SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Golf Channel Am Tour National Championship is underway. The National Championship and Senior National Championship features a combined 1,200-plus competitors who qualified on their local tours to compete for the annual national prize.
Making up the new course rotation is Talking Stick’s North and South courses, both Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designs set on Native American reservation land just east of downtown Scottsdale. Just up the road, Grayhawk Golf Club’s Talon and Raptor courses fill out the four-day event. Each of the six flights will contest one round on each course for a four-day total, and the right to be crowned a national champion.
GolfChannel.com is covering the event daily, so be sure to check back here for reports on the action.
Golf Channel Am Tour Senior National Championship
Championship, Snead flight champions: At Talking Stick, Larry Harper used the help of his son to win the Snead flight. Meanwhile, it took a two hole playoff between Bob Brooks and K.C. Fox to determine a winner in the Championship flight.
Sarazen, Hogan flight champions: The two deepest flights at the Golf Channel Am Tour Senior National Championships were the Hogan and Sarazen flights. The road was long, but two winners prevailed in different ways.
Palmer, Jones flight champions: Snowbirds won the day in the Jones and Palmer flights at the Golf Channel Am Tour Senior National Championship. Canadian Vince Lewis and Michigander Greg Harris were desert warriors and took home the crystal.
Day 4: Hilgers in Top 10 despite terminal illness: Wimberly’s John Hilgers has a rare form of terminal cancer that has eaten away at his spine, but that hasn’t stopped him from finding himself in Hogan flight contention after three days of competition.
Day 4: Can Fox break through? In the Championship flight, K.C. Fox has had a lot of close calls but has never taken home the crystal. He finds himself in the mix once again heading into the final round.
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Day 3: Fast times at Talking Stick: Despite a record number of participants, sub-four-hour rounds have been commonplace at Talking Stick North and South so far at Talking Stick, while Grayhawk has also kept up the pace, too.
Day 2: All for one and one for all: They call them the ‘Three Musketeers.’ Greg Harris, Eric Fox and Bob Houghton are a regular occurance at Am Tour Senior Nationals, and Harris finds himself in the lead on day one.
Day 2: The Big Year: Some golfers get the competitive bug more than others. In the Sr. Hogan flight, Wayne Spencer and Michael Feeny racked up a huge number of tournaments in 2013-14 on Am Tour.
Day 1: Feherty kicks off Senior Nationals: Playing both comedian and golf shrink, David Feherty served up players a little bit of everything during Sunday’s welcome reception at Talking Stick.
Golf Channel Am Tour National Championship
Round 4: Champions crowned in Palmer, Sarazen flights: The Golf Channel Am Tour National Championship culminated on Friday with winners in the Palmer and Sarazen flights. See how Chris Hincliff and Michael Bennie prevailed.
Round 4: Championship, Hogan flight winners: Paul Erdman and Jeff Blackwood prevailed victorious in their respective flights on Friday, but in very different fashion. Blackwood overcame a seemingly insurmountable lead in the final round.
Round 4: Jones, Snead flight winners take home Nationals hardware: Rich McDaniel got off to a rough start, but settled down after the first three holes, and Joe Moore used the support of his family, as both men won nabbed the first two titles in the 2014 Golf Channel Am Tour Championship in Scottsdale.
Round 3: Father-son bond: James Smith and son Jamie live 3,000 miles away and don’t get to see each other much, but thanks to a strong finish in the Duel in the Desert earlier this year on Am Tour, they find themselves both at Nationals.
Round 3: Erdman’s long road back: After three rounds, Paul Erdman leads the Championship flight. But it seems like yesterday he wasn’t even playing the game anymore after a string of injuries in his 20s.
Round 2: Golfin’ for a livin’: It’s a golfer’s dream: the chance to quit your job to go as low as you can on the course. One competitor at Nationals had the chance to do just that and is taking full advantage.
Round 2: Conover wins over the Am Tour field: Kody Conover has had a fine season on Am Tour: Five straight wins, rounds in the 70s and even moved up a flight. When you add in the fact he was born with Down Syndrome, it’s that much more remarkable.
Round 1: San Jose couple has the golf competition bug: Heather Taher and Rafael Rodriguez are competing in separate flights this week. They’ve found playing together has really improved their games.
Round 1: Players take to the course after record rainfall in Scottsdale: When preparing for desert golf in Arizona, you wouldn’t expect wet conditions to be a factor. But after an incredible storm last week, courses like Talking Stick are still drying out. Here’s how some players handled the adversity.
Opening Day: Jacobsen welcomes Am Tour finalists: The week has gotten off to a wet start with near-biblical flooding throughout the Valley of the Sun washing out most practice rounds. But the skies are clearing just in time for the first round of competition. Am Tour Nationals finalists kicked off the week with a welcome dinner, hosted by Peter Jacobsen, Charlie Beljan and Curt Byrum.
