2026 PA Senior Open Preview

PAGA Senior Open set for Nevillewood

Five years. Five different winners. The Pennsylvania Golf Association’s (PAGA) Senior Open Championship doesn’t have a long history, having been established in 2021, but it absolutely has been competitive. The sixth edition of the event has the depth and strength of field in both the professional and amateur divisions to continue the trend. The two-day, 36-hole state championship will be held May 11-12 at The Club at Nevillewood in Presto, Pa. presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

For the first time in the event’s history an amateur won the title in 2025 as highly-decorated Rick Stimmel (Connoquenessing Country Club) was the lone player after two rounds under par at -1 at Gulph Mills Golf Club. Stimmel birdied the 17^th and 18^th holes on the final day to capture the crown in windy and rainy conditions. Five players, including professionals Kevin Kraft (2^nd Swing Golf), Mark Sheftic (Sunnybrook Golf Club) and Brian Cooper (Golf Galaxy), and two amateurs, Arnie Cutrell (Greensburg Country Club) and Neil Gorden (Doylestown Country Club) all finished a stroke back at even par. Every one of those players returns for a shot at the title this week.

Past champions in the field in addition to Kraft, who won the 2024 title at Sewickley Heights Country Club, also by one shot at -1 over three players at even par, returns to try to become the first player to “repeat” as Senior Open state champion. He finished just ahead of John Pillar, Sr. (Woodloch Springs Country Club), the initial winner of the crown in 2021, Kevin Shields, of this year’s host institution, who finished on top in 2023, and another top amateur, Jeff Frazier (Carlisle Country Club). Also in the field at Nevillewood, is 2023 champion Rich Steinmetz (Springford Country Club).

The depth of talent in the field is obvious and the competitiveness displayed in the first five events. In 2021 Pillar was the lone player under par at -3 and won by four shots at Lehigh Country. That “rout” aside it has been ‘game on’ since with Shields winning by a stroke at Valley Brook Country Club by one over professional Brian Kelly (Titlelist Fit Crew) in 2022, Steinmetz defeating Kraft in a playoff at Williamsport Country Club in 2023 and Kraft, again the lone player under par, winning by a stroke over Frazier, Pillar and Shields at Sewickley Heights Country Club.

Now, let’s glance at the rest of a very….very deep field. Of course, there’s Stimmel, already a winner in a Pa. Golf event this year. He won the season-opening George Dressler Memorial senior title by seven shots and is the PAGA and Western Pennsylvania Golf Association (WPGA) and PAGA Senior Player of the Year three years in a row. Add in Frazier, who has won three of the last four Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) Senior Player of the Year awards, and already has a GAP senior Francis B. Warner Cup title under his belt in 2026.

Chris Fieger, Sr. (Heidelberg Country Club), is a three-time GAP Senior Amateur champion, last winning in 2024, Paul Rogowicz (Yardley Country Club) was the GAP Player of the Year in 2020 and Glenn Smeraglio (LuLu Country Club) won that honor in 2017. In addition, there are many players with PAGA, WPGA and GAP wins under their belts in addition to success at the USGA national championship level. Any way you look at it the challengers for the professional and amateur titles could come from any direction.

The Club at Nevillewood is a championship-worthy venue as, most recently, it has hosted the Pennsylvania Senior Amateur in 2008  won by Roc Irey and 2023 won by Rick Stimmel, the 2013 Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur Championship, captured by Hannastown Golf Club’s Sean Knapp, and the 2016 Pennsylvania Open, won by Robert Rohanna (Nemacolin Woodlands Country Club).