Oldest Competitors: Paul Simson (73, born 5-10-51), Jack Slayton (72, born 10-13-51), John Turk (72, born 2-1-52), Gary Daniels (70, born 1-24-54), Dave Ryan (70, born 3-27-54), Donald Foberg (70, born 5-13-54), Mac McGee (70, born 5-19-54)
Youngest Competitors: Shane McMillan (55, born 7-5-69), Shane Flowers (55, born 7-4-69), Austin Eaton III (55, born 6-16-69), Keith Lundquist (55, born 4-30-69), Todd Burgan (55, born 4-15-69), John Bearrie (55, born 3-8-69), David Carothers (55, born 3-8-69), Philip Josephson (55, born 3-7-69)
Average Age of Field: 60.38
Field breakdown by age:
55-59: 79 competitors
60-64: 48 competitors
65-69: 22 competitors
70-plus: 7 competitors
U.S. States Represented – 37 states are represented in the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur: California (17), Florida (14), Georgia (12), Texas (9), Pennsylvania (8), Illinois (6), Iowa (6), North Carolina (5), South Carolina (5), Arizona (4), Colorado (4), Michigan (4), New Jersey (4), Ohio (4), Washington (4), Alabama (3), Massachusetts (3), New York (3), Tennessee (3), Utah (3), Virginia (3), Connecticut (2), Indiana (2), Kansas (2), Maryland (2), Minnesota (2), Nevada (2), Arkansas (1), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (1), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (1), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (1), West Virginia (1) and Wisconsin (1).
International – Eight countries are represented in the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur: United States (146), Canada (3), England (2), Australia (1), Costa Rica (1), Republic of Ireland (1), New Zealand (1) and Scotland (1).
USGA Champions (16): Nathaniel Crosby (1981 U.S. Amateur), Ken Bakst (1997 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Austin Eaton III (2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Gene Elliott (2021 U.S. Senior Amateur), Doug Hanzel (2013 U.S. Senior Amateur), Tim Hogarth (1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links), Sean Knapp (2017 U.S. Senior Amateur), Jack Larkin Sr. (1979 U.S. Junior Amateur), Chip Lutz (2015 U.S. Senior Amateur), Bob Royak (2019 U.S. Senior Amateur), Michael McCoy (2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Dave Ryan (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur), Paul Simson (2010, 2012 U.S. Senior Amateur), Rusty Strawn (2022 U.S. Senior Amateur), Todd White (2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur), Jeff Wilson (2018 U.S. Senior Amateur)
USGA Runners-Up (11): Tom Brandes (2015 U.S. Senior Amateur), Jody Fanagan (2023 U.S. Senior Amateur), Jerry Gunthorpe (2021 U.S. Senior Amateur), Doug Hanzel (2022 U.S. Senior Amateur), Tim Hogarth (2010 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Sean Knapp (2018 U.S. Senior Amateur), Roger Newsom (2019 U.S. Senior Amateur), Bryan Norton (2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur, 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur), Matt Sughrue (2016 U.S. Senior Amateur), Paul Simson (2017 U.S. Senior Amateur), Rick Stimmel (1997 U.S. Mid-Amateur)
Players in Field with Most U.S. Senior Amateur Appearances (2024 included) – Paul Simson (17), Chip Lutz (14), Doug Hanzel (12), Dave Ryan (12), Tom Brandes (9), Randy Haag (9), Rick Cloninger (8), Bryan Norton (8), Bob Royak (8), Matt Sughrue (8)
Played in 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur (58): Tom Brandes, Jon Brown, Louis Brown, Dave Bunker, Ronnie Clark, Nathaniel Crosby, Mike Crowe, Craig Davis, Don DuBois, Gene Elliott, Jody Fanagan, Chris Fieger, Mike Finster, Jeff Frazier, Wayne Fredrick, Luc Guilbault, Jerry Gunthorpe, Randy Haag, Doug Hanzel, Steve Harwell, Michael Hays, Mike Henry, Joe Hillman, Tim Hogarth, Curtis Holck, John Husband, Jeff Jamieson, Joe Jaspers, John Kemp, Sean Knapp, Adam Kugler, Jack Larkin Sr., Jon Linstrom, Chip Lutz, Jeff Mallette, Miles McConnell, Steve Mitchell, Mark Morgan, RJ Nakashian, Roger Newsom, Bryan Norton, Joe Palmer, Brent Paterson, Stevie Ray, Bob Royak, Dave Ryan, Keith Salamon, Greg Sanders, Greg Sato, Dave Scialabba, Paul Simson, Jack Slayton, Craig Steinberg, Rick Stimmel, Rusty Strawn, Matt Sughrue, Todd White, Jeff Wilson
Played in 2022 U.S. Senior Amateur (37): John Adams, Ken Bakst, Tom Brandes, John Brown, Dave Bunker, Rick Cloninger, Nathaniel Crosby, Gene Elliott, Jeff Frazier, Wayne Fredrick, Luc Guilbault, Jerry Gunthorpe, Randy Haag, Doug Hanzel, Steve Harwell, John Husband, Sean Knapp, Jack Larkin Sr., Chip Lutz, Jeff Mallette, Miles McConnell, Michael McCoy, Mark Morgan, Roger Newsom, Joe Palmer, Harris Podvey, Bob Royak, Dave Ryan, Greg Sato, Paul Simson, Joe Sposi, Craig Steinberg, Michael Stieler, Rusty Strawn, Matt Sughrue, Andrew Whitacre, Jeff Wilson
Played in 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur (35): Ken Bakst, Dave Bunker, Rick Cloninger, Craig Davis, Gene Elliott, Chris Fieger, Jerry Gunthorpe, Randy Haag, Jack Hall, Doug Hanzel, Steve Harwell, Tim Hogarth, Joe Jaspers, Sean Knapp, Chip Lutz, Miles McConnell, Michael McCoy, Tim McKinnis, Mark Morgan, Robert Nelson, Roger Newsom, Bryan Norton, Joe Palmer, Nick Raffaele, Bob Royak, Dave Ryan, Timothy Rypien, Greg Sanders, James Scorse, Paul Simson, Craig Steinberg, Rusty Strawn, Matt Sughrue, Jeff Wilson, William Winter II
Played in 2024 U.S. Senior Open (5): Mike Combs, Jody Fanagan, Tim Hogarth, Bob Royak, Todd White
Played in 2024 U.S. Amateur (2): Rusty Strawn, Todd White
Played in 2024 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (2): Jon Brown, Todd White
Player notes
Ken Bakst, 66, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., qualified for his fifth U.S. Senior Amateur at North Jersey Country Club on July 8. He won the 1997 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Dallas Athletic Club and has competed in 28 USGA championships and one USGA Men’s State Team. Bakst, who is originally from Long Island and earned an invitation to the 1998 Masters, serves on the Metropolitan Golf Association Board of Directors. He is a developer and managing member of Friar’s Head Golf Club and is also working on The Ranch, a 36-hole facility in Florida.
Dave Bunker, 59, of Canada, was the medalist in qualifying with a 4-under 68 at Stafford (N.Y.) Country Club on Aug. 6. He was a semifinalist in the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur and has played in two U.S. Senior Opens (2015, 2016). Bunker, a retired Toronto middle school teacher and boys’ and girls’ basketball coach, is a member of the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame and has twice played in the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open in 2010 and 2011. He won the 2021 Florida State Golf Association Senior Amateur and advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Todd Burgan, 55, of Knoxville, Tenn., qualified for his first U.S. Senior Amateur on Aug. 1. He was co-medalist with a 2-under 69 at Western Hills Country Club, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Burgan, a Kroger pharmacist, advanced to the semifinals of the 2010 U.S. Mid-Amateur, losing to eventual champion Nathan Smith, and reached the quarterfinal round the previous year. He also played in the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with partner and two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Tim Jackson in 2015. Burgan won his fourth Tennessee Mid-Amateur title in 2021 with a final-round 62, including a 29 on the inward nine.
Rick Cloninger, 67, of Rock Hill, S.C., reached the semifinals of the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2014 and 2019. Cloninger, who tied for 40th in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open, has played in 12 USGA championships and five USGA Men’s State Teams. He won the state mid-amateur in Florida (1992), Georgia (2001, 2002) and South Carolina (2003). Cloninger, a former NAIA All-America quarterback at Wofford College, was a sales manager in the construction industry. He has served on the board of directors for the South Carolina Golf Association.
Nathaniel Crosby, 62, of Jupiter, Fla., captained the USA to victories in the 2019 and 2021 Walker Cup Matches. He won the 1981 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club, in San Francisco, Calif., and was low amateur in the U.S. Open one year later at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Crosby, the son of the late American singer and entertainer Bing Crosby, serves as chairman of small travel societies that are tied to golf clubs in vacation and second-home destinations. He was a member of the victorious USA teams that won both the 1983 Walker Cup and 1982 World Amateur Team Championship.
Craig Davis, 62, of Chula Vista, Calif., has played in five U.S. Senior Amateurs, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2018 and the semifinals in 2021. He won the 2019 R&A Senior Amateur Championship, when he made a 5-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole at North Berwick Golf Club in Scotland. He also captured last year’s California Senior Amateur in another playoff. Davis, who is a software engineer for an aerospace company, has competed in nine USGA championships, including the 2012 U.S. Senior Open. His sister, Jenny, was a quarterfinalist in the 1980 U.S. Women’s Amateur and tied for 46th in the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
Gene Elliott, 62, of Norwalk, Iowa, won the 2021 U.S. Senior Amateur at the Country Club of Detroit, his first USGA title. He is one of three players to have claimed the U.S. Senior Amateur, R&A Senior Amateur (2021) and Canadian Men’s Senior Amateur (2017, 2019). Elliott, who has played in 36 USGA championships and five USGA Men’s State Teams, was inducted into the Iowa Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2012. The owner of a sanitation and street equipment company underwent successful open-heart surgery more than two decades ago.
Marc Ehudin, 60, of Potomac, Md., is the director of government affairs for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and promotes their legislative and regulatory priorities on the congressional and federal level. He began his career working on Capitol Hill working for two U.S. Congressmen. Ehudin was the medalist (70) in the Lothian, Md., qualifier on July 25. He earned his undergraduate degree from Union College in upstate New York where he was a co-captain in lacrosse and punter on the NCAA Division III national semifinalist football team.
Dave Esler, 61, of St. Charles, Ill., owns Esler Golf Designs, a golf course architectural firm that is affiliated with Vintage Golf Construction and specializes in design and restoration. He will play in his first U.S. Senior Amateur after advancing from the Racine, Wis., qualifier on Aug. 2. Esler competed in his first USGA championship in 1983 when he reached the Round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur Public Links. He lettered at Ohio State University, from 1984-86, and played on Big Ten Conference title teams. Esler is a board member for the Illinois Junior Golf Association.
Jody Fanagan, 59, of the Republic of Ireland, was runner-up to Todd White in last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur at Martis Camp Club. He posted a 3-0 record in the 1995 Walker Cup Match as Great Britain and Ireland defeated a USA team led by Tiger Woods at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Fanagan, who is part of family-managed Fanagan Funeral Directors in Dublin, teamed with major champion and 2022 U.S. Senior Open winner Padraig Harrington to win two foursomes matches. He was runner-up in the 2023 European Seniors’ Championship and has recorded two top-10 finishes this year at the Spanish International Seniors’ (4th) and Irish Senior Men’s Amateur Open (T-7).
Thomas Halla, 56, of Colgate, Wis., will play in his first U.S. Senior Amateur after being the medalist in the Racine, Wis., qualifier on Aug. 2. He carded a 3-under 68 at Meadowbrook Country Club where he won the state mid-amateur in 2012. Halla has recovered from full cardiac arrest that occurred on the evening before last Thanksgiving, an emergency where he was shocked twice with a defibrillator. Halla, who has qualified for USGA championships in five different decades, is the club manager for Naga-Waukee War Memorial Golf Course, which is part of the Waukesha County Parks Department.
Doug Hanzel, 67, of Savannah, Ga., is a retired pulmonologist who won the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur and was runner-up in 2022. He has competed in 11 Senior Amateurs and is fifth all-time in championship history with a 28-10 match-play record. In 2012, he became the lone player to advance to match play in the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur in the same year. Hanzel, a member of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, twice was low amateur in the U.S. Senior Open (2012, 2013). He has played in 40 USGA championships and two USGA Men’s State Teams. He also is a Type 1 diabetic who wears an insulin pump.
Mike Henry, 56, of Bloomington, Ill., advanced to the quarterfinals of last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur, losing to eventual champion Todd White in 19 holes. Henry, an insurance analyst, is the son of a career U.S. Air Force pilot and attended nine different schools from preschool to high school. A walk-on at Western Illinois University, he did not become a scratch player until he was in his 30s. Henry won the 2019 Illinois Senior Open with a birdie on the third playoff hole. He also claimed the 2013 Illinois Public Links Championship.
Joe Hillman, 58, of Zionsville, Ind., qualified for his second consecutive U.S. Senior Amateur on July 24 at Mayfield Sand Ridge Club, in Chardon, Ohio. He was a two-sport athlete at Indiana University in the late 1980s. He was a member of the 1987 NCAA champions and 1989 Big Ten winners under legendary basketball coach Bob Knight. Hillman, a wealth strategy advisor, was also a standout baseball player for the Hoosiers and was drafted in the 25th round by the Oakland Athletics in 1988. He played two seasons in the minors before going overseas to Australia and England to play professional basketball.
Curtis Holck, 60, of Ankeny, Iowa, will play in his third consecutive U.S. Senior Amateur. He advanced to the quarterfinals last year at Martis Camp Club after surviving a 10-for-6 stroke-play playoff to reach match play. Holck, who is a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service, won the 2002 Iowa Golf Association Mid-Amateur and is a two-time Northwest Iowa Amateur champion (2004, 2005). He was the runner-up to Joe Palmer in last year’s Iowa Mid-Amateur Senior Division and tied for second in the 2021 Iowa Senior Amateur behind champion Michael McCoy.
Sean Knapp, 62, of Oakmont, Pa., won the 2017 U.S. Senior Amateur and was the runner-up to Jeff Wilson the following year. Knapp, who caddied at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club during his youth, has competed in 48 USGA championships and six USGA Men’s State Teams, winning the title with Pennsylvania in 2009. Additionally, he lost to eventual champion Tiger Woods in the Round of 16 of the 1995 U.S. Amateur and played in four U.S. Senior Opens. Knapp, a 14-time Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Player of the Year, qualified at age 59 for the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, just two blocks from where he currently lives.
Randy Lee, 56, of Houston, Texas, will play in his first U.S. Senior Amateur after advancing through the Houston qualifier on July 24 at Gus Wortham Park Golf Course. Lee, who works in industrial sales, played in his first USGA championship in 1985 when he reached the Round of 16 in the U.S. Junior Amateur. He went on to earn All-Southwest Conference honors at Texas A&M University. His son, Walker, played in the 2017 U.S. Open and is currently competing on the Korn Ferry Tour. His father, Jacky, was a quarterback in the American Football League with three teams, including Kansas City when the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV. Jacky also captured the 1975 Bing Crosby Pro-Am with partner Bruce Devlin.
Chip Lutz, 69, of Jupiter, Fla., won the 2015 U.S. Senor Amateur. He has a 29-12 match-play record in the championship and has also advanced to the semifinals four times (2010, 2011, 2013, 2018). Additionally, he has claimed the R&A Senior Amateur three times and the Canadian Senior Men’s Amateur twice. A native of Reading, Pa., he is one of three players to have won all three championships. Lutz, a former collegiate player at the University of Florida with Masters chairman and 1975 U.S. Amateur champion Fred Ridley, and PGA Tour winners Gary Koch and Andy Bean, was the low amateur in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open when he tied for 37th.
Michael McCoy, 61, of Des Moines, Iowa, captained the USA to a come-from-behind victory in last year’s Walker Cup Match on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. McCoy, a member of the 2015 USA Walker Cup Team, was the second-oldest winner (age 50) of the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2013. He has competed in 60 USGA championships, including 20 U.S. Amateurs and 24 Mid-Amateurs, and played in eight USGA Men’s State Teams. McCoy, who reached the semifinals in his first U.S. Senior Amateur in 2018, was the low amateur in the 2014 and 2015 U.S. Senior Opens. A member of the Iowa Golf Association Hall of Fame, McCoy won the 2022 R&A Senior Amateur.
Jim McNelis, 67, of Gig Harbor, Wash., is a retired Alaska Airlines captain and has been a Boeing 737 test pilot. He will play in his fifth U.S. Senior Amateur as the first alternate from the Sequim, Wash., qualifier on July 3. McNelis carded a 71 at The Cedars at Dungeness and survived a 3-for-1 playoff to determine alternates. McNelis, who played in the 2011 U.S. Senior Open, was taught to fly and play golf by Betty Hicks, who won the 1941 U.S. Women’s Amateur and was runner-up in two U.S. Women’s Opens (1948, 1954). McNelis, who took up golf at age 25, won the 2017 Washington State Senior Amateur in a seven-hole playoff.
Roger Newsom, 60, of Virginia Beach, Va., was the runner-up in the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur at Old Chatham Golf Club, in Durham, N.C. He also advanced to the semifinals last year, losing to Todd White, and the quarterfinals in 2022. Newsom, an ophthalmic surgeon who performs more than 20 eye surgeries per week, has competed in 10 USGA championships, including three U.S. Senior Opens, and played in one USGA Men’s State Team. He won the State Open of Virginia twice (2008, 2011) and claimed the 2014 Virginia State Golf Association Senior Open. His brother, Tim, is the director of golf at Riverfront Golf Club, in Suffolk, Va.
Joe Palmer, 61, of Norwalk, Iowa, will compete in his sixth U.S. Senior Amateur after advancing to the quarterfinals last year at Martis Camp Club. Palmer, who was inducted into the Iowa Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2023, has won four Iowa Senior Amateur titles and is a five-time IGA Senior Player of the Year. Palmer has played in eight USGA championships, including the 2014 U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National in Oklahoma. He is a restaurant owner of Palmer’s Deli and Market and has four locations in the Des Moines area.
Stevie Ray, 59, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., was the medalist in the Choctaw, Miss., qualifier on July 18 and will play in his second consecutive U.S. Senior Amateur. He carded a 2-under 70 at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club (The Oaks). Ray, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps who served 12 years in the military, owns Panhandle Biosweep, an air and surface decontamination company that handles commercial, residential and automotive properties. Ray, who played on five Marine Corps Interservice Teams, won the 1991 Armed Forces Championship and two Marine Golf Championships.
Bob Royak, 62, of Alpharetta, Ga., won the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur at Old Chatham Golf Club, in Durham, N.C. He has an 18-6 match-play record in seven Senior Amateurs played and reached the semifinals in 2022 and 2023. Royak, a veteran of 25 USGA championships, won last year’s North & South Senior Amateur title and the 2024 Georgia Senior Match Play. A four-time Georgia Senior Player of the Year, Royak and his younger brother, Paul, have twice played in the same U.S. Senior Amateur. Bob and his wife, Diane, assist in finding families for Russian orphans.
Tim Rypien, 60, of Spokane, Wash., advanced to his second U.S. Senior Amateur following a 2-for-1 playoff in the Boise, Idaho, qualifier on July 30. He carded a 69 and was a co-medalist at Quail Hollow Golf Club. Rypien, who has played in three U.S. Mid-Amateurs and is a teacher in the Spokane Public Schools District, comes from an athletic family. His brother, Mark, led Washington to two Super Bowl wins as part of a 12-year NFL career as a quarterback. His brother, Dave, played baseball for Team Canada in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. His son, Brett, was a quarterback for Boise State University and is currently with the Chicago Bears. Tim, who started playing golf at age 23, was drafted by the MLB’s Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays and advanced as high as the Class AA level.
Joe Sawaia, 55, of Henderson, Nev., has coached high school golf in Nevada for more than three decades. He was named the state preps coach of the year in his final season after guiding Coronado High School to its third consecutive Class 5A girls’ state championship. Sawaia, who coached 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Yana Wilson and 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball runner-up Brynn Kort at Coronado High, also led the boys’ program to six state titles. A former baseball player at UNLV, Sawaia shared medalist honors in the Rancho Santa Fe., Calif., qualifier on July 15.
Paul Simson, 73, of Raleigh, N.C., is one of 14 players to win the U.S. Senior Amateur on multiple occasions, having hoisted the trophy in 2010 and 2012. Simson, who has played in 58 USGA championships and nine USGA Men’s State Teams, is third in career match-play victories with a 36-12 record in 16 Senior Amateurs played. He was runner-up in 2017 to Sean Knapp. Simson, Chip Lutz and Gene Elliott are the only players to have won the U.S. Senior Amateur, the R&A Senior Amateur and Canadian Men’s Senior Amateur championships. A member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, he has played in eight U.S. Senior Opens and was the low amateur in 2001. An insurance executive, Simson played his collegiate golf at the University of New Mexico.
Stuart Smith, 64, of Nashville, Tenn., qualified for his first U.S. Senior Amateur at Lookout Mountain (Ga.) Club on July 16. Smith, who played in the 1985 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in Michigan, is a senior vice president and family wealth advisor for a financial firm. He earned All-America and All-Southeastern Conference honors at the University of Tennessee, where he helped the Vols win the 1980 SEC title with teammate Jim Gallagher Jr. Smith, who was born in Chattanooga, coached David Meador, the 1977 National Blind Golf champion, and has been a member of the Tennessee Golf Foundation Board.
Craig Steinberg, 66, of Agoura Hills, Calif., will play in his sixth U.S. Senior Amateur after advancing from the Miliani, Hawaii, qualifier on July 23. Steinberg, the medalist with a 71 at Miliani Golf Club, has reached match play in all five of his previous Senior Amateurs. He has competed in 30 USGA championships, including two U.S. Senior Opens (2008, 2014), and one USGA Men’s State Team. He reached the U.S. Mid-Amateur semifinals twice (1988, 1999). Steinberg has degrees in optometry and law and has combined the two disciplines in his career. In addition to owning his own optometry practice, Steinberg has served as general counsel for the American Optometric Society and American Board of Clinical Optometry.
Michael Stieler, 57, of Ripon, Calif., is a certified golf course superintendent at Spring Creek Golf and Country Club, a private, member-owned facility. He advanced to his second U.S. Senior Amateur through the Fairfield, Calif., qualifier on July 8. He shared medalist with a 70 and made four birdies and two bogeys at Green Valley Country Club. Stieler has twice won the Golf Course Superintendents of America (GCSAA) national title (2012, 2017) and claimed last year’s Northern California Golf Association Senior Amateur by winning on the first playoff hole at Poppy Hills Golf Course.
Rusty Strawn, 61, of Eatonton, Ga., captured the 2022 U.S. Senior Amateur at The Kittansett Club, defeating 2013 champion Doug Hanzel in the final. In that same year, Strawn won the Canadian Men’s Senior Amateur, the Trans-Mississippi Senior and was runner-up in the North & South Men’s Senior. He also tied for fourth in the 2023 R&A Senior Amateur at Woodhall Spa Golf Club in England. Strawn, who is a chief executive officer of an insurance firm, was teammates in college at Georgia Southern with 2016 U.S. Senior Open champion Gene Sauers.
Matt Sughrue, 65, of Arlington, Va., was the runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur. He has competed in seven Senior Amateurs and reached the quarterfinals in 2017 and 2023. An insurance professional for more than 25 years, Sughrue changed course to become a psychotherapist. He earned a master’s degree in human development and marriage & family therapy from Virginia Tech in 2012 and wrote his thesis on chronic adult male homelessness. Sughrue is also a performance coach for athletes, including golfers, swimmers and baseball players. In March 2024, he won the Chanticleer National Senior Invitational by one stroke over Bob Royak.
Billy Joe Tolliver, 58, of Saint Gabriel, La., will play in his first USGA championship after making the field as the first alternate from the Shreveport, La., qualifier on July 18. Tolliver, a quarterback who was drafted in the second round by the San Diego Chargers in 1989, played for six NFL and one Canadian Football League team over 12 seasons. Tolliver, an All-Southwest Conference selection from Texas Tech University, is in the saltwater disposal and transportation business. He won four American Century Celebrity Championships (1996, 2005, 2010, 2013) and qualified for the 2020 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship with partner Jerry Slagle before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Todd White, 56, of Spartanburg, S.C., claimed the Frederick L. Dold Trophy as last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur champion at Martis Camp Club. It was his second USGA championship following the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title with partner Nathan Smith in 2015. White, a member of the victorious 2013 USA Walker Cup Team, has played in 33 USGA championships and six USGA Men’s State Teams. He added to his resume when he won this year’s R&A Senior Amateur on July 12. He posted a final-round 69 to edge defending champion Brent Paterson by one stroke. White is a history teacher and boys’ and girls’ golf coach at Spartanburg High School.
Jeff Wilson, 61, of Fairfield, Calif., captured the 2018 U.S. Senior Amateur with a 2-and-1 victory over defending champion Sean Knapp. A general sales manager for an automobile dealership, Wilson left a professional golfer’s life for a more stable career path. He is one of two players to earn low amateur in both the U.S. Open (2000) and U.S. Senior Open (2018), joining two-time USGA champion Marvin “Vinny” Giles. Wilson has competed in 40 USGA championships, including four U.S. Opens, and one USGA Men’s State Team. He has advanced to match play in all five U.S. Senior Amateurs played, including a trip to the semifinals in 2019.
Bill Winter, 59, of Portland, Ore., is entering his fourth year as the head women’s golf coach at Portland State University. He previously guided the men’s program at the University of Portland, from 2001-11, where he was a two-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. Winter, who played baseball at Portland from 1984-87, was the medalist with an even-par 72 in the Woodburn, Ore., qualifier on July 22 and will play in his second U.S. Senior Amateur. He worked for nine years as an account manager in corporate sales for Nike prior to his transition to coaching.
