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USA Today
07-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bryan Hoops makes history in the desert by winning Golfweek Senior Amateur
Bryan Hoops makes history in the desert by winning Golfweek Senior Amateur As soon as Bryan Hoops learned that no player before this week had won both the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship and the Golfweek Senior Amateur – played in back-to-back weeks at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California – in the same year, the chance to be the first had his attention. 'A good challenge,' said Hoops, a 56-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona. 'It kept me focused a little more.' But Hoops, who is little more than a year into this senior circuit after aging in last February, was also, frankly, shocked that no player had done it before. 'The good golf courses, I just think you can really take it low with the firm conditions and they're kind of TPC style, meaning they're kind of built higher on the sides on most of the holes,' Hoops said. 'If you hit it offline, as long as you're not hitting it high in the air, the ball rolls back into the center of the fairway and you're always hitting a shorter iron into these things.' Scores: Golfweek Senior Amateur Barely more than 24 hours after winning his first title at Desert Willow, Hoops came out of the gate in the Golfweek Senior Amateur with a round of 6-under 66. He made five birdies and two eagles – including one at the par-4 10th when he holed out from 62 yards. His eagle at the par-5 18th was a product of a 40-foot putt. The next day, he made another eagle on the 18th, this time off a 90-foot putt, and finished with a round of 71. His final-round 69 left him 10 under for the week on Desert Willow's Firecliff Course and eight shots ahead of John Wright of Oswego, Illinois, and Randy Haag of Orinda, California. Hoops lives a competitive lifestyle that differs from many of his peers at this level. He is a member at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, and tees it up frequently with the many professionals who play there. They are generous with their information, Hoops said earlier in the week, and the level of competitive is always high. Length is also a big advantage for Hoops and at the Firecliff Course, having less club into firm greens (what Hoops described as 'championship quality') helped him score. Two titles in, Hoops couldn't pinpoint anything out of the ordinary with his game. 'I'm used to playing a lot longer golf courses and the firm conditions are normal for me, but I didn't play better this week than I have last week or the month before or even last year,' Hoops said. 'Kind of just been playing good for awhile – here just being a little shorter and somewhat generous off the tee and definitely large greens. 'Nothing elaborate sticks out, as far as, 'Hey, I did this really well this week.' I didn't do anything great. Maybe being off the tee, I was never in trouble off the tee so that keeps you in play and you're always trying to score then.' After picking several senior players' brains about the best tournaments to play, this desert stretch came up over and over. There are maximum points on offer and the fields are deep. So from here, Hoops will move on to a third consecutive tournament – the Society of Seniors Senior Masters, which starts April 8. Super Senior Division In the Super Senior Division, Mark Morgan of Shingle Springs, California, won on the first hole of a playoff with Greg Goode of Salina, Kansas. Both players finished 54 holes at even par. Legends Division David Ujihara of Brea, California, finished off a four-shot victory in the Legends division with a closing, bogey-free round of 69 on Sunday. Ujihara authored a remarkable comeback from his opening 81 with back-to-back rounds of 69 to finish the tournament. Mickey Jones of Odessa, Texas, was second. Super Legends Division Gaylord Davis of Portland, Oregon, narrowly won the Super Legends division, finishing the week at 5 over and edging Jack Marin of Durham, North Carolina, by a single shot.
USA Today
03-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Uber-competitive Bryan Hoops gets redemption at Golfweek Senior Division National Championship
Uber-competitive Bryan Hoops gets redemption at Golfweek Senior Division National Championship Allow Bryan Hoops to annotate the leaderboard from the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship with just a few notes. Though his three rounds of 69-74-69 might suggest a second-round fumble to set up a final-round charge for the victory, Hoops didn't see a lot of difference in his game from start to finish at Desert Willow Resort's Mountain View Course in Palm Desert, California. Hoops, the 56-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, felt he struck the ball well and missed few shots – but for some putts, he admits. He won the event at 4 under, one shot ahead of Trae Cassell of Rancho Santa Fe, California. John Brellenthin of Dallas was third at 1 over. But the story is nuanced. 'One thing you can't see on paper that people don't see when they're looking at scorecards is the wind blowing 25, 30, 40 mph,' he said. 'Yesterday, no different from any other day, I hit it really well but two separate holes, medium par 3s, I just hit shots into the wind that I guess I just miscalculated. I thought the wind was going to do one thing and it didn't and I put myself in a bad spot and made a double on one of them and another one I made a triple.' Scores: Golfweek Senior Division National Championship Hoops played his first Golfweek senior event in February, the Pirates Classic at TPC Tampa Bay (Florida). He went five extra holes with Bob Royak, the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur champions, before Royak eventually won. Hoops now has a little bit of redemption after winning in Palm Desert, and he's about to tee it up again at the Golfweek Senior Amateur, which starts at Desert Willow's Firecliff Course on Friday. Hoops turned 55 on Feb. 28, 2024, which aged him into most senior national competitions. Some players have that milestone circled and starred on their calendar, but for Hoops, it took a bit of adjusting. Hoops has carved out his place in elite amateur golf and hated to give up his spot in the amateur, mid-amateur and partner tournaments he has played for years. He has competed in plenty of USGA championships and still feels competitive outside the senior circuit. 'To add a big full senior schedule wasn't an easy thing for me to do,' he said. As a result, Hoops felt 2024 was a thin year of competition. He played the Trans-Miss Senior Amateur, where he finished second, and also competed in the Canadian Senior Amateur and qualified into the U.S. Senior Amateur for the first time. At the latter, he lost in the first round of match play to a talented Canadian amateur, Dave Bunker, when he made bogey on the last hole. That one still stings and he vowed not to make the same mistake again. Hoops recognizes that, like all competitors, he has a short window of advantage early in his senior career. Where Hoops may be different, however, is that distance is in no way a challenge. 'I do things that I feel are stretching my career,' Hoops said. 'I don't know anybody that hits it farther than I do constantly. It's a big advantage.' One of those things is competitive environment, and the sheer distance (nearly 1,000 more yards than the average senior tournament setup) that has become the norm in his everyday rounds. Hoops, whose career has been in commercial IT, is a member at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where many professionals from all tours (PGA, Champions and Korn Ferry) test their games. It is not uncommon for Hoops to tee it up with Jon Rahm or Wyndham Clark, and that has gone a long way in sharpening his game and his competitive drive. 'These guys are great guys, they are down to Earth and they're also very generous with their information and support,' Hoops said. 'Like today, winning, I'm getting text messages from guys that are getting ready for the Masters. That's really cool.' Hoops truly loves this life of competing as an amateur, as evidenced by the way in which he talks about playing his favorite events as well as the way he spent the hours after his Golfweek victory at Desert Willow. It was important for Hoops to gather with fellow competitors, have a drink and catch up. That's tradition, as far as he's concerned. Interestingly, Hoops has made it to the final stage of PGA Tour Championship Q-School five of the past six years. Five full tour cards are awarded at the end of that tournament and Hoops has twice finished sixth. He finds himself in the odd spot of being motivated to test his game on that highest level, but also feeling conflicted when he came close to earning a card – and thus facing the very real prospect of going out on the road for half the year as a touring pro. 'It was actually stressful for me to sit there and think … what if they give me a full card for 27 events?' he said. 'This is a problem. I got work, I got things, I got commitments, I got family. I have to give up my amateur stuff that I'm exempt into? That I play in?' The experience gave Hoops some pause about whether he would enter Q-School again. Amateur golf and all the wonderful people he's met playing it may be too much a part of him at this point. He's too invested in his family and the freedom he has to choose which events he plays and when. 'I have so much on the amateur side and I have so much fun and I have so many friends and commitments,' Hoops said, 'it would be hard.'
USA Today
02-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Trae Cassell surges into lead on calm day at Golfweek Senior Division National Championship
Trae Cassell surges into lead on calm day at Golfweek Senior Division National Championship No one at the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship took moving day more seriously, perhaps, than Trae Cassell. The Rancho Santa Fe, California, resident had opened the tournament at Desert Willow Golf Resort's Mountain View Course in Palm Desert, California, with a ho-hum 75. But on Tuesday, Cassell took advantage of softer-than-forecasted winds and shaved eight shots off his first-round score. Across the board, the 89-man senior field fared much better on Tuesday than they had the previous day. The field average dropped from 78.38 in the first round to 76.12 in the second. Anticipated high winds in the 20 to 40 mph range (with gusts of up to 60 mph) never materialized, leaving room for more scoring opportunities. Cassell's second-round 67 ultimately moved him to 2 under for the tournament, where he has a one-shot lead on first-round leader Bryan Hoops of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Randy Haag of Orinda, California. Cassell's day picked up on the par-3 fifth hole, where he made his first birdie to erase an early bogey. He eagled the par-5 ninth then added three birdies on the back nine. In November, Cassell won the California Senior Amateur, played at scenic Monterey Peninsula Country Club's Dunes Course in Pebble Beach (site of the 2025 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur). Cassell also successfully battled winds to win that event. Hoops, for his part, put together a less consistent round on Tuesday, sprinkling two bogeys and two double-bogeys in among his five birdies for a second-round 74. Haag, winner of the NCGA Senior Four-Ball last week, backed up his opening 71 with a 72 to remain in the mix. Stan Humphries of Monroe, Louisiana, and Jason Pridmore of Ventura, California, are tied for fourth at 1 over. The tournament concludes on Wednesday and after a one-day break, the Golfweek Senior Amateur gets underway at Desert Willow's Firecliff Course on Friday.
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
29-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Golfweek Senior Division National Championship starts April 1
Golfweek Senior Division National Championship starts April 1 Robert Funk is just coming off a nine-day stretch of competition in Northern California, with two runner-up finishes to show for it. The rest period doesn't last long, however, because this week he jumps right back in at the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship. Funk, 61, of Canyon Lake, California, is not a grind-all-year-long guy. An ordinary week includes one, maybe two rounds at his home course, Bear Creek in Murrieta, California, and one or two range sessions. Despite the balmy weather of his home state, he'll take three to four months off around the holidays. Before he gets it going again in the new year, however, he'll work on his game every day to get it back into shape. 'I just got through doing that before doing that before I went out to San Francisco,' he said. 'For about a month, I probably hit balls five times a week and I was chipping and putting.' Funk, an electrical contractor, had never before played the San Francisco City Championship, an historic match-play tournament at Lincoln Park and TPC Harding Park, but teed it up this year and won stroke-play qualifying on March 18 to secure the No. 1 seed. He ultimately fell to Steve Johnson in the championship match. The next day, Funk teed it up in the NCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach, California, with partner Jason Bittick. They finished second to Randy Haag and Steve Sear. Haag will also be in the field at the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship. More: Golfweek Senior Nation Funk is a lifelong amateur, and one who has competed at the pinnacle of the sport – both in terms of field and venue. His list of U.S. Golf Association Championships is long and laden with memories. He has played a dozen U.S. Mid-Amateurs and qualified for the U.S. Senior Open four times. He gained perhaps the most notoriety at the 2017 U.S. Senior Open, where he was the only amateur to make the cut. His family was there to watch, and Funk still has great memories of conversations with legends like Tom Watson and Nick Faldo. 'I was given a medal on TV and when I played the golf course, it seemed very simple and easy to me,' he said of his experience at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Massachusetts. 'I know I was just playing super great and putting really good and it was a really fun experience to have my parents – my dad had never even really seen me hit a golf shot until then.' Low-amateur honors that week brought a sort of USGA victory lap for Funk and secured him an exemption into, among other events, the 2017 U.S. Amateur played at Riviera and Bel-Air in Los Angeles. That week, Funk, a recovering alcoholic, relayed his journey to sobriety to the Los Angeles Daily News. Golf has played an important role in Funk's life – teaching him about honesty, integrity and how to be steadfast in his commitment to something. 'Integrity is probably one of the strongest items I think I've taken from golf, and I hold myself and anybody who plays in the game to kind of these standards that I think are upheld by golf tournaments and by golf itself,' Funk said. Even though Funk dabbled in the game as a teen – trying out for his high school golf team, competing in one match but being kicked off the team when he failed to finish the final hole – he ended up walking away from the game until he was 25. Gradually, in his 30s, he began to play some on the weekends. Then came some city tournaments, the state mid-amateur, and as he approached 40, he 'kind of flowered and became a better golfer.' Funk has worked on his game with Robert Sherwood, an instructor out of Murrieta Golf Range, the same place where Rickie Fowler also learned the game. The USGA championships – particularly that 2017 U.S. Senior Open – have no doubt been some of the most visible success stories of his golf life, but Funk names victories near the start of his competitive golf career as being some of the most meaningful, especially when you look at the trajectory of his game over the past 20 years. Notably, he won the 2006 Trans-Miss Amateur and SCGA Mid-Amateur (winning the latter again in 2013). 'Really felt like I could win a golf tournament under a lot of pressure,' he said of the lessons those victories brought. While it's tempting to put together a competition schedule that moves him up the World Amateur Golf Ranking and puts him in the running for WAGR-based exemptions into events like the U.S. Senior Amateur, that can be a frustrating endeavor. Thus, his priorities have shifted. 'I'm more interested in having fun and being in events that have good guys in them, at courses I enjoy,' he said. 'I've played golf a long time and at this point it's more about the venues and the people and the coordinators.' The Golfweek Senior Division National Championship, to be played at Desert Willow Golf Resort's Mountain Course in Palm Desert, California, is just over an hour from Funk's home. He has been a regular in the event over the years. The field list is deep for the championship and includes the top two ranked players in the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings: Kevin VandenBerg and Todd Doss. Mark Strickland, the San Diego resident who finished as the low amateur at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open, will tee it up, too. Strickland won last year's Golfweek Senior Amateur, which will also be played in Palm Desert two days after the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship. While defending champion Jon Lindstrom is not in the field, 2024 runner-up John Brellenthin will play. The 54-hole event begins April 1.
