Midwesterners set the pace early at Golfweek Senior TOC
As the senior amateur schedule draws to a close at an iconic South Florida PGA Tour venue, the Midwesterners are off to a great start. After the first round of the Golfweek Tournament of Champions, three of the top five players on the senior division leaderboard hail from Iowa and Missouri.
Sean McQueary from Springfield, Missouri, climbed into a share of the lead on Saturday afternoon at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with help from the hole-in-one he made on the par-3 seventh. McQueary knocked it in from 200 yards to dramatically reverse the trajectory of his round after having just made a bogey on the previous hole. McQueary added three birdies and a bogey for a 3-under 69, good enough for a share of the lead with Michael Nealy.
McQueary is a past Missouri Senior Amateur champion, having won that title in 2023.
Nealy, who hails from Boca Raton, Florida, competes frequently in Florida State Golf Association events and last month finished first in a Winter Series stableford event.
Gene Elliott of Norwalk, Iowa, is a Hall of Famer in his state and a past champion of the U.S. Senior Amateur. Unsurprisingly, Elliott posted an opening 70 and trails McQueary and Nealy by only a shot.
Brian Lovett of St. Louis and Bryan Hoops of Tempe, Arizona, are tied for fourth after rounds of 1-under 71.
Notably, reigning U.S. Senior Amateur champion Mike McCoy, also of Norwalk, Iowa, is part of a six-way tie for sixth after a round of 1-over 73. Jerry Gunthorpe, who won the Golfweek Senior Desert Showdown last month, is solo 12th another shot back.
In the Super Senior division, yet another player from the Midwest has the advantage after Round 1. Tim Barry of Kansas City, Missouri, posted a 2-over 74 for a one-shot lead over Philip Ohler of Katonah, New York.
Given the timing of the TOC at the end of the year, the race for Golfweek National Senior Amateur Player of the Year award will wrap up later this month. Notably, Stevie Cannady of Pooler, Georgia, and Richard Kerper of Oldsmar, Florida, are T-3 and fifth, respectively, in the Super Senior division. Those men also rank third (Kerper) and fourth (Cannady) in the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings for Super Seniors.
Peter Van Ingen of Palm Beach, Florida, leads the Legends division after a 3-over 75 but Bobby Lundquist of Sanford, Florida, is close on his heels after a 76.
Bill Engel of St. Augustine, Florida, and Sam Robinson of Jacksonville, Florida, are tied for the lead in the Super Legends division after both opened with 78. Robinson has a narrow lead in the Super Legends points race over John Osborne (who is T-4 two shots back) with Engel being the third man on that points list.