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The Amateur Players Tour kicked off its 2026 Major Season with a new venue – the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA. The historic Omni property, founded in 1766, has its claim to fame as the oldest resort in the United States. 24 US Presidents have stayed on site at the resort, including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, with the resort being known for its natural mineral hot springs. At the resort features the Old Course, designed by Willie Dunn and later renovated by Donald Ross and William Flynn, challenged APT members with a beautiful classic and fun layout featuring 6 par 5’s and 6 par 3’s winding through the mountainous terrain. The Cascades course was built in 1923 by William Flynn (who was the architect for Shinnecock Hills and Cherry Hills) and is a championship masterpiece that has hosted everything from the Curtis Cup, to the NCAA Championships and 8 USGA Championships with the US Senior Women’s Amateur Championship being hosted there this past month. 76 players were welcomed with some great fall weather to kick off the 2026 season on two historic championship courses.
In Division 1, 36 holes would not be enough to decide the champions as Will Morgan and John Masotti finished tied at 8 over par after the 36-hole event. Morgan jumped out to an early lead with an impressive 1-under par performance at the Old Course, but Masotti rebounded in Tuesday’s final round with a gutsy final-round performance to force a sudden death playoff, which would start on the tricky first hole at the Cascades course. Will Morgan was up to the task, striking two superb shots and setting up a birdie to win the first major of 2026 in style and defeat the runner-up to the 2025 Worldwide Golf National Player of the Year race John Masotti. Both players with their performance earned an exemption into this years North American Championship at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ. Anthony Stephenson (Carolina Triad) shot an impressive final round 2-under 69 to move all the way to 3rd place with the round of the day.
In Division 2, Paul Hess (Central Pennsylvania) jumped out to the early lead with a 3-over par 75, chased closely by Chris Denz (Virginia Capital – 78) and Christian Alderucci (Virginia Capital – 80). Back spasms would cause Hess, who has been a juggernaut at APT Majors to withdraw, and Alderucci would make the most of the opportunity. Alderucci shot a final round 77, to earn a 5-shot victory over Chris Denz, who shot a final round 84 to finish in the runner-up position. The win for Alderucci was his first major victory in Division 2, marking an important milestone after earning a promotion from Division 3 last year. In 3rd place was Mark Ballew (Myrtle Beach) at +22, edging out J Combs (Carolina Triad) who finished at +23.
In Division 3, Harry Jones (Virginia Capital) made the most of his inaugural trip to the homestead by firing an 80 that gave him a 3 shot lead heading into Tuesday’s final round. The 2022 Senior North American Champion was chased closely by some formidable challengers, including John Friedman (Central Pennsylvania), Warren Hackler (Carolina Triad) and Freddie Coffey (Charlotte). Tuesday’s final round at the Cascades would belong to Warren Hackler (Carolina Triad), who shot a final round 79 to return the the Universal Retirement Winners Circle. Hackler’s score of +20 was good enough for a 4-shot victory over Daniel Shelbo (Myrtle Beach) and John Friedman (Central Pennsylvania). 4th place went to Virginia Capital’s Harry Jones at +25, while Chuck Nimmo (Virginia Capital) and Rick Knepp (Central Pennsylvania) finished at +26.
In Division 4, John Moyle (Portland) set the early pace with an opening round 87, leading Dave Draucker (St. Louis) and James Sims (Maryland) by 1 heading into the final round at the Cascades course. However, the final round belonged to Joey Fyall II (Carolina Triad), who used his experience at mountain courses to his advantage by firing an 86 to earn a 2-shot victory over Roger Morito, who made the trip down from Canada to kick off the season. Third place went to John Moyle who finished the event 3 shots off the pace at +35. 4th place went to Dave Draucker and James Sims at +41, while Bill Favinger (Central Pennsylvania) took home 6-th place honors at +42.
In Division 5, Arthur Miller Jr. (Memphis) jumped out to the early lead with a 97 with the field staying crowded and stacked heading into Tuesday’s final round. Reigning Senior North American Champion Paul Taylor (New Jersey/Philadelphia) put together a final round 91 to erase a 3-shot deficit and turn it into a 4-shot victory at +48 over Kyle Crain (Central Pennsylvania) and Arthur Miller Jr., who both finished at +52.
In the Mid-Am Net, Joey Fyall (Carolina Triad) finished off an impressive performance with a net 1-under par final round to finish at +3 and earn a 6-shot victory over Division 1 Champion Will Morgan, who finished in 2nd at +9. 3rd place honors went to Garrett Wilson (Kansas City) at +10, while Matt Minder (St. Louis) finished in 4th at +13.
In the Senior Net competition, Roger Morito and Chuck Nimmo finished the 36-hole event tied at +5. Nimmo won the scorecard playoff for 1st, while points and purse were split between the two top-finishers. Christian Alderucci and Rick Knepp finished in a tie for 3rd place at +7, while Chris Denz and James Sims finished in a tie for 5th at +8. Daniel Shelbo and John Friedman finished in a tie for 7th at +9, while Jeff Helms (Charlotte), Harry Jones, and John Moyle rounded out the top 10 with finishes at +10.
