After a stretch of three years where the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s W.C. Fownes, Jr. Amateur Player of the Year honor was decided by less than 15 points in the overall standings, 2024 was the complete opposite: Talamore Country Club’s Patrick Sheehan led the standings by a whopping 365 points to earn this year’s award. Sheehan, a graduate of Penn State University where he was a member of the Nittany Lions’ golf team, took home two PAGA titles last summer – the 21st R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship and the 111st PA Amateur Championship – to become the 2024 Amateur Player of the Year. “It definitely means a lot and it was something I knew during the year I was close to,” said Sheehan. “In 2021 I think I was leading the points but then I qualified for the USGA Amateur and couldn’t play in the PA Open so that definitely stung a little bit. The award is always something I wanted to win, just because I think it really shows that you had consistency all summer over the big events.” In a Sigel Match Play Championship field stacked with previous winners and other top talent, Sheehan was third on the leaderboard after 36 holes of stroke play on the first day and bested Colin Smith (5&4), Chuck Tragesser (7&6), Nicholas Turowski (3&2), and Peyton Mussina (4&3) over the next two days. In the PA Amateur, Sheehan shot a three-under 67 in round one and never relinquished the lead, following it up with a pair of even-par 70’s to win the tournament by four strokes. His summer also included an impressive run to the round of 32 in the 2024 USGA Amateur. “I felt like my game was in a really good spot and I wanted to focus on golf as much as I could,” said Sheehan. “I’ve always wanted to play professional golf and I kind of knew that was going to be coming at the end of the summer so I really wanted to play well in the amateur events that might be my last time playing in them. I think it almost freed me up in a way to where I could go into those events just looking to have fun and enjoy playing with some of the guys for maybe the last time in competition.” A familiar face was once again atop the 2024 Senior Player of the Year standings, with Connoquenessing Country Club’s Rick Stimmel earning the honor for the second consecutive year and third time in his career. Stimmel accrued 890 points (265 better than second place) thanks in part to a win in the PAGA Senior Match Play Championship, a runner-up finish at the 83rd George Dressler Memorial Championship, and a third-place finish at the 4th Senior Open Championship. Stimmel’s 2024 schedule included a slew of both local and national events, and for a time was ranked the No. 1 senior amateur golfer in the world in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). “The last couple of years, I just felt like I could compete enough on a higher level,” said Stimmel. “It’s been kind of a bucket list kind of thing to see how far I can get, and hitting No. 1 was great. Now I think I’ve dropped down lower in the top 10. To grab those world ranking points, you have to play three-day events (like PAGA match play), so I have to try to chase those around if I want to maintain my ranking and earn exemptions into USGA events.” Stimmel’s ability to follow up what was a historically successful 2023 year (11 wins and five runner-up finishes) with sustained success in 2024 is a testament to his ability, consistency, and positive outlook. “I don’t think I putted as well as I did last year, but it all comes down to if you can still manage to stay in halfway decent shape,” stated Stimmell. “I think in senior golf you have a small window from 55 to maybe 60-ish to where you feel that you can be pretty competitive. The worst thing about it is every year there’s a new 55-year old that pops up that you have to compete with!” Rick doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon. He traveled back to Florida this December to defend titles in two tournaments (coming up just one stroke shy in the Dixie Senior Amateur Champ to finish in second along with a fifth-place mark in the 41st Ralph Bogart Tournament) and has plenty more left in the tank for 2025. “Next year I’ll play the same schedule of local events as I did last year and then if I’m playing really well and can take a couple more extra days off work I might chase around a couple other ones,” assured Stimmel. “I’m getting older, but what else am I supposed to do – sit at home and watch Judge Judy? We’ll see how it all unfolds.” In the Super Senior Division, Brian Rothaus from Five Ponds Golf Club made it a three-peat as Player of the Year. His 550 points were enough to eeke out the award over Don Donatoni’s 462.5. Rothaus’ summer included a win in the 20th Art Wall Jr. Memorial, a runner-up finish in the PAGA Senior Amateur, a third-place at the George Dressler Memorial, and a spot in the Super-Senior Match Play semifinals. |