TAMPA, Fla. – The 45th 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 450 entries were received for this year’s Florida Senior Open, with over 300 senior competitors attempting to qualify. Ninety-two players qualified at six sites around the state, joining the 64 exempt competitors at Miromar Lakes.
In total, 80 professionals and 76 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 74 years old, Jason Hrynkiw will be the youngest player in the field at 50 years old, becoming Senior eligible in March.
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-20 at the 2021 championship.
Amateurs in the Hunt
This year's field will feature 76 amateurs. Miles McConnell, the 2021 FSGA Senior Player of the Year, is among those amateurs. McConnell secured Low-Amateur honors at the 2021 championship, finishing in second place. Michael McCoy, who captured the 61st Senior Amateur Championship earlier this month, will look to add another title at the Florida Senior Open.
Past Champions Back for More
Including Koch, the 2022 field includes five past Florida Senior Open Champions: Gene Fieger, Eduardo Herrera, Mike San Filippo and Jerry Tucker. Mike San Filippo has captured four Florida Senior Open titles in his career, the most by a player in Championship history, winning most recently won in 2011.
Miromar Lakes Plays Host to Florida Senior Open
Miromoar Lakes Beach & Golf Club will host the Florida Senior Open for the second-straight year. 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.
