John Barry runs away with weather shortened SOS Jack Hesler

January 23, 2025 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

John Barry (Society of Seniors Photo)

Normally a 54-hole tournament, inclement weather shortened the tournament to only 36 holes and Barry won by six shots

John Barry of Bradenton, Fla., pulled away from the field in the final round to win the 2025 Society of Seniors Jack Hesler at Mission Inn Resort, the El Campeon Course, in Howey In The Hills, Fla.

Barry shot rounds of 68-73 to finish 3-under and win by six shots over the field. After the first round, Barry was one shot back of Derek Paton of Scotland. A final round of 7-over 80 saw Paton fall back to 3-over; however, he still finished in solo second place.

Barry is currently ranked No. 71 in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings.

Heavy rains on Tuesday night and near-freezing temperatures canceled the second round, and the final round took place as normal on Thursday.

"Despite the cold weather and light rain, I maintained a strong focus on each shot," Barry said. "It's easy to fall asleep during a round and make foolish shots. I just think my shot commitment was there for both the long game and putting as well."

Barry added, "It was mostly dry (in the final round), just cold. The ball wasn't carrying normal distances, so you had to trust the extra club."

This is Barry's first win this year after finishing T6 at the Heron Creek Senior.

"I'll take a lot of good memories from this one," Barry said.

Paton finished in solo second place at 3-over, and David Jordan of Montpelier, Va., finished in solo third place at 4-over. Walker Taylor of Wrightsville Beach, N.C., finished in solo fourth place at 6-over, and Jed Shreve of The Woodlands, Tex., finished in solo fifth place at

In the Super Senior Division, James Pearson of Charlotte, N.C., birdied holes No. 16 and 17 to go from one shot back and win by one shot at 5-over. Pearson was 7-over with three holes remaining, and those two birdies saw him defeat Dale Bouguennec of Pinehurst, N.C., who finished in solo second place at 6-over.

Pearson carded rounds of 75-74 to finish 5-over.

Paige Hood of Atlanta, Ga., finished in solo third place at 7-over. Hood led through 16 holes, but he bogeyed holes No. 17 and 18 to switch places with Pearson.

In the Legends Division, Robert Hess of Casselberry, Fla., finished in first place at 4-over, taking down the field by four shots.

In the Super Legends Division, Sam Robinson of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., finished even par and dominated the rest of the field, winning by ten shots with rounds of 70-74.

Results: Society of Seniors Jack Hesler

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	John Barry	Bradenton, FL	700	68-73=141
2	Derek Paton	, Scotland	400	67-80=147
3	David Jordan	Montpelier, VA	300	73-75=148
4	Walker Taylor	Wilmington, NC	300	74-76=150
5	Jed Shreve	The Woodlands, TX	300	76-76=152