No one at the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship took moving day more seriously, perhaps, than Trae Cassell. The Rancho Santa Fe, California, resident had opened the tournament at Desert Willow Golf Resort’s Mountain View Course in Palm Desert, California, with a ho-hum 75. But on Tuesday, Cassell took advantage of softer-than-forecasted winds and shaved eight shots off his first-round score.
Across the board, the 89-man senior field fared much better on Tuesday than they had the previous day. The field average dropped from 78.38 in the first round to 76.12 in the second. Anticipated high winds in the 20 to 40 mph range (with gusts of up to 60 mph) never materialized, leaving room for more scoring opportunities.
Cassell’s second-round 67 ultimately moved him to 2 under for the tournament, where he has a one-shot lead on first-round leader Bryan Hoops of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Randy Haag of Orinda, California.
Cassell’s day picked up on the par-3 fifth hole, where he made his first birdie to erase an early bogey. He eagled the par-5 ninth then added three birdies on the back nine.
In November, Cassell won the California Senior Amateur, played at scenic Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Dunes Course in Pebble Beach (site of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur). Cassell also successfully battled winds to win that event.
Hoops, for his part, put together a less consistent round on Tuesday, sprinkling two bogeys and two double-bogeys in among his five birdies for a second-round 74. Haag, winner of the NCGA Senior Four-Ball last week, backed up his opening 71 with a 72 to remain in the mix.
Stan Humphries of Monroe, Louisiana, and Jason Pridmore of Ventura, California, are tied for fourth at 1 over.
The tournament concludes on Wednesday and after a one-day break, the Golfweek Senior Amateur gets underway at Desert Willow’s Firecliff Course on Friday.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Trae Cassell leads 2025 Golfweek Senior Division National Championship
