At the Ojai Senior Cup, it pays to save something for the finish.
In 2024, Tim Hogarth reached Soule Park’s final hole tied for the lead and made birdie to win by one. A year later, he birdied the last two holes to complete a closing 65 and another one-stroke victory. As the championship returns October 16–18, its recent history offers a useful warning: there is little room to coast toward the clubhouse. AmateurGolf.com’s 2024 recap, 2025 recap
The eighth annual Ojai Senior Cup will be contested over 54 holes at Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai, California, with Senior and Super Senior divisions. The setting beneath the Topa Topa Mountains is part of its appeal, but the championship’s identity also rests on a course whose recovery from devastating flooding became an unlikely success story for public golf. Tournament website, Soule Park
Soule Park began with a public purpose. The Soule family offered its land to Ventura County in 1959 for a park and golf course, preserving a place where the community could enjoy the outdoors. William F. Bell’s course opened in 1962, giving Ojai a municipal golf destination that would serve generations of local players. SCGA’s course history
Bell’s name belongs to a substantial chapter of Southern California golf. His work included Torrey Pines’ North and South courses and Sandpiper, and at Soule Park he had a property with natural movement and a mountain backdrop. The course’s own history traces its beginnings to Bell’s 1962 design and its modern transformation to Gil Hanse’s renovation following the 2005 floods. Soule Park’s official history
The storm damage was severe. Floodwaters destroyed bridges and irrigation infrastructure and tore into the golf course. The recovery brought in Hanse and Jim Wagner, whose work reshaped the greens and bunkers while retaining much of the original routing. Later, after another period of declining conditions, Keith Brown helped restore the turf and irrigation and foster a more welcoming atmosphere. Brown is also the Senior Cup’s tournament director, connecting the course’s revival to the championship now played there. SCGA’s account of Soule Park’s recovery
The result is a course with room to play and reasons to think. Soule Park’s broad fairways offer choices, while the green complexes make the angle of approach matter. That combination should be especially appealing in a senior championship: players can use placement, trajectory and judgment to create opportunities, with more than one way to solve a hole. Soule Park’s design overview
The par-5 fourth illustrates the challenge. Hanse and Wagner fashioned a green that bends around a raised, closely mown spine. Reaching the putting surface is only part of the problem; finishing on the wrong side can leave an awkward recovery. The decision after a good drive becomes whether to attack or lay back to an angle that makes the contours useful.
The fifth presents another temptation, with a punchbowl green obscured from view on the approach. In his detailed account of the renovation, Fried Egg Golf’s Garrett Morrison described the contrasting fourth and fifth greens as central examples of the architects’ creativity. For championship players, the implication is clear: a short par 5 can offer a scoring chance without making the second-shot decision easy. Fried Egg Golf’s course profile
Soule Park lists its championship tees at just over 6,800 yards, with a course rating of 72.8 and slope of 128. Those are the course’s published back-tee figures, rather than a confirmed setup for either 2026 division. Its recent tournament résumé includes 2025 U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Amateur qualifying, along with the 2026 SCGA Senior Foursomes Championship. Course specifications, Tournament venue information
The Senior Cup has developed alongside that reputation. AmateurGolf.com’s coverage of the inaugural 2019 championship described a 36-hole event shared by Ojai Valley Inn and Soule Park. Hogarth, the 1997 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, won that first edition. The event has since grown into the current three-day competition at Soule Park. Organizers identify the Senior Division as a World Amateur Golf Ranking event and highlight its place in the SCGA Senior Player of the Year schedule. AmateurGolf.com’s inaugural preview, Official tournament history
Hogarth has supplied its most enduring competitive storyline. His 2024 victory came five years after his first, with rounds of 69-68-70 producing a 9-under total. Mark C. Miller and Joe Sawaia matched him through 53 holes, but neither could answer his closing birdie. AmateurGolf.com’s 2024 coverage
His 2025 encore raised the standard. Rounds of 68-72-65 added up to 11-under 205, a tournament record according to AmateurGolf.com’s recap. Jason Pridmore finished one back at 206, while Brad Steven closed with a tournament single-round record 64 to take third at 9-under. Hogarth made eight birdies in the final round, including those decisive two at the finish. AmateurGolf.com’s 2025 coverage
John Pate is the reigning Super Senior champion. His 2025 title required extra holes after he, Craig Calkins and Doug Williams finished regulation at 1-under 215. Pate eventually settled the playoff with a 20-foot putt on the 17th. Both divisions, then, arrive at this edition with recent evidence that the decisive moment can come very late. AmateurGolf.com’s Super Senior recap
The broader history reinforces that point. In 2023, Greg Sato began the final round three strokes behind and birdied the last to win at 7-under. His performance, followed by Hogarth’s two narrow victories, suggests the most useful question for this year’s leaderboard may be who still has birdies available over the closing holes. AmateurGolf.com’s 2023 recap
For 2026, the divisions are for players ages 55 and older and 65 and older, with eligible Super Seniors permitted to choose the Senior Division. The published schedule calls for opening-round tee times beginning Friday at 10 a.m., followed by 8 a.m. starts Saturday and Sunday. Players are scheduled in threesomes from the first and 10th tees, with awards following Sunday’s play. The listed $550 entry includes green fees, carts, range access, food and beverage, a prize fund and a player gift. Official event information
For three days, the competition will put Soule Park’s choices under pressure: which side of a fairway to favor, when to chase a par 5, and when to accept a longer birdie putt. By Sunday afternoon, the championship may again turn on one final opportunity at the 18th—a fitting finish for a course whose own story is built around making the most of another chance.
Official tournament website and event portal · AmateurGolf.com tournament page and past coverage