Bev Hargraves enters the Golfweek Senior Desert Showdown eyeing the completion of a year-long POY quest

Bev Hargraves seems to ever beryllium successful contention, and aft truthful galore top-10 finishes successful elder amateur events, nan 73-year-old started thinking: What mightiness hap if he teed it up successful much tournaments?

To commencement 2024, Hargraves sat down pinch his woman and sounded an idea. He wanted to play much tournaments to spot if nan other starts would motorboat him to nan apical of nan Golfweek National Senior Rankings for players successful his property group (70-74 years old) and onshore him Legends Player of nan Year honors.

It would beryllium a commitment, for sure.

Hargraves still has an security agency backmost location successful Little Rock, Arkansas, and useful 8 to 10 hours a day. He underwent quadruple bosom bypass room successful 2021 and has been battling prostate crab for nan past fewer years. The second necessitated him front-loading his title schedule a spot this year.

Shortly aft he competes successful this week’s Golfweek Desert Showdown astatine Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, Hargraves will statesman a 45-day agelong of radiation curen that will return him disconnected nan nationalist elder amateur circuit.

“What I want to do is to spot really I play successful Las Vegas and if I tin perchance wrap up nan Player of nan Year,” Hargraves said.

Hargraves won his property section earlier this twelvemonth astatine nan Golfweek Player of nan Year Classic, giving him a immense boost successful his quest. He besides won nan Legends title astatine nan Low Country Senior and tied for 2nd astatine nan U.S. Senior Challenge, a authorities squad arena for which he serves connected nan board.

Golfweek National Senior Amateur Rankings

All of that has Hargraves sitting atop nan Legends rankings, pinch a 1,120-point lead connected Don Donatoni of Malvern, Pennsylvania. Expect Hargraves to support a adjacent oculus connected nan standings moreover arsenic he undergoes radiation. He has considered nan anticipation of suspending curen to compression successful 1 much tourney successful December.

“If I request to, I’ll do it.”

Through nan years, Hargraves’ competitory quality intelligibly hasn’t changed much, and neither has his game.

“Historically my driving has been nan champion portion of my game,” he said. “I’m not agelong but usually successful nan fairway. The portion that helps maine successful each tourney is my short game, chipping and putting, which has ever been good.”

The second he still credits to Paul Runyan, a World Golf Hall of Famer for whom he had nan bully luck to caddie during nan Mohawk Open, a pro-am played successful nan 1960s astatine his location play course, Helena (Arkansas) Country Club.

“He was a short crippled guru and he’s nan 1 who benignant of taught maine different techniques connected chipping and putting,” Hargraves said of Runyan.

Hargraves first came to nan crippled arsenic a caddie astatine 9 years aged and began playing 2 years later. He ne'er had a instruction but observed while he caddied. He took advantage of nan opportunities that came to him, for illustration a front-row spot to Runyan.

Regardless, Hargraves’ play resume is full. He has won much than 80 individual titles successful Arkansas, served successful various activity roles successful his authorities association, location associations and moreover nan USGA (notably, Hargraves was a personnel of nan U.S. Mid-Amateur Committee from 1991 to 2006). He has traveled domestically and overseas to compete successful tournaments.

Until this year’s tally astatine player-of-the-year honors, Hargraves, who played collegiately for nan University of Arkansas successful nan 1970s, has typically played conscionable 5 aliases six nationalist tournaments a year. As he has gotten older, play has go nan athletics successful which he remains physically competitive. As a younger man, he liked to compete successful baseball, shot aliases thing other that satisfied his earthy competitory drive.

When Hargraves turned 45, he turned his attraction to playing successful nan U.S. Mid-Amateur, and he qualified for 5 of those. He attempted qualifying for nan U.S. Senior Amateur astatine property 56 and has played six of those. He past qualified for a U.S. Senior Am successful 2017.

“One point I do want to do, and it will beryllium difficult to do, is qualifying for nan U.S. Senior Am,” he said of goals that still stay connected nan table.

As always, Hargraves continues to activity retired nan highest level of competition. It’s his “why.”

“I for illustration to compete against nan best,” he said.