- April 22, 2026
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Bruce Cassidy Sr. and Brian Weimann shared a dream. They imagined a major golf tournament in their back yard, and over the last five years, worked tirelessly to make it happen.
The majority owner and general manager, respectively, of The Concession Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch strolled around their dream-turned-reality from April 16-19.
They saw legends of the game competing on their course. They saw spectators crowding the paths around the front and back nine. And they saw a champion crowned on the 18th-hole green.
The 86th Senior PGA Championship is in the books, held at The Concession for the first time. It’s scheduled to return for 2027 and 2028 as part of a three-year agreement between the club and the PGA of America announced May 21, 2025.
Stewart Cink shot 19-under par 269 across his four rounds on the par-72 course to secure the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy. In doing so, the 2009 champion of The Open Championship made Lakewood Ranch the home of his first senior major title.
“It’s definitely lived up to what we were thinking,” Weimann said. “It has been a dream, and we put that dream into a plan starting in ‘21. So for the last couple years, we have been working up to this.”
From 2001-25, the Senior PGA Championship had never been held in the same location for consecutive years. PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens played host from 1982-2000.
That makes The Concession the first multi-year host in nearly three decades for the oldest major on the senior circuit.
This year’s tournament, in that respect, was a trial run for 2027 and 2028. The PGA of America had four days of competition to identify the positives and negatives of how the club performed as a first-time host.
Eric Nuxol, championship director for the 2026 Senior PGA Championship — named to that role by the PGA of America — outlined the metrics used to evaluate The Concession.
“One of the first things is the amount of community support we see. Attendance is a number we use as a metric, but that’s not the only metric,” Nuxol said. “The impact that we have on the community, the relationships that we build (and) the amount of volunteers that we’re able to get are all things that help us determine (success).”
But the PGA of America, which has operated separately from the PGA Tour since 1968, wasn’t the only side with metrics in mind.
Cassidy and Weimann entered the week of April 13 hoping to hit targets of their own.
“It was kind of a short runway, and this being the first of the three years, we’ve had some internal goals that we’ve been looking at,” Weimann said. “Thursday exceeded those goals. Some of the hot weather (Saturday) afternoon may have pushed people out of here, because it got pretty steamy.”
Both Nuxol and Weimann pointed to weather as an overarching positive for this year’s tournament. Not one drop of rain fell on site when play was in progress.
Saturday was the hottest day, averaging 80 degrees with 70.2% humidity from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The coolest was Thursday — 76.8 degrees Fahrenheit and 54.1% humidity, on average.
That’s not something The Concession or the PGA of America could control, but plenty of sun throughout the tournament did ensure no weather delays.
“(We heard) from multiple folks within our company and people we run across that this is the best weather we’ve had at this event in a long time,” Nuxol said.
On Thursday and Friday, there were more than twice as many golfers in action as there were Saturday and Sunday. Those who missed the cut were sent home after the second round.
Past champions of the Senior PGA Championship in Ángel Cabrera (2025), Alex Čejka (2021) and Ken Tanigawa (2019) missed the cut. Jay Haas (2008, 2006), Steve Stricker (2023) and Rocco Mediate (2016) all withdrew from the field before Friday.
John Daly, who attracted large crowds during the tournament’s first two days, ultimately shot 3-over par and missed the cut by one stroke.
“There (were) still some Hall-of-Fame golfers out there — major winners,” Weimann said. “People that follow golf, that know golf (know) the guys that are here are the best of the best.”
The focus now shifts to 2027 for Weimann and Co. as preparations begin for next year’s tournament. He already has future improvements in mind.
Chief among them is strengthening the connection between the Senior PGA Championship and the surrounding communities of Bradenton and Sarasota.
“Bringing in more of the local businesses, trying to get some more of that corporate hospitality would be, really, No. 1,” Weimann said. “Once you bring the corporate hospitality in, the spectators follow. And then getting (the tournament) out into the market a little bit more.”
Nuxol previously served as operations manager for the 2025 PGA Championship, and was also involved in operations for 2023, 2022 and 2020.
Having been with the PGA of America for nearly nine years now, he believes The Concession will have no issues hosting in 2027 and 2028, as planned.
“Their club leadership, with Bruce Cassidy and Brian Weimann and their team, has really set themselves up for success going into the next two years after this,” Nuxol said.
Cassidy and Weimann hope this realized dream will eventually lead to another — bringing the PGA Championship to The Concession.
The Senior PGA Championship is their opportunity to court the PGA of America for a bid at that prestigious major, though hosts have already been determined up through 2035.
So Cassidy and Weimann will continue to dream.
“Them leaving here now knowing our property, knowing our golf course and knowing what we can do goes a long way,” Weimann said. “We’ve got to date them before we can marry them.”
