This year’s U.S. Senior Amateur, played Aug. 29-Sept. 3 at Baltimore Country Club, featured three men age over 70 or older. Rick Cloninger, at 69, was close behind them.
“It’s harder to get there than it is to play in the golf tournament at that point,” Cloninger said of players closer to 70 than 55 in this event.
Still, Cloninger, who hails from Rock Hill, South Carolina, played his way into the premier championship for players 55 and over by finishing second in an 18-hole qualifier at Pinewild Country Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina, on July 27. The week at Baltimore CC marked his ninth U.S. Senior Amateur. His history in the event includes semifinals runs in 2014 and 2019. He reached the Round of 32 in 2024. This time, however, he lost in a 13-for-3
playoff to reach the bracket.
“I’ve had a good summer, I’ve had a good couple of years,” he said. “I’m by no means done. I’m trying to continue to play competitive golf. I hated not to get into match play – I’ve only missed match play one other time.”
Cloninger had been playing plenty of good golf up to that point. Most notably, he won the North & South Super Senior Amateur on Aug. 12 when he went 6 under for 54 holes. That was good enough to leave him four shots ahead of legendary senior amateur Paul Simson.
For his strong play in the month of Augusta, Cloninger has been named Golfweek’s Player of the Month.
“It was a great opportunity to play again with Paul Simson,” Cloninger said of the North & South. “Paul, he is the bar and we’ve had a lot of opportunities to play with each other in the last 10 years.”
Cloninger logged rounds of 73, 68, 69 on three of the Pinehurst Resort courses: Nos. 4, 5 and 8, respectively. The challenge, he said, was in managing the change in venue each day – and all three layouts were demanding.
“The three golf courses, the thing about it is you have to put your drives in spots where you can go at flags,” he said. “And two, pars are still pretty good.”
Cloninger has had a storied career in the game. The former NAIA All-American quarterback at Wofford College won state mid-amateur titles in Florida (1992), Georgia (2001, 2002) and South Carolina (2003). He won the North & South Senior in 2012 and tied for 40th in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open.
To start 2026, he was seventh at the Golfweek Player of the Year Classic then played the prestigious Jones Cup Senior Invitational – both featured tough weather conditions.
Cloninger feels that his recent strong play is a product of ballstriking.
“I have driven the ball exceptionally well and my iron play has been outstanding,” he said when asked for an assessment of his game. “I don’t know that I missed six greens at Pinehurst in 54 holes. I’ve always been a good, strong wedge player and that played itself out pretty well there.”
Along with his strong showings in national competition over the past month, Cloninger also built his legend closer to home. He tied the course record of 62 at his home golf course, Fort Mill (South Carolina) Golf Club, on July 31.
Cloninger was 10 under with three holes to play in a Friday night dogfight where scores are updated online. When he reached the end of the round, a crowd had gathered at the back of the clubhouse to see if he could beat the course record.
“That was a pretty good confidence builder,” Cloninger said of that round, especially given the timing of it. He headed to Pinehurst for the North & South Super Senior just a few weeks later.
This deep into his career, Cloninger rarely takes a lesson or seeks advice on his swing. In the past, he has worked with two instructors who teach at clubs in the Orlando, Florida, area. He continues to play in both Senior and Super Senior events, and acknowledges the talent of the players with whom he’s teeing it up.
“The challenge of staying competitive is getting harder and harder,” he said.
Despite that feeling, Cloninger has still found a way to maintain his edge.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rick Cloninger named Golfweek Player of the Month following standout summer run
