PALM HARBOR, Fla. – The 63rd Senior Amateur Championship is set to take place April 16-18 at Innisbrook Golf Resort and Spa on the Copperhead Course. Throughout the month of March, qualifying took place over six golf courses, with over 425 players competing to earn their spot in the championship field. The 144 player field is comprised of 75 exempt players and 69 players that advanced through local qualifying. The championship includes a cut after thirty-six holes to the low sixty and ties for the final round where a champion will be crowned.
The Copperhead course at Innisbrook is always a great test of golf. Famous for hosting the PGA TOUR Valspar tournament every March, the course is home to narrow landing areas and difficult greens, and of course the infamous Snake Pit. It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult stops on the PGA Tour. The annual PGA Tour event fell only four weeks prior to this year’s Senior Amateur. Moreover, Innisbrook has been home to countless FSGA Championships, highlighted by the 2007 Amateur, 2023 Women’s Amateur, and 2010 & 2018 Florida Opens.
Last year, Miles McConnell captured the victory with an eight-under-par tournament total. The tournament looked a little different last year as inclement weather forced the tournament rounds to be split up over a six-month time period. But alas, a victor was crowned at Lago Mar Country Club.
Now that the nature of the tournament has been laid out, let’s go beyond the scorecard and take a look inside the field and the players that will be competing for the 63rd Championship trophy. Aside from the six local qualifying sites that the majority of the field had to advance through to earn a spot in the tournament, there are seventy-five players exempt in the field. Among those exempt players are familiar names such as, David Anthony, Pete Williams, Miles McConnell.
If you follow senior golf in the state of Florida, then the name Miles McConnell is not an unfamiliar one. McConnell captured the first championship victory of the season with partner, Jay Halverson, at the Senior/Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship in Ocala. Prior to this year, he was named the Senior Amateur Player of the Year for three consecutive years.
Before Miles McConnell’s reign as Senior Player of the Year, Pete Williams rattled off three as well in 2014, 2018 and 2019. The 11 time FSGA champion and 2014 Senior Amateur Champion looks to add one more Senior Amateur title to his resume this week at Innisbrook.
In addition, David Anthony has already captured a championship win this season only a few short weeks back at the Super-Senior Amateur Championship held at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club. Anthony has clearly made his mark at the Super-Senior level after winning four of the last five Super-Senior Amateur Championships. Not only that, he has held the Super-Senior Player of the Year Honors three out of the six years that it has been around. Anthony looks to claim the elusive Senior Amateur Championship against the young guns this week.
Along with McConnell and Williams, six more past champions will be in the field. Mike McCoy, the 2023 Walker Cup Captain, along with Dave Bunker, Adam Armagost, Bill Barnes, Peter Wegmann, and Gordon Marshall all look to add another Senior Amateur Championship to their resume.
Although headlined by past champions, this is simply a glimpse into a field packed with talented and accomplished players. Keep an eye on the leaderboard as these players’ tackle Copperhead next week to kick off the championship season.
