The 85th Senior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, will feature the Corebridge Financial Team comprising 36 PGA of America Golf Professionals competing with the world’s best senior golfers.
Corebridge Financial has partnered with the PGA of America to sponsor the PGA of America Member teams in the Association’s three Major Championships: PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The three groups are recognized collectively as the Corebridge Financial Team.
“Our PGA of America Golf Professionals competing this week at Congressional Country Club are among the top competitors in our Association,” said PGA of America President Don Rea Jr., PGA Master Professional and Owner/Operator of Augusta Ranch Golf Club (Arizona). “Their dedication on the course in competition is equaled by their enthusiasm for their long-standing careers in the golf industry as expert coaches, operators and business leaders. We wish the best for our Corebridge Financial Team.”
Their dedication on the course in competition is equaled by their enthusiasm for their long-standing careers in the golf industry as expert coaches, operators and business leaders. We wish the best for our Corebridge Financial Team.
The Corebridge Financial Team at the Senior PGA Championship includes the top finishers at the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship, contested at Sunriver Resort last September in Sunriver, Oregon. Alan Morin, PGA Assistant Golf Professional at The Club at Ibis in West Palm Beach, Fla., headlines the team after winning the Senior PPC for the first time with a 14-under-par 271.
Morin, a member of the South Florida PGA Section, is set to compete in his fifth straight Senior PGA Championship. He has competed in eight Major Championships, including six PGA Championships (2002, ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘12, ’15) and the 1998 and ‘03 U.S. Opens.
Among other notables beginning play Thursday:
Brennan Little, PGA will make his Senior PGA Championship debut this week, but is no stranger to Major Championships. A professional caddie since 1999, and on the bag for Gary Woodland since 2016, Little has extensive experience caddying in Majors. Little guided Woodland to his 2019 U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach and Mike Weir to his Masters victory in 2003. After caddying for Woodland in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow last week, Little will go from the bag to the one hitting the shots this week at Congressional CC. Little, a Northern Texas PGA Section Member, has also caddied for Sean O’Hair and Camillo Villegas throughout his career.
Bob Sowards, PGA Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio, is also going from Quail Hollow Club to Congressional CC, coming off his 12th PGA Championship appearance last week, tying the record for most PGA Championship appearances by a PGA of America Golf Professional. This will be his sixth Senior PGA Championship, giving him 17 total appearances on a Corebridge Financial Team. Sowards made the cut in the Senior PGA Championship in 2024 at Harbor Shores. His best finish in the Senior PGA Championship came in 2021, finishing T-5 at Southern Hills Country Club.
Sean McCarty, PGA and Jeffrey Schmid, PGA will not only be representing the same facility, Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, Iowa, but also come into Congressional CC as fellow University of Iowa alumni. McCarty, the PGA Head Professional at Brown Deer GC since 2001, is making his second straight appearance in the Senior PGA Championship. Inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame in 2019, he has won more than 100 Iowa PGA Section events. McCarty competed for the Hawkeyes from 1992-95 and in 2016 became the first golfer inducted into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame. McCarty was introduced to the game at the age of three when his parents, Mike and Mary, bought a nine-hole golf course in West Branch, Iowa.
Schmid, the PGA Teaching Professional at Brown Deer GC since 2018, is making his fifth Senior PGA Championship appearance (2024, ‘23, ‘21, ‘19), having made the cut in ‘24 at Harbor Shores and ‘23 at PGA Frisco. Schmid competed for the Hawkeyes from 1987-90 and returned to the program for a stint as an Assistant Coach in 2017.
Frank Bensel, PGA Director of Instruction at Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, N.J., will compete in his third Senior PGA Championship following a T-23 finish in the 2024 Senior PPC. While competing in the 2024 U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club, Bensel made back-to-back holes-in-one, a first in the 130 years of the USGA’s championships history.
David Hutsell, PGA Lead Instructor at Baltimore Country Club, will compete in his third Senior PGA Championship in four years (2022, ‘24). Early in his career, Hutsell worked for the legendary Bill Strausbaugh at Columbia Country Club, eight miles from Congressional CC. Strausbaugh is the namesake of the Association’s award recognizing exceptional character, integrity and leadership through teaching and mentoring other PGA of America Golf Professionals. Hutsell was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in 2020 and has been cancer free since 2021. A Middle Atlantic PGA Section Member, the host PGA Section for the Championship, Hutsell will hit the opening tee shot Thursday at 7 a.m.
2025 Corebridge Financial Team
Frank Bensel (Jupiter, Fla.) - Galloway National Golf Club, Philadelphia PGA Section
Greg Bisconti (South Salem, N.Y.) - The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club, Metropolitan PGA Section
Eric Bogar (Houston, Texas) - Golfcrest Country Club, Southern Texas PGA Section
Tim Cantwell (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) - PGA National Golf Club, South Florida Section
Dave Carr (Marysville, Calif.) - Teal Bend Golf Club, Northern California PGA Section
Jim Carter (Scottsdale, Ariz.) - PGA Life Member, Southwest PGA Section
Paul Claxton (Claxton, Ga.) - Willow Lake Golf Club, Georgia PGA Section
Michael Crowley (Fox Point, Wis.) - Morningstar Golfers Club, Wisconsin PGA Section
Mike Fergin (Santa Ana, Calif.) - Mesa Verde Country Club, Southern California PGA Section
Tim Fleming (Oklahoma City, Okla.) - Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, South Central PGA Section
Judd Gibb (Fort Dodge, Iowa) - Hanson’s Custom Golf, Iowa PGA Section
Jeff Gove (Sandpoint, Idaho) - PGA Life Member, Pacific Northwest Section
Steve Holmes (Simi Valley, Calif.) - Rustic Canyon Golf Course, Southern California Section
Scott Hunter (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) - Wexford Golf Club, Carolinas PGA Section
David Hutsell (Lutherville, Md.) - Baltimore Country Club, Middle Atlantic PGA Section
Brennan Little (Plano, Texas) - PGA Tour Caddie, Northern Texas PGA Section
Mitch Lowe (Portland, Ore.) - Glendoveer Golf Course, Pacific Northwest PGA Section
Ryan Malby (Kalispell, Mont.) - PGA Life Member, Pacific Northwest PGA Section
Dick Mast (Forest, Va.) - PGA Life Member, Middle Atlantic PGA Section
Sean McCarty (Solon, Iowa) - Brown Deer Golf Club, Iowa PGA Section
Alan Morin (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) - The Club at Ibis, South Florida PGA Section
Birk Nelson (Eugene, Ore.) - Orange Whip Golf & Fitness, Pacific Northwest PGA Section
Rod Perry (Port Orange, Fla.) - Crane Lakes Golf & Country Club, North Florida PGA Section
Tracy Phillips (Tulsa, Okla.) - Cedar Ridge Country Club, South Central Section
"The greatest gift that I could give to any golfer is to understand that it's [golf] a tough game."
— PGA of America (@PGA) May 20, 2025
Action Plans presented by Corebridge Financial highlights the resiliency of Tracy Phillips, PGA.@seniorpgachamp | #SrPGAChamp pic.twitter.com/L8hAbtSSLQ
Robert Russell (Stilwell, Kansas) - Shamrock Hills Golf Club, Midwest PGA Section
Todd Sapere (Cobbtown, Ga.) - Ohoopee Match Club, Georgia PGA Section
Jeffrey Schmid (Iowa City, Iowa) - Brown Deer Golf Club, Iowa PGA Section
Steve Schneiter (Sandy, Utah) - Schneiter’s Pebblebrook, Utah PGA Section
Mick Smith (Summit, Wis.) - Mick Smith Golf, Wisconsin PGA Section
Bob Sowards (Dublin, Ohio) - Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club, Southern Ohio PGA Section
Derek Stendahl (Maple Grove, Minn.) - Rush Creek Golf Club, Minnesota PGA Section
Mike Stone (Perrysburg, Ohio) - Belmont Country Club, Northern Ohio PGA Section
Omar Uresti (Austin, Texas) - PGA Life Member, Southern Texas PGA Section
Brian Varsey (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) - Essex Fells Country Club, New Jersey PGA Section
Tom Walters (Cincinnati, Ohio) - Summit Hills Country Club, Kentucky Section
Tim Weinhart (Canton, Ga.) - Heritage Golf Links, Georgia PGA Section
This week, 36 PGA of America Golf Professionals are teeing it up at the @seniorpgachamp on the Corebridge Financial Team.
— PGA of America (@PGA) May 21, 2025
Learn more about each of them! ⬇️🧵 pic.twitter.com/MScGVK5tI6
The 85th Senior PGA Championship, golf’s most historic and prestigious senior Major Championship, will be contested May 22-25 at Congressional Country Club and broadcast on Golf Channel and NBC. Follow the action at srpgachampionship.com and @seniorpgachamp on Facebook, Instagram and X.
