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Ryan Armour has seen plenty of competition the past two years. It just hasn’t been him out there.
A quick scroll through Armour’s participation in both PGA Tour and Korn Ferry events shows a total of 21 tournaments in 2024 and 2025 combined. He’s made less than half of his cuts in that time and generally operated outside of the consciousness of the sport.
With his 50th birthday approaching, and the opportunity to begin competing on the senior circuit, Armour, who lives in Jupiter, Florida, took the opportunity to spend extended time with his family. For two years, that meant watching his eldest son, Patrick, play high school basketball and his youngest son, Nick, play hockey.
Along the way, his golf game admittedly suffered – and that’s a tradeoff Armour said he’s fine with making.
“I was at every sporting event for both of my boys, all over the country with them,” he said after finishing the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club tied for 26th place at 2 over on July 5. “It was great. I loved every second of it. It doesn't equate to good golf, but it equates to a good fatherhood, good family and a lot of fun with your kids.”
As the tournament got underway earlier in the week, Armour described himself as a guy who “needs to work a lot” in order to be competitive at the sport, noting that “I'm not as gifted as Freddie Couples, who can tee it up once every six weeks and shoot 65.”
Armour shot a 3-over 73 on July 1, the first day of the tournament, then shot a 69 on consecutive days leading into the final day. After shooting par on his first 11 holes, Armour birdied No. 12, bogeyed Nos. 14, 15 and 17 and ended with a birdie on No. 18 for a 71. It closed a homecoming of sorts for the Akron native who played at Ohio State from 1995-98 and said he appreciated the opportunity to be back in Columbus and see familiar faces, even if the course looks different than it did when he would play it as a student.
It was Armour’s sixth event of the year and third since the start of May. Getting back to where he can be fully competitive remains a work in progress.
“I feel like I’m starting over,” he said. “I had basically a year and a half off. I need more reps.”
Having any sort of rust is a good problem to have, he said. While he was enjoying his time with his family, Armour said there was not a point where he considered permanently stepping away from the game.
“I didn't want to travel and (do) Monday qualifying for the PGA Tour, or the Korn Ferry, or even play as many Korn Ferry events as I was eligible for,” he said. “Had I been fully exempt on the PGA Tour, I probably would have played a full schedule. It just got to the point where I was better at home. It was a better situation for me to be with my boys than to go out and chase it Monday.”
Ironically, that’s not far off from what was next on Armour’s calendar. Before playing in the 2026 Kaulig Companies Championship at Akron’s Firestone Country Club July 9-12, the Northeast Ohio native said he would be headed there in preparation for a 9 a.m. tee time July 6.
It won’t be his only trip back home this year as Nick Armour will be moving to Gilmore Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, to further his hockey career. As he has for the past few years, dad will be watching as much as possible.
“I’m fortunate that golf gave me that opportunity to do it,” he said. “And my wife gave me that. Without her raising the boys, they wouldn't be who they are right now. I get to kind of enjoy all her hard work when I was traveling everywhere.”
Adam Jardy can be reached at [email protected], on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: After family time, Ryan Armour getting back into swing of golf at Scioto
Continue reading...
A quick scroll through Armour’s participation in both PGA Tour and Korn Ferry events shows a total of 21 tournaments in 2024 and 2025 combined. He’s made less than half of his cuts in that time and generally operated outside of the consciousness of the sport.
With his 50th birthday approaching, and the opportunity to begin competing on the senior circuit, Armour, who lives in Jupiter, Florida, took the opportunity to spend extended time with his family. For two years, that meant watching his eldest son, Patrick, play high school basketball and his youngest son, Nick, play hockey.
Along the way, his golf game admittedly suffered – and that’s a tradeoff Armour said he’s fine with making.
“I was at every sporting event for both of my boys, all over the country with them,” he said after finishing the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club tied for 26th place at 2 over on July 5. “It was great. I loved every second of it. It doesn't equate to good golf, but it equates to a good fatherhood, good family and a lot of fun with your kids.”
As the tournament got underway earlier in the week, Armour described himself as a guy who “needs to work a lot” in order to be competitive at the sport, noting that “I'm not as gifted as Freddie Couples, who can tee it up once every six weeks and shoot 65.”
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Armour shot a 3-over 73 on July 1, the first day of the tournament, then shot a 69 on consecutive days leading into the final day. After shooting par on his first 11 holes, Armour birdied No. 12, bogeyed Nos. 14, 15 and 17 and ended with a birdie on No. 18 for a 71. It closed a homecoming of sorts for the Akron native who played at Ohio State from 1995-98 and said he appreciated the opportunity to be back in Columbus and see familiar faces, even if the course looks different than it did when he would play it as a student.
It was Armour’s sixth event of the year and third since the start of May. Getting back to where he can be fully competitive remains a work in progress.
“I feel like I’m starting over,” he said. “I had basically a year and a half off. I need more reps.”
Having any sort of rust is a good problem to have, he said. While he was enjoying his time with his family, Armour said there was not a point where he considered permanently stepping away from the game.
“I didn't want to travel and (do) Monday qualifying for the PGA Tour, or the Korn Ferry, or even play as many Korn Ferry events as I was eligible for,” he said. “Had I been fully exempt on the PGA Tour, I probably would have played a full schedule. It just got to the point where I was better at home. It was a better situation for me to be with my boys than to go out and chase it Monday.”
Ironically, that’s not far off from what was next on Armour’s calendar. Before playing in the 2026 Kaulig Companies Championship at Akron’s Firestone Country Club July 9-12, the Northeast Ohio native said he would be headed there in preparation for a 9 a.m. tee time July 6.
It won’t be his only trip back home this year as Nick Armour will be moving to Gilmore Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, to further his hockey career. As he has for the past few years, dad will be watching as much as possible.
“I’m fortunate that golf gave me that opportunity to do it,” he said. “And my wife gave me that. Without her raising the boys, they wouldn't be who they are right now. I get to kind of enjoy all her hard work when I was traveling everywhere.”
Adam Jardy can be reached at [email protected], on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: After family time, Ryan Armour getting back into swing of golf at Scioto
Continue reading...
