Scorse Breaks Through to Capture Fourth RDGA Senior Championship Title at Brook-Lea Country Club
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2026 RDGA Senior Championship Division Winners Honored After Final Round
CLICK HERE for final results from the 2026 RDGA Senior Championship Wilson W. Fitch Jr. Memorial
CLICK HERE for a post-Championship interview with 2026 RDGA Senior Champion Jim Scorse
CLICK HERE to view a photo album from the 2026 RDGA Senior Championship Wilson W. Fitch Jr. Memorial
CLICK HERE for a history and list of past champions from the RDGA Senior Championship Wilson W. Fitch Jr. Memorial
By DAVE EATON
GATES, NY – When confronted with adversity coming down to the final holes of a championship, most experienced golfers – with a long list of titles to their name – will find a way to win, comfortable in the knowledge that they have achieved success in the past by holding fast and playing within their abilities.
Among Rochester District Golf Association players, nobody does this better than RDGA Hall of Famer Jim Scorse of Stafford – the same Jim Scorse who has 5 RDGA District Championships and 15 RDGA Men’s Player of the Year honors to his name.
On Tuesday, August 18, Scorse wasn’t playing his best on the front nine during the second and Final Round of the 2026 RDGA Senior Championship Wilson W. Fitch Jr. Memorial at Brook-Lea Country Club – while another contender, Ken Starkweather of Ridgemont (among others), was making a charge – he still managed to hold onto a share of the lead down the stretch run and eventually force a playoff.
Then, Jim Scorse did what Jim Scorse usually does: he closed out his opponent with a birdie on the first playoff hole – and claimed his fourth RDGA Senior Championship title in seven years for good measure.
Good Enough - for Scorse
Scorse began Tuesday’s Final Round in a three-way tie for the lead at 2-under-par with fellow Stafford member Wormley and Oak Hill’s Stuart Harris, a 2-time RDGA Senior Champion. Although Scorse struggled to a 1-over-par 37 on the front side in the Final Round, other contenders were also struggling as first Harris, then Wormley, dropped off the lead pace.
“Through 14, I knew (Geoff) Wormley was ahead of me, but then he had some bad holes and I got ahead of him,” Scorse recalled. “That’s when we looked at the scoreboard and saw that Starkweather was up there close so I started grinding a little bit more.”
Then Starkweather, who began the day 4 shots off the lead, started to catch fire. After a bogey on No. 6, Starkweather – a three-time RDGA Mid Amateur Champion – eagled the par-5 7th hole. On the back side, he birdied holes 11, 14 and 16 to get to 2-under-par for the Championship, finishing with a 68 in Round 2. Scorse, meanwhile, got two strokes back with birdies on 10 and 16 to take a one shot lead at 3-under.
Despite a bogey 5 on No. 17, Scorse parred the par-3 18th hole to finish at 2-under for the Championship and set up the playoff with Starkweather.
Starkweather, playing in his first year of eligibility for the Senior Championship at age 55, posted a par-4 on on the first playoff hole – only to be bested by Scorse’s birdie that was set up by an approach shot that finished a couple of feet from the hole.
“I wasn’t real solid today, but I scraped it in, (finished) at even par and got into the playoff,” said Scorse. “It was good enough – and that’s all that matters.”
Scorse, Top Finishers, Earn Perks as RDGA Senior Champions
For Scorse, his fourth RDGA Senior Championship title comes three years since his last one in 2023 – but not for lack of effort. In 2024, Scorse came out on the short end of a playoff for the title as Harris claimed his second RDGA Senior title. This year, Scorse found redemption – and now, a greater resolve to finish the 2026 season in a big way.
“Obviously, any time you win an RDGA tournament, you’re playing against the best in the District. It definitely gives you a boost towards anything you’re playing in the rest of the year when you win something like this, so it’s definitely a top-knotch tournament, that’s for sure.”
“It feels great,” said Scorse.
In addition to Scorse earning the Championship trophy with the 2026 RDGA Senior Championship title, the top-5 finishers in the Overall Senior competition – Scorse, Starkweather, Matt Clarke, Harris and George Kavanagh – as well as the four age-based Divisions, all receive exemptions from qualifiying for next year’s RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial at Midvale Country Club.
Senior Championship Division Winners Also Recognized
Also being contested during this week’s RDGA District Championship Wilson W. Fitch Jr. Memorial at Brook-Lea were the four Age Division competitions – within the overall Championship Division.
Winning the Senior Division (for ages 55 through 59) title in his first year of eligibility was Ken Starkweather of Ridgemont Country Club. Despite his runner-up fininsh in the overall Senior Championship race, Starkweather ran away with the Senior Division title by 8 shots ahead of Doug Slattery, who was playing on his home course.
In the Super Senior Division (ages 60-64), Scorse also claimed top billing, finishing four shots ahead of Stuart Harris of Oak Hill. This was Scorse’s first Super Senior Division title after having won the Senior Division crown in four of his five years of eligibility.
The Masters Division (ages 65-69) title was claimed by Matt Clarke of Canandaigua, who finished three shots ahead of George Kavanagh of Oak Hill. This was Clarke’s first Senior Division title.
And, in the Legends Division (for ages 70-plus), Steve Wade of Canandaigua claimed victory for the second time in three years – but not without some unusual effort in the first round of the Championship. Getting to the course from his home in Canandaigua, Wade realized that he had left his clubs at home. Although he employed the assistance of his wife to bring him the clubs, she did not arrive at Brook-Lea until after he had teed off.
Instead, Wade relied on the use of a set of clubs loaned to him by a Brook-Lea member for the first round.
For the record, Wade made up six shots in Round 2 using his own clubs in order ot claim the Division title.
“What got me the win today, was the fact that I had to borrow clubs yesterday, to be able to play today,” said Wade. “Kudos to the guy whose clubs I borrowed which allowed me to continue playing.”
The RDGA would like to thank Brook-Lea Country Club PGA Professionals Jon Hoecker and Joe Buss, Head Superintendent Mike Bogroff, General Manager Mario Gatti as well as the hospitality of the Brook-Lea membership and staff – all of whom have helped to make the 2026 RDGA Senior Championship Wilson W. Fitch Jr. Memorial a success.
The Rochester District Golf Association is led by Executive Director Tim Vangellow and is a proud Allied Golf Association of the USGA, serving Rochester area golfers since 1929.
