If there is such a thing as a sprint to the finish in golf, then Bev Hargraves is living it this week at PGA National. Hargraves, the 73-year-old from Little Rock, Arkansas, set a goal at the beginning of the year to secure Golfweek Player of the Year honors in the Legends division. It is a quest that has been 49 weeks in the making, and Hargraves was not about to take his foot off the gas in the home stretch.
Entering the Golfweek Tournament of Champions, Hargraves led the POY points race by 1,610 points. Shortly before the tournament began, he started radiation treatment for prostate cancer. But this week, Hargraves suspended that treatment so that he could travel to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for one final event.
Scores: Golfweek Tournament of Champions
Hargraves hasn’t run all the possible scenarios, he just felt that he needed to be here this week to finish off his quest. So far, he’s off to a good start. Hargraves arrived back at his hotel room after the first round on Friday afternoon unsure where he stood on the leaderboard. Turns out, an even-par 72 gave him a three-shot lead on Don Donatoni of West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Donatoni, second in the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings, is the most likely man to overtake Hargraves for POY honors.
“Main reason is to try to reach my goal of securing player of the year because if I hadn’t played and I don’t finish in the top 3 or so and Don wins the tournament, then I think he wins, depending on where I fall as far as this tournament is concerned,” Hargraves said. “…I just wanted to come down and try to do my best.”
Hargraves said that since he hasn’t been in treatment very long, he hasn’t noticed much effect other than periodic cold sweats and losing some of his strength.
“I haven’t played much lately because our weather has not been conducive to playing in Arkansas,” he said. “I had no idea how I might shoot. Today, overall, I hit the ball pretty good. Had a couple of disappointing wedge shots into the green where I missed into the green, but I putted great today. I missed one little two-and-a-half, three-footer but besides that, I think I made everything inside 10 feet and then a couple outside of that.”
Hargraves estimates he had 28 putts on Friday, including a 15-footer he made for birdie on the par-4 ninth, his closing hole.
With a shifting wind of 15-20 mph, only one man broke par on Friday at PGA National’s Fazio Course: Kevin VandenBerg.
VandenBerg, who has an insurmountable lead in the Senior division POY race, started on No. 10 and played the back nine in 2 under. Despite bogeys on Nos. 1 and 4, both par 5s, VandenBerg, of Pulaski, New York, managed to remain under par and take a one-shot lead with a final birdie on No. 8.
He leads Jim Doing, of Verona, Wisconsin, who was even.
Tommy Smith of Miami and Todd Doss of Mandeville, Louisiana, both posted rounds of 1-over 73 to land in a tie for third.
In the Super Senior division, Bryan Rodgers of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Marcus Beck of Tallahassee, Florida, are tied for the lead at 2 over. Interestingly, Greg Goode, currently leading the POY race in his division, is tied for third at 4 over.
Goode, of Salina, Kansas, has only a narrow advantage on James Starnes of Ft. Myers, in the Super Senior POY race. Starnes opened with 7-over 79 and sits in a tie for eighth.
Frank Polizzi, of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, leads the Super Legends division by two shots after a 73.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: At Golfweek TOC, Bev Hargraves takes no-excuses approach to finishing off a year-long goal
