PRESENTING
MEN’S SENIOR AMATEUR
FIRST TEAM
Jody Fanagan
Ireland
Runner-up: U.S. Senior Amateur
Runner-up: European Seniors’ Championship
Top 5: English Senior Men’s Open
Fanagan’s terrific run to the championship match in the U.S. Senior Amateur included victories over bigwigs such as Bob Royak and Steve Harwell. He was also consistent throughout the summer, earning a T5 individual finish in the European Senior Team Championship and a runner-up in the European Seniors’ Championship.
Doug Hanzel
Savannah, Georgia
Winner: Huddleston Senior
Winner: Canadian Senior
Top 5: John T. Lupton Senior
This wasn’t Hanzel’s best year in senior amateur golf, which says a lot about how good he has been in his lengthy senior amateur career. Hanzel, approaching 67 years old, is an outlier in an arena that tends to cater to the 55-60 age range. He won three times and continued to be competitive in a long list of national events against the best fields.
Steve Harwell
Mooresville, North Carolina
Top 5: Jones Cup Senior
Top 5: National Senior Amateur Hall of Fame
Round of 16: U.S. Senior Amateur
Harwell continues to be incredibly consistent, contending nearly every time he tees it up in national competition. He won two local events and registered top-10 finishes in five major senior amateur tournaments.
John Kemp
England
Runner-up: R&A Senior Amateur
Top 15: Senior Open Championship
Round of 32: U.S. Senior Amateur
Kemp battled brutal conditions at Royal Porthcawl during the Senior Open as wild winds and rain drove scores north. That makes it all the more impressive that Kemp, the lone amateur to make the cut, shot a 3-over 74 in the worst of the elements on Sunday to move up 31 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 14th. He also played well in the R&A Senior Am and the U.S. Senior Am to round out his 2023.
Jon Lindstrom
Denver, Colorado
Winner: Trans-Miss Senior
Winner: Colorado Senior Amateur
Top 10: John T. Lupton Senior
This is more a body-of-work selection than anything else. Lindstrom won a notable national event with the Trans-Miss, excelled in local play around Colorado and had multiple top-10 results, notably in the John T. Lupton Senior, National Senior Hall of Fame and R&A Senior Amateur.
ROGER NEWSOM
VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA
WINNER: COLEMAN SENIOR
SEMIFINALIST: U.S. SENIOR AMATEUR
Newsom played only two WAGR-counting events in 2023, but those two performances featured a victory in the Coleman Senior and a semifinals run in the U.S. Senior Amateur. Hopefully we will see more of Newsom in 2024.
Brent Paterson
New Zealand
Winner: R&A Senior Amateur
Winner: New Zealand Senior
Paterson joined the great Bob Charles as an R&A winner hailing from New Zealand. With his wife, Sue, on the bag, Paterson took his putter to bed after a tough first round on the greens and then struck gold on his way to a five-stroke victory. Paterson also gets considerable credit for coming over to the U.S. and reaching match play in the Senior Amateur.
Bob Royak
Alpharetta, Georgia
Winner: Jones Cup Senior
Winner: John T. Lupton Senior
Winner: North and South Senior
This was a tremendous year for Royak. Even by his lofty standards, 2023 might have been his most consistent effort in senior amateur golf. Royak won three big titles and added eight more top-5 finishes, including a semifinals appearance in the U.S. Senior Amateur and a runner-up in the Crump Cup Senior.
Matthew Sughrue
Arlington, Virginia
Winner: Crump Cup Senior
Quarterfinalist: U.S. Senior Amateur
Top 10: Coleman Senior
After a devastating right elbow injury in 2019 that nearly ended his golf career, Sughrue continues to impress in his outstanding comeback. The Virginian won the Crump Cup Senior over Bob Royak, made a deep run in the U.S. Senior Amateur and had a few other top finishes throughout the year.
Todd White
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Winner: U.S. Senior Amateur
Medalist: U.S. Senior Amateur
Round of 32: U.S. Mid-Am
The high school history teacher taught everyone a lesson during the U.S. Senior Amateur at Martis Camp in California when he earned the No. 1 seed and went on a remarkable run to the title. White, who recently turned 55 to become eligible for senior amateur golf, also reached match play in the U.S. Mid-Am and won the South Carolina Amateur against some young flat bellies.
Second Team
Rick Cloninger
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Winner: Chanticleer National Senior
Runner-up: National Senior Amateur Hall of Fame
Runner-up: North and South Senior
Jack Hall
Winner: Society of Seniors Dale Morey
Winner: Golden Isles Senior
Runner-up: Society of Seniors Jack Hesler
Jack Larkin
Atlanta, Georgia
Winner: Georgia Senior Championship
Runner-up: John T. Lupton Senior
Runner-up: Chanticleer National Senior
Alan Mew
Winner: France Senior International
Top 5: Italian Senior Amateur
Top 10: English Senior Amateur
Rusty Strawn
McDonough, Georgia
Runner-up: Golfweek Player of the Year Classic
Top 5: R&A Senior Amateur
Runner-up: Gateway Senior
PHOTO CREDITS
Todd White, Jody Fanagan, Steve Harwell , Bob Royak, Roger Newsom, Brent Paterson
JEFF HAYNES, USGA
J.D. CUBAN, USGA
KATHRYN RILEY, USGA
KENNY SMITH, R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES
TONY MARSHALL, R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES