With 18 holes left, the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup is primed for a dramatic finish.
2021 Golfweek Player of the Year Craig Hurlbert has captained his team to a six-shot lead after two rounds of play at Jacaranda Golf Club in Plantation, Florida. Hurlbert’s team is looking to go wire-to-wire against 2022 Golfweek Player of the Year Rusty Strawn and company.
Hurlbert’s crew went into Thursday’s second round with a 19-shot advantage. Although not as sharp on Thursday, Team Hurlbert used consistent play to maintain its lead. Seven of the 10 players that counted toward Wednesday’s first-round score counted toward the second round: Hurlbert, Gary Durbin, Greg Hendrix, Ken Kinkopf, Tom Lape, Jerry Slagle and Peter Van Ingen.
On the opposite sideline, Rusty Strawn’s team looks to continue its climb back after a positive penultimate round.
With Jacaranda playing tough, two rounds of even par from Mike Combs and Tim Vigotsky were enough to claim low rounds of the day and help close the gap.
Just as dramatic as the team portion is, the Senior Challenge Cup medalist races are setting up for a wild 18-hole shootout.
Overnight leader Rich Buckner fell from his perch Thursday with a 5-over 76. Currently in a tie for third at 3 over with Hurlbert and teammate Gary Durbin, Buckner looks to make up the ground he lost to Kinkopf and Combs, who are at 1 over.
The Super Senior division is a dog race among Team Strawn teammates. Tied atop the leaderboard at 4 over are Mike Arter and Tim Vigotsky. Two shots back is fellow Team Strawn member Marc Fried.
Van Ingen was able to grow his lead to seven shots despite a second-round score of 73. He remains the only Legend to have his score count towards team totals this week.
Joe Pavoni, the 2022 Yancey Ford Award winner, has an opportunity to go wire-to-wire in the Super Legend division. One shot back is Jim Dubois.
The final round of the 2022 Golfweek Senior Challenge Cup tees off at 7:39 am local time Friday.
If you want to put your game to the test against some of the best senior amateur golfers in the world, check out the 2023 Golfweek events schedule, here to sign up.
