Hoops went down to the wire with Bob Royak, the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur champion, in the inaugural Golfweek Pirates Classic in February. After five playoff holes, it was Royak walking away with the trophy. Six weeks later, Hoops is again here. The Scottsdale, Arizona, resident took an immediate lead at the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship on Monday, played at Desert Willow Golf Club's Mountain View Course in Palm Desert, California. Hoops birdied his opening hole and added three more throughout the course of the day. A single bogey at the par-4 15th brought him back to 3-under 69, one shot ahead of Craig Miyamoto of Sacramento, California, in second. Scores: Golfweek Senior Division National Championship Hoops, 56, has long been one of the nation's top mid-amateurs, having competed in numerous U.S. Mid-Amateurs throughout his career in addition to having won a handful of Arizona Mid-Amateurs in his home state. More recently, Hoops also qualified for the 2022 U.S. Senior Open and the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur. The top of the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship leaderboard is West Coast-heavy, with Randy Haag of Orinda, California, and Robert Funk of Canyon Lake, California, part of a three-way tie for third. Chad Branton of Cartersville, Georgia, joined them at 1 under. Haag was recently part of the winning duo at the NCGA Senior Four-Ball while Funk finished runner-up with his partner. Funk also finished runner-up at the San Francisco City Senior Championship in March. Kevin VandenBerg, who has won Golfweek Senior Player of the Year honors each of the past two years, landed as part of a tie for sixth after a colorful starting stretch that included an eagle, two birdies, and three bogeys in his first seven holes. He finished at even-par 72.
USA Today
19-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Golfweek Pirates Classic: Thad Hudgens makes his presence known with opening 67
Golfweek Pirates Classic: Thad Hudgens makes his presence known with opening 67 When Thad Hudgens turned 50 years old two years ago, he saw a short runway in his golf career leading to the senior amateur circuit. 'This is kind of my last little stretch to get my game going,' said Hudgens, of Longwood, Florida. 'I'll see what I can do for the seniors coming up. Here between turning 50 and now, I've been working pretty hard at it. Just going to work like crazy all the way until 55 and see if I can do something.' In his first national Golfweek event, Hudgens laid out a round that suggests 2025 could be a very good year. Playing in the Mid-Master division (for players aged 40-55) of the inaugural Golfweek Pirates Classic, Hudgens opened with a 4-under 67 at TPC Tampa Bay that left him with an immediate three-shot lead. He began his day with an eagle at the par-4 first hole after his 110-yard approach with a gap wedge found the bottom of the hole. From there, Hudgens parred out on the front nine then added three birdies and a single bogey on the back nine. He leads Jerry Slagle of Southlake, Texas, who had 1-under 70, in the combined Mid-Master/Senior Division. 'I played pretty good the whole day, only made one bogey so it was pretty steady,' he said. Hudgens is more than 10 years removed from winning the 2014 Florida Mid-Amateur. He has twice won the Lupton Invitational (2017 and 2013), a top amateur event at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee, and he made the second round of match play at the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur. His annual schedule typically revolves heavily around Florida State Golf Association events with a handful of invitationals in the mix, too. So far, Hudgens has tried twice, unsuccessfully, to qualify for both the U.S. Senior Open and British Senior Open. Within the last few months, Hudgens began working with U.K.-based swing instructor Liam Robinson, with whom he connected on social media. Robinson, a talented player in his own right who formerly competed on the DP World Tour, has helped Hudgens step up his game. 'He came into town for a couple weeks so I worked with him a good bit – that was maybe three weeks ago,' Hudgens said. Hudgens played college golf at Ole Miss in the early 1990s, then competed briefly as a professional, mostly on the Hooters Tour, Golden Bear Tour and what is now the Korn Ferry Tour. He qualified for one PGA Tour event, the FedEx St. Jude Classic, in 1993. Notably, Hudgens' life outside of golf revolves around Huey Magoo's, the chain of chicken restaurants that he and a former Ole Miss teammate founded in 2004. At the Golfweek Pirates Classic, Hudgens' opening 67 was the low score across all divisions by some amount. Mike Arter of Lakeville, Massachusetts, leads the Super Senior Division after a 3-over 74 with Byron Whitman of Bonita Springs, Florida, one shot back. Tampa's Kevin Macy turned in an even-par 72 to reach the top of the leaderboard in the Legends division and leads Greg Osborne of Litiz, Pennsylvania, who shot 3 over. Greg Osborne's older brother John Osborne, who lives in Vero Beach, Florida, leads the Super Legends Division after also firing 74. Frank Polizzi of Plymouth Meeting, Massachusetts, was at 4 over.
USA Today
14-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Inaugural Golfweek Pirates Classic brings deep senior field to TPC Tampa Bay
Inaugural Golfweek Pirates Classic brings deep senior field to TPC Tampa Bay TPC Tampa Bay's long history in senior golf revolves primarily around the Champions Tour. The Florida course was a recurring stop on the senior tour for two decades, and a former site of the Final Stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School, but this month, it will host the top senior amateurs for the inaugural Golfweek Pirates Classic. The course, designed by Bobby Weed with input from player consultant Chi Chi Rodriguez, was designed for a challenge when it was built in 1991. It's a thoroughly Florida setting, with natural wetlands, cypress heads, lagoons and wildlife (TPC Tampa Bay is an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary) providing a backdrop for the golf. The Pirates Classic, a 54-hole event to be played Feb. 17-19, will feature the usual four senior divisions (Senior, Super Senior, Legends, Super Legends) as well as a Mid-Masters division for players ages 40-55. The top two finishers from Golfweek's Player of the Year Classic, Kevin VandenBerg and Todd Doss, will both compete at TPC Tampa Bay. Both men have continued to compete during the busy Florida amateur swing since their duel in the final holes of the POY tournament. Local John Barry, the Bradenton, Florida, resident who is currently ranked No. 2 in Golfweek's National Senior Amateur rankings after his six-shot win at the SOS Jack Hesler on Jan. 23, is another player to watch in the senior field. Several decorated players dot the Super Senior division as well, including reigning Golfweek Player of the Year in this division James Starnes of Ft. Myers, Florida, Stevie Cannady, winner of the 2024 Golfweek Super Senior National Championship, will also compete. Greg Osborne, the Lutz, Pennsylvania, resident at the top of the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings in his division, highlights the Legends field along with Dan Parkinson of Lehi, Utah, another perennial contender among this age group. The top three men in the Super Legends national ranking are all in the field at TPC Tampa Bay for their respective division: John Osborne, Bill Engel and Frank Polizzi.
