TAMPA, Fla. – The 44th Florida Senior Open Championship will head to Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club. The event is co-hosted by the FSGA & South Florida PGA Section and features a $52,000 professional purse.
Here are five things to know before the championship begins on Monday.
By the Numbers
More than 400 entries were received for this year’s Florida Senior Open, with over 300 senior competitors attempting to qualify. Eighty-nine players qualified at six sites around the state, joining the 67 exempt competitors at Miromar Lakes.
In total, 84 professionals and 72 amateurs will tee it up in the championship, with a cut to low 60 and ties after 36 holes. Jay Horton will be the most experienced player in the field at 72 years old, while Casey Brozek will be the youngest player in the field at 50 years old, becoming Senior eligible in December.
PGA Tour Winner and FSGA Hall of Famer in the Hunt
Gary Koch, who was inducted in the FSGA Hall of Fame in 2006, has his eye on another Senior Open win, his first since 2014. Koch was a six-time winner on the PGA Tour and won the 1972 Florida Amateur Championship. He finished inside the top-25 at the 2019 championship.
Amateurs in the Hunt
This year's field will feature 72 amateurs. Paul Royak, the 2020 FSGA Senior Player of the Year, is among those amateurs. Royak secured a runner-up finish at the Senior Amateur Championship earlier this month. Also in the field will be Matthew Avril, who earned Low-Amateur honors at the 2019 championship on his way to a runner-up finish.
Past Champions Back for More
David Morland raised the trophy at the 43rd Florida Senior Open in 2019 at West Bay Club. The Palm Coast resident fired a final-round 67 to capture the two-shot victory in his Florida Senior Open debut. Morland will look to defend his title after last year’s championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Including Koch and Morland, the 2021 field includes nine past Florida Senior Open Champions: Gene Fieger, Eduardo Herrera, Mike San Filippo, Jerry Tucker and Pete Williams (a).
Mike San Filippo has captured four Florida Senior Open titles in his career, the most by a player in Championship history. He most recently won in 2011 and finished tied for ninth at the 2019 championship.
Miromar Lakes Plays Host to Florida Senior Open
Miromoar Lakes Beach & Golf Club will play host to its third FSGA Championship. The Southwest Florida club served as the secondary course for the 2016 Amateur Championship, in addition to hosting to numerous FSGA qualifier and South Florida PGA events.
Miromar Lakes is an Arthur Hills course that opened in 2001. The course was recently renovated in 2017 by Drew Rogers, renovations included a reduction of turf and improved greens complexes, ten acres of turf were replaced with native plants, pine straw and sand.
