Bob Sowards has won virtually every championship and accolade a PGA Golf Professional can earn during the past 25 years. But the eight-time PGA of America Professional and Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year, will face several new challenges when he arrives at Sunriver (Oregon) Resort to defend his title in the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship on Sept. 26–29.
Sowards (pictured) will have to deal with a partial left knee replacement, different golf courses, and the largest field in senior professional golf (264 players) as he attempts to become the first PGA of America Member in the modern era to win three Senior PGA Professional Championships.
Sowards, 56, is no stranger to Oregon’s Sunriver Resort. He competed in three PGA Professional Championships at Sunriver, including a T-8 finish in 2013. But those three national championships were largely contested at Sunriver’s Crosswater Club Course. The 2024 Senior PGA Championship will unfold over the Meadows (three rounds) and Woodlands courses (one round) at Sunriver.
So Sowards, the PGA of America Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio, will make the trip from Ohio to Oregon a few days early to learn the nuances of each course. Plus, it is not lost on Sowards that his previous two Senior PGA Professional Championship titles (in 2018 and 2023) were conducted at a different facility – PGA Golf Club in Florida.
“I’m looking forward to returning to Sunriver Resort,” admits Sowards, who recorded a dominant six-stroke victory over Jerry Haas at the 2023 Senior PGA Professional Championship after firing a final-round 6-under 66 on PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course to engrave his name on the Leo Fraser Trophy for the second time at 15-under-par 272.
“I have played all three previous PGA Professional Championships held at Sunriver Resort, but the courses we will be playing in the Senior PGA Professional Championship this year aren’t the courses we played previously.”
Sowards, who has played in 41 PGA TOUR events, has always been known for his mental fortitude while developing a love for competition. His stamina and health will be tested at Sunriver Resort by former Senior PGA Professional Champions such as Matt Schalk (2022 champion), Paul Claxton (2021), Omar Uresti (2020), Scott Hebert (2019), Frank Esposito (2014 and 2017), Steve Schneiter (2016 and twice a runner-up).
As per tradition, the top 35 finishers in the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship will earn a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team at the 2025 Senior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, next May.
Sowards and the other 263 senior players in the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship field will face some formidable challenges in the Meadows and Woodlands courses at Sunriver Resort.
The par-71 Meadows Course, designed by ac claimed architect John Fought, features tremendous variety within its 18 holes, seven of which border the meandering Sun River. It has hosted numerous USGA and NCAA golf championships, including the NCAA Men’s Division I Champion ship. The par-72 Woodlands Course was de signed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., and features dense forests of ponderosa and lodgepole pine, outcroppings of lava rock and an abundance of water.
“The Meadows and Woodlands courses provide different challenges, while both uphold Sunriver Resort’s reputation for exemplary scenery and course conditioning,” says Josh Willis, PGA, Director of Operations at Sunriver Resort. “We’re confident that both courses will provide a challenging test for the PGA of America’s best seniors.”
As the defending Senior PGA Professional Champion, Sowards is anxious to travel to Oregon and test his surgically repaired left knee.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there and competing again,” admits Sowards. “Now that my knee is stronger and my confidence is back after a long, trying stretch the past four months, I’m eager to test my game again.”