The calendar may have flipped to a new year, but on the senior amateur golf circuit, the leaderboard looks comfortingly familiar. The Golfweek Player of the Year Classic teed off Friday at Omni Orlando Resort, and many of the names that dominated 2025 are right back in the hunt as 2026 gets underway.
Let’s start with a bit of history still in motion. Last year, Greg Osborne and John Osborne became the first brothers to finish atop their respective age divisions-Legend and Super Legend-in the Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings.
That’s a milestone in itself, but the Osbornes aren't resting on past accolades. Both are back in action this week in Orlando, and both are right in the thick of things after Round 1.
Greg Osborne turned in a 1-over 73 on a chilly Florida day-conditions that made scoring a bit tricky. That puts the Lititz, Pennsylvania, native just two shots behind Legend division leader Terry Tyson.
Tyson, from Perrysburg, Ohio, looked sharp early. He started on the back nine and made the turn at 2 under, but the front nine proved more challenging with bogeys at 1, 2, and 6.
He still finished with a solid 1-under 71 to take the early lead.
In the Super Legend division, John Osborne finds himself in a more crowded chase. Two players-defending POY Classic champ Don Donatoni of West Chester, Pennsylvania, and Jack Marin of Durham, North Carolina-share the top spot at 1 under.
Just behind them, two players are sitting at 3 over, followed by Osborne, who carded a 4-over round to land in a three-way tie for fifth. It’s tight at the top, and one solid round could shift the entire dynamic heading into the weekend.
Over in the Super Senior division, the storyline shifts slightly. Greg Goode, the 2025 Player of the Year, is out of the field recovering from hip surgery.
But Marcus Beck is making sure the top of the leaderboard still has a familiar face. Beck, from Tallahassee, Florida, was the top Super Senior in 2023, and he’s wasting no time putting himself in position again.
His 1-under 71 gave him a two-shot cushion over both Scott Ray of Central City, Kentucky, and Richard Kerper of Oldsmar, Florida. Kerper, for what it’s worth, won this event last year-so this is shaping up to be a battle between two players who know exactly what it takes to win here.
And then there’s the Senior division, which is absolutely stacked. Eight players are at even par or better, and leading the charge is Danny Nelson of Savannah, Georgia, who posted a blistering 5-under 67.
What makes that round even more impressive is how it started-bogeys on holes 1 and 3. But Nelson bounced back in a big way, pouring in seven birdies the rest of the way to seize control of the division.
Nelson’s no stranger to the big stage. He was runner-up at last year’s British Senior Amateur and made match play at the U.S.
Senior Amateur later in the summer. His closest challenger after Round 1 is Dave Bunker of Ontario, Canada, who’s already got a win under his belt this year at the Plantation’s Senior Invitational.
Bunker had a strong 2025 season as well, including a deep run at the British Senior and solid showings in both Canadian and U.S. events.
With a leaderboard full of proven names and emerging contenders, the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic is off to a compelling start. The conditions may be cool, but the competition is already heating up.