Most of the biggest names in senior tour golf will be on hand when Colorado Golf Club hosts the 2010 Senior PGA Championship in May, but for many other would-be contestants, the road to Parker goes through Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Thirty-five qualifiers for the Senior PGA will be determined this week at the Senior PGA Professional National Championship in Port St. Lucie. That event, which primarily features club professionals, will be especially important for the nine members of the Colorado Section of the PGA who will be competing Thursday through Sunday.
The 264-person field for the Florida tournament includes the following Coloradans: Bill Loeffler of Castle Rock (pictured), Ron Vlosich of Lakewood, Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West, Dave Arbuckle of Colorado Springs, Barry Jennings of Longmont, Erroll Miller of Breckenridge, Doug Perry of Fort Collins, Tom Woodard of Denver and Perry Holmes of Boulder, winner of the 2008 Colorado PGA Professional Championship.
Qualifying for the first major championship of the season on the Champions Tour is a big motivator any year, but to earn a spot in the Senior PGA the first time it’s played in the Centennial State would make it all the sweeter for those in the Colorado contingent.
Loeffler, who claimed the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open title last month, is certainly no stranger to the Senior PGA Professional National Championship, having won the tournament in 2007 and finishing 23rd last year. Vlosich, meanwhile, placed eighth at the 2008 tournament.
More importantly, Loeffler has played in the Senior PGA Championship the last two years, while Vlosich competed in 2009 and Arbuckle in 2008. All of them would love to make return trips May 27-30 at Colorado Golf Club by finishing in the top 35 this week in Florida.
The 2007 Senior PGA Professional National Championship is one of three national titles won by Loeffler, a former PGA Tour player. He also claimed the 1986 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 1992 PGA Assistant Championship.
All told, the Colorado golfers competing in Florida this week are some of the most accomplished tournament players in the Colorado PGA over the last two decades. Loeffler is a three-time Section champion, besides winning three Colorado Opens. Zaremba has won both the Colorado Open and Colorado Senior Open, plus two Section championships and one Senior Section title. Vlosich is a three-time winner of the Section championship, while Arbuckle has won three senior Section titles, including this year’s.
Besides sending its top 35 finishers to the Senior PGA Championship in Parker, this week’s tournament in Florida will offer a $285,000 purse, with $20,000 going to the winner. In addition, the top five finishers can receive spots in the finals of Champions Tour qualifying this fall.
This week’s field in Florida, which is limited to PGA professionals at least 50 years old, will be reduced to the low 70 players and ties after two rounds.
