Justin Hicks looks forward to playing in first Senior PGA Championship

BRADENTON — Justin Hicks will be playing in his first Senior PGA Championship, but he didn’t arrive at The Concession Golf Club without major experience.

The 51-year-old Wellington resident played in two majors on the PGA Tour last year – qualifying for the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. That’s more majors in 2025 than anyone else in the Senior PGA Championship field except Zach Johnson and Padraig Harrington, who both played in two majors as past champions.

“They were two of the more memorable ones for me just because both golf courses were absolute beasts, especially Oakmont, and Quail Hollow,” said Hicks, who has played in nine majors. “Everything about your game was really tested.

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Photos of PGA Tour Champions Pro Football Hall of Fame tournament

NFL Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees watches his tee shot on the first hole during the opening round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Zach Johnson poses for a photo with staff members in front of a cake welcoming him and Ben Crane to the PGA Tour Champions during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Zach Johnson plays his tee shot on the first hole in his first tournament on the PGA Tour Champions during the opening round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Stephen Ames watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Ben Crane plays his tee shot on the ninth hole hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

David Duval plays his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Ryan Armour watches his birdie putt on the ninth hole during the opening round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Darren Clarke watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

NFL Hall of Fame member Ed Reed putts for par on the 12th hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

David Duval and NFL Hall of Fame member Warren Sapp study the break on the ninth green during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Stephen Ames plays a shot from the bunker on the ninth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Ben Crane plays his approach shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

NFL Hall of Fame member Ronde Barber putts for birdie on the fifth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Ben Crane chips to the ninth green during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Jerry Kelly watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Miguel Angel Jimenez watches his shot from the bunker on the ninth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Jerry Kelly watches his birdie putt on the fifth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

NFL Hall of Fame member Warren Sapp plays his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

John Rollins plays a chip shot to the 12th green during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

NFL Hall of Fame member Warren Sapp watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

NFL Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees chips to the first green during the opening round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Mark Calcavecchia reacts to his tee shot on the 13th hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

NFL Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees and Ben Crane watch their playing partners on the fifth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Steve Flesch plays his tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

NFL Hall of Fame inductee Drew Brees watches his birdie putt on the fifth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Ben Crane watches his chip shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Greg Chalmers plays his tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Miguel Angel Jimenez reacts to his approach shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

Greg Chalmers watches his tee shot on the 11th hole during the first round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

The flagstick on the first hole during the opening round of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club on Friday, March 6, 2026, in Boca Raton, FL.

“Majors are always exciting because you know that you’re going to have the best players in the world at those events. The courses are going to be immaculate like this one is this week. It’s going to be a really good test. There’s just more excitement in the air with these types of events as opposed to your standard tour events.”

More golf: Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin golf course born from a Ryder Cup moment

Jun 12, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Justin Hicks plays his shot from the first tee during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

One of the disadvantages Hicks faces this week is unfamiliarity: He never saw The Concession until making a trip last weekend. Then again, The Concession has only hosted one event on the 50-and-older tour, the 2023 World Champions Cup.

There won’t be much local knowledge on display this week on a course co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin.

“There’s a little bit more strategy to this course than a typical week,” Hicks said. “And then there’s just a lot going on, whether it be on the greens or just off the greens. Balls are not always going to stay on the greens, and even if you do hit it on the green, there’s a chance with some of the slopes that it will kind of funnel off, much like Pinehurst. There’s going to be a lot of challenges for the players this week.”

Justin Hicks qualified for James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame tourney

Hicks, a PGA Teaching Professional at Stonebridge Country Club in Boca Raton, has been playing well enough to earn last year’s Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year Award, as well as South Florida PGA POY. Hicks Monday-qualified for last month’s James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational at Broken Sound Club.

He was in the top five late in the second round before settling for a T24 after a final-round 76. He wasn’t upset afterward.

“Playing well in Boca definitely gives me a lot of confidence to say, all right, look, you’ve got the abilities,” he said. “When you actually go out there and you walk it and see that you’re competitive, it helps your own mind understand, hey, look, we’ve got some tools that we can probably do some pretty good stuff with.

“If I count the number of rounds that I’m playing versus what these guys are playing, it’s not a very fair fight in that regard. This is still kind of my preseason.”

Hicks has enlisted former PGA Tour member Tom Gillis of Jupiter to caddie for him this week. Gillis plans on caddying for rookie George McNeill the rest of the year.

“It definitely helps to have a veteran like Tom on the bag,” said Hicks, whose major moment remains being tied for the lead after the first round of the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. “Tom will really help me this week.”

Hicks, among the 35 PGA Professionals on the Corebridge Financial Team, said he doesn’t want to enter the Senior PGA with expectations.

“I’m going to just try to go out here this week and play great golf and see where that lands me,” he said. “If I try to think too much on this, like I should make the cut and I should finish in the top whatever, that’s usually when I kind of fall flat on my face.”

Other area PGA Professionals in the field are Frank Bensel, Mark Brown, Tim Cantwell, Alan Morin and Paul Scaletta, who may have an advantage of working at The Bear’s Club.

“They said this is Bear’s Club West,” said Scaletta, referencing that Jack Nicklaus designed both courses.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Justin Hicks set to take on The Concession at Senior PGA Championship

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