The Cookout by seniorgolfHQ Vol 9
The Cookout by seniorgolfHQ
October 2026
What we are cooking this month:
September gave senior amateur golf a month worth remembering. It opened with a new national champion crowned under the Tillinghast oaks at Baltimore Country Club and ended with a Savannah sweep at The Landings. In between, the circuit visited Niagara Falls and the sandy pines of Pine Valley, and delivered some of the best storylines of the season. Mike Sposa, a former PGA Tour player and 1991 Walker Cupper who got his amateur status back just two years ago, beat fellow Spartanburg resident Todd White in the final to win the U.S. Senior Amateur. Randy Haag slipped into the Crump Cup's Senior Championship Flight near the bottom of the qualifiers and then never needed more than 16 holes to win a match. Miles McConnell added the Senior Porter Cup to his Sunnehanna title, and Jeff Frazier won the Dale Morey to go with the Gasparilla crown he took in February. Doug Hanzel, meanwhile, ran away with the Super Senior Division by six in his own backyard.
Some of the circuit's best also showed that age is only a number. Just days after lifting the Dold Trophy, Sposa used his new exemption to tee it up against players decades younger at the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sand Valley. He didn't reach match play, but it capped a stretch few players ever get to experience. He had company. Bryan Hoops, who sits atop the season standings, made the trip to Wisconsin, as did Mike McCoy, who was a playoff away from match play, and Todd White. The 63-year-old Iowan was making his 26th Mid-Am appearance, a year after becoming the first player to win both the U.S. Mid-Amateur and the U.S. Senior Amateur. With four of the circuit's biggest names in the field, the senior game was well represented in a championship built for players 25 and older.
The race for the top of the standings is heating up with just a handful of events left. Hoops leads with 2,416.50 points on the strength of a remarkable summer: the Senior Masters, the Golfweek Senior National, the George C. Thomas and the R&A Senior Amateur. McCoy is second at 2,159, with wins at the Jones Cup and Jupiter plus a runner-up at Pine Valley. Bob Royak, who has been a fixture on weekend leaderboards all season, is close behind in third. Sposa's breakthrough has vaulted him to fifth, while McConnell, Hanzel and Haag have all made big moves up the East-West list.
October brings no shortage of chances to shake things up. Ireland's Joe Lyons defends at the International Senior in Cartersville, Tim Hogarth goes for three straight in Ojai, and Royak looks to repeat at Reynolds the same week Robert Funk defends at Carlton Woods. The season is coming down to its final few stretches, and every event from here matters. Here's everything you need to know.
2026 September Major Tournament Results
U.S. Senior Amateur Championship
August 29-September 3, 2026
Baltimore Country Club (East Course)
Champion: Mike Sposa
Mike Sposa is the 2026 U.S. Senior Amateur champion. The 57-year-old from Spartanburg, South Carolina, beat hometown rival and 2023 champion Todd White 3&2 in an all-Spartanburg final on September 3 at Baltimore Country Club's East Course. The A.W. Tillinghast design in Lutherville, Maryland, was set up at 6,564 yards and par 70, and it was a stern test for a field of 156 players aged 55 and over, drawn from 2,779 entries. It's a remarkable next chapter for Sposa. A former Tennessee Volunteer and 1991 USA Walker Cup player, he made 174 PGA Tour starts and won the 1998 Boise Open on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour before regaining his amateur status two years ago.
Sposa set the tone early in the final, going 4 up through seven holes against one of the steadiest players in senior amateur golf. White fought back to keep things close, but Sposa won the par-5 14th to go back to 3 up and closed out the match two holes later. The loss ended White's bid to become the first multiple-time U.S. Senior Amateur champion since Paul Simson in 2012. "Todd is such a steady player. He has a great mental game," Sposa said afterward. "To come out ahead is — I'm lucky, honestly."
The path to the final was full of tight matches. Sposa edged Tony Wise 1 up in the quarterfinals, then beat Corby Segal 2&1 in the semis, sealing it with a birdie on the par-3 17th. White also needed the full 18 to beat Brendan Hester 1 up before getting past 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Tim Hogarth 2&1. The comeback of the week belonged to Segal, who trailed Mark Small 6 down with 11 holes to play and won on the 20th hole to reach the quarterfinals. Trae Cassell of Rancho Santa Fe, California, earned medalist honors at 5-under 135 (68-67). He then became the week's biggest upset victim, falling in the first round to No. 64 seed Niketan Desai of Zambia.
Along with the gold medal and the Frederick L. Dold Trophy, Sposa's win comes with a long list of exemptions. They include spots in the 2027 U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National, the 2027 and 2028 U.S. Amateurs, this fall's U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sand Valley, and the next 10 U.S. Senior Amateurs. For a player whose career has already spanned the Walker Cup and the PGA Tour, a USGA title on a Tillinghast course is a fitting addition, and Sposa has clearly announced himself as a force on the senior amateur scene.
Leaderboard
Final:Mike Sposa 3&2 over Todd WhiteSemifinals:Mike Sposa 2&1 over Corby SegalTodd White 2&1 over Tim HogarthQuarterfinals:
Mike Sposa 1 Up over Tony WiseCorby Segal 20 Holes over Mark SmallTodd White 1 Up over Brendan HesterTim Hogarth 4&3 over Bob RoyakSenior Porter Cup
September 9-11, 2026
Niagara Falls Country Club
Champion: Miles McConnell
Miles McConnell of Tampa, Florida, notched another win after coming from three shots back to win the Senior Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club. He shot a final-round 68, the low round of the day, to finish at even-par 140 and win by two. McConnell opened with a 72, three shots behind first-round leader Arnie Cutrell of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, who posted a 69. On Friday he put together a steady final round, and he was the only player in the field to finish at par or better over 36 holes.
Howard Clendenin of Fairlawn, Ohio, gave chase with a final-round 70 powered by an inward 32, but settled for solo second at 2-over 142. Lenny Nash of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Kevin VandenBerg of Pulaski, New York, tied for third at 145. Don Whittemore, Rick Stimmel and Luke Hobika tied for fifth at 146, with Hobika's closing 69 the second-best score of the final round. Cutrell struggled to a 78 on Friday and slipped to eighth at 147.
Leaderboard
E | Miles McConnell | 72-68=140+2 | Howard Clendenin | 72-70=142+5 | Lenny Nash | 72-73=145+5 | Kevin VandenBerg | 72-73=145The Crump Cup (Senior Division)
September 17-20, 2026
Pine Valley Golf Club
Champion: Randy Haag
Northern California golf legend Randy Haag won the Senior Championship Flight at the 2026 Crump Cup at Pine Valley. Haag did so after sneaking into the eight-man bracket at 156, then beating Jamie Slonis 3&2 in the opening match. Slonis had posted the flight's low qualifying score of 147. In the semifinals, Haag beat Bob Royak 4&2. Royak, the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur champion, was coming off a quarterfinal run at this year's Senior Am at Baltimore Country Club.
In the final, Haag met Iowa legend Michael McCoy. McCoy had qualified second at 148 and cruised through his half of the bracket, beating Rupert Kellock 3&2 and 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up Dan Sullivan by the same score. Haag saved his best for last, though, handing McCoy a 5&3 defeat to cap a week in which he never needed more than 16 holes to win a match.
Leaderboard
Final:Randy Haag 5&3 over Michael McCoySemifinals:
Randy Haag 4&2 over Bob RoyakMichael McCoy 3&2 over Dan SullivanSociety of Seniors: Dale Morey Championship
September 28-30, 2026
The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (Deer Creek)
Champion: Jeff Frazier
Jeff Frazier of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, won the Society of Seniors' Dale Morey Championship on the Deer Creek course at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah. Frazier opened with a 69 to share the first-round lead with Ed Kerr and Jon Veneziano. He took control on Tuesday with a 5-under 67, going out in 33 and back in 34. That was tied for the low round of the week and gave him a four-shot lead at 8-under 136. Frazier had to grind on Wednesday, but his cushion held up. A final-round 74 was enough to finish at 6-under 210 and win by two.
Lee Porter of Pinehurst, North Carolina, and Kerr, of Windsor, Colorado, tied for second at 4-under 212. Porter made the strongest charge, following a 68 on Tuesday with a closing 71 to cut into the lead, while Kerr stayed steady with rounds of 69-71-72. William Mallon, Chad Ibbotson and former NFL quarterback Stan Humphries tied for fourth at 1-under 215. Humphries finished strongest of the three, with back-to-back 70s after an opening 75. Savannah's Danny Nelson matched Frazier's 67 on Tuesday and was in contention entering the final round, but a closing 75 left him tied for seventh at even par. Fellow Savannah player Mike Combs and Aiken's Brian Quackenbush finished tied with him.
Savannah's own Doug Hanzel won the Super Senior Division on home soil with rounds of 68-67-70 for an 11-under 205, six shots clear of the field and the best 54-hole total of the week.
Leaderboard
-6 | Jeff Frazier | 69-67-74=210-4 | Lee Porter | 73-68-71=212-4 | Ed Kerr | 69-71-72=212
2026 October Major Tournament Schedule
International Senior Individual Championship
Cartersville Country Club
October 7-10, 2026
Defending Champion: Joe Lyons
Ireland's Joe Lyons defends his title when the International Senior Invitational returns to Cartersville Country Club in north Georgia, October 7–10, 2026. Last October, the Galway native shot rounds of 71-68-70 and made birdies on 16 and 18 in the final round to finish at 7-under 209. That was one shot better than Iowa's Michael McCoy and Utah's Shane McMillan. McCoy has had a busy year: he's the 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur champion, and he reached the final of this year's Crump Cup Senior Championship Flight. Doug Hanzel, who won here in 2024, is another name to watch. The 54-hole individual championship draws one of the most international fields in senior amateur golf, with past fields including players from Scotland, England, Ireland and Denmark alongside top Americans such as Rusty Strawn and Bob Royak.
Cartersville Country Club makes for a stern test, with lightning-fast greens and demanding rough that punish loose play. A three-man team competition runs alongside the individual event, and last year Team South Carolina won it by two over Team Utah. The event also gives back, raising around $10,000 each year for Advocates for Children's Newman House, a transitional housing facility in northwest Georgia. With a defending champion from overseas and plenty of American contenders chasing him, it should be another close finish.
Ojai Senior Cup
Soule Park Golf Course
October 16-18, 2026
Defending Champion: Tim Hogarth
The Ojai Senior Cup heads back to Soule Park Golf Course. It has grown into one of the West Coast's premier senior amateur events, pairing a strong national field with the laid-back charm of the Ojai Valley. The 54-hole stroke-play championship has two divisions: a Senior Division for players 55 and older (6.5 maximum Handicap Index) and a Super Senior Division for players 65 and up (8.5 maximum). Players 65 and over can choose which division to enter. With the Topatopa Mountains as a backdrop and a friendly, welcoming feel all week, it's easy to see why so many of the game's best senior amateurs keep coming back.
The Senior Division storyline centers on Tim Hogarth, who is going for three titles in a row. The Northridge, California, standout defended his title last October in record fashion, closing with a tournament-record 65 to finish at 11-under 205. He beat Jason Pridmore by one and Ohio's Brad Steven by two. Hogarth arrives in good form, fresh off a semifinal run at last month's U.S. Senior Amateur at Baltimore Country Club. So does fourth-place finisher Trae Cassell, who was the stroke-play medalist at that same Senior Am. Soule Park has shown it will give up low scores to anyone in form, so expect a sprint over the weekend.
The Super Senior race should be just as tight. Last year John Pate of Santa Barbara, Craig Calkins and 2023 champion Doug Williams all tied at 1-under 215, and Pate won the sudden-death playoff by holing a 20-footer on the 17th. With several past champions and a deep list of contenders in both divisions, Sunday afternoon in Ojai should be worth watching.
Reynolds Senior Invitational
Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee
October 26-28, 2026
Defending Champion: Bob Royak
Bob Royak defends his title when the Reynolds Senior Invitational returns to the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee. Last fall, Royak followed an opening 71 with a blistering 65 and closed with a 68 to finish at 204, beating runner-up Steve Humphrey. The 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur champion has been in good form this season too. He reached the quarterfinals of this year's Senior Am at Baltimore Country Club and the semifinals of the Crump Cup's Senior Championship Flight at Pine Valley. The field he'll face is plenty accomplished. The invitation-only event, known as the Georgia Senior Invitational and later the Geranium Senior Invitational before taking its current name, lists 2022 U.S. Senior Amateur champion Rusty Strawn among its recent winners.
The 54-hole stroke-play championship has several age divisions, and Great Waters provides a fitting stage. Jack Nicklaus designed the course in 1992, and much of its back nine hugs the shoreline of Lake Oconee. Water is in play on many of the closing holes, so a lead can disappear quickly. That makes the final nine the place where this event is usually won or lost. With Royak going for back-to-back titles and a deep field of Southeast contenders chasing him, expect plenty of drama on the lake.
Carlton Woods Senior Invitational
The Club at Carlton Woods
October 26-28, 2026
Defending Champion: Robert Funk
Robert Funk is the man to beat in the Senior Division when the Carlton Woods Invitational moves to the fall on the Nicklaus Signature Course in The Woodlands, Texas. Last June, Funk opened 69-71 to build a cushion. He needed all of it after a final-round 78, but held on at 2-over 218 to win the Senior Eagle Trophy by a single shot. The Senior field plays 54 holes of stroke play alongside the Mid-Am Division, with 90 invited players in all. With the event now in October, cooler temperatures and firmer conditions could make this year's test play very differently from last year's.
Two of last year's co-runners-up will be ones to watch. Andrew Hydorn charged home with a final-round 70 to finish one back at 219. Miles McConnell matched him there with three straight 73s, and McConnell arrives on a hot streak after coming from behind to win last month's Senior Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club. Gary Durbin and John Bearrie, who tied for fourth at 220, round out a group of proven contenders. Funk's near-miss on Thursday last year showed that no lead is safe at Carlton Woods until the final putt drops.
2026 “Major” Senior-Am Events
Society of Seniors: Spring Classic - February 2026 - William Mallon
Gasparilla Invitational (Senior Division) - February 2026 - Jeff Frazier
Jones Cup Senior Invitational - February 2026 - Mike McCoy
Society of Seniors: Ed Tutwiler Four-Ball - March 2026 - Fox & Channell
Golfweek Senior Amateur Championship - March/April 2026 - Todd Doss
Society of Seniors: Senior Masters - April 2026 - Bryan Hoops
The Giles Invitational (Senior Division) - May 2026 - Rick Stimmel
The Jupter Invitational (Senior Division) - May 2026 - Mike McCoy
The Walter J. Travis Invitational (Senior Division) - May 2026 - Dave Scialabba
Trans-Mississippi Senior Championship - May 2026 - Jason Pridmore
Huddleston Cup (Senior Division) - May 2026 - Bob Royak
National Senior Amateur Hall of Fame - June 2026 - Vance Welch
Anderson Memorial Four-Ball (Senior Division) - June 2026 - O’Connell & Sargent
C.B. Macdonald Invitational (Senior Division) - June 2026 - Dan Keogh
Golfweek Senior National Championship - June 2026 - Bryan Hoops
George C. Thomas Invitational (Senior Division) - June 2026 - Bryan Hoops
R&A Senior Amateur Championship - July 2026 - Bryan Hoops
North & South Senior Men’s Amateur Championship - August 2026 - Rick Stewart
Sunnehanna Senior Amateur Championship - August 2026 - Miles McConnell
Valentine Invitational - August 2026 - Buck Brittain
USGA Men’s Senior Amateur - August/September 2026 - Mike Sposa
Senior Porter Cup - September 2026 - Miles McConnell
The Crump Cup (Senior Division) - September 2026 - Randy Haag
Society of Seniors: Dale Morey Championship - Jeff Frazier
International Senior Individual Championship - October 2026
Ojai Senior Cup - October 2026
Reynolds Senior Invitational - October 2026
California Senior Amateur Championship - November 2026
East West Cup Matches - November 2026
Society of Seniors: Ralph Bogart - November 2026
East West Matches
Senior Standings
As of September 30, 2026
Bryan Hoops | West | 2,416.50
Mike McCoy | West | 2,159.00
Bob Royak | East | 2,046.32
Gene Elliott | West | 1,112.70
Mike Sposa | East | 995.50
Danny Nelson | East | 794.00
Doug Hanzel | East | 650.50
Jeff Knox | East | 650.00
Jack Larkin | East | 609.00
Dan Sullivan | West | 591.50
Robert Gerwin | East | 578.60
Todd White | East | 570.00
Robert Funk | West | 543.00
Tony Wise | East | 520.50
Jerry Gunthorpe | 474.00
Mike Lohner | 463.50
Neal Barfield | 440.50
Greg Sanders | West | 427.50
Kevin Vandenberg | East | 422.15
Steve Harwell | East | 398.62
Randy Haag | West | 375.00
Miles McConnell | 367.50
Rick Stimmel | East | 361.00
Brendan Hester | 349.50
Jason Pridmore | West | 343.80
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Until next month…..