In senior amateur golf, the new year begins with a nod to the top players from the one that has just ended. That said, not much has changed with the flip of the calendar. Many of the top points-getters from 2025 are hovering near the top of their respective age-division leaderboards after Friday’s first round of the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic.
Take the Legend and Super Legends divisions, for example. Last year ended with a historic feat as Greg Osborne (Legend) and John Osborne (Super Legend) became the first set of brothers in history to finish atop their respective age division in the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings. Both Osbornes are teeing it up this week at Omni Orlando (Florida) Resort and both are within sight of the lead.
Greg is only two shots from the top of the Legend division after a 1-over 73 on a frigid Florida winter day. The Lititz, Pennsylvania, resident trails leader Terry Tyson of Perrysburg, Ohio, by two shots.
Tyson, who started on No. 10 and was 2 under at the turn, might have built a bigger margin but for a tough start to his second nine. He bogeyed Nos. 1, 2 and 6 and ended his day with 1-under 71.
In the Super Legend division, John Osborne is certainly in sight of the top of the leaderboard, but it’s more crowded. Two men – defending POY Classic champion Don Donatoni of West Chester, Pennsylvania, and Jack Marin of Durham, North Carolina – share the lead at 1 under. Two more players are at 3 over before Osborne checks in at 4 over, part of a three-way tie for fifth.
In some ways, very little has also changed in the Super Senior division. The 2025 Player of the Year Greg Goode may be sidelined after hip surgery, but perennial Super Senior contender Marcus Beck of Tallahassee, Florida, is in a very familiar position at the top of the leaderboard. Beck was the top player in this division in 2023. On Friday, he fired a 1-under 71 at Omni and has a two-shot lead on Scott Ray of Central City, Kentucky, and Richard Kerper of Oldsmar, Florida.
Kerper won his division in this event a year ago.
As for a deep Senior division, the top eight players on the leaderboard are at even par or better. Danny Nelson of Savannah, Georgia, tops that list after a 5-under 67. Nelson opened his day with bogeys at Nos. 1 and 3 then rattled off seven birdies throughout the rest of his round.
Notably, Nelson was runner-up at last year’s British Senior Amateur and made match play later in the summer at the U.S. Senior Amateur. At Omni, he leads Dave Bunker, who already has a win this year at the Plantation’s Senior Invitational. Bunker, of Ontario, Canada, is another seasoned international player, having made a deep run at the British Senior last summer in addition to faring well in several Canadian and U.S. senior events.
Tony Wise, of Georgetown, Kentucky, is tied for second with Nelson.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek Player of the Year Classic kicks off senior amateur season
