Four winners were crowned at the Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions on Friday.
The event, held at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, lured some of the best senior amateur from around the country.
However, 55 holes were needed to name a senior champ. Ken Kinkopf needed an extra hole to defeat Ryan Howison. Kinkopf had been near the top of the leaderboard all week long and enjoyed a share of the 36-hole lead heading into Friday’s final round.
Howison was two shots back to begin the day but made quick work to close the gap. Carding three early birdies, Howison not only negated Kinkopf’s lead, but took a one-stroke advantage as he headed to the back nine. Unable to muster any more birdies, Howison fell down the stretch, ruining his good work on the front nine with three bogeys, including the 18th, to finish even on the day and 5 over for the tournament.
In the clubhouse with a share of the lead, Howison would have to wait and see what Kinkopf and company could do.
Kinkopf struggled with the front nine on Friday. Making the turn at 1 over on the day, Kinkopf began the back nine with two more bogeys to go from 2 over on the week to 5 over.
Rallying with a birdie on the par-4 15th, Kinkopf held the solo lead until he carded a bogey on the 18th to fall into a playoff with Howison. The pair set back out onto the par-4 18th, where Kinkopf was able to claim the win with a par.
In the super legends division, Steve Humphrey put the finishing touches on a blowout. The Florida native not only won his age division but posted a tournament low with a 54-hole score of 4-under 212.
Humphrey took home the super legends title by a whopping 14 shots. Stacking up against the rest of the field, Humphrey’s 212 would have been good for a nine-shot victory in the 55-60 year old age group.
Don Donatoni pieced together rounds of 74, 78 and 75 (227) for a five-shot victory in the legends division. Super legend Frank Polizzi broke 80 twice to sneak away with a three-shot victory in the 75+ age division.
Want to play some of the best golf courses around the world? Want to make friends along the way? Check out the 2023 Golfweek senior amateur golf schedule to see when and where you can join the best.
