Preview courtesy of Julie Williams of Golfweek
TPC Tampa Bay’s long history in senior golf revolves primarily around the Champions Tour. The Florida course was a recurring stop on the senior tour for two decades and a former site of the Final Stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School, but this month, it will host the top senior amateurs for the inaugural Golfweek Pirates Classic.
The course, designed by Bobby Weed with input from player consultant Chi Chi Rodriguez, was designed for a challenge when it was built in 1991. It’s a thoroughly Florida setting, with natural wetlands, cypress heads, lagoons and wildlife (TPC Tampa Bay is an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary) providing a backdrop for the golf.
The Pirate’s Classic, a 54-hole event to be played Feb. 17-19, will feature the usual four senior divisions (Senior, Super Senior, Legends, Super Legends) as well as a Mid-Masters division for players ages 40-55.
The top two finishers from Golfweek’s Player of the Year Classic, Kevin VandenBerg and Todd Doss, will both compete at TPC Tampa Bay. Both men have continued to compete during the busy Florida amateur swing since their duel in the final holes of the POY tournament.
Vandenberg is currently ranked No. 1 in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings.
Local John Barry of Bradenton, Fla., who won the SOS Jack Hesler on Jan. 23 by six shots, is another player to watch in the senior field.
Several decorated players dot the Super Senior division as well, including reigning Golfweek Player of the Year in this division James Starnes of Ft. Myers, Florida, Stevie Cannady, winner of the 2024 Golfweek Super Senior National Championship, will also compete.
Greg Osborne, a resident of Lutz, Pennsylvania, who is at the top of the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings in his division, highlights the Legends field along with Dan Parkinson of Lehi, Utah, another perennial contender in this age group.
The top three men in the Super Legends national ranking are all in the field at TPC Tampa Bay for their respective divisions: John Osborne, Bill Engel, and Frank Polizzi.