Birdies third playoff hole to outlast defending champion Hicks
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GOLD CANYON, Ariz. – Warren Pineo (Reno, Nev.) birdied the third hole of a sudden death playoff against defending champion Justin Hicks to win the 2026 Senior PGA Professional Championship on Sunday at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club.
GOLD CANYON, AZ – OCTOBER 25: Kent Jones hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the 2026 Senior PGA Professional Championship at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club on Sunday, October 25, 2026 in Gold Canyon, Arizona. (Photo by Kelsey Grant/PGA of America)
The PGA Teaching Professional at Montreux Golf & Country Club registered a 5-under-par 67 to finish at 17-under-par 271 and lift the Leo Fraser Trophy for the first time.
“It’s kind of surreal,” said Pineo. “It’s such a special event for us to play in as PGA Professionals, but to actually win it with such a tough field and a really, really good golf course, two golf courses, feels really amazing. It was an outstanding competition.”
Hicks (Boca Raton, Fla.), the 54-hole leader, took second at 17-under-par 271 after a final-round 3-under-par 69. Chris Moody (Provo, Utah) and Jason Schmuhl finished T-3 at 14-under-par 274, while Todd Ormsby (Newnan, Ga.) and Kyle Dobbs (Scarsdale, N.Y.) tied for fifth with 11-under-par 277.
Pineo started his final round with momentum thanks to back-to-back birdies on holes 2-3. The 51-year-old went birdie-bogey-birdie on holes 5-7 to card a 3-under 33 on the front. A bogey on the par-5 10th was followed by a trio of birdies on holes 14-16 en route to a back-nine 2-under 34.
“The birdie I made on 15 was really crucial,” said Pineo. “It was a tough pin. It was tucked in the back right. We all hit really good shots right at the flag, and I had birdied the par 5 previously, then I rolled in a pretty good putt. Then on 16, I was 30 yards short of the green. I had about a 6-footer, broke a little left to right, and I made that one.”
Hicks, PGA Teaching Professional at Stonebridge Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., entered Sunday’s final round with a two-shot advantage. Following five consecutive pars, he tallied his lone front-nine birdie at the par-4 6th and made the turn at 1-under 35. The 51-year-old birdied the par-5 10th and added two more at the par-3 15th and par-5 16th. With a one-stroke advantage and two to play, Hicks took a costly bogey at the par-3 17th, dropping him into a tie with Pineo, who was one group ahead.
A par by Hicks at the par-4 18th extended the drama, forcing a sudden-death playoff. The Senior PPC’s first sudden death playoff since 2021 opened with both players trading pars in two trips down the 18th hole. On the second extra hole, Pineo rolled in a clutch eight-footer to save par after his tee shot strayed left into the desert.
“I knew that if I caught it clean coming out of the rocks that I could get it over the water and give myself a decent look at par,” said Pineo. “A good read and another good putt, and I made that. It was a big one.”
The playoff then moved to Lost Gold’s par-5 10th hole, where Pineo’s drive again found the desert left. The Northern California PGA Member never wavered, escaping trouble with a lay up to approximately 99 yards before hitting a lob wedge to 18 feet. While Hicks three-putted, Pineo holed his birdie putt to clinch the victory.
“It wasn’t one you make all the time, but I’ve been putting pretty well all week,” said Pineo. “I felt pretty confident that I could at least give it a good run. I made a decent little par save on the 2nd playoff hole to extend it. I was able to read the greens fairly well so I went ahead and gave it a little bit more pace than normal and it went in.”
With the victory, Pineo will headline the Corebridge Financial Team of 35 PGA of America Golf Professionals who will compete in the 2027 Senior PGA Championship April 15-18 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.
“It feels awesome,” said Pineo. “I played in it last year and I missed the cut on the number. I lipped out on the last hole to miss the cut and it hurt. I came back to this week knowing that my goal was to get back there. I would like to play Concession again because I felt like I have some unfinished business with that golf course and I’m really, really excited to get back there again.”
GOLD CANYON, AZ – OCTOBER 25: Paul Dickinson putts on the first hole during the final round of the 2026 Senior PGA Professional Championship at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club on Sunday, October 25, 2026 in Gold Canyon, Arizona. (Photo by Kelsey Grant/PGA of America)
Here is the complete list of 35 PGA of America Golf Professionals who earned a place on the Corebridge Financial Team for the 2027 Senior PGA Championship in their order of finish.
- Warren Pineo (Reno, Nev., Montreux Golf & Country Club, Northern California Section)
- Justin Hicks (Boca Raton, Fla., Stonebridge Country Club, South Florida Section)
- Chris Moody (Provo, Utah, Riverside Country Club, Utah Section)
- Jason Schmuhl (Windsor, Calif., Windsor Golf Club, Northern California Section)
- Todd Ormsby (Newnan, Ga., Sumner Grove Golf Club, Georgia Section)
- Kyle Dobbs (Scarsdale, N.Y., Fenway Golf Club, Metropolitan Section)
- Paul Scaletta (Jupiter, Fla., The Bear’s Club, South Florida Section)
- Dustin Volk (Layton, Utah, Valley View Golf Course, Utah Section)
- Tracy Phillips (Tulsa, Okla., Cedar Ridge Country Club, South Central Section)
- Chad Kurmel (Okemos, Mich., Michigan State University, Michigan Section)
- Todd Sapere (Cobbtown, Ga., Ohoopee Match Club, Georgia Section)
- Chad Sorensen (Taft, Calif., Buena Vista Golf Course, Southern California Section)
- Stuart Smith (Reno, Nev., Somersett Golf & Country Club, Northern California Section)
- Greg Boyette (Awendaw, S.C., Bulls Bay Golf Club, Carolinas Section)
- David Hutsell (Lutherville, Md., Baltimore Country Club, Middle Atlantic Section)
- Craig Hocknull (Queen Creek, Ariz., Westchester Country Club, Metropolitan Section)
- Scott Berliner (Lake Luzerne, N.Y., Glens Falls Country Club, Northeastern N.Y. Section)
- Tim Cantwell (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., PGA National Golf Club, South Florida Section)
- Jeffrey Schmid (Iowa City, Iowa, Brown Deer Golf Club, Iowa Section)
- Jake Reeves (Knoxville, Tenn., Fox Den Country Club, Tennessee Section)
- Darin Fisher (Albia, Iowa, William Penn University, Iowa Section)
- Rohan Allwood (Blythewood, S.C., Chester Golf Club, Carolinas Section)
- Kent Jones (Albuquerque, N.M., Sun Country Section)
- Grover Justice (Lexington, Ky., Bluegrass Golf Academy, Kentucky Section)
- John Nieporte (Boca Raton, Fla., Trump International Golf Club, South Florida Section)
- David Solomon (Alamo, Calif., Diablo Country Club, Northern California Section)
- Alan Sorensen (Bakersfield, Calif., Buena Vista Golf Course, Southern California Section)
- David Roesch (Menomonee Falls, Wis., Storm’s Golf Range, Wisconsin Section)
- Dean Vomacka (Tucson, Ariz., Omnit Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa, Southwest Section)
- Micah Rudosky (Cortez, Col., Conquistador Golf Course, Colorado Section)
- Todd Bailey (Spanish Fort, Ala., Lake Forest Yacht & Country Club, Northwest Florida Section)
- Mark Sheftic (Blue Bell, Pa., Sunnybrook Golf Club, Philadelphia Section)
- Mike Stone (Perrysburg, Ohio, Belmont Country Club, Northern Ohio Section)
- Mike Small (Champaign, Ill., University of Illinois, Illinois Section)
- Dave Quinn (Marlton, N.J., Laurel Creek Country Club, Philadelphia Section)
The top eight finishers and ties—Pineo, Hicks, Moody, Schmuhl, Ormsby, Dobbs, Scaletta, Volk and Phillips—also qualified for next year’s Senior PGA Professional Championship, which will be held at PGA Golf Club, October 21-24, 2027.
For more about the Senior PGA Professional Championship, visit here.
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