Phillips, Fleming, Van Pelt, Verplank, Ridings, Gogel, Hamilton begin chase of Senior PGA Championship

Richard Bland will be the defending champion when the Senior PGA Championship begins Thursday at at Congressional Country Club’s venerable Blue Course for the first time, outside the nation’s capital in Bethesda, Maryland. Aside from gathering the best players in the world, Congressional now will have hosted the PGA of America’s three biggest tournaments – the PGA Championship, KMPG Women’s PGA Championship and Senior PGA Championship.

This event will have quite an Oklahoma connection. Making their Senior PGA Championship debuts are Tulsan Bo Van Pelt and former Tulsan Tag Ridings, both of whom turned 50 in the past year. Local PGA of America club professionals in the field are Tracy Phillips of Tulsa and Tim Fleming of Oklahoma City.

Matt Gogel, a former high school state champion at Bishop Kelly and the 1990 OGA State Amateur Champion, is in the field, as is Norman resident, former OU great and 2004 British Open champion Todd Hamilton.

Scott Verplank, who along with Willlie Wood is the last of the original Oak Tree Gang to still compete, is in the field.

Phillips was the low PGA Professional and tied for 17th overall in this event in 2022 and also made the cut in 2023, 2024 and 2014 and missed the cut in 2015.

Van Pelt turned 50 on May 16. He has played consistently on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour over the past several seasons without great success but has been gearing his game toward his Champion Tour debut.

Ridings, who turned 50 last September, finished second in The Galleria Classic in late March for his best finish in four senior events thus far.