The 2023 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions will be held at The Forest Golf & Country Club, Fort Myers in Florida.
Three of the four age groups are battling it out for not only the Tournament of Champions trophy, but also for Golfweek’s Player of the year. Alabama’s George Walker won the Legends (ages 71-74) PoY award, edging out the competition by more than 3,000 points.
This week, with three titles of the PoY up for grabs every shot is just that much more important.
Seniors (55-64)
Florida’s John Barry leads the seniors after 18 holes with a first salvo of 72 at even-par.
Berry, who was 2 under after five holes, bogeyed his next eight to drop to 3 over. Barry closed out his round with a strong finish, birdies at Nos. Barry took a one-shot advantage into the second round on Wednesday with birdies at 14, 16, and 18.
Ken Kinkopf, last year’s ToC champion, is alone in sixth place with 2 over.
Kevin VandenBerg, ranked third, can make a huge comeback as both Bob Royak and No. Bob Royak, the No. This week, 2 Jon Lindstrom and 1 Bob Royak are absent from the field. VandenBerg is 800 points behind the leader, so he must win in order to gain a lead of 300 points. With one point event left on the calendar, a second-place finish will put him approximately 50 points behind Royak.
Lindstrom and VandenBerg have the opportunity to win the Society of Seniors Ralph Bogart Tournament next week in Palm Harbor, Florida.
VandenBerg is currently tied for 27th place. However, with the Jack Nicklaus design playing harder than usual, VandenBerg can catapult back into shape by being consistent.
Super Seniors (65-69)
Greg Goode, ranked fifth in the world, had a steady day and took a one shot lead into moving day. He finished his round of even par with birdies at Nos. He closed out his round with birdies on Nos. He sets out to defeat Golfweek No. 2 Steve Humphrey (+1), No. No. 7 Mike Arter (+2).
If Humphrey and Starnes win, they will be able to pass No. Marcus Beck is the current Player of the year. Humphrey would win his second Senior Tournament of Champions title, after winning the title at PGA National last year.
Legends (70-74)
Pete Allen of North Carolina has the largest lead in the four age categories, with a three shot lead after an opening round of 2-over-74.
Allen showed promise in the final 36 holes of the tournament as he peppered his scorecard with four birdies.
Paul Schlachter (5-over) and John Osborne (six-over) complete the podium.
Super Legends (75+)
Gary Hardin, from Texas, matched his first-round score of 75 with an age. He has a one-shot advantage over No. 6 Super Legend, Jack Marin. Johnny Blank, the top-ranked player in the world, is tied with No. Bill Engel, ranked No. 2, is just one shot behind Blank with 11 over.
There are 505 points between the two players, so there is still plenty of golf to be played before we can crown the Player of the Year.
