A month after turning 55, Steve Albright wins the Moot Thomas

March 13, 2025 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Steve Albright (Marion County Golf Association Photo)

Albright came from behind to defeat top ranked senior Kevin Vandenberg

In his first senior tournament, Steve Albright of Ocala, Fla., emerged victorious at the 2025 Moot Thomas Invitational at Ocala Golf Club in Ocala, Fla.

Albright carded rounds of 72-72-68 to get to 4-under and secure the two-shot win. He made five birdies and one bogey en route to erasing a one-shot deficit heading into the final 18 holes.

"I was able to hit a lot of fairways and greens," Albright said. "The greens were really fast and tricky, so I was important to it as many as you could. And I was able to do that and stay in my game."

Scores were a little lower in the final round due to morning tee times, which slowed down the course.

Kevin Vandenberg of Pulaski, N.Y., finished in solo second place at 2-under after starting the final round with a one-shot lead over Albright. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings.

Now, Albright is excited to participate in more senior tournaments.

"It was a great way to start the next chapter of my golf life," Albright said. "I am really looking forward to it and it will reenergize some excitement for me."

Steve is not the only Albright to win in 2025, as his son Gray, a graduate student at Florida State, won the 2025 Jones Cup.

Marc Fried finished 6-under in the Legends Division to secure the two-shot win.

And that was even after starting from behind the rest of the field.

Fried started the tournament with a two-stroke penalty for hitting his opponent's golf ball with similar markings. He made a 25-footer for birdie.

"I never really let myself get bothered and putted very well," Fried said. "I made a lot of five and six-foot par saving puts, and the greens were very quick, so you had to get on the right side of the hole."

Fried added, "I drove the ball well and never got in trouble with the driver."

Fried does not play as much as he used to, but he is still a competitor when he does tee it up.

"I like to compete," Fried said. "Every once in a while, I like to put myself up against it and beat some really good players."

Robert Cunningham finished in solo second place at 4-under, and Bobby Lundquist finished in solo third place at 3-under.

In the Super Senior Division, Greg Goode of Salinas, Kan., carded rounds of 76-71-69 to finish at even par and secure the come-from-behind win. Marcus Beck and Michale Jones finished T2 at 2-over.

In the Super Legends Division, Jim Carley finished 5-under with rounds of 73-68-70 and defeated Dick Clemons by one shot. Clemons finished in solo second place at 4-under.

Results: Moot Thomas

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Steve Albright	Ocala, FL	500	72-72-68=212
2	Kevin VandenBerg	Pulaski, NY	300	73-70-71=214
T3	Chad Branton	Cartersville, GA	200	73-73-70=216
T3	Chad Ibbotson	Sanford, FL	200	74-75-67=216
T5	Dan Ogen	Dunnellon, FL	200	71-77-73=221

View full results for Moot Thomas

About the Moot Thomas

A month after turning 55, Steve Albright wins the Moot Thomas

54 hole stroke play championship for men 55 years of age or older. Super Senior division must be 65 or older, Legends division must be 70 years or older, and Super Legends must be 75 years or older. The tournament honors Moot Thomas, an Ocala native ...