The 71st U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, which runs Saturday through Thursday at Baltimore Country Club’s East Course in Lutherville, means something a little different to Tom Winegardner, Marc Ehudin and Phil Fairbanks.
Winegardner, a Lothian resident who once played professionally on the Hooters Tour for two years and qualified for a Nike Tour event, wants to tap into that thrill of competitive golf.
Ehudin, a Pikesville native who currently lives in Potomac, considers qualifying for his second U.S. Senior Amateur in three years “as rewarding as anything I’ve ever done in my life.”
And Fairbanks, a Howard County native who lives in Columbia, has a second chance at a United States Golf Association event 31 years after his first attempt.
“It’s very rewarding,” Fairbanks said. “USGA events are few and far between. They’re extremely hard to qualify for. You can play well, and you’re still not getting close. So to qualify for a USGA event, especially for somebody like me, is a special thing.”
Here is how the three Baltimore area golfers are approaching the U.S. Senior Amateur.
‘Beyond fulfilled’
Competing in the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee, was simultaneously gratifying and disappointing for Ehudin, who turned 63 on Monday. The Gilman graduate was ecstatic about participating in his first USGA event, but he missed advancing to the match play round of 64 golfers by one stroke.
“It felt good to be right in the mix. It felt horrible to miss it by one,” he said, adding that poor play on two holes continues to haunt him. “But it was an eye-opening experience and one of the best experiences of my life to play in a USGA event. It was my first one and just a real great experience.”
Ehudin said he has been trying to qualify for the U.S. Senior Amateur every year since turning 55. He made a mental note of the 2026 tournament because of Baltimore Country Club serving as host.
So Ehudin was thrilled to card a 2-under 70 and earn the second of two spots in a field of about 60 at Winters Run Golf Club in Bel Air on June 29.
“To actually qualify for the event and to make it into the field is incredibly special to me, given my background of growing up in Baltimore and being a local guy,” he said. “So with family and friends that are going to be there, it was very special beyond my expectations to qualify. I have some goals as to how I want to do, but I’m just going to soak in every minute of the experience and enjoy it.”
‘Take it to the next step’
After playing golf at Oakland Mills High and Radford University, Fairbanks, now 56, earned a berth in the 1995 U.S. Amateur at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, when he was 25. One of his lasting memories involved standing in the registration line with Tiger Woods two spots behind him.
“At that point in time, I said, ���You know what? Maybe I’m not really supposed to be here,’” he said with a laugh. “… There was a level of discomfort that I vividly remember. One of my goals is not to have that feeling this go-around. I want to feel like I’m supposed to be there.”
After a 15-year hiatus to work and help raise three children, Fairbanks — whose handicap was as low as +2 in his early 30s — returned to competition last year and hired Mark Evenson, director of instruction at the Suburban Club in Pikesville, to coach him. Fairbanks is back to owning a +1 handicap and tied for second in the Senior Division of the Mid-Atlantic Senior Amateur Championship in Potomac on July 13 and cemented the third and last qualifying spot at a U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier at Mount Vernon Country Club in Alexandria, Virginia (where Winegardner finished first) on July 16.
“I was just happy to be there the last time I played in one of these, and I didn’t play very well,” he said, referring to that 1995 U.S. Amateur. “My goal is to take it to the next step and not just be happy to be there, but to actually play well and perform.”
‘A chance’
In some ways, Tom Winegardner, 65, seemed destined for golf. Both parents played, and he possessed the talent to become a member of the now-defunct Hooters Tour for two years, play a Nike Tour event, and compete against pros like Ken Duke, Casey Martin and Chad Campbell.
“Pretty much naive to the process,” said the owner of four car dealerships. “… I was able to go to Q-school down there and have some good tournaments and thought I could have a career or something like that. But to get to the next level, I was unaware of the quality or what was needed.”
Still, Winegardner has been a fixture on the amateur circuit. His competitive history includes spots at a U.S. Amateur Championship and three U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships. He reached the Round of 16 at the 1996 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills.
This will be Winegardner’s fourth U.S. Senior Amateur. His best finish occurred in 2022 when he lost in the first round of match play to reigning champion Gene Elliott, 1 up.
“It gets a little tougher as I get older and they get younger,” he said of the field. “They’ve got a new batch coming in every year. When you’re 55, you hit it 15, 20 yards farther. So those guys have an edge, but I feel like if I hit it well, I’m not going in there without thinking I have a chance.”
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