At 10:35 a.m., Bob Sowards parred the 18th hole at The Concession Golf Club, his work done at the Senior PGA Championship.
It took Sowards just three hours to shoot 2-under 70 in Sunday’s final round. He thought he would play by himself because the PGA of America’s premier senior event had an odd number make the cut, but instead was paired with North Florida PGA Section Honorary President Kevin Paschall.
LEADERBOARD: Check out all scores at The Concession
“I don’t think I’ve played as a single since maybe 1998 on the old Nike Tour,” said Sowards, PGA Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio. “I didn’t know I was playing with Kevin until 10 minutes before my tee time, but he was great. He tried his best to stay out of my way.”
Going off first on the weekend is a double-edged sword: It means you’re not in contention, but you also have a chance to play well because the greens are pure, usually the wind is down and there’s no pace-of-play issues.
Sowards birdied two of his first four holes and played steady the rest of the round. His distance control was better than the first three rounds.
“I hit the irons a lot better,” Sowards said. “I put a new set of irons in the bag, new shafts, and I was hitting them so far the first three days. I dialed in the distance instead of knocking it over every green, and so for next week’s PGA Professional Championship (at Bandon Dunes), I'm gonna go back to my steel shafts.”
The 57-year-old Sowards, who has won the Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year Award five times, has made the cut each of the seven times he has played in the Senior PGA Championship. He has been the Low PGA of America Golf Professional twice, including last year.
The stage is set. Today, we crown a Senior PGA Champion at The Concession. #SrPGAChamp pic.twitter.com/lOgfwFIN2L
— Senior PGA Champ (@seniorpgachamp) April 19, 2026
Sowards’ advice for the leaders who are expected to play in more difficult conditions later Sunday was to be conservative.
“This course is gonna play brutal this afternoon, if the wind blows 20-25 (mph) like it's supposed to,” he said. “Try to hit the middle of greens and make pars. Pars are gonna be golden out there today.
“The finish … 15, 16 and 18, you can make big numbers on those three. And you can make birdie or eagle on 17, though it’s playing into the wind. It will be an interesting finish.”
12th tee moved back: After making the 12th hole a drivable par-4 Saturday, PGA of America officials moved the tee back to 352 yards Sunday.
The hole played to a 3.75 average Saturday after it played at 3.92 the first two rounds. There were three eagles Saturday when it played 265 yards.
