Bisconti, Holmes Share Senior PGA Professional Championship Lead After First Round

Greg Bisconti and Steve Holmes jumped out to exactly the strong starts they envisioned in Thursday’s opening round of the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship.

Bisconti (South Salem, NY) registered a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 on Sunriver Resort’s Woodlands course while Holmes (Simi Valley, Calif.) recorded a flawless 6-under-par 65 on the Meadows course to share a one-stroke lead following the first round.

Robert Russell (Stilwell, Kansas) and Sean McCarty (Solon, Iowa) are T-3 at 5-under. Three players are two shots back at T-5: Jeff Gove (Sandpoint, Idaho), Eric Chiles (Excelsior, Minn.) and Chris Tidland (Stillwater, Okla.). Six additional players are tied for eighth at 3-under.

Bisconti, the PGA Head Golf Professional at The Saint Andrews Golf Club, began his morning on the back nine of the Woodlands course. He birdied the par-5 10th, par-4 13th and par-5 15th en route to a front-nine 33.

After making the turn, Bisconti recorded back-to-back birdies on holes 1-2, followed by a pivotal par save at the par-4 fourth.

“When you’re playing a round like that you really want to try to keep a clean scorecard so getting that up and down from the bunker felt good,” said Bisconti. “It propelled me to finish strong.”

Bisconti capped off a memorable first round with his sixth and final birdie at the par-5 6th hole.

“It’s huge,” said Bisconti. “I wasn’t trying to go out and shoot six under. When you shoot rounds like that it just kind of happens. I was really trying to play smart, trying to keep it in play, trying to navigate the cold weather, the elevation and the altitude changes. There’s a lot of thinking going on out there, maybe all of that kept me in the moment.”

Holmes, a PGA Teaching Professional at Rustic Canyon Golf Course, collected pars on the Meadows’ course first three holes before beginning a climb toward the top of the leaderboard. He birdied the par-3 fourth and par-4 seventh and made the turn at 2-under-par 33.

Another birdie at the par-4 11th was followed by a pair of clutch, uphill par putts on the par-3 13th and par-4 15th holes to remain bogey-free.

“I had a couple good par putts that kept the round going where I hit the green, but maybe just misread the speed a little bit and made some really good par saves,” said Holmes. “Anytime you shoot a good round like that there are always a couple spots where you can screw it up. On the good days you make them. On the bad days you miss them.”

Holmes’ back-nine surge continued with a birdie at the par-3 16th and an eagle on the par-5 17th hole, where he hit a perfect hybrid and drained the 14-foot putt.

Holmes, who won the 2024 Southern California PGA Senior Section Championship in July, hopes to build on his strong opening round.

“I played really solid,” said Holmes. “It’s more of the same. You keep trying to do what you’re doing. I’ve been playing really well so I’m not really too surprised that I played well today.”

Defending champion Bob Sowards, PGA Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio, is T-14 after recording a 2-under 69 on the Meadows course.

In addition to the Leo Fraser Trophy, named after the 16th president of the PGA of America, players are competing for a $335,000 purse, including the winner’s share of $27,000.

The top 35 finishers will earn a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team to compete in the 2025 Senior PGA Championship on the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, May 19-25.

The 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship continues tomorrow on Sunriver Resort’s Meadows and Woodlands courses before a cut to the low 90 scorers and ties. Following Saturday’s round, a second cut will be made to the low 70 scorers and ties. The third and final rounds will be played exclusively on the Meadows course.

For more about the Senior PGA Professional Championship, visit here.