TAMPA, Fla. – The top senior amateurs in the state will head to Tampa next week for the 61st Senior Amateur Championship, which begins on Tuesday at Avila Golf & Country Club.
Here are five things to know before the championship begins.
Defending the Crown
Dave Bunker raised the trophy at the Senior Amateur Championship in 2021 at Bonita Bay Club. The Venice resident fired three under-par rounds to capture the three-shot victory in wire-to-wire fashion at 6-under 210. 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
Over 400 entries were received for this year’s Senior Amateur Championship. Nearly 300 senior amateurs attempted to qualify at six sites around the state, with 61 players qualiying to join the 83 exempt competitors in the championship field at Avila.
Pete McDade will be the most experienced player in the field at 74 years old, while Bruce Sanders and Ryan Howison will be the youngest players in the field at 55 years old, becoming Senior eligible in December.
Senior Amateur Takes Center Stage at Avila
Avila will play host to its first Senior Amateur Championship and its second FSGA championship. The Tampa club previously hosted the 1998 Mid-Amateur Championship.
“I know the members and the staff are excited about hosting the best senior amateur in the state here at Avila,” Brian Keenan, Avila’s Club Champion and four-time FSGA champion, said. “The course will be in great shape and will be a solid test for competitors. It will be nice to expose our club to some guys for the first time.”
Originally designed in 1980 by Bob Sierra and redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 1989, Avila features variation amongst the greens and water hazards come into play on 13 holes.
"Avila is a very good and challenging golf course. My fellow members, along with the staff and ownership are very happy to host the FSGA Senior Amateur," Doug LaCrosse, Avila member and FSGA Hall of Fame member. "The golf course is fun to play, and very fair. It will reward good golf shots, while still proving to be a challening. I look forward to others enjoying the club and wish them to play well."
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 and an Avila member
Woulfe won the 2007 Senior Amateur, while also being a 15-time FSGA champion and a 12-time FSGA Player of the Year.
Past Champions Eye Another Title
The 2022 field includes nine past Senior Amateur champions: Bunker (2021), Adam Armagost (2020), Kelly Gosse (2019), Bill Barnes (2018), George DeSear (2017), Gordon Marshall (2015), Pete Williams (2014), LaCrosse (2013), and Woulfe (2007).
Also in the field is the back-to-back-to-back Super-Senior champion, David Anthony, who has finished in the top-six in the last three of the last four Senior Amateur Championships, including a tied-for-second finish in 2020.
