Rusty Strawn captained his team to a remarkable come-from-behind win over Team Hurlbert at this year’s Senior Challenge Cup.
Strawn’s team managed a score of 7 over on the team’s front nine and was able to hold off Team Hurlbert for just one shot. Strawn’s team was most at ease on the back nine, when the pressure increased.
Strawn was one of the three top scorers for his team and teamed up with John Wright, James Starnes and James Starnes to create a wild 10 under par back nine. The Strawn Men held a nine shot lead thanks to the incredible loop and six of the 10 counting scores being under par.
Captains Craig Hurlbert (L), and Rusty Strawn were at the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup.
Although Team Strawn did well down the stretch of the race, the 2021 Golfweek Player-of-the Year Craig Hurlbert was unable to maintain his lead.
Hurlbert’s team was 12 points ahead of the front nine. Hurlbert quickly saw their lead shrink. Team Hurlbert finished 5 over 15 after grabbing straws. Hurlbert’s team had two holes left and needed a miracle push to birdie eight of the 10 scoring scores.
Team Hurlbert was unable to pull off any more magic and scored a 9-over 739. Rusty Strawn’s team won the final round to claim a victory. Team Strawn’s 704 in the final round was the team’s lowest score of the week.
Apart from the team title, four individual titles were also awarded
Ken Kinkopf managed to defeat a number of challengers and retain the Senior division title. Kinkopf’s final round 67, which was bogey-free and without any errors, was the lowest round in the senior division. Kinkopf won the Tournament of Champions title, making it back-toback wins in senior events.
Mike Combs and Rusty Strawn couldn’t overcome speed bumps early in the week. They tied for second at 2 over.
The Super Senior division was settled by 54 holes. Steve Humphrey fought with Tim Vigotsky throughout the second round, but Humphrey was able to use the momentum of a final round 1 below 70 to win the championship the first playoff hole.
Peter Van Ingen won the Legend division by a wire to wire score of 72. Van Ingen finished strong in his 2022 season with a second-place finish at the Golfweek Tournament of Champions. He also took third place in the Society of Seniors.
Joe Pavoni, 2022 Yancey-Ford Award winner, also won wire-to-wire with his Super Legend win. Pavoni won the 75+ age division with rounds of 76.80.74.
The 2022 Golfweek senior amateur season is over with Team Strawn lifting the Challenge Cup. The 2023 season starts January 16-18 at Palm Desert’s Golfweek Senior Division National Championship. Register here.
