TAMPA, Fla. – The top senior amateurs in the state will head to Naples next week for the 60th Senior Amateur Championship, which begins on Tuesday at Bonita Bay Club.
Here are five things to know before the championship begins.
Defending the Crown
Adam Armagost raised the trophy at the Senior Amateur Championship in 2020 at Eagle Creek Golf and Country Club. The Jupiter native fired a 7-under 209 to capture the three-shot victory and his first FSGA victory. He will look to become to become just the third player in FSGA history to win back-to-back Senior Amateur titles.
By The Numbers
More than 400 entries were received for this year’s Senior Amateur Championship, with over 300 senior amateurs attempting to qualify. Eighty-one players qualified at six sites around the state, joining the 63 exempt competitors at Bonita Bay.
The 2011 Senior Amateur champion, Jim Carley will be the most experienced player in the field at 75 years old, while Bryan Schewitz will be the youngest player in the field at 55 years old, becoming Senior eligible at the end of January.
FSGA Hall of Famers in the Hunt
Doug LaCrosse and Rick Woulfe, two of the 2020 FSGA Hall of Fame inductees, each have their eyes on another Senior Amateur win. LaCrosse picked up his Senior Amateur victory in 2013 and is a 14-time FSGA champion, as well as a four-time FSGA Player of the Year.
Woulfe won the 2007 Senior Amateur, while also being a 15-time FSGA champion and a 12-time FSGA Player of the Year.
Bonita Bay Plays Host At Last
Bonita Bay Club will play host to its first Senior Amateur Championship and its fifth FSGA championship. The Naples club was scheduled to host the 2020 championship, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the championship was relocated and contested in October.
Designed in 1997 by Tom Fazio, the Cypress Course at Bonita Bay features steep-faced bunkers, wetlands and water, as well as slick-running greens. The course opens with wide fairways, but becomes tighter on the back nine, with some holes cutting through dense stands of trees.
Past Champions Eye Another Title
The 2021 field includes ten past Senior Amateur champions: Armagost (2020), Kelly Gosse (2019), Bill Barnes (2018), George DeSear (2017), Peter Wegmann (2016), Gordon Marshall (2015), Pete Williams (2014), LaCrosse (2013), Carley (2011) and Woulfe (2007).
Also in the field is the back-to-back Super-Senior champion, David Anthony, who has finished in the top-six in the last three Senior Amateur Championships, including a tied-for-second finish last year. The 2020 FSGA Senior Player of the Year, Paul Royak will also look to improve upon his runner-up finish at last year’s championship.
