2026 PA Senior Open Round 2 Recap

PRESTO, Pa. – It might seem like tradition at this point to have the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s (PAGA) Senior Open be decided by drama late in the final round, and the 6^th edition of the Championship, held at The Club at Nevillewood on Tuesday afternoon, certainly followed that trend. A playoff between Jack Carrigan (Hartefeld National) and Kevin Shields (The Club at Nevillewood) went to Shields after his birdie on the very first playoff hole (to claim his second-ever PAGA Senior Open title), but how both players got to that point is a fascinating tale.

The pair both ended regulation at -5 after two-day totals of 139, and held off defending champion and hard-charging Rick Stimmel (Connoquenessing Country Club), who fired the lowest round of the tournament (a five-under 67) to finish at -4 for the week, one stroke back of the leaders. Erik Bertrand (Chartiers Country Club) and Terry Hatch (Royal Oaks) were the only other players under par, ending up at -3 and tied for fourth place.

For Carrigan, who was tied for the Championship lead after his three-under on Monday, the final round was about playing steady. He birdied four holes (7, 8, 12, and 15) and had another birdie opportunity on 18 that would have given him the win – only to have the five-footer lip the cup to force the eventual playoff after Shields sank his own six-foot birdie putt on 18 to tie things up at five-under.

“I hadn’t checked the leaderboard all day, but knew that I was at five-under and the closest was at four-under,” said Carrigan, who finished as the top amateur at this year’s Championship. “I didn’t know that it was Kevin (Shields), I thought that person was in the clubhouse, and then he goes and hits the birdie in front of me. But it was a wonderful threesome out there with Kevin and David (Brown). They were class acts and I had a great two days. The venue was unbelievable and I’d love to come back. I really enjoyed it.”

Shields, in contrast to Carrigan, knew exactly where he stood as the round began to wind down.

“I’m a leaderboard watcher so I noticed that no one was really running away with it,” said Shields, who totaled four birdies in his round. “After I birdied 11 I noticed that Terry (Hatch) was playing well, Rick Stimmel was playing well, and Jack was playing well, so I was really looking for the next birdie and couldn’t get it until 18. I hit 17 greens but I didn’t drive the ball very well. I was a little defensive off the tee, just trying not to lose ground. But it was fun, it really was.”

The playoff hole was an adventure for Shields as well.

“I thought Jack’s ball chased up on the hillside left, so I just changed my whole attitude, thinking if I just get it in the fairway, I’ll be fine,” recalled Shields. “But that’s not how you make a swing. I just forgot to make a swing and ended up with 209 in and was lucky I didn’t have 3-wood, 3-wood into the hole. My 4-iron just worked out well, though.”

Shields stuck that 4-iron to four feet from the hole and made the birdie to seal his first-ever win at his home club (where he has worked on-and-off since 1993.)

“It’s a funny game,” said Shields. “I’ve never won a tournament here. We’ve had the State Open, the West Penn Open, section championships, and I used to play really well here. But the thing about playing a home course is it’s hard to slow things down. Your club’s already out of the bag because you know it so well, so it’s hard to put together a tournament round after you play so many casual rounds. I do know the place pretty well and I’m comfortable here. The last five years I haven’t been able to hit a tee ball here so it’s been a lot of 3-woods. I played a little safe for my liking but it worked out. I’m very happy, because I always wanted to win one thing here.”

Next up on the PAGA schedule is the 36^th Men’s and 6^th Women’s Four-Ball Championship, taking place on June 1^st and 2^nd at Moselem Springs Golf Club.

The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of The Club at Nevillewood for the hospitality shown during this week’s Championship. Additional thanks go to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event as the title sponsor of the PAGA.