Jason Schmuhl Leads by Four Following First Round of 2026 Senior PGA Professional Championship

Jason Schmuhl delivered an historic performance in Thursday’s opening round of the 2026 Senior PGA Professional Championship.

Schmuhl (Windsor, Calif.) shot a flawless 10-under-par 62 on Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club’s Lost Gold course to record the lowest single round score in Championship history and claim a four-shot lead. He eclipsed the previous Championship record of 63 held jointly by Chad Sorensen and Scott Hebert since 2019.

“I've been playing really well going in, but I didn't expect a 62,” said Schmuhl. “I got off to a great start and then just kind of relaxed and kept it going.”

David Hutsell (Lutherville, Md.) and Jeffrey Schmid (Iowa City, Iowa) are tied for second, four shots back at 6-under. Jeff Gove (Sandpoint, Idaho), Warren Pineo (Reno, Nev.), Stuart Smith (Reno, Nev.) and defending champion Justin Hicks (Wellington, Fla.) are T-4 at 5-under.

Schmuhl, the PGA Head Golf Professional at Windsor Golf Club in Windsor, Calif., came out firing and never slowed down. He followed a birdie at the par-4 1st hole with an eagle at the par-5 2nd.

“Birdie on one, I hit my drive right,” explained Schmuhl. “I thought it might be in the bunker, carried the bunker, hit it to 10 feet and made it. On two, I had a chip and hit it a little bit thin and it went in.”

Schmuhl, the 2026 Northern California Senior PGA Professional Champion, tallied four additional front-nine birdies, including at the par-5 5th and three in a row on holes 7-9. Schmuhl made the turn at 7-under 29 and picked up where he left off with a birdie, his fourth straight, at the par-5 10th. He added birdies at the par-5 14th and 16th holes to finish at 10-under.

“The back nine was pretty vanilla,” said Schmuhl. “I birdied all the par fives and just nothing else. I'm hitting my driver really well, getting in good positions, and it's making it easier.”

Hutsell, a PGA Teaching Professional at Baltimore Country Club in Lutherville, Md., started on a high note at Prospector with birdies on holes 1-3. He hit his second shot to seven feet at the par-4 1st before landing his third shot three feet away on the par-5 2nd and later securing a tap-in birdie putt on the par-4 3rd.

“It was a really good start,” said Hutsell. “It was nice to kind of calm the nerves and get off to a good start and try to keep the momentum going.”

Hutsell was “steady” the rest of the way. He went birdie-bogey on holes 8-9 to make the turn at 3-under 33. Hutsell closed with a bogey-free back nine highlighted by birdies at the par-3 12th and two more on holes 17-18.

“The golf course is fun,” said Hutsell. “It's in great shape. Both golf courses are in beautiful condition. It definitely gives you some room to hit it off the tee. There are a couple of holes on Prospector that are a little tighter off the tee. We got really lucky with the weather today. I think they called for some possible storms and we had some cloud cover, but that was basically it.”

Thursday’s opening round continued a recent stretch of stellar play for Hutsell who won the 2026 Middle Atlantic PGA Senior Championship in August, the 2026 Senior Open of Virginia in late September and the Maryland Senior Open earlier this month.

“It's been a good run here recently and I'm just trying to keep it going,” said Hutsell.

Schmid, a PGA Teaching Professional at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, Iowa, started smoothly at Lost Gold, parring his first four holes. He gained momentum with a birdie at the par-5 5th before adding birdies on holes 7-8.

After recording a 3-under-par 33 on the front, Schmid kickstarted his back nine with birdies at the par-5 10th and par-3 11th holes. He carded his sixth and final birdie at the par-5 14th.

“It’s a good start,” said Schmid. “It got a little breezy on the back nine, so it was a good score. I'll take that every day. I played pretty solid actually. I didn't really miss any fairways. I only missed a couple of greens and putts here and there.”

For Schmid, who finished T-25 in the 2025 Senior PPC and T-69 in this year’s Senior PGA Championship, a good start was exactly what he hoped for.

“It's nice getting off to a good start,” said Schmid. “A couple of years ago I didn't do that. Hopefully I'll continue

that, but it sure makes it seem slightly easier as long as I don't get lazy I guess and keep my foot on the pedal.”

Two-time Senior PPC Champion Bob Sowards is one of seven players T-8 at 4-under after shooting 68 on the Lost Gold course.

In addition to the Leo Fraser Trophy, named after the 16th president of the PGA of America, players are competing

for a $425,000 purse with a winner’s share of $37,800. The top eight finishers, including ties, will automatically qualify for the 2027 Senior PGA Professional Championship to be held at PGA Golf Club, October 21-24.

The 2026 Senior PGA Professional Championship, supported by GOLF Channel and PXG, continues tomorrow on Superstition Mountain’s Lost Gold and Prospector courses before a 36-hole cut to the low 90 scorers and ties.

For more about the Senior PGA Professional Championship, visit here.