When Thad Hudgens turned 50 years old two years ago, he saw a short runway in his golf career leading to the senior amateur circuit.

“This is kind of my last little stretch to get my game going,” said Hudgens of Longwood, Fla. “I’ll see what I can do for the seniors coming up. Here, between turning 50 and now, I’ve been working pretty hard at it. Just going to work like crazy all the way until 55 and see if I can do something.”

In his first national Golfweek event, Hudgens laid out a round that suggests 2025 could be a very good year. Playing in the Mid-Master division (for players aged 40-55) of the inaugural Golfweek Pirate’s Classic, Hudgens opened with a 4-under 67 at TPC Tampa Bay that left him with an immediate three-shot lead. He began his day with an eagle at the par-4 first hole after his 110-yard approach with a gap wedge found the bottom of the hole.

From there, Hudgens parred out on the front nine, then added three birdies and a single bogey on the back nine. He leads Jerry Slagle of Southlake, Texas, who had 1-under 70 in the combined Mid-Master/Senior Division.

His annual schedule typically revolves heavily around Florida State Golf Association events, with a handful of invitationals in the mix, too. So far, Hudgens has tried twice, unsuccessfully, to qualify for both the U.S. Senior Open and British Senior Open.

Within the last few months, Hudgens began working with U.K.-based swing instructor Liam Robinson, with whom he connected on social media. Robinson, a talented player in his own right who formerly competed on the DP World Tour, has helped Hudgens step up his game.

“He came into town for a couple of weeks, so I worked with him a good bit – that was maybe three weeks ago,” Hudgens said.

Hudgens played college golf at Ole Miss in the early 1990s, then competed briefly as a professional, mostly on the Hooters Tour, Golden Bear Tour, and what is now the Korn Ferry Tour. He qualified for one PGA Tour event, the FedEx St. Jude Classic, in 1993. Notably, Hudgens’ life outside of golf revolves around Huey Magoo’s, the chain of chicken restaurants that he and a former Ole Miss teammate founded in 2004.

At the Golfweek Pirate’s Classic, Hudgens’ opening 67 was the low score across all divisions by some amount. 

Mike Arter of Lakeville, Massachusetts, leads the Super Senior Division after a 3-over 74 with Byron Whitman of Bonita Springs, Florida, one shot back.

Tampa’s Kevin Macy turned in an even-par 72 to reach the top of the leaderboard in the Legends division and leads Greg Osborne of Litiz, Pennsylvania, who shot 3 over. 

Greg Osborne’s older brother John Osborne, who lives in Vero Beach, Florida, leads the Super Legends Division after also firing 74. Frank Polizzi of Plymouth Meeting, Massachusetts, was at 4 over.