Few tournaments in amateur golf can claim the continuity of the New Year's Invitational. According to the tournament's official history, it has been played at St. Petersburg Country Club every year since 1927.
On the AmateurGolf.com Podcast, founder Pete Wlodkowski speaks with longtime tournament chairman Richard Hope about the people behind that tradition, the champions who have passed through the event, and the challenge of keeping a historic championship relevant to a new generation.
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Hear the full conversation with Richard Hope in the approximately 30-minute episode below.
From competitor to chairman
Hope first played in the New Year's Invitational in 1969, at age 18. He played college golf at Stetson University, but says he never expected to pursue a professional career. His lasting contribution to the game would come through running a tournament.
After joining the club in 1982, Hope offered to help with the championship. That involvement grew, and 1991 became his first year as chairman. His perspective now spans decades of returning players, changing fields and club members making room for an important week of amateur competition.
The commitment extended to the pandemic. Recalling the 2021 tournament, Hope describes walking threesomes, outdoor arrangements and boxed meals that helped organizers keep the event going.
A championship with familiar names
The tournament's early history includes Johnny Revolta, who won in 1928 while working at the club as a locker-room attendant and course ranger. Bob Goalby won the first stroke-play edition in 1956, following the tournament's years as a match-play event.
Both later became major champions. The New Year's Invitational's roll of winners also includes Gary Koch, J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker and Peter Uihlein.
Hope particularly remembers Holmes and Snedeker returning during their college years. In the interview, he recalls Snedeker extending his amateur career to use his Masters invitation and coming back to St. Petersburg to compete. Snedeker won the New Year's Invitational in 2004 after twice finishing second.
A historic course adapts
The conversation also traces the evolution of St. Petersburg Country Club, from Herbert Strong's original design through later changes by Dick Wilson and more recent work involving Gary Koch.
Hope says the greens were redone in 2024, with an effort to introduce more undulation and elevation change. He also credits Koch with helping position additional tees that bring the course to approximately 7,000 yards.
Length alone, though, cannot keep pace with today's players. Hope describes converting the 16th hole from a roughly 495-yard par 5 into a roughly 480-yard par 4 for the tournament, producing a par-71 setup. The players, he says, handled the change well.
A younger field, supported by the club
Hope describes an increasingly competitive selection process that considers world amateur rankings and the achievements of junior golfers alongside collegiate players. He also clarifies the approach to mid-amateurs discussed in the interview: recognizing the low mid-amateur with an award, while moving away from a separate division and continuing to welcome strong applicants.
That competition depends on the support of a private club giving up its course during Florida's prime golf season. Hope says members have become increasingly engaged with the event, and some families open their homes to visiting players.
An opportunity beyond amateur golf
Another topic is the championship's relationship with the Korn Ferry Tour's LECOM Suncoast Classic. Hope explains how club members helped arrange an exemption for the New Year's Invitational winner, giving an amateur the opportunity to test his game against professionals.
In the conversation, he describes the experience of a recent winner who competed in the professional event and expresses his intention to continue the opportunity. It is one more way the tournament connects its history with players working toward the next stage of their careers.
For Hope, the event's continuity rests on the people who return to compete, organize and support it. His conversation with Wlodkowski offers a look at the work behind a January tradition that has endured for generations.
View the New Year's Invitational tournament page on AmateurGolf.com for event details and results.
