The Florida Swing continues in senior amateur golf, and for the next week, the best players will linger on the Sunshine State’s west coast – first for the Golfweek Pirates’ Cup and then for the Gasparilla Senior Invitational.
The Pirate Cup boasts a deep field, particularly in the Senior division, for just its second year. The 54-hole tournament, to be played Feb. 15-17, returns to TPC Tampa Bay in Lutz, Florida, with three of the top five players in the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings.
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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.
While defending champion Bob Royak isn’t in the field, the man who narrowly lost to Royak in extra holes is returning: Bryan Hoops. The Arizona resident is coming off a dominant year in senior amateur golf. He made it to the third round of match play at the U.S. Senior Amateur, was third at the Canadian Men’s Senior and second at the Golfweek Senior Desert Showdown to wind down 2025.
TPC Tampa Bay
Several recent winners and contenders in major senior events will tee it up, too, including Jerry Gunthorpe, winner of the Senior Desert Showdown just three months ago.
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Todd Doss, recent winner of the Society of Seniors Jack Hesler after a 2025 packed with competitive starts, is another player to watch. Doss, from Louisiana, finished sixth at this event last year.
Trent Gregory, winner of the prestigious Golfweek Senior National Championship in 2024, is in the field and so is Gregory Seelinger, the 2024 Golfweek Senior Tournament of Champions winner.
Also keep an eye on Joe Alfieri, a Florida resident with a big in-state resume – he won the Florida Senior Amateur and the Florida Senior Azalea Amateur in 2025 – as well as plenty of national experience (an international – Alfieri played the British Senior Amateur last summer).
In the Super Senior division, Bob Beck, the top-ranked player in the Golfweek Senior National Amateur Rankings for his division, will play and so will Richard Kerper, who last month defended his title at the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic.
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Similarly, Terry Tyson, who is atop the Golfweek Senior National Amateur Rankings for the Legends division, highlights his age group along with reigning Player of the Year Greg Osborne.
Perhaps most interesting in the Super Legend division is the Virginia Tech connection. Among the four players in the field are three former Hokies: Bill Engel, John Osborne and Sam Robinson.
Despite the short Mid-Master field, that growing division is also worth keeping an eye on as it features Haymes Snedeker, the older brother of PGA Tour player Brandt Snedeker.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek Pirates’ Cup: Top senior amateur golfers compete in Florida
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