Goode played 16 events in 2025, won three of them and finished runner-up four times. More telling, he finished in the top 5 11 times.<\/p>\n
Better accuracy off the tee was a difference maker for Goode, who took note of what his competitors \u2013 like perennial Super Senior contenders Starnes and Marcus Beck \u2013 were doing. They rarely missed the fairway. But Goode also relays an observation from his wife, Barb, about his game: He scrambles.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife has watched me play a lot and she goes, \u2018You know, you get up and down from places, I just think you\u2019re out of the hole and you just seem to do it over and over again,\u2019\u201d Goode said.<\/p>\n
Goode\u2019s longtime coach Randy Syring, now retired, also gave him a piece of advice that he took to heart. In any three-round tournament, you can expect to play well once, play average once and play poorly once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to do well in the poor round, you have to keep a positive mental attitude,\u201d Goode said. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to get up and down from the ball washer, you have to maintain a positive mental attitude to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goode may be on the sidelines at Omni when the POY Classic is played Jan. 16-18, but all four divisions of the tournament will be deep with talent. In Goode\u2019s absence, keep an eye on Beck, the 2023 Player of the Year in this division, plus defending champion Richard Kerper in the Super Senior division.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the Senior division, Kevin VandenBerg tops the players-to-watch conversation. VandenBerg, of Syracuse, New York, is coming off his third consecutive year winning Player of the Year honors in the Senior division. After winning that award in 2024, VandenBerg turned around and won the 2025 POY Classic title by a shot over Todd Doss, who is also returning to the field.<\/p>\n
VandenBerg already won the Aileron Senior Amateur, played at Aileron Golf Club in Lake Suzy, Florida, on Jan. 9, and maintains the top spot in Golfweek\u2019s National Senior Amateur Rankings to start the year.<\/p>\n
Other notable players include Jerry Gunthorpe, recent winner of the Golfweek Desert Showdown, and Michael McCoy, winner of the 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur, who will also collect the Yancey Ford Award this week for contributions to senior amateur golf.<\/p>\n
The Legends and Super Legends division will both feature a Player of the Year in one of the most unique stories since Golfweek began giving the awards. Greg Osborne (Legends) and John Osborne (Super Legends) became the first set of brothers to finish atop their respective divisions last month and both will travel to Orlando to open the season.<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/76315920007-87-778496583.jpeg\")