Section History 2020-2025

A Chronicle of the
Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members
by Peter C. Trenham
2020 to 2025

2020
Alex Knoll won 2nd straight Philadelphia PGA, John Pillar was now a PGAA Director
2021
Philadelphia PGA celebrated 100th year, Marty Lyons inducted into PGAA Hall of Fame
2022
Brian Bergstol finished 2nd at the Assistant PGA Championship for a 2nd straight year
2023
Braden Shattuck won the PGA Professional Championship and the Philadelphia Open
2024
The Philadelphia PGA had two national award winners; Jim Smith, Jr. and Dean Kandle
2025
Zac Oakley Match Play winner, John Pillar Senior Champion, each won for 4th time 

 

2020
Not long after 2020 got under way, golf in the Philadelphia Section came to a standstill due to the arrival of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the United States. In many states, all nonessential businesses were told to close down. The state of Washington was the first to be hit hard. Then the virus jumped across the country to the densely populated New York city region.

Gatherings of people for business or social reasons were curtailed. The NBA and NHL seasons were put on hold along with spring training for major league baseball. The NCAA put the basketball tournaments on hold and all spring sports were postponed. After playing the first round of its TPD Championship in mid March the PGA Tour, had planned to play the remainder of the tournament without spectators, but then canceled the tournament.

With the number of virus cases spiking in many states, the hope was that by limiting contact the spread was be decreased. Otherwise the hospitals would be overwhelmed with patients. Grade schools, along with colleges were closed with the students being taught online.

A dinner to honor the Philadelphia Section award winners that was scheduled for Aronimink Golf Club on the third Sunday of March was postponed until further notice. The Section’s Spring Meeting scheduled for Green Valley Country Club on the fifth Monday of March was postponed and then canceled.

The “Golf Professional of the Year” was John S. “Johnny C” Carpineta, a late comer to the world of professional golf. Born in Philadelphia in 1941, he saw golf for the first time in 1964. Stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia while serving in the US Army, his commanding officer took him to the Masters Tournament. In 1968 he played golf for the first time at Holmesburg Country Club. With some golf instruction from Holmesburg’s professional Ed Metro and Al MacDonald, a past president of the Philadelphia Section, his golf game began to improve. Though he had spent his working career with Sears and as a musician Carpineta decided he wanted to be a golf professional and a PGA member. In 1998 he went to work as an assistant to Jim Bogan at the Bensalem Township Country Club. He took the PGA’s playing ability test a total of 9 times, missing by one or two strokes at times before passing.  In 2003 Carpineta became a PGA member. On becoming a PGA member he contacted the VA to see if  he might teach golf to the wounded veterans. With that he became an integral part of the VA’s 1st Swing Program. He had a new passion, teaching golf to wounded veterans. Carpineta spent the next decade promoting golf instruction for wounded veterans along with collecting golf clubs for them. He played a major role in making the wounded veterans and the blind golfers a part of the PGA Reach Hope program. In 2015 Carpineta received the Section’s Player Development award and three times, 2017, 2018 and 2020, he was the Section’s Patriot Award recipient. White Manor Country Club’s Jon Dunigan  was the “Teacher of the Year”.

Later in March the Masters was postponed and the PGA Tour put its schedule on hold until further notice. The USGA began canceling tournaments, which included local qualifying rounds for the US Open, which were to be played in May.

In late March, Matt Frey, the Section’s new director of communications, began a series of e-pub articles chronicling the history of the Philadelphia PGA, leading into its 100th birthday in 2021. The articles were presented decade by decade relating the highlights from each ten-year period. Information for each decade was provided by Section historian Peter C. Trenham.

Due to the COVID-19 virus, on April 7 the PGA, USGA, R&A, Masters Committee and the LPGA made a joint announcement on a new schedule for the remainder of 2020. The PGA Championship was moved to early August as there was an open week due to the postponement of the Olympics to 2021. The British Open was canceled. The US Open was now going to be played in the third week of September, with the Ryder Cup one week later on its original dates. The Masters was now scheduled for mid November. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club was still in late June, its scheduled time. Later it was moved to October. The Senior PGA Championship and the US Senior Open were canceled.

With the US Open rescheduled it was decided to cancel all local and sectional qualifying rounds. Instead, the field would be filled by using the world rankings for professionals and amateurs.

On May 1 the golf courses in Pennsylvania were allowed to reopen with many restrictions. On May 2, the golf courses in New Jersey were reopened with similar restrictions. The golf courses in Delaware had remained open, but only to residents of Delaware, and with restrictions. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey clubhouses remained closed. Face masks had to be worn by the golfers in the vicinity of the check in areas. Golf carts were restricted to single riders unless two golfers were residing together. Flagsticks were not to be removed. Objects like foam or small sections of PVC pipe were placed in the cups to keep the golf ball from falling to the bottom of the hole. There were no bunker rakes, ball washers or benches on the golf courses. Starting times were expanded to assist in social distancing.

The Philadelphia Section held its first tournament of the year. The Connelly Cup Head Professional Championship was played at North Hills Country Club. Hugo Mazzalupi, the professional at the Patriots Glen National Golf Club, was the winner by four strokes with a four under par 67.

On Thursday June 11 the PGA Tour resumed its season with the playing of the Charles Schwab Challenge. The tournament was at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. It was the first round of golf on the PGA Tour since March 12, when the Players Championship was canceled after one round had been played.

Due to the virus, the PGA Professional Championship, which had been scheduled for April in Austin, Texas, was moved to June and then canceled. At that tournament the top 20 qualified for the PGA Championship. To select those 20 club professionals for the PGA Championship, the top 20 from the PGA’s 2019 Player of the Year list were invited. As number eleven on the list, Alex Knoll, the teaching professional at the Glen Brook Golf Club, was in the PGA Championship.

The Philadelphia PGA’s Assistant Championship was played at the St. Davids Golf Club on the first Monday of August. The tournament had been scheduled to be played in New Jersey, but due to the COVID 19 virus, the state of New Jersey would not allow out of state residents to participant in a tournament in its state. Due to a water problem caused by springs that had opened up, the 5th hole at St. Davids was played as a par 3, making par 69. Deerfield Country Club assistant Michael Tobiason posted a 68 in his morning round and came back in the afternoon with a torrid 62. His eight under par 130 won by four strokes. Trevor Bensel (Overbrook Golf Club), Steve Swartz (West Shore Country Club), Brett Walker (Sunnybrook Golf Club) and Ashley Grier (Overbrook Golf Club) tied for second at 134. This was also qualifying for the Assistant PGA Professional Championship. The Section had five spots to qualify for. Grier was exempt as a member of the 2019 Women’s PGA Cup team. The fifth spot went to Manufacturers Golf & Country Club assistant Ross Seaman (135). Jordan Shuey (West Shore Country Club) 137, got into the national championship as an alternate. The purse was $17,133 and first prize was $2,495.

The PGA Championship was played in the first full week of August at the 7,169 yard TPC Harding Park golf course in San Francisco. As usual for San Francisco the temperatures were in the low 60s each day. At one point during the last nine holes on Sunday seven players were tied for the lead at nine under par. On the 14th hole California born Collin Morikawa chipped in for a birdie to take the lead. Two holes later he drove the 297-yard par four 16th hole and then holed a seven foot putt for an eagle. From there he made pars on the next two holes to win by two strokes. His rounds were 69, 69, 65 and 64 for a thirteen under par 267. Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey tied for second at 269. There was a four way tie for fourth. Jason Day, Matthew Wolff. Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau posted 270s. Jim Furyk and Alex Knoll missed the cut. First prize was $1,900,000 from a purse of $11,000,000.

In the second week of August the Pennsylvania Open was held at the Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh. Due to the number of entries qualifying was held at six locations around the state. Amateurs dominated the top spots. Western Pennsylvania amateur Jimmy Ellis won the tournament with rounds of 71, 71 and 71 for an even par 213. Amateurs Troy Vannucci and William Davenport tied for second at 214. Lancaster’s J.D. Dornes who was playing the minitours tied with two more amateurs; Connor Schmidt and Mark Goetz tied for fourth at 215. Dornes took home the top money of $8,000.

Trevor Bensel won the Delaware Valley Open on the third Monday of August at the Concord Country Club with a nine under par 61. His 61, which was composed of seven birdies, an eagle and ten pars, was one stroke off the course record. Five strokes back, there was a three-way tie for second. Dave McNabb, (Applebrook Country Club professional), Rich Steinmetz (Spring Ford Country Club professional) and Country Club of York assistant Parks Price all turned in 66s. First prize from a prize pool of $12,490 was $1,660.

The two-day Philadelphia Section Senior Championship was played at the Concord Country Club during the third week of August. The first day Dave McNabb led by two strokes with a four under par 66. On Tuesday, Country Club at Woodloch Springs professional John Pillar, posted a 66 to go with his first round 68 while McNabb was turning in a 68. That left them in a tie for the title. A sudden death playoff was held on the par five 18th hole, which Pillar won with a par. First prize was $1,080 and the total prize money was $6,175. This was also qualifying for the 2021 Senior PGA Championship and the Section had 6 spots. Deerwood Country Club professional Greg Farrow finished third at 138. Laurel Creek Country Club teaching professional David Quinn and Huntingdon Valley Country Club teaching professional John Allen tied for the fourth and fifth spots with 138s. Radnor Valley Country Club professional George Forster, Sr. and the host professional Mike Moses tied for sixth and the last spot, which Forster won in a sudden death playoff. Bucknell Golf Club professional Brian Kelly (140) was exempt off his tie for 22nd at the 2019 Senior PGA Professional Championship.

Due to COVID-19 the US Open was held during the third week of September instead of June like it had been for many years. The last time it was played in September was 1913 when Francis Quimet won. The tournament was hosted by the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. As usual the course was long and difficult but some low rounds were posted. When it was all over Bryson DeChambeau was the winner. His game plan was to drive the ball as far as possible, and rough or fairway take his chances from there. Of the 56 holes that were not par threes his tee shots were in the fairway only 23 times. He led in driving distance with an average of 325.6 yards. Matthew Wolff led DeChambeau by two strokes after 54 holes at five under par 205, but there was one more round to play. On Sunday only one played broke the par of 70 and that was DeChambeau, with a 67. DeChambeau’s rounds were 69, 68, 68 and 67 for six under par 274. Wolff finished second at 280. Louis Oosthuizen was third at 282 and Harris English was fourth at 283. First prize from the $12,500,000 purse was $2,250,000.

The 99th Philadelphia Section Championship was played during the third week of September in the central counties, The first two rounds were at the par 71 Bent Creek Country Club and the par 72 Country Club of York. For the first two days half of the field of 147 Section members played at each of the courses. With the field cut to the low 60 and ties, the third and final round was played at Bent Creek, This was also qualifying for the 2021 PGA Professional Championship. The defending champion, Alex Knoll, began like he left off in 2019, by taking the lead. He made two eagles on the way to posting a 65 at Bent Creek, which gave him a one stroke lead on the field. The next day he turned in a 69 at York and was now in the lead by two strokes. Back at Bent Creek for the final round on Wednesday Knoll put together a steady round of 70. On the eleventh tee he held a five stroke lead. His 54-hole total of 204 won by three strokes. Pine Valley Golf Club assistant Tom Cooper finished second at 207. Philadelphia Cricket Club teaching assistant Rusty Harbold and French Creek Golf Club assistant Andrew Turner tied for third with 210 totals. With 11 spots at the 2021 PGA Professional Championship to qualify for there was plenty to play for. Lookaway Golf Club professional Michael Little, Bidermann Golf Club assistant Zac Oakley and Brett Walker tied for 5th, 6th and 7th at 212. Rich Steinmetz, Hugo Mazzalupi and Parks Price tied for 8th, 9th and 10th at 213. Mark Sheftic and Terry Hertzog who were both teaching professionals at Merion Golf Club tied for the last spot at 214. A sudden death playoff was held on the 10th hole which Sheftic won with a par four. The total prize money was $75,000 with a first prize of $9,500. The host professionals were James Haus (Bent Creek) and Kevin Bales (CC of York).

The Philadelphia Open, which had been scheduled for July at Galloway National Golf Club was played at the Doylestown Country Club in the second week of October. Due to the Covid-19 virus the state of New Jersey had placed restrictions on sporting events with participants from outside the state. Due to the virus there was no qualifying for the tournament. The GAP filled the field off the performance ranking from the Philadelphia PGA and their list of amateurs. Michael Little came to the last hole, a par five, tied for the lead with Alex Knoll, who was in the clubhouse at five under par 139. On finding what he thought had been a perfect tee shot, he found his golf ball in the front end of a divot. After checking with an official to make sure how he stood, Little played a 5-wood shot to the green, which was fronted by a pond, to within 10 feet of the hole. From there he two putted for the win. His rounds were 68 and 70 for a six under par 138. Amateurs Jeff Osberg and Andrew Mason tied for third one stroke behind Knoll with 140 totals. Due to the pandemic and no income from qualifying rounds the purse was greatly reduced. The total prize money was $10,000 and first prize was $2,000.

Aronimink Golf Club and its professional Jeff Kiddie hosted the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship during the first full week of October. Due to COVID-19 the tournament had been postponed from June to October. South Korea’s Sei Young Kim won with what was a record score for the LPGA’s championship. Kim began the final round with a three stroke lead over Inbee Park. Park shot a 65 but Kim won by five strokes. Twice Park got within two strokes, but Kim birdied four of the last six holes for a 63, the low round of the week. Kim’s rounds were 71, 65, 67 and 63 for 266. Park was second alone at 271. Nasa Hataoka made an eagle 2 on the first hole of the day on the way to a 64 and a tie for third with Carlota Ciganda with 273s. First prize was $645,000 from a total purse of $4,300,000.

Trevor Bensel won the Section Match Play Championship for a second time in the third week of October at the Waynesborough Country Club. He also won the tournament in 2017. In the 18-hole final he defeated the defending champion Zac Oakley 6 & 5. To reach the final Oakley defeated Andrew Turner 4 & 2 and Bensel defeated Chester Valley assistant Nicholas Iaccoca 2 & 1. The match play ladder was made up of 59 head professionals and assistants along with five byes. The prize money totaled $11,400 and first prize was $2,000.

In his first start on the Champions PGA Tour Jim Furyk won the Ally Challenge at the Warwick Hills Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan in early August. He posted rounds of 68, 66 and 68 for a 14 under par 202 to win by two strokes. Retief Goosen and Brett Quigley tied for second at 204. Chris DiMarco, Rod Pampling and Wes Short, Jr. tied for fourth with 205 totals. Prize money was $2,000,000 and first prize was $300,000.

In his second start on the Champions PGA Tour Jim Furyk won the Pure Insurance Championship at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California during the third week of September. He joined Arnold Palmer and Bruce Fleisher as the only ones to win their fist two starts on that tour. With rounds of 64, 73 and 67 he finished in a tie with Jerry Kelly at 12 under par 204. In a sudden death playoff Furyk won with a birdie four on the first extra hole. Ernie Els finished third at 205. Mike Weir and Retief Goosen tied for fourth with 207 scores. First prize was $315,000 from the $2,100.000 purse.

The Senior PGA Professional Championship was won by Omar Uresti in the third week of October as he won by six strokes and set a tournament record. The tournament was played in Port St. Lucie, Florida at the PGA of America Golf Club’s Wanamaker (par 72) and Ryder (par 71) courses. Uresti’s turned in rounds of 68, 66, 66 and 69 for an 18 under par 269. Scott Hebert finished second at 275 while Paul Stankowski and Bob Sowards tied for third at 276. First prize was $26,000 from a prize pool of $318,000. David Quinn and Dave McNabb led the Philadelphia contingent as they tied for 16th with one under par 286s. They each won $4,100. John Pillar tied for 24th at 288, winning $3,487.50. George Forster, Sr. finished tied for 71st and won $1,180. This was also qualifying for the 2021 Senior PGA Championship. With 35 spots to qualify for, Quinn, McNabb and Pillar all made it with ease. Brian Kelly, Hugo Mazzalupi and John Allen missed the cut. Mazzalupi got in as the fourth alternate from the Philadelphia Section.

Due to COVID-19 the PGA of America’s annual meeting was held virtually. The meeting was held in late October. Suzy Whaley stepped down as president after completing her two year term. Vice president Jim Richerson was elected president and secretary John Lindert was elected vice president Both were elected without opposition. Don Rea was elected secretary on the second ballot, over three other candidates. Four candidates were on the first ballot and three made it to the second ballot. Rea received 62 of the 118 votes against 51 for Dave Schneider. The delegates from the Philadelphia Section were Jeff Kiddie and Commonwealth National Golf Club professional Patrick Shine. The Section was also represented by past Dick Smith, Sr. an Jack Connelly. The two delegates from each of the 41 PGA Sections, the district directors and past presidents all had a vote. With it being the Philadelphia PGA’s turn to be represented in District 2 by a director for a three year term, Philadelphia’s John Pillar was sworn in. For the past year Pillar had been sitting in on the meetings in order to have a smooth transition into office. There were no resolutions voted on.

The Assistant PGA Professional Championship was played at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Florida during the second week of November. The winner was Gunner Wiebe with rounds of 70, 67, 69 and 72. His 278 total won by two strokes. First prize was $12,000. Jin Chung finished second at 280. Greg Koch and Aaron Purviance tied for third at 282. Ashley Grier tied for 34th at 293. Her rounds were 70, 76, 77 and 70. Steve Swartz and Michael Tobiason both missed the cut by one stroke with 151s. Ross Seaman and Jordan Shuey also missed the cut. Shuey got in as an alternate. Trevor Bensel and Brett Walker had qualified but did not play in the tournament. Prize money totaled $150,000.

After being postponed in April due to COVID-19, the Masters Tournament was played in the middle of November. The Augusta National course measured 7,475 yards. An early morning thunderstorm and heavy rain stopped play for nearly three hours on Thursday morning, but that only made the course play easier, with greens that held every shot. Dustin Johnson picked up his second major title with a wire to wire victory while putting together a 72-hole tournament record of 268. His rounds were 65, 70, 65 and 68. Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth had shared the record of 270. Johnson teed off in the final round with a four stroke lead and won by five. First prize was $2,070,000. Australia’s Cameron Smith and South Korea’s Sungjae Im tied for second at 273. Justin Thomas finished fourth at 276. Total prize money was $11,500,000.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Section’s annual meeting was held virtual at 8:30 on Tuesday November 17. 184 Section members and associates viewed the meeting via YouTube. President Jeff Kiddie conducted the meeting as the officers and committee chairmen gave their reports through prerecorded videos. Clark Luis kicked off the meeting singing the national anthem from the patio at Valley Country Club, where he was the golf professional. John Carpineta gave the invocation and gave thanks for the golf professionals being in the golf business, which had prospered during the 2020 pandemic. Due to golf courses being closed for several weeks in the spring, $140,000 had been borrowed from the Section’s restricted fund in order to keep all of the Section’s staff members on the payroll. As of September there was now $423,445 in the fund, a decrease of $99,091. The education committee reported that during the spring lull, while golf courses were closed, the Section provided 34 electronic seminars called webinars. John Pillar, who was now the PGA Director for District 2, gave a report on national affairs. Many Section tournaments were postponed or canceled but before the year was over all of the Section’s major tournaments had been played. Michael Little was the Player of the Year and he led the DeBaufre trophy scoring with an average of 70.17 in the designated tournaments. Dave McNabb was the Skee Riegel Senior Player of the Year . Two Section members, Bob Barnett posthumously, and Michael Mack, were elected to the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame.

Robert T. “Bob” Barnett was the first president of the Philadelphia Section PGA, elected in December 1921. He was born in Philadelphia in 1896 and began his professional career as an assistant at Bala Golf Club in 1914. In 1922 he hosted the first Philadelphia PGA Championship at Tredyffrin Country Club in Paoli, Pennsylvania, where he was the professional. The evening of the Section Championship, the professionals held their annual meeting. Barnett was reelected, but in March he left the Section to become the professional at the Chevy Chase Club in Maryland. Due to his popularity he was invited to play in the Section Championship even though he was no longer a Section member. As a non-member he won the Section Championship twice. As the professional at Chevy Chase he was a founder of the Middle Atlantic PGA and its second president along with winning that Section Championship. For nearly 20 years Barnett was the professional at the Indian Creek Country Club in Miami, Florida during the winter months. At Indian Creek he trained two young professionals who would go on to be leaders in the PGA’s national affairs, Max Elbin and Bill Strausbaugh. Elbin was president of the PGA from 1966 to 1968 and the national award for work in Club Relations was named after Strausbaugh in 1979. One of Barnett’s proteges and assistants at Chevy Chase and Indian Creek was Lew Worsham who would go on to win the 1947 U.S. Open. In 1941 he was on the PGA of America’s teaching committee. During World War II he spearheaded a program for the rehabilitation of the wounded veterans and served on the PGA Wounded Veterans Rehabilitation Committee. He served a term as a PGA of America Vice President (later renamed District Director). Barnett is also a member of the Middle Atlantic PGA Hall of Fame.

Michael T. “Mike” Mack was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1956 and began playing golf at the age of 16. He turned pro in 1977. As an assistant he worked for John Poole, at West Chester Golf & Country Club and Pete Dever at Brookside Country Club. In 1982 he became the head professional at the Burlington Country Club and was still the professional there in 2020. In 1989 Mack went on the Section board of directors as a director from South Jersey. Five years later he was elected first vice president and began a progression through the Section’s chairs. He served two years as secretary and two years as vice president, which due to a change in the Section’s by-laws had been called treasurer before that. In 2000 he was elected president and became the Section’s 33rd president. Since becoming the professional at Burlington he devoted his time to the promotion of junior golf. After growing junior golf at his club he promoted team matches for juniors among the golf clubs in southwestern New Jersey. He introduced golf to the Special Olympics in his region while serving as the golf instructor and he was honored for his work with the inter-city youth of Camden. Mack was one of the leading tournament players in the Section who was nearly always in contention at the Section tournaments. In an effort to improve his golf game and learn more about the golf swing he traveled numerous miles to take golf lessons from the country’s most famous instructors. Mack finished second in the Section championship in 1994 and third in 2000. He qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship twice along with qualifying for the Senior PGA Professional National Championship once and he played on six Section challenge cup teams. In 1986 Mack began hosting the two-day Burlington Classic which quickly became one of the most important tournaments on the Section’s calendar. The tournament was still being played more thirty years later. He hosted the Section championship twice at Burlington County. In 1999 Mack was the Section’s “PGA Golf Professional of the Year”.

In the third week of December Brandon Matthews won on the PGA Tour’s Latinoamerica Tour for a second time by winning the Puerto Plata Open in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. He won by five strokes with rounds of 65, 65, 63 and 65 for a 26 under par 258. Jacob Bergeron was second at 263. Connor Godsey and Brendon Doyle tied for third with 264s. First prize was $31,500 from the $175,000 purse.

Justin Thomas was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour for the 2019-2020 season with $7,344,040 and he was the PGA of America Player of the Year. Jim Furyk played in 13 tournaments and won 224,450. Bernhard Langer led the PGA Tour’s senior tour money list with $1,493,737 in 15 starts. Will Zalatoris was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour’s developmental tour with earnings of $403,978 in 16 events.

Due to the COVID-19 virus and restrictions on social gatherings many businesses struggled or closed, but even though the number of virus cases continued and even increased dramatically, golf prospered. With limitations on what people could do safely, golf was an option. It was not safe for people to travel or even go to the beach, so there was money and time to be spent elsewhere. Until the various governments figured out what to do, the golf courses were closed for nearly six weeks in the spring. Once the golf courses were reopened at the beginning of May, they were filled every day. To keep the golfers safe, starting times were spread out and golfers rode in single carts. Even though many golf courses were closed for nearly six weeks, by the end of 2020 most golf facilities had hosted 30 or 40 percent more rounds than the year before.

2021
Having been founded on December 2, 1921, 2021 was the 100th year of the Philadelphia Section PGA.

With the beginning of 2021 there were 868 PGA members in the Philadelphia PGA. 239 were head professionals at recognized golf facilities.

In January Ashley Grier was named 2020 Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year. Grier garnered 327.5 points earned in national and local professional golf events. She finished 72.5 points ahead of the second place finisher North Florida Section member Jennifer Borocz (255). She would be honored at the PGA of America national meeting in November.

In early February Brett Walker won the PGA Winter Series Stroke Play Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The first and third rounds were played on the par 71 Ryder Course and the second round was on the par 72 Wanamaker Course. Walker posted rounds of 66, 72 and 63 to finish at thirteen under par 201.  That left him tied with Omar Uresti (201) for first. He then birdied the first hole of a sudden death playoff, which began on the 17th hole, to secure the title and $5,400 first prize. Trevor Bensel tied Rod Perry for third at 202 and won $2,465. John Pillar and Zac Oakley tied for 11th with 207s and each won $965. This was also an alternate qualifying event for the PGA Professional Championship. There were two spots for the top two in the tournament who were not already qualified. Bensel and Pillar earned those two spots. Walker and Oakley had already qualified through their finishes in the 2020 Philadelphia Section Championship.

On Wednesday April 7 the Philadelphia Section’s spring meeting was a virtual presentation due to the COVID-19 virus limitations. Some of the committee reports were filmed earlier at the Section office. The meeting was opened with a rendition of Clark Luis singing our nation anthem from Valley Country Club that had been recorded for the fall 2020 meeting. With the virus, finances were complicated. Income was down $626,583 but expenses were also down $685,931.Through the federal bailout for payroll retention the Section received $10,772. All PGA Sections received money from the national each year. The Philadelphia Section would be receiving $180,000. As of January 31 there was $591,758 in the Section’s Restricted Fund. With golf courses closed for a period of time due to COVID-19, there was a delay to the start of the Section’s Junior Tour. In spite of that membership was up and total competitive rounds for the year were up. National PGA Director John Pillar reported on national affairs. Topics covered were the move of the  2022 PGA Championship from Trump National Golf Club to Southern Hills Country Club in Oklahoma, an update on work being done for moving the PGA national office to Frisco, Texas, the USGA proposed changes in amateur definition and the upcoming Ryder Cup. The PGA would continue to own the golf courses in Port St. Lucie, Florida and the winter golf events would still be held there. The education committee reported that with COVID-19 twenty-six education seminars had been presented by the Section for its members via the internet. They were called webinars. The “Golf Professional of the Year” was St. Davids Golf Club’s Dean Kandle and the “Teacher of the Year” Andy Miller, the teaching professional at Ledge Rock Golf Club.

Dean E. Kandle the “Golf Professional of the Year” learned to play golf at George McNamara’s driving range in Downingtown. He graduated from Penn State University. He was an assistant at the Philadelphia Cricket Club before becoming the head professional at St. Davids Golf Club in 2011. In 2018 he was the Section’s Bill Strausbaugh Award winner. In 2019 and 2020 he received the Philadelphia PGA Professional Development Award. He was a Philadelphia Section District Director for 2019 to 2021. Kandle served on the Section’s education and special awards committees. He hosted Section tournaments, meetings and education seminars at St. Davids. Along with that Kandle hosted a Podcast titled “Getting Better Now”, which aired 32 episodes for his fellow golf professionals. Then he created a Podcast in partnership with Golf Genius and its 8,000 contacts, titled “The Golf Professional Growth Project”.  When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020 Kandle met those challenges. He communicated with the St. Davids members and brought virtual golf instruction to their homes. Through the SDGC Board he created a “Staff Relief Fund” that provided cash envelopes of  $500 to $2,500 for furloughed employees and caddies. Through the internet he helped guide his fellow Philadelphia Section golf professionals through the pandemic during 2020.

The Masters Tournament was played in the first full week of April with limited fans in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions. On Thursday the course played fast and the greens were mowed down to where they were brown as much as they were green. There were few scores under par for the day until Justin Rose posted a 65 which led by four strokes when all the scores were posted. On Friday Rose posted an even par 72 to take a one stroke lead into the weekend. On Saturday the scoring was still difficult until a storm came through, halting play for a little more than an hour. With the course now less firm the scoring improved. Hideki Matsuyama put together a 65 to take a four stroke lead after 54 holes. On Sunday Matsuyama held some big leads at times but he finished with bogies on three of the last four holes to win by one stroke. Matsuyama’s rounds were 69, 71, 65 and 71 for a ten under par 278. In his first time at the Masters, Will Zalatoris finished second at 279. Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele tied for third at 281. First prize was $2,070,000 from a total prize pool of $11,500,000.

After a year off due to COVID-19 the PGA Professional Championship was being played again. The tournament was also qualifying for the PGA Championship which was coming up in May. The low 20 qualified for the PGA Championship. The tournament was played at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida on its par 72 Wanamaker and par 71 Ryder Courses in the fourth week of May. The final two rounds were on the 7,088 yard Wanamaker Course. The tournament began on a Sunday so the four rounds could be televised on Golf Channel. There were 14 PGA members from the Philadelphia Section in the starting field of 312. After rounds of 67, 68 and 65 Omar Uresti began the final round with a seven stroke lead, but he then proceeded to play the first four holes in four over par. He made the turn in 40 and at one point on the back nine his lead had shrunk to two strokes but he played the his last nine in 36 strokes for 76. His 276 total won by three strokes. First prize was $60,000 from the $650,000 purse.  Frank Bensel, Jr. finished second at 279. Ben Cook was third at 281 and Larkin Gross was fourth at 283. Brett Walker tied for 8th with a 285, which qualified him for the PGA Championship in May. Walker picked up a check for $12,161.11. Players with 288 scores played off for the last four spots in the PGA. Zac Oakley and Tom Cooper tied for 40th with 292s. They each won $5,300. Trevor Bensel tied for 55th at 295, winning $3,705. Hugo Mazzalupi tied for 71st at 300 and won $2,837.50. Parks Price missed the 54 hole cut. Rich Steinmetz, Ashley Grier, John Pillar, Andrew Turner, Mark Sheftic, Michael Little, Alex Knoll and Terry Hertzog missed the 36 hole cut. Hertzog had gotten into the tournament when Rusty Harbold, who had qualified, did not play. Grier was in the tournament off being a member of the PGA Women’s Cup Team. Bensel and Pillar got in off their finish in the PGA Winter Stroke Play Championship. Turner was now the teaching professional at Berkshire Country Club and Sheftic was now the teaching professional at the Lookaway Golf Club.

Indian Valley Country Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the second Monday of May. There were 81 players there for 5 spots. Amateur Kyle Vance led with a five under par 67 and amateur Connor McGrath was second with a 70. Five players tied at 72. There was a sudden death playoff to determine the last three spots. Amateur Tyler Sokolis and professionals Joseph Gunnerman and David Sanders were third, fourth and fifth. No playoffs were needed.

John Pillar won the inaugural Pennsylvania Senior Open on the second Tuesday of May. The two-day tournament was played at the Lehigh Country Club. A five under par 65 on Monday put Pillar five strokes in front of the field. On Tuesday he birdied three of his first six holes and at one point he led by nine strokes. He ended his round with a bogey on the l8th hole for a 72. His 36-hole total won by four strokes. Golf Association of Philadelphia president  Oscar Mestre finished second at 141. Amateur Sean Knapp was third at 144. Dave McNabb tied for fourth with amateurs Chris Fieger, Sr. and Rich Pruchnik at 145. Pillar picked up a check for $4,000 from the $15,000 purse. McNabb won $2,000. Fifteen professionals won money.

Local qualifying for the US Open was held at The Steel Club on the second Wednesday of May. There were 65 entries competing for 4 spots. Shawnee Country Club’s teaching professional Brian Bergstol led with a two under par 70. Amateurs Andy Butler and Zach Juhasz tied for second and third with 72s. The fourth and last spot went to North Carolina professional Nemanja Savic with a 73. No playoff was needed.

On the second Thursday of May local qualifying for the US Open was at the Country Club of York. There were 78 entered there for 4 spots. Maryland professional Ryan Siegler and North Carolina professional Mark Kriston tied for low with seven under par 65s. Amateurs Connor Schmidt (67) and John Devereaux (68) picked up the third and fourth spots.

Elmhurst Country Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the third Monday of May. There were 50 players for 3 spots. Glenmaura National Country Club assistant Anthony Sebastianelli led the field with a four under par 67. Patrick Ross, a former member of the Temple University golf team was second at 68. The third spot was won by amateur William Mirams in a sudden death playoff after posting a 69.

The PGA Championship was played in South Carolina at the Kiawah Island Ocean Course. The golf course played  as difficult as usual even though the PGA officials set it up as fairly as possible. The first day the course was 200 yards less than its full length but there was only one score under 69, a 67. On day two the wind was up at 20 mph most of the day. Five over par 149 made the cut, but along with the wind the story of the day was 50-year old Phil Mickelson who was tied for the lead at (70-69) 139. On Saturday the wind was up again. Mickelson posted a 70 to take a one stroke lead into the final round over two-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka. The course did now play any easier on Sunday. In an up and down day of birdies and bogies Mickelson put together a 73 to win my two strokes at 282. Mickelson at 50 was the oldest to win a major championship, surpassing Julius Boros who had won the PGA in 1968 at age 48. Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen tied for second at 284. Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey and Harry Higgs tied for fourth with 286s. First prize from the $12,000,000 purse was $2,160,000. The Philadelphia Section’s Brett Walker was one of 20 club professionals in the starting field. He posted rounds of 77 and 77 to miss the cut.

The Senior PGA Championship was held at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the end of May. Alex Cejka who had recently won on the Senior Tour as a first alternate won for a second time. It was a convincing win as well as he won by four strokes with an eight under par 272. His rounds were 67, 70, 68 and 67. First place paid $585,000. Tim Petrovic finished second at 276. Retief Goosen and K.J. Choi tied for third with 277s. John Pillar, Dave McNabb and David Quinn missed the cut. The total purse was $3,500,000.

On the first Monday of June sectional qualifying was held at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland.  Christopher Crawford, who had grown up playing golf at the Spring Mill Country Club and was now playing minitours won one of the last two spots. Crawford, who had played college golf at Drexel University, qualified for the US Open for a third time. He had qualified as an amateur in 2016 and 2017. The medalist at eight under par 136 was Canada’s Taylor Pendrith. Dylan Wu was second at 137. Crawford and Chris Baker tied for third and fourth with 139s. Crawford had made it through local qualifying in Alabama where he shot a 69 and then won a three-man playoff for the fourth and last spot. There were 74 professionals and amateurs competing for four spots.

The 35th Burlington Classic was played at the Burlington Country Club in the first week of June. The first day was a pro-am with two professionals paired with three amateurs. The professionals’ scores counted toward a two-day total for individual money. The first day the course was set up at less than its full length for the pro-am. Braden Shattuck, an assistant professional at the Bidermann Golf Club, led by one stroke after round one on Sunday. On Monday he holed 25-foot and 10-foot putts for pars on the last two holes to finish with a one over par 71. His 135 total held off Terry Hertzog and Zac Oakley who tied for second with 137s. Eight professionals; Mike Furey, Parks Price, Chris Krueger, Greg Farrow, Alex Knoll, Brian Kelly, Eddie Perrino and Hugo Mazzalupi tied for fourth at 138. Furey was now the teaching professional at Saucon Valley Country Club and Krueger was the teaching professional at the Kings Creek Country Club. Farrow was the professional at the Deerwood Country Club and Perrino was the professional at the Eagle Rock Resort.  First prize was $3,500 from the $19,204 purse.

Kevin Kraft, who was a fitting professional at 2nd Swing Golf in Wilmington, Delaware, qualified for the US Senior Open on the Cascades Course in Hot Springs, Virginia on the first Monday of June. He posted a three under par 69 to grab the second of two spots. Amateur Keith Decker was low with a 68. There were 81 professionals and amateurs entered there.

On the second Monday of June David Quinn qualified for the US Senior Open at the Argyle Country Club in Silver Springs, Maryland. He shot a four under par 67 to tie for medalist with amateur William Smith. Players with 69 scores played off for the third and last spot. There were 120 players entered there.

The US Open was played near San Diego, California at the Torrey Pines Golf Club in the third week of June. Some little know professionals led in the early rounds, but when it was all over Jon Rahm was the winner. Ten players had a chance to win during the last round. Louis Oosthuizen held the lead late in the day only to have his drive on the 17th hole roll into a ravine which led to a bogey five. Playing ahead of Oosthuizen, Rahm had birdied the 17th hole and was now one in front playing the par five 18th hole. Bunkered to the right of the green in two, Rahm (278) blasted out to 18 feet and holed the putt. Oosthuizen (279) also made a 4 on the last hole, but his 72 hole total was one stroke too high. Rahm’s rounds were 69, 70, 72 and 67. Harris English was third at 281. Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and Guido Migliozzi tied for fourth with 282s. Rahm won $2,250,000 from the $12,500,000 purse. Christopher Crawford missed the cut.

The Women’s PGA Championship was played near Atlanta, Georgia at the Atlanta Athletic Club in the fourth week of June. Nelly Korda won by three strokes with rounds of 70, 63, 68 and 68 for a nineteen under par 269. The win moved her into the number one ranking in the world. Lizette Salas finished second at 272. Giulia Molinaro and Hyo Joo Kim tied for fourth at 278. Leslie Grier missed the cut. First prize was $675,000 from a total purse of  $4,600,000.

Jim Furyk won the US Senior Open in the second week of July at the Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Nebraska. Jim Furyk was exempt from qualifying off having won a US Open and being in his first 10 years of eligibility on the Senior PGA Tour and also having been a member of one of the last five Ryder Cup Teams. Two great rounds in the middle of the tournament won the title for him. Furyk’s rounds were 72, 64, 66 and 71. His seven under par 273 won by three strokes. He began the last round with a four stroke lead, but a three over par start on the first three holes reduced his lead to one. From there he played steady golf to the finish while the course was not giving up low rounds the others. By now having won both a US Open and a US Senior Open he joined an elite group of eight who had accomplished that. First prize from the $4,000,000 purse was $720,000. Mike Weir and Retief Goosen tied for second with 276s. Rod Pampling finished fourth at 277. Kevin Kraft tied for 56th at 296 and won $8,580. David Quinn missed the cut.

The Philadelphia Open was hosted by the Country Club of York in the second week of July. Blake Hinckley, a golf professional and member of Wilmington Country Club, captured the title with a five under par (66-69) 135 to win by one stroke. With nine holes to play Hinckley was two strokes out of the lead. Then on the 11th hole he holed out from 87 yards for an eagle two. From there he went par, birdie, birdie. On the 18th hole his tee shot was in the tree line on the right, but with a two stroke lead he made a safe bogey to win by one stroke. He had qualified for the tournament by shooting a 77 at Trenton Country Club to pick up one of the last spots. Hinckley had played his college golf at the University of Maryland and he had worked as an assistant at Bidermann Golf Club in 2020. Amateur Ron Robinson finished second at 136. Billy Stewart, the teaching professional at The Ace Club, and amateurs Patrick Sheehan, Joshua Ryan and Troy Vannucci tied for third with 137s. There was a cut to the low 70 and ties at the end of the first day. First prize was $6,000 from the total purse of $30,000.

The British Open was held at the par 70 Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England during the third week of July. Collin Morikawa won his second major and it was record setting. He was the first to win two major tournaments, the 2020 PGA Championship and this British Open, the first time he participated in them. He also joined an elite group of eight who had won two majors before the age of 25. Louis Oosthuizen led for three rounds but on Sunday he slipped to a 71 while his playing partner Morikawa was putting together a bogey free 66. Morikawa (67-64-68-66=265) won by two strokes over Jordan Spieth (267). Oosthuizen and Jon Rahm tied for third with 269s. The prize money totaled $11,500,000 and first prize was $2,070,000.

Braden Shattuck won the Lehigh Valley Open in the third week of July. It was again played at the Northampton Country Club. The two-day tournament ended in a three-way tie between Shattuck (69-66=135), Brett Walker (68-67=135) and Northampton member Zach Juhasz (66-69=135). A sudden death playoff was held on the drivable 315-yard 18th hole. Juhasz made a par on the first playoff hole and was eliminated. The 18th hole was then played again. Both Shattuck and Walker drove the green with their golf balls coming to rest on the front and lower level of the two tiered green. Walker took three putts while Shattuck was two putting for the win. First prize was $1,603 from the $12,120 prize pool. Alex Knoll finished fourth at 137.

The Senior British Open was played at in Sunningdale, England at the Sunningdale Golf Club during the fourth week of July. Wales professional Stephen Dodd won with rounds of 66, 71, 62 and 68. His 267 total nipped Angel Miguel Jimenez (268) by on stroke. Darren Clark (269) was third and Bernhard Langer (271) was fourth. Jim Furyk tied for 16th at 278 winning $38,013. The total purse in US dollars was $2,500,000 and first prize was $375,000.

In late July Brandon Matthews completed the wrap around PGA Tour Latinoamerica season as the Player of the Year. This gave him full exemption to the 2022 PGA Korn Ferry Tour. He had two victories during the season and won $151,161.

The Philadelphia PGA Assistant Championship was played at Cedarbrook Country Club in the first week of August. Brett Walker captured the title by two strokes with a seven under par 137. His rounds for the one day tournament were 68 and 69. Walker made six birdies in each round. Ashley Grier finished second at 139. Brian Bergstol and Zac Oakley tied for third with 141s. This was also qualifying for the PGA Assistant Championship. The Section had five places to qualify for. Michael Tobiason posted a 142 and picked up the fifth spot in a two-man sudden death playoff. First prize was $2,101 from total prize money of $15,480.

The Pennsylvania Open was held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club during the second week of August. At the end of 36 holes the field was cut to the low 40 and ties. 47 professionals and amateurs with scores of 147 or better survived to play the last 18 holes on Thursday. A large part of the story was the heat. The first day was 90 degrees and the second day was 93. The tournament ended in a tie at even par 210 when a 12-foot birdied putt dropped for Lancaster County minitour player Alex Blickle (69-70-71). That put him in a playoff with amateur Jeff Osberg (65-72-73). A sudden death playoff began on the 18th hole, then continued on through hole numbers 1, 18 and 1. They halved the first three holes in par (4), bogey (5) and par (4). Back to number one for a fourth playoff hole, Osberg was on the green in two and Blickle was in the left rough. From 206 yards he hit a 7-iron that came to rest two feet from the hole. Osberg two putted for a par and Blickle tapped in his putt for the title. First prize was $8,000. Trevor Bensel and English professional Findlay Mason, who was working at the Philadelphia Cricket Club as a summer intern, tied for third with 212 totals. Total prize money was $40,000.

Ashley Grier won the inaugural Philadelphia Section PGA Women’s Championship on the second Thursday of August. She put together a one over par 72 at the Kennett Square Golf & Country Club. Her sister, Andrea Grier an assistant at the Wilmington Country Club, finished second with a 76. Patty Post, University of Delaware golf coach, Victoria Petrosky, Fox Hill Country Club assistant, Marjorie Jones, The Shore Club assistant and Jennifer Cully, Honeybrook Golf Club teaching professional all tied for third with 78s. First prize from the $4,568 prize pool was $1,370. Six players won money.

The Penn Oaks Golf Club hosted the Pro-Am for Wishes, in the middle of August. The tournament was played on a Sunday and Monday. On Sunday the professionals were paired with amateurs in a pro-am to raise money for charity. Three players, Brian Kelly (72-68), Zac Oakley (69-71) and Brian Bergstol (69-71) finished in a tie for first. On the first playoff hole, which was the first hole at Penn Oaks, Kelly won with a par four. Chris Krueger finished fourth alone at 141. The prize money totaled $19,201 and first prize was $2,500.

The 100th Philadelphia PGA Section Championship was played at the end of August. The Aronimink Golf Club and Applebrook Golf Club hosted the championship. There were 163 entries. On Monday half of the field was at Aronimink and half of the field was at Applebrook. On Tuesday the players changed courses. The first day no one broke par at Aronimink as three turned in even par 70s. At Applebrook Ashley Grier posted a five under par 66 which led there by one stroke. With that Grier became the first woman to lead after any round of the 100 years of the Philadelphia PGA Championship. Grier played from tees that were 85 percent of the distance the men played from. On Tuesday Brett Walker made three birdies and an eagle on the back nine at Aronimink which helped him shoot a 66. The 66 and a 67 the day before at Applebrook gave him a one stroke lead at 133. On Wednesday hurricane Ida was  closing in on the Delaware Valley. A two-tee start  was scheduled for 8 a.m., but early morning rain pushed the start back to 9 a.m. As the day went along rain arrived and at 3 p.m. play was halted at 3 p.m. with the leaders having three holes left to play. After a three and one-half  hour delay the players headed out on the course to complete the round with Zac Oakley leading by two stokes. Before play could start again there was lightening and that was the end of golf for the day. With the PGA not having access to the Aronimink course for another day it had been decided before play began on Wednesday that if the round could not be completed the day’s scores would be wiped out and the final results would be based on the first two rounds. That made Walker the Section champion for 2021. First prize was $9,000. The two-round totals left Oakley (68-67) alone in second place at 135. Billy Stewart finished third at 138 and Grier was fourth at 139. This was also qualifying for the PGA Professional Championship. The Section had 11 spots to qualify for and with Walker having finished in the top 20 there in 2020 the Section had one more spot. Rusty Harbold, Terry Hertzog and  Dave McNabb tied for fifth with 140 totals winning the fifth, sixth and seventh spots. Trevor Bensel took the eighth spot with a 141. There were six players: Parks Price, George Forster, Hugo Mazzalupi, Steve Sanderson, Mike Furey and Scott Reilly who tied for ninth and had to playoff for the last four spots. The sudden death playoff began on the 18th hole at Aronimink on Thursday. Price made a par 4 while Forster, Mazzalupi  and Sanderson made bogeys to qualify. Then the playoff for first and second alternate went to the 10th hole. Furey made a bogey 5 to be first alternate with Reilly being the second alternate. Forster was now retired as the Radnor Valley Country Club professional. Sanderson was an assistant at Pine Valley Golf Club. Reilly was the professional at the Philadelphia Country Club. The host professionals were Jeff Kiddie (Aronimink) and Dave McNabb (Applebrook). The total purse was $72,000.

Parks Price won the Haverford Classic at the Sunnybrook Golf Club in a three-hole playoff on the first Tuesday of September. Price, Brett Walker and Zac Oakley had tied for the $100,000 top prize with four under par 68s. A sudden death playoff began on the 18th hole. All three reached the green with their second shots. Price, the farther away at 25 feet, holed his putt for a birdie. Oakley missed from 20 feet and Walker missed from 12 feet. Oakley and Walker each won $3,175. Brian Bergstol finished fourth with a 69. Total prize money was $116,730.

Dave McNabb won the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship for a second time on the third Wednesday of September. The tournament was hosted by the Huntsville Golf Club. McNabb led the two-day tournament all the way. On Tuesday he turned in a five under par 67 to lead by two strokes. A steady round of 73 the second day gave him a 140 total and one stroke victory. At one point he had a five stroke lead during the second round. John Pillar and Brian Kelly tied for second with 141s. Terry Hertzog finished fourth at 144. This was also qualifying for the Senior PGA Professional Championship. The Section had six spots to qualify for. The first four spots went to McNabb, Pillar, Kelly and Hertzog. Terry Hatch and Eddie Perrino tied for fifth at 145 to pick up the fifth and sixth spots. Hatch was the teaching professional at the Royal Oaks Golf Club. First prize was $1,075 from a purse of $6,544.

In the fourth week of September the PGA of America’s Ryder Cup team soundly defeated the European PGA’s team 19 points to 9. The US won the most points in each round except one, which they tied. In nearly every match the Americans were ranked higher in the world than their opponents. Every US player played up to their world ranking for the three days. To finish it off on Sunday the US won team won 8 of the 12 singles points. It was the largest margin of victory for any team since all of Europe became part of the Ryder Cup in 1979.

The Philadelphia PGA Match Play Championship was held at the Steel Club during the first week of October. There were 19 byes used to fill out the 64 player ladder. The number two seed, Zac Oakley, and the number 13 seed, Andrew Turner, made it to the final where Oakley won by 4 & 2. To reach the final Oakley defeated Dave McNabb 6 & 5 and Turner eliminated Eric Kennedy 2 & 1. It was the second time Oakley had won the Section’s Match Play Championship. It was a dominate display by Oakley as none of his matches reached the 17th hole. First prize was $2,084 from the $12,013 prize pool.

On the second Thursday of October the Golf Association of Philadelphia defeated the Philadelphia PGA in the annual challenge match. After two years of no matches due to rain in 2019 and COVID-19 in 2020 the matches were on again. Saucon Valley Country Club hosted the match on its Grace Course. There were 12 players on each team, with at least two seniors on a team. There were 12 singles matches and 6 better ball matches. The senior team of Dave McNabb and Brian Kelly won 2-1/2 points. The Zac Oakley and Michael Little team won 2 points. The team of Trevor Bensel and Brian Bergstol won 1-1/2 points. The teams of Braden Shaddock-Dustin Wallis and Chris Krueger-Mike Furey each won 1 point.  The team of George Forster, Sr. and Hugo Mazzalupi won 0 points. Wallis was the teaching professional at Honey Run Golf Club. The final score was 10 points for the GAP and 8 for the Philadelphia PGA. With this loss the 29-year record now stood at 21 victories for the PGA against 4 victories for the GAP and 4 ties.

Dave McNabb shot a 65 on the final day of the Senior PGA Professional Championship which elevated him to a tie for 14th. His 65 was low and the only 65 that day. He put together a seven under par 281. By finishing in the top 35 he qualified for the 2022 Senior PGA Championship. McNabb won $4,550. The tournament was held in the fourth week of October at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The par 72 Wanamaker Course and par 71 Ryder Course were used the first two days with the last two rounds on the Wanamaker Course. Paul Claxton (274) defeated Mark Milke (274) in a sudden death playoff with a par on the first extra hole which was held on the 18th hole of the Wanamaker Course. First prize was $26,000. Mike Small was third at 275. Bob Sowards and Alan Morin tied for fourth with 276s. Players with 286 or better totals qualified for the PGA Senior Championship, right on the number. There were 286 senior club professionals in the starting field. The top 70 and ties made the cut for the last two rounds. Scores of 145 and better made the cut and with ties at 145, 88 players make it. Brian Kelly tied for 53rd at 289 and won $1,825. Terry Hertzog, Eddie Perrino, John Pillar and Terry Hatch missed the cut. Total prize money came to $316,000. The winner’s name was added to the Leo Fraser trophy.

The fall meeting of the Philadelphia PGA was held at the Green Valley Country Club on the fourth Monday of October. For the first time since the fall of 2019 the meeting was held with attendance in person due to COVID-19. At the same time the meeting was available for viewing via Zoom which made for low attendance. Clark Luis opened the meeting with his usual resounding singing of our national anthem, which had been prerecorded. John Carpineta gave the invocation. Section member and PGA District Director from District 2 gave his report on national affairs. He reported that the move of the PGA offices would take place in March and the golf courses would not open until the spring of 2023. In Section president Jeff Kiddie’s report he mentioned that the Philadelphia Section’s Marty Lyons had been voted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame. He thanked Pete Trenham for nominating Lyons. Section vice president Patrick Shine, who was the professional at the Commonwealth National Golf Club, reported that there was $645,110 in the restricted fund which was a sizable increase from one year before. The Section’s junior tour was still flourishing with 765 junior golfers registered. 85 tournaments had been held for the juniors with 3,381 entries. Three new members: Matt Kowal, formerly the head professional at Philmont Country Club, John Pillar Country Club at Woodloch Springs and Mark Sheftic, the Lookaway Golf Club teaching professional, were inducted into the Philadelphia PGA Playing Legends. The Section “Player of the Year” was Zac Oakley and he was also won the DeBaufre Trophy for the low scoring average with 68.93 strokes per round. The 68.93 average set a record for a competition that had been contested since 1964. Dave McNabb was the Skee Riegel Senior Player of the Year . 2021 was an election year for the Section. Patrick Shine was elected president. Peter “Chip” Richter, who was now the teaching professional at the Country Club of Harrisburg, moved up to vice president and Bob Hennefer, the professional at the Laurel Creek Country Club, was elected secretary. Eric Kennedy was reelected director of tournaments and Glen Brook Golf Club professional Dustin McCormick was elected director of section affairs.

The PGA of America’s annual meeting was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the first week of November. It was held at the Wisconsin Center. The meeting was held in person, which it had not been in 2020 due to COVID-19, but  it could also be viewed on PGA.org. There was a resolution proposed by the New England Section to increase the number of delegates to the annual meeting from 2 to 3 for each PGA Section. This would give the delegates a larger percentage of  the votes and more voice in the direction of the Association. The officers, past presidents and 17 district directors each had a vote as well. The resolution failed to pass. Patrick Shine and Chip Richter were the delegates from the Philadelphia Section. Also in attendance was Executive Director Geoffrey Surrette, past presidents of the PGA of America Dick Smith, Sr. and Jack Connelly along with other Section officers and staff members.

On November 3 Marty Lyons was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame. Lyons spent all but six years of his golf career working at the Llanerch Country Club. In 1913, at the age of nine, he began caddying at Llanerch and at age 16 he dropped out of school to be the caddy master. Two years later he was the assistant pro. In 1928 he moved to Maple Shade, New Jersey where he was the professional at the Spring Hill Country Club for six years. Due to his employer’s problems with the “Great Depression” Lyons returned to Llanerch in 1934 as the assistant to Denny Shute. With Shute having won the British Open in 1933 he was away from Llanerch for many days playing tournaments and exhibitions in 1934. Late in the year Shute left for a club in Chicago and by popular acclaim of the Llanerch members Lyons was now the head professional. Lyons’ passion was junior golf. In the 1930s he began filming his juniors’ golf swings. His prize pupil, Dorothy Germain, won the 1949 US Women’s Amateur. Lyons became involved in the Philadelphia PGA affairs and in late 1941 was elected Section president, an office he held for six years. With the United States at war Lyons got the Section members involved with charities for the war effort. They raised money by playing exhibitions with the local amateurs and big name professionals. Before they were done they had built two golf courses and three putting courses at hospitals for the wounded veterans returning from the war. At the 1944 national meeting Lyons and Jimmy D’Angelo presented a plan for the PGA to have a 99-year lease at $1 a year of the Dunedin Isles Golf Club in Florida for the PGA’s winter home. Without much opposition the delegates voted for the lease. In 1956 Lyons campaigned to hold a PGA Championship at Llanerch and the 1958 championship was awarded to Llanerch. Lyons and some of the Llanerch attended the 1957 PGA Championship in Ohio to learn about hosting the championship. When they returned home Lyons wrote a letter to the PGA stating that he had attended a well run tournament with good prize money that had lost money and some PGA members chose not to enter. If the tournament was played at stroke play instead of match play, more PGA members could play and with the guarantee that most of the name professionals would be around for the final days of the tournament, a major television company might be interested in televising the tournament. At the PGA’s annual meeting in 1957 Lyons sold the delegates on changing their championship to stroke play. Then Lyons sold CBS on televising the tournament. CBS televised the last three holes on Sunday for two and one-half hours. For the first time in many years the tournament made a profit. Lyons was president of the Philadelphia Section six years, 1942 to 1947. He held the office of secretary in the PGA of America in 1949, but choose to serve only one year.

Brian Bergstol finished second at the PGA Professional Assistant Championship during the second week of November. The tournament was held at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida on the Wanamaker Course. The tournament was won by Jim Chung with a 14 under par score of 274. His rounds were 67, 65, 72 and 70 won by seven strokes over Bergstol (281). Bergstol’s rounds were 68, 71, 66 and 76. Eric Steger and Jeremy Wells tied for third with 282s. First prize was $12,000 and Bergstol won $9,400. Zac Oakley tied for tenth at 285 and won $2,850. Brett Walker finished in a tie for 13th at 286 and won $2,165,71. Michael Tobiason finished 77th at 304, winning $520. Ashley Grier missed the cut and received a check for $300. The total prize money was $150,000.

On the first Tuesday of December Zac Oakley won Event No. 3 of the PGA Tournament Series. The two-day tournament was played on the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course at Port St. Lucie, Florida. After posting a 70 in the first round Oakley began the final round three strokes behind the leader. Four birdies and an eagle on the front nine moved him into contention. He then played the second nine in two under par for 64. When  everyone playing behind him had posted their scores he was tied with Brett Walker (68-64) with 134 totals. A sudden death playoff began on the 18th hole where Oakley holed a 10-foot putt for a birdie to win the $5,000 first prize. Walker picked up $3,200 for second place. Jake Scott and Ben Kern tied for third at 137.

Three days later Zac Oakley won Event No. 4 of the PGA Tournament Series which was played on the PGA Golf Club’s Ryder Course. He got off to a slow start with a two over par 37 that included a triple bogey on the first nine. A back nine 29 saved the round. A nine under par round of 62 in the second round put Oakley in the clubhouse at 128, which won by one stroke. Tyler Collet was second at 129. Dylan Newman (131) finished third and Frank Bensel (134) was fourth. First prize was $5,000.

Jon Rohm won the Vardon Trophy with a scoring average of 69.30 strokes per round. He was also the leading money winner with $7,705,933 in 22 tournaments. The PGA of America discontinued selecting a PGA Player of the year. Bernard Langer was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour’s senior tour with winnings of $3,255,499. Jim Furyk was second on the list with $3,141,663. Furyk played in 26 tournaments which was 13 less than Langer.

The celebration of the Philadelphia Section’s 100th year did not turn out as anticipated. With the continuing threat of COVID-19 there were no dinners or galas. The largest thing to celebrate was that no golf professional in the Philadelphia Section had died from the virus. Along with that, golf during 2020 and 2021 had been experiencing a boom due to people staying home and not traveling or even going to the office.

2022
On the second Sunday of February Brandon Matthews won the Astara Golf Championship in Bogota, Columbia. The tournament was a leg on the PGA Tour’s developmental tour now called the Korn Ferry Tour. The tournament was played at the par 72 Country Club de Bogota. A birdie (3), birdie (3), eagle (3) finish gave Matthews a one stroke win. On the par five 72nd hole Matthews reached the green with a drive and a 9-iron and holed a five foot putt for the win. His rounds were 67, 65, 66 and 66 for a 14 under par 274. Ryan McCormick (275) and Ben Griffin (275) tied for second. Joey Corber (276) was fourth. Matthews had finished tied for second the week before at Panama. First prize was $135,000 from total prize money of $750,000.

Andy Miller, teaching professional at Ledge Rock Golf Club, received the 2021 PGA of America Youth Player Development Award in late January at the PGA Merchandise Show. It was said that Miller had a “Midas Touch” with young golfers. A 15-year PGA member and a graduate of Penn State University’s Professional Golf Management program first turned Berkshire Country Club’s dormant junior program into a huge success with more than 150 junior golfers. Then Miller moved over to Ledge Rock in 2015 where he accomplished the same results. 25 of his juniors had gone on to play college golf.  With his success he had been sharing his knowledge and programs with other PGA professionals throughout the country.

The Philadelphia Section’s spring meeting was held at the Union League Liberty Hill’s conference center on the fourth Monday of March. Recently purchased by Philadelphia’s Union League, the golf course was most recently The Ace Club. Before that it had been Eagle Lodge Country Club which had hosted the Philadelphia PGA Championship eight consecutive years beginning with 1985. Clark Luis opened the meeting with his resounding rendition of our national anthem. John Carpineta followed that with the invocation. Along with the various committee reports, John Pillar, the Section’s  PGA Director representing District 2, reported on national affairs. The keynote speaker was PGA of America secretary Don Rea. The topic of his talk was recruiting and retaining of assistants. He also spoke in depth on the PGA’s move from Palm Beach Gardens to Frisco, Texas which was nearing completion. Section president Patrick Shine reported that there was $679,651 in the Section’s restricted fund. The Section’s 2021 “Golf Professional of the Year” was Sean Palmer, the director of golf and general manager of the Union League’s three golf facilities. The 2021 “Teacher of the Year” was Overbrook Golf Club teaching professional, David Zimmaro.

Sean Palmer came to the Philadelphia Section as an assistant at Merion Golf Club. In 2016 he became the head professional at the Union League of Philadelphia’s newly acquired Torresdale Frankford Golf Club, which had been renamed Union League of Philadelphia at Torresdale. Upon his arrival he instituted a program where each member received a free golf lesson. That resulted in 11,000 new golf lessons. One year later he was involved with the Union League’s purchase of the 27-hole Sand Barrens Golf Club near the Jersey shore. In 2021 the Union League purchased the Ace Club and made Palmer the general manager and director of golf at all three facilities. Palmer became a major supported of  PGA Reach which supports the Philadelphia Section’s charities. He put on a member-veteran golf tournament with all proceeds donated to wounded veterans. Liberty Hill and Torresdale hosted diversified golf tournaments and hosted Drive, Chip & Putt qualifying events. Then he began coaching and mentoring Diversity Scholarship recipients. .

The Masters Tournament was played at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia during the first week of April. The tournament began with rain, then it was windy and Saturday was cold. The scores were high and only one player broke 70 on Saturday. The hottest player in golf, Scottie Scheffler, won for the fourth time in his last six starts. With a 69-67 start he led by five strokes after two rounds. From there he stayed out in front. Two 71s on the weekend wrapped it up. His 278 total won by three strokes. Rory McElroy (281) passed many players on Sunday with a closing 64, which moved him all the way up to second place alone. Cameron Smith and Kyle Lowery tied for third with 283s. First prize was $2,700,000 and total prize money was $15.000,000.

The PGA Professional Championship was held during the third week of April in Austin, Texas. The tournament was hosted by the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa played on its par 71 Foothills and  par 70 Coore Crenshaw courses. There were 312 in the starting field with 11 from the Philadelphia Section. The winner was Jesse Mueller from the Southwest Section PGA with rounds of 66, 67, 66 and 74. His ten under par 273 total won by 5 strokes. The first two rounds were played on both courses, with the final two rounds on the Coore Crenshaw course. The field was cut to the low 90 after the second round with scores of 143 making the cut. Then there was a cut to the low 70  after the third round with scores of 216 making the cut for the final round. Jared Jones and Michael Block tied for second with 278s while Ryan Vermeer and Wyatt Worthington II tied for fourth with 279s. Zac Oakley finished sixth at 281, winning $18,020. His rounds were 69, 72, 65 and 75. The last day was difficult as only a few players broke par. By finishing in the top 20 Oakley qualified for the 2022 PGA Championship. Steve Sanderson played all four rounds tying for 66th at 294 and won $3,000. Trevor Bensel, who was now an assistant at Sandy Run Country Club, and Billy Stewart both missed the 54-hole cut by one stroke with 217 totals. Scott Reilly, Rusty Harbold, Brett Walker, Hugo Mazzalupi, Parks Price, Mike Furey and Terry Hertzog missed the 36-hole cut. Furey and Reilly got into the tournament when George Forster, Sr. chose not to play and Dave McNabb withdrew due to a death in the family. Ashley Grier, who was now in the Middle Atlantic Section missed the 36-hole cut. Walker was now the teaching professional at the Chester Valley Golf Club and Mazzalupi was now the teaching professional at Linfield National Golf Club. First prize from the $550,000 purse was $60,000.

White Manor Country Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the second Monday of May. There were 113 professionals and amateurs competing for 7 spots with the opportunity to move on to sectional qualifying. Zach Juhasz, a professional from Bethlehem, led the field with a three under par 68. Amateurs Cole Willcox, Morgan Lofland, Owen Manchester and Mark Miller along with West Virginia professional Thaddeus Obecny II picked up the next five spots with 69s. Langhorne’s Stephen Cerbara won the last spot in a sudden death two-for-one playoff after posting a 70.

On the second Thursday of  May the Country Club of York hosted local qualifying for the US Open. There were 65 players for 4 spots. Maryland professionals, Ryan Siegler and Zachary Lese, were the medalists with two under par 68s. Professional Alex Blickle and amateur Kevin Scherr tied for the third and fourth spots with 70s.

The Legacy at Woodcrest, which had been Woodcrest Country Club, hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the second Thursday of May. Professional David Sanders led with a four under par 66. Amateur Michael R. Brown, Jr. was second with a 68. Michael Rushin, an assistant at Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club in Delaware, picked up the third and last spot with 70.

Local qualifying for the US Open in northeastern Pennsylvania was held at the Glen Oak Country Club on the third Monday of May. Clarks Summit professional Anthony Sebastianelli led with a four under par 67. Amateur David Mecca was second with a 70. The third and last spot went to Christopher Crawford who posted a 71. There were 51 players for three spots.

Scranton Country Club’s professional Mike Molino qualified for the US Senior Open at the Indiana Country Club on the third Wednesday of May. There were two spots to qualify for at Indiana CC. The first one was won by New York’s Jim Roy with a five under par 66. Molino finished in a tie with James Chung for the second and last spot with a 68. A sudden death playoff was held on the 18th hole which Molino won with a par 4.

On the third Thursday of May qualifying for the US Senior Open was held at the Doylestown Country Club. There were four spots to qualify for at Doylestown. Kansas professional Matt Gogel led with a three under par 69. Dave McNabb picked up the second spot with a 70. The third spot was won by former Section member Charlie Bolling, who was now living in New York. The last spot went to Michael Muehr (72) who won a four for one sudden death playoff.

Justin Thomas, the son and grandson of PGA members, came from seven strokes behind in the final round to win the PGA Championship for a second time. The tournament was hosted by the 7,556 yard Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the third week of May. The first two days the high temperatures were in the 90s and the last two days were in the 60s. Thomas drew the bad end of the starting times by playing late on day one and early on day two when the wind blew. With that he posted two 67s to stay in contention. A 74 on Saturday left him seven strokes off the lead. When the leader Mito Perieira made a double bogey six on 72nd hole, Thomas (67-67-74-67) was tied for the title with Will Zalatoris (66-65-73-71) with five under par 275 totals. To break the tie and determine a champion a three-hole aggregate score playoff was held on the par five 13th hole, drivable par four 17th hole and par four 18th hole. Thomas played the three holes in 4-3-4 to win by one stroke against 4-4-4 for Zalatoris. First prize was $2,700,000 from a total purse of $15,000,000. Cameron Young tied for third with Perieira at 276. Zac Oakley missed the cut.

The Senior PGA Championship was played at the Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Michigan in late May. Steven Alker, the hottest player on the PGA Senior Tour, came from behind to win by three strokes. Alker’s rounds of 64, 72, 69 and 63 gave him a sixteen under par 268. Stephen Ames finished second at 271 and Bernhard Langer was third at 274. Mike Weir, Miguel Angel Jimenez, K.J. Choi and Paul Goydos tied for fourth with 275s. Dave McNabb missed the cut. Three over par 145s made the cut of 70 and ties. Prize money totaled $3,250,000 and first prize was $630,000.

On the first Monday of June Braden Shattuck, now an assistant at Rolling Green Golf Club, won the two-day Burlington Classic at the Burlington Country Club for the second year in a row. Playing the pro-am from the members tees the first day, Shattuck turned in a nine under par 61. On Monday he started with birdies on the first three holes and then made a bogey on the 9th hole and a double bogey on the 10th hole. When former Section member Tony R. Perla, who was now in the New Jersey Section, made a hole in one on the 12th hole Shattuck’s lead was down to one stroke. From there Shattuck made birdies on holes 14 and 16. Bogies on the last two holes left him with a 70 total. His 131 total edged out Perla by one stroke for the top prize of $2,243. Terry Hertzog and Parks Price tied for third with 135s. The total purse including the pro-am and senior money was $39,450.

Brandon Matthews qualified for the US Open on the first Monday of June in New York at the Old Oaks Country Club and Century Country Club. There were five spots to qualify for. Chris Gotterup, who had just turned pro after his college career, and amateur Caleb Manuel tied for medalist with three under par 137s. There was an eight-man playoff at 138 for the other three spots. In various ways Matthews, Fran Quinn and amateur Michael Thorbjornsen made birdie fours on the second hole to qualify. Quinn hit a wedge shot to two feed, Thorbjornsen was on the green in two and Matthews holed a downhill eight foot putt.

The second annual Pennsylvania Senior Open Championship was played at the Valley Brook Country Club in western Pennsylvania in the first week of June. Western Pennsylvania’s Kevin Shields won with rounds of 69 and 72. His three under par 141 nipped Brian Kelly, (142) by one stroke. Two amateurs; Sean Knapp (144) and David Brown (144)  tied for third. First prize from the $15,000 prize pool was $4,000. Fifteen professionals won money.

Rich Steinmetz won the Philadelphia PGA Senior Championship on the second Tuesday of June. The two-day tournament was hosted by the Medford Village Country Club. The second round was delayed for nearly two hours by thunder storms. Steinmetz played steady golf posting rounds of 69 and 70. His five under par 139 won my one stroke over Terry Hertzog (140) and Brian Kelly (140). A birdie three on the next to last hole put Steinmetz in front to stay. This was also qualifying for the PGA Senior Professional Championship. The Section had six spots to qualify for. The first three spots went to Steinmetz, Hertzog and Kelly. Greg Farrow won the fourth spot with a 142. Dave McNabb and Brendon Post, a golf coach at the University of Delaware, took the fifth and sixth spots with 143s. Eric Kennedy (144) won a sudden death playoff over George Forster, Sr. (144) for the first alternate spot. Eddie Perrino (145) was the third alternate. When Farrow and Forster did not play in the tournament Kennedy and Perrino got into the starting field. First prize from the $6,890 prize pool was $1,037.

The US Open was played at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts during the third week of June. It was being hosted by The Country Club for a fourth time. The first three had ended with a playoff. The best golfers in the world were there playing a great golf course, but the big story was the players who had decided to play the new ten tournament LIV Tour backed with Saudi Arabian money. Some of those 15 had resigned from the PGA Tour and all had been banned by the PGA Tour. Based on their golf records, they were in the starting field of this tournament which is the property of the USGA. The first three days the scoring was difficult due to wind and firm greens. The greens were not even watered on Friday night. With the low 60 and ties making the cut for the weekend 143 and better made the cut. With one round to play two players at five under par 205 were in the lead. An inch of rain fell on Saturday night so Sunday’s scores were a little lower. Quite a few had a chance to win. A birdie on the 16th hole put England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (68-70-68-68) in the lead by one stroke. Two pars, one with a great iron-shot from a left side fairway bunker that found the middle of the 18th green, sewed up the title. His six under par 274 won by one stroke over Scottie Scheffler (275) and Will Zalatoris (275). Hideki Matsuyama (277) was fourth. First prize from the $17,500,000 purse was $3,150,000. Brandon Matthews (296) finished 60th, winning $37,589. Fitzpatrick, who had made a change to playing his chip shots cross-handed, also won the 2013 US Amateur at the same course. Everyone who missed the cut received $10,000.

The US Senior Open was held at the Saucon Valley Country Club in the fourth week of June. The tournament was played on Saucon Valley’s 6,852-yard, par 71 Old Course. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington had a comfortable six stroke lead starting the last round, but in the end he won by one stroke with a ten under par 274. A last round 65 by Steve Stricker made it close. Harrington’s rounds were 71, 65, 66 and 72. Striker was second alone at 275 and Mark Hensby was third at 280. Gene Sauers, Rob Labritz and Thongchai Jaidee tied for fourth with 286s. Jim Furyk tied for 25th with a 288 and won $31,089. Dave McNabb and Mike Molina missed the cut. First prize was $720,000 from total prize money of $4,000,000. Saucon Valley was hosting the tournament for the third time. The host professional was Mike Wood.

The Women’s PGA Championship was played at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland during the fourth week of June. In Gee Chun won by one stroke with rounds of 64, 69, 75 and 75 for a five under par 283.  Lexi Thompson and Minjee Lee tied for second at 284. Atthaya Thitikul finished fourth at 285. Philadelphia Cricket Club teaching professional Meagan Francella missed the cut. First prize was $1,300,000 from a total purse of  $9,000,000.

Rich Steinmetz won the two-day Lehigh Valley Open in the second week of July. The tournament was hosted by the Brookside Country Club. Steinmetz turned in a 68 and a 71. His three under par 138 won by three shots.  Alex Knoll, who was now the teaching professional at the Glen Brook Golf Club, finished second at 142. Doylestown Country Club professional Travis Deibert and amateur Jack Haberstumpf tied for third with 143s. First prize from the $15,685 purse was $1,711.

The 150th British Open was hosted by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club’s Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland during the third week of July. The fairways were dry and running fast, maybe faster than the greens. The two par five holes could be reached in two and four of the par fours were drivable. The committee did its best to challenge the players placing the holes in difficult places, but the scores were low. When the dust cleared Australia’s Cameron Smith was the winner with a 20 under par 268, which tied the most strokes under par in the history of golf’s major championships. Smith trailed by four strokes with the final round to go. A two under par 34 on the first nine only gained one stroke on the leader, Rory McIlroy. Then Smith reeled off five straight birdies to take the lead. A two putt birdie from 80 feet on the last hole made him the winner. Smith’s rounds were 67, 64, 73  and 64. Cameron Young, who was paired with Smith, holed a 15-foot putt for an eagle at the last hole for a 65. His 269 total put him second, alone. McIlroy was third at 270. Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland tied for fourth with 274s. Prize money totaled $14,000,000 and first prize was $2,500,000. The field was cut to the low 70 and ties and 83 players made it at even par 144.

The two-day Philadelphia Open was hosted by the Philadelphia Cricket Club at its Wissahickon Course in the third week of July. Braden Shattuck led by one stroke at the end of the first day with a two under par 68. When amateur John Brennan, a member of the host club, birdied the 36th hole he was tied for the lead with Shattuck who was on the 18th tee one under par. Shattuck proceeded to hit his drive out of bounds by a few inches. A double bogey on the final hole left Shattuck in a tie for second, and Brennan (72-67=139) was the winner. Four players; Shattuck, Sunnybrook Golf Club assistant Robert Fenton, amateur Marty McGuckin and amateur Rij Patel tied for second with 141s. The prize money totaled $35,000. and first prize was $7,000. Shattuck and Fenton each picked up $6,125.

On the third Thursday of July the second annual Women’s Philadelphia PGA Championship was played at the Whitford Country. Merion Golf Club teaching professional Joanna Coe won by seven strokes. While putting together a five under par 67, Coe made nine birdies. Stonewall assistant Brittany Weddell and Patty Post tied for second with 74s. Aronimink Golf Club assistant Abby Mann finished fourth with a 79. First prize was $1,682 and the purse totaled $5,606. Five of the professionals won money. There were 15 entries.

Joanna Coe finished second in the LPGA Professionals National Championship, losing in a sudden death playoff. Coe finished the tournament tied with Florida’s Sandra Changkija at the end of the 54-hole tournament. The tournament was held on the River Course at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia. They had tied with two under par 211s. Coe’s rounds were 72, 67 and 72. The playoff was held on the 18th hole which they continued to play. After tying the first two playoff holes with par 4s, Changkija won with a par on the third extra hole, when Coe three putted. Coe and the other top seven earned spots in the 2023 Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club.

The Pennsylvania Open was played at Pittsburgh’s Longue Vue Club in the second week of August. The tournament ended in a tie between western Pennsylvania’s Jake Sollon (68, 66, 69) and amateur Tanner Grzegorczyk (66, 66, 71) as they finished the three rounds with seven under par 203 totals. A sudden death playoff which took place on the 18th hole ended on the first extra hole when Sollon made a par 4 against a three-putt bogey by Grzegorczyk. Braden Shattuck finished third at 206. Professionals Isaiah Logue, Louis Olsakovsky, Mike Van Sickle, Easton Renwick and Mark Goetz tied for fourth at 208. Total prize money was $40,000 and first prize was $8,000.

On August 10 the PGA of America announced that Joanna Coe would be a member of its 2022 Women’s PGA Cup Team. Selection to the team was based on a point system which concluded with the LPGA Professionals National Championship where Coe had finished second. Also a member of the five women team was former Section member Ashley Grier. The US team would be competing against teams from Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Sweden in New Mexico in late October.

The Pro-Am for Wishes was played at Penn Oaks Golf Club in the middle of August. The first day two professionals were paired with two amateurs for a pro-am with the professional’s score counting toward a two day individual total. Alex Knoll led the first day with a five under par 66. On Monday the professionals were paired together. Brian Bergstol put together a 66 to go with his first round 69 to tie Knoll, who had shot a 69. Tied at 135, they returned to the course for a sudden death playoff, which Bergstol won with a par. Braden Shattuck finished third with a 138. There was a three way tie for fourth at 140 between Zac Oakley, Parks Price and Dave McNabb. First prize from the $19,425 prize pool was $1,500.

The PGA Tour’s $15,000,000 FedEx Championship was played at the Wilmington Country Club in the third week of August. This was the second leg of the Tour’s three tournament season ending playoff series. Dating back to the early 1900s this tournament had been the Western Open. Via the seasons’ FedEx points seventy professionals were now left in the playoffs. The defending champion, Patrick Cantlay, took a one stroke lead into the final round and made it stand up. Cantlay,s (68, 68, 65, 69) fourteen under par 270 won by one stroke. Scott Stallings finished second at 271. Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele tied for third with 273s.  The golf course which had been lengthened the year before for the tournament measured 7,534 yards. First prize was $2,700,000. The thirty players with the most FedEx points for the year moved on to Atlanta for the 2022 PGA Tour Championship.

The PGA of America moved into its new home in Frisco, Texas on the fourth Wednesday of August. Frisco is 30 miles north of Dallas.

The Philadelphia Section Championship was played at the end of August. Due to the size of the field, 157 Philadelphia Section members, two golf courses were needed for the first two rounds. DuPont Country Club’s par 71 DuPont Course and the par 71 Concord Country Club hosted the first two days. Brian Bergstol took the lead on day one with a 66 at Concord. On day two Zac Oakley moved into the lead. He put together a bogey free 66 at DuPont, that featured four birdies on the back nine. His 134 total led by two strokes. After 36 holes the field was cut to the low 60 and ties. The cut fell at 150 with 64 surviving. The final round was played at DuPont. Oakley began the round with birdies on the second and third holes which put him five strokes ahead of Bergstol, who made bogies on the same holes Oakley birdied. On the tenth hole Bergstol drove out-of-bounds. He then played another tee shot and from there he holed his next shot from 156 years with an 8-iron for a par 4. In the meantime Oakley was playing the rest of his round in four over par. In the last round Bergstol made four birdies, including one on the last hole. His three rounds of 66, 69 and 69 for 204 won by two strokes. First prize was $9,000. The 37-year-old Bergstol had just become a PGA member on August 1. Braden Shattuck posted a final round 66 to finish second at 206. Oakley finished third at 207. Dave McNabb and Trevor Bensel tied for fourth with 213s. This was also qualifying for the 2023 PGA Professional Championship. Based on the number of entries the Section had been allotted 11 spots. The first three went to Bergstol, Shattuck and Bensel. Michael Little, Terry Hatch and Hugo Mazzalupi picked up the 4th, 5th and 6th places with 214 totals. The 7th and 8th spots went to Billy Stewart (215) and Wilmington Country Club assistant Matthew Zehner (215). Rich Steinmetz and John Pillar won the 9th and 10th spots with 216s. Terry Hertzog won the 11th and last spot in a four person sudden death playoff. Oakley was exempt from qualifying off finishing 6th at the 2022 PGA Professional Championship.  Joanna Coe (213), who had finished the tournament tied for 11th , qualified off being a member of the U.S. Women’s PGA Cup Team. McNabb was granted a place in the tournament after having to withdraw from the 2022 tournament due to a death in the family. With that, the Section had 14 members headed to the 2023 PGA Professional Championship. Little was now a professional golf salesman. Total prize money at the Section Championship was $72,000. The host professionals were DuPont’s Michael Caldwell and Concord’s Mike Moses.

The Haverford Classic and its $100,000 first prize, which was scheduled for the Tuesday after Labor Day, was canceled for 2022 due to predictions for heavy rain that day. It did rain nearly four inches.

On the second Monday of September Trevor Bensel won the Philadelphia PGA Assistant Championship. The tournament was played at the Heidelberg Country Club. Scheduled for 36 holes, the tournament was reduced to 18 due to severe weather that caused a lengthy delay. Bensel began the day by hitting his first tee shot out-of-bounds which led to a double bogey. He followed that up with a bogey on the fifth hole. From there he made six birdies, which included four on the last five holes. His three under par 67 won by two strokes. Zac Oakley and Brian Bergstol tied for second with 69s. Alex Knoll was fourth with an even par 70. First prize from the $9,654 purse was $1,220. 19 assistants shared the prize money. The tournament was also qualifying for the PGA of America’s Assistant Championship. The Section had been allotted five spots in the tournament. Bergstol was exempt off his second place finish in the national championship in 2021. The first three spots went to Bensel, Oakley and Knoll. After the weather cleared late in the day there was a five-way playoff for the last two places. Andrew Turner and Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Jeff Fick, who had finished with 71s, survived the playoff.

On the fourth Monday of September a new tournament, the Silvercrest Cup, was held at the par 71 Gulph Mills Golf Club. During the year 54 Section professionals qualified for the tournament at four Section tournaments; Delaware Valley Open, Taylor Made Classic, Conestoga Classic and Doylestown Open. At those tournaments the low scorer received $3,000 and the second place scorer won $2,000. Six amateurs were in the starting field off the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s point list. The 18-hole tournament ended in a tie at 68 strokes between Brian Bergstol and amateur Andrew Keeling. A sudden death playoff was held on the 18th hole, which Keeling won with a two-putt birdie four. Keeling’s round included 7 birdies, an eagle and two double bogies. Bergstol took home the top prize of 15,000. Eric Kennedy, Zac Oakley and Rich Steinmetz tied for third. 23 professionals took home money from the $33,965 prize pool. Silvercrest Asset Management also donated $10,000 to the Philadelphia PGA’s umbrella charity PGA Reach Philadelphia and $10,000 to the GAP’s J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust.

The Section’s Match Play Championship which was scheduled for the first week of October at the Laurel Creek Golf Club was canceled due to wet weather. Scheduled to begin on Monday it began raining on Saturday and did not stop until Wednesday night.

By finishing in the top 35, Rich Steinmetz and Dave McNabb qualified for the 2023 PGA Seniors Championship at the PGA Senior Professional Championship. The tournament was played in middle of October in Santa Ana, New Mexico on the Twin Warriors Golf Club and Santa Ana Golf Club. The first day’s play was over both golf courses and the final two rounds were on the Warriors course. Both courses were par 72. Matt Schalk was the winner with rounds of 69, 68, 66 and 75. His 278 total won the $26,000 top prize by two strokes. Steve Schneiter finished second at 280. Todd Bailey, Cameron Doan, Alan Morin and Alan Sorensen finished in a four way tie for third at 281. Steinmetz tied for 24th at 290 and won $3,562.50 and McNabb tied for 26th at 291 winning $3,187.50. Brendan Post tied for 56th at 298 and won $1,700. Brian Kelly missed the third round cut but still won $800. Eric Kennedy, Terry Hertzog and Eddie Perrino missed the 36-hole cut. The field was cut to the low 90 after two rounds and the low 70 after the third round. It took a score of 146 to make the 36-hole cut and 220 to make the 54-hole cut. The last day there was rain and winds gusty at 25 miles per hour. A 70 was the only round under par the last day. Total prize money came to $318,000.

On the third Tuesday of October, the Philadelphia PGA defeated the Golf Association of Philadelphia in a challenge match at Saucon Valley Country Club. It was the 30th meeting of the two associations in the challenge match. The record now stood at 22 victories for the PGA, 4 victories for the GAP and 4 ties. Each team was composed of 12 members with at least two being seniors. There were six 4-man pairings with two singles matches and a fourball match in each pairing. In the six pairings there were 18 points being competed for. It was through the singles matches that the PGA was able to prevail by a final score of PGA 10 against 8 for the GAP team. The team of Trevor Bensel-Brian Bergstol won all three points. The Braden Shattuck-Zac Oakley team won 2-1/2 points. The Parks Price-Mark Sheftic team won 2 points. The Eddie Perrino-Terry Hertzog and the Eric Kennedy-Hugo Mazzalupi teams each won 1 point. The Steve Sanderson-Michael Little team won 1/2 point. Sheftic was now the teaching professional at the Sunnybrook Golf Club.

The second PGA Women’s Cup matches were played at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana, New Mexico in late October. The first one was played in 2019. Joanna Coe was a member of the United States team. There were five players on each team with six countries being represented: United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Sweden and Great Britain-Ireland. The United States won the three-day event with a score of 656 strokes by two strokes over Canada (658). Each day three of the five players scores counted toward the three-day total. Coe played so well that her score was used each day.

Pete Trenham was honored by the Golf Association of Philadelphia with its Distinguished Service Award with a dinner at St. Davids Golf Club on the fourth Wednesday of October. Trenham had been the golf professional at St. Davids for 29 years. Trenham was the first golf professional to receive this award. He was honored for his contributions to local golf for his endless research of Philadelphia golf. He had a website; Trenhamgolfhistory.org. which tracked the history of professional golf in the Philadelphia region, beginning with the 1895 United States Open, where the professional from the Philadelphia Country Club was entered. Along with his Philadelphia PGA history he had assisted more than 25 GAP member golf clubs with their history. On a number of occasions he had been a guest on the TV show Inside Golf where he spoke about Philadelphia golfers and golf events from the past. The dinner was on the fourth Wednesday of October. In his talk Trenham spoke about how little he knew about Philadelphia golf when he arrived at the Philadelphia Country Club as an assistant professional in 1962. He soon found it to be the greatest golf “town” in the country with great golf  professionals, great golf courses and great amateur golfers. Having spent 60 years as a small part of Philadelphia golf, he said it was an honor to be recognized with this award.

The fall meeting of the Philadelphia PGA was hosted by the White Manor Country Club on the fifth Monday of October. The meeting was opened with a large video screen showing Clark Luis singing our nation anthem which had been prerecorded. One of the first things mentioned by Section president Patrick Shine was Johnny Carpineta having been honored at a Phillies baseball game for his tireless work with the wounded veterans. Section executive director Geoffrey Surrette reported that the Section’s Restricted Fund had taken a hit due to the decline in the stock and bond market. It now stood at $568,854. The Section’s junior tour had another busy and successful year with its membership still over 800, but entries were down a bit. Playing awards were announced by Director of Tournaments Eric Kennedy. The Section’s Player of the Year was Braden Shattuck and he won the DeBaufre trophy award, presented by Tim DeBaufre, for the low scoring average. For the year’s designated tournaments Shattuck’s scoring average was 69.06. The Skee Riegel Senior Player of the Year was Rich Steinmetz. The Section’s Women’s Player of the Year was Joanna Coe. The guest speaker was recently retired Villanova University basketball coach, who had won two national championships while at Villanova. Wright was interviewed by Dean Kandle while sitting at a high table. Kandle was now working for a placement company for jobs in the golf industry. Wright talked about his four code values as a coach: Play With Pride, Play Smart, Play Together, Play Hard. Wright also answered questions from the Section members.

The PGA of America held its annual meeting in the first week of November at the Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. It was an election year. Michigan PGA Section’s John Lindert was elected president, moving up from vice president. Don Rae, Jr., who had been secretary, was elected vice president. John Charnes, from the Gateway Section, was elected secretary. A resolution presented by the Board that changed Article 1’s title to Name, Purpose and Inclusion so it was on record that everyone regardless of sex, race, religion, etc. was welcome into the PGA of America. There was also a resolution that passed that allows adjustments to the playing ability test for people with physical limitations. Also two 18 hole playing ability test scores may be combined to meet the 36-hole requirement. A major announcement was the IRS approval of a Deferred Compensation Plan. It was anticipated to go into affect in late January. In attendance from the Philadelphia Section was President Patrick Shine, Vice President Peter “Chip” Richter and John Pillar, national PGA director from District 2. Also in attendance from the Section were PGA Past President Dick Smith, Sr. and the Section’s executive director Geoffrey Surrette.

In the third week of November the Philadelphia Section made a great showing in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship. The tournament was held in the third week of November at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida on the Wanamaker Course. The tournament was won by Italy’s Domenico Geminiani with rounds of 74, 67, 68 and 73. His five under par 283 won by two strokes. First prize was $12,000. For the second straight year Brian Bergstol (285) finished second, this time in a tie with Riley Wheeldon (285). Bergstol posted rounds of 71, 72, 68 and 74. Zac Oakley and Andy Swoboda tied for fourth at 286 and each won $5,750.  Trevor Bensel tied for 20th with a 294 total and won $1,655. Steve Sanderson finished with a total of 304 and tied for 52nd, winning $757.50. Jeff Fick tied for 61st with a 306 total and won $665. Andrew Turner and Rocco Sgrillo, an assistant at John F. Byrne Golf Club, missed the cut. After the Section’s assistant championship had been played the Section received a sixth spot which put the first alternate, Sanderson, into the tournament. When Alex Knoll, who was teaching school could not make the trip, the third alternate Sgrillo got into the tournament. The field was cut to the low 70 and ties after 36 holes.

Charles Genter was inducted into the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame at a special awards banquet on the second Sunday of December. The dinner was hosted by the Union League Liberty Hill golf complex. The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Dustin McCormick  the Section director of section affairs. Along with Genter all of the award winners for 2021 were honored as well. Genter had been president of the Philadelphia PGA in 1990 and 1991 as well as serving four years as secretary along with other Section offices. He was born in Florida in 1940 and turned pro in 1961. He arrived in the Philadelphia Section in 1971 as the professional at the Tavistock Country Club where he stayed until 2000. In 1969 while an assistant at Plainfield Country Club he qualified for the US Open. As the professional at Tavistock Genter had two young girls, who hit their first golf shots in his junior golf clinics, go on to win the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Championship. Through his years as Section secretary he became involved with the PGA of America in membership and membership eligibility. For eight years he was on the PGA Membership Eligibility and Procedures Committee. He was an instructor at PGA Business Schools I and II. In 1990 he became the Section’s third Master Professional with his thesis being “12 Stages for Beginners”. When Dick Smith, Sr. and Jack Connelly were running for national office Genter was an important member of the Philadelphia delegation to the national meeting, due to his national connections.  In 1992 Genter was the Section’s “Golf Professional of the Year”.

The leading money winner on the PGA Tour was Scottie Scheffler with $14,046,910, which he earned in 25 tournaments. Sean O’Hair finished in 181st place with earnings of $345,547 in 13 starts. Cameron Smith was the PGA of America’s Player of the Year. The leading money winner on the PGA Tour’s developmental tour was Justin Suh with $497,263 in 24 events. Brandon Matthews was 11th with $289,508 in 22 starts. Sean O’Hair won $89,667 in 14 events, good for 73rd place. Off being in the top 25 on the money list Matthews was exempt for the 2023 PGA Tour. Steven Alker was the leading money winner on the PGA Senior Tour with $3,334,425,earned in 22 tournaments.

2023
The spring meeting of the Philadelphia PGA was held at the DuPont Country Club on the fourth Monday of March. Clark Luis opened the meeting with his resounding rendition of our National Anthem. He was at the meeting in person for the first time since the Covid-19 flu had changed many in-person meetings. 45 years before, 1978, Luis had opened the Section’s spring meeting at this same location, DuPont CC. Year after year since then, spring meetings and fall meetings, he had been opening the Section’s meetings of the membership. The invocation was given by John Carpineta. The featured guest of the day was John Lindert. The main topic of his remarks was retention of assistant golf professionals. Section president Patrick Shine, who was now the professional at the Doylestown Country Club, announced that Jeff Kiddie was the PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year for 2022. The Philadelphia Section members had won many national awards, but this was the first time a Section member had won that award. The Section’s PGA of America director from District 2, John Pillar, brought the members up to date on the newly created PGA Deferred Compensation Program. With the increase in distance golf balls were being driven, the R&A had announced that is was considering a specially designed golf ball for its tournaments. When asked by President Lindert if they were in favor or against rolling back the distance golf balls traveled, a large percentage of the members present voted against it. Director of tournaments, Eric Kennedy, announced that the Section’s match play championship had been changed from being played in a one-week event to being played over the course of the golf season. Executive director Geoff Surrette, reported that as of February 28 there was $610,934 in the Section’s Restricted Fund. Through the effort of past president Mike Cole, a plaque in memory of past president George McNamara was being placed at the Section’s office. It was McNamara who had the foresight for the Section to have a Restricted Fund. Director of section affairs, Dustin McCormick, announced that the Section’s “ PGA Golf Professional of the Year” for 2022 was Saucon Valley professional Mike Wood and the teacher of year was the Legacy Club at Woodcrest teaching professional Steve Sieracki.

Mike Wood, was the Section’s “ PGA Golf Professional of the Year” for 2022. A 2002 graduate of Methodist University with a B.S. degree in golf management, he first worked at Saucon Valley Country Club as an intern in 2001. As a native of Newport, Rhode Island Wood worked for Willie Scholl at the Newport Country Club during college. Scholl had been an assistant at Saucon Valley as one time and then a long time head pro at Gulph Mills Golf Club. In 2002 Wood turned pro and began his professional career at Newport CC. One year later he arrived in the Philadelphia Section as an assistant at Saucon Valley. In 2006 he was promoted to head professional, working under director of golf/general manager Gene Mattare. When Mattare retired in 2018 Wood became the director of golf. Since 2018, the club’s rounds of golf were up thirty-seven percent and golf shop sales eighty-eight percent. At Saucon Valley Wood oversaw a large staff of employees who managed the facility’s five hundred yearly tournaments and merchandise sales at the club’s two golf shops along with the day to day rounds of golf on its sixty holes of golf. As the host of the 2022 US Senior Open Wood created an entertainment venue near the finishing holes. The activities included golf simulators, nine thousand square foot grass putting green, live music, jumbotrons, live steams of the tournament telecast, lawn games and food trucks. During the tournament week 5,000 tournament spectators made use of the entertainments through a $20 upgrade to their daily pass. At Saucon Valley Wood developed education, where the more  veteran staff members held mini seminars for the newer staff members on club fitting, merchandising, golf instruction and more. He was the Section’s “Merchandiser of the Year” for private clubs in 2021. In 2019 and 2021 Wood volunteered to assist with the Drive, Chip & Putt national finals at Augusta National Golf Club along with the club’s merchandising sales during the Masters.

Like most other years the Masters Tournament was played at the Augusta National Golf Club in the first full week of April The tournament began with great weather and low scores on Thursday, followed by rain, wind and cold. The wind blew so hard on Friday, three very tall pines trees in front of the 17th tee, fell over with their roots exposed, . For a second time that day, play was halted and this time for the remainder of the day. The second round was completed on Saturday morning with scores of three over par making the cut. The players were sent off both nines for the third round and heavy rain arrived later in the afternoon. Again play was halted for the day with the leaders on the 7th green. Sunday was cold but playable. In the first round Jon Rahm had four putted the first green, only to finish the day with a 65. That had put him in a tie for the lead with Brooks Koepka (65) and Viktor Hovland (65). Koepka tacked a second round 67 onto his 65 and took a two stroke lead over Rahm (69) into the third round. Paired together Koepka and Rahm posted 73s in the third round. In round four Rahm played steady golf with a 69 for a total of 276 while Koepka was falling back with a 75. Koepka and Phil Mickelson tied for second at 280. Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Russell Henley tied for fourth with 281s. First prize from a total purse of $18,000,000 was $3,240,000.

Local qualifying for the US Open was held at the Country Club of York on the fourth Thursday of April. There were 64 professionals and amateurs competing for 4 spots in sectional qualifying. Two professionals from Maryland, Ryan Siegler and Zachary Lese tied for low with 68s. 2021 Pennsylvania Open champion Alex Blickle, who was from Lancaster County, tied for third with Nazareth, Pennsylvania amateur Kevin Sherr. They posted 70s. .

The Medford Village Country Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the first Monday of May. There were 83 players for 4 spots. New Zealand amateur Jimmy Zheng led with a four under par 68. David Sanders was next with a 69. Three players; amateur Graham Chase along with South Jersey professional Shea Wolfle and Florida professional Brad Schneider tied for the last two spots with 71s. Chase won the third spot with a birdie three on the first hole and Wolfle won the fourth spot with a par five on the third hole.

On the second Thursday of May Rolling Green Golf Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open. There were 120 players for 6 spots. North Carolina professional Cover Patrick and Ohio amateur Griffin Mitchell led with four under par 67s. Delaware professional Michael Chanaud, who was playing minitours, picked up the third spot with a 68. Zac Oakley, Christopher Crawford and Philadelphia amateur Michael Bastian, Jr. won the fourth, fifth and sixth spots with 69s.

Local qualifying for the US Open in northeastern Pennsylvania was hosted by the Huntsville Golf Club. There were 78 players for four spots. Osceola, Pennsylvania’s T.J. Howe led with a five under par 67 and Delaware amateur Nitika Romanov was second with a 68. Florida professional Mariano Medico won the third spot with a 69. Cael Ropietski, a professional from Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania won the fourth and last spot with a 70.

Braden Shattuck won the 2023 PGA Professional Championship. There were 14 Philadelphia PGA members in the starting field. The tournament was played on the last day of April and the first three days of May in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. Two golf courses, one and one/half miles apart, were used for the tournament. Twin Warriors Golf Club measured 7,631 yards and Santa Ana Golf Club was 7,324 yards. Both golf courses were par 72, with both golf courses used for the first two rounds and Twin Warriors for the last two rounds. Santa Ana Pueblo was altitude 5,249 feet which meant that the golf ball went about six percent farther. Due to the length of the golf courses and some windy weather the scores were not low. Teeing off in the final round Shattuck was tied for the lead and kept it for most of the day. On the 15th hole he missed a very short putt of a birdie two, which would have given him a two stroke lead. Then he holed a putt of nearly 30 feet on the next hole for a birdie four to stay one stroke in front. After a par on the 17th hole Shattuck stood on the par four final hole one stroke ahead of the field. After a perfect tee shot with a fairway club he pushed his long iron second shot well to the right of the green. A good pitch shot from a difficult angle left him a putt of nearly 20 feet. He proceeded to stoke his winning putt into the center of the hole. His four rounds were 70, 71, 68 and 70 for a nine under par 279. The top 20 qualified for the 2023 PGA Championship which fell right on the number at two under par 286. Shattuck’s win ensured him a spot on the 2024 PGA Cup team and made him exempt for six PGA Tour events during the next 12 months, with three of them having to be played in tournaments which were the same week as PGA Tour no-cut events. Mike Cahill and Michael Block tied for second with 280s. Kenny Pigman, Gabe Reynolds and John Somers tied for fourth at 282. Billy Stewart tied for 27th at 288 and won $7,000. Joanna Coe tied for 49th at 291 winning $4,850. Zac Oakley, Michael Little and Rich Steinmetz made the second round cut but missed the third round cut which fell at 219. Oakley missed that cut by one stroke. The cut after the second round fell at 147, which Brian Bergstol and Dave McNabb missed by one stroke. Terry Hatch, Trevor Bensel, John Pillar, Hugo Mazzalupi, Mathew Zehner and Terry Hertzog, who was now the teaching professional at the Bent Creek Golf Club, also missed the 36-hole cut. Oakley was exempt for the tournament off having finished sixth the year before and McNabb had received an exemption due to not being able to play the year before due to a death in his family. First prize was $60,000 from a total purse of $715,000. The only other Section member to win this tournament was Ed Dougherty in 1985.

The PGA Championship was held in Rochester, New York on the par 70 Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course in the third week of May. With the revised PGA Tour schedule, May was not ideal for playing a major tournament in northwestern New York, but the contract with Oak Hill had preceded the schedule change. The first day there was frost which caused a one hour and 50 minute delay of the start. Braden Shattuck was in the first pairing of the day off the 1st tee. At the end of day one some players still had six holes to play. The golf course which had been renovated was a challenge. Brooks Koepka got off to a slow start but on Friday he shot a 31 on the back nine for a 66 which combined with his first round 72 put him in contention at 138. Another 66 on Saturday put Koepka in front by one stoke. On Sunday he started fast with birdies on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes. From there in he played solid golf with birdies to offset bogies, finishing with a 67. His 271 total won by two strokes. Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland tied for second with 273s. Cameron Davis, Kurt Kitayama and Bryson DeChambeau tied for fourth at 277. Braden Shattuck missed the cut. First prize from the $17,500,000 was $3,150,000. Total prize money had been increased by $2,500,000 over 2022.

The Senior PGA Championship was held at the new home of the PGA of America in Frisco, Texas during the fourth week of May. The tournament was played on the East Course of the Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco golf facility. The two Ryder Cup captains from 2021, Steve Stricker (70-67-64-69) and Padraig Harrington (64-68-68-70), ended up in a tie at eighteen under par 270. Harrington reached the par five 18th hole in two shots and two putted for his birdie while Stricker missed his birdie putt of eighteen feet. On the first playoff hole Harrington drove into a penalty area. When his second shot stayed in the same area he took a penalty drop. His fourth shot was on the green, but his putt from 15 feet for a par missed and Stricker won with a par. First prize was $630,000. Stewart Cink was third at 272 and Y.E. Yang was fourth at 277. Jim Furyk won $13,512. for a tie for 37th at 290. Dave McNabb tied for 63rd at 296, winning $5,630. Rich Steinmetz missed the cut. The total purse was $3,500,000. The golf course measured 7,154 yards.

Qualifying for the Senior US Open was held at 31 locations during May and no one from the Philadelphia PGA region passed the test. The tournament was the end of July in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. There were 3,066 entries.

Ted Tryba, a former resident of Wilkes Barre who was now living in Orlando, Florida qualified for the Senior US Open at Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring, Maryland on the fourth Monday of May. Florida professional Michael Muehr led with a four under par 67 and Tryba was second with a 68. There were two spots to qualify for at Argyle CC.

The Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic was hosted by the Sunnybrook Golf Club on the fifth Tuesday of May. This was the 25th edition of the event which had some different names over the years but always the same sponsor and at the same venue. At the end of the day Brian Bergstol and Jeff Herb, an assistant at Waynesborough Country Club were tied with one under par 71s. A sudden death playoff was held on the par four 18th hole which Bergstol won with a par to take home the $150.000 top prize. To celebrate its 25th year the sponsor increased the prize money by &50,000 over the previous year. As it had been for many years it was the largest first prize for any one-day PGA Section event in the country. Second money was $5,000. Andrew Turner was third with a 72. Six players; Greg Matthias, Rusty Harbold, Michael Little, Dave McNabb, Mike Ladden and Billy Stewart tied for fourth with 73s. Matthias was now the teaching professional at the Pennsauken Country Club and Ladden was the professional at the Whitford Country Club. The golf course played very difficult. Total prize money was $167,600.

The Burlington Classic was held at the Burlington Country Club in the first week of June. The first day was a pro-am format with two golf professionals and three amateurs competing as five-man teams. In order to get the players around the golf course in a workable time the golf course was played from the men’s regular tees. Rich Steinmetz and Rolling Green Golf Club assistant Anthony Sebastianelli led with four under par 66s. The second day, with the professionals only playing for the individual prize money, the course was played from a longer yardage. Louis Kelly, a former assistant at Burlington CC and now an assistant at Gulph Mills Golf Club, shot a second day 69 to go with his 70 the first day. He ended up in a first place tie at 139 with Sebastianelli who shot a 73 the second day. Kelly prevailed in a sudden death playoff that lasted four holes. Brian Bergstol, Rich Steinmetz and Cedarbrook Country Club assistant Andrew Cornish tied for fourth with 140s. First prize from a prize pool of $17,414 was $2,500.

In early June at sectional qualifying, no one from the Philadelphia PGA region qualified for the US Open.

Rich Steinmetz won the Philadelphia PGA Senior Championship for the second straight year. The tournament was hosted by the Ledge Rock Golf Club in the second week of June. Due to severe weather in the afternoon of the second round, that included wind, rain, hail and lightening, the tournament was shortened to 27 holes. A two under par 70 the first day and an even par 36 on the first nine the second day made Steinmetz (106) the winner. First prize was $1,000. Colonial Golf & Tennis Club teaching professional Rob Shuey and Hugo Mazzalupi tied for second, one stroke back at 107. PGA member John Allen finished fourth at 109. This was also qualifying for the Senior PGA Professional Championship. The Section had six spots to qualify for. With that the first four spots went to Steinmetz, Shuey, Mazzalupi, and Allen. The two last spots were up for grabs with six Section members; Dave McNabb, Stu Ingraham, Terry Hertzog, John Cooper, George Forster, Sr. and Terry Hatch having all finished with totals of 110. McNabb was exempt off having made the cut at the Senior PGA Championship in May. In a sudden death playoff Ingraham and Hertzog won the fifth and sixth spots. Ingraham was the teaching professional at the M Golf Range and Cooper was the professional at the Green Valley Country Club. Total prize money came to $6,449.

The US Open was  played in Los Angeles, California on the Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, in the third week of June. There were 10,187 entries, the most ever, with an entry fee of $200. The golf course which had three par five holes and five par three holes measured 7,423 yards. Most of the fairways were very wide but the rough around the bunkers and greens was brutal. With a lack of wind and some damp air the course gave up some very low rounds the first day. Playing in the morning, Ricky Fowler posted an eight under par 62, the lowest round in the history of the US Open. Soon after that Xander Schauffele finished with a 62, as well. But, they only led by two strokes. There were some low rounds each day but in the end ten under par won the tournament The winner was Wyndham Clark, who had only one previous win on the PGA Tour. Clark (270), who won by one stroke, had rounds of 64, 67, 69 and 70. Rory McIlroy finished second at 271, Scottie Scheffler was third at 273 and Cameron Smith fourth at 274. Top prize from the $20,000,000 prize pool was $3,600,000.

During the fourth week of June the Women’s PGA Championship was held in Springfield, New Jersey at Baltusrol Golf Club on its Lower Course.  Par was 71. China’s Ruoning Yin won with rounds of 67, 73, 69 and 67. Her 276 total won by one stroke. Yuka Saso was second at 277. Carlota Ciganda, Ana Nordqvist, Xiyu Lin, Megan Khang and Stephanie Meadow tied for third with 288 totals. Total prize money was $10,000.000. First prize was $1,500,000. Joanna Coe missed the cut. Coe was in the tournament off finishing second at the 2022 LPGA Professionals National Championship, The top eight had qualified.

The US Senior Open was played at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin at the end of June and the first two days of July. Bernhard Langer won with ease with rounds of 71, 68, 68 and 70 for a seven under par 277. Even though he made bogies on the last three holes he won by two strokes. Steve Stricker (279) finished second and Jerry Kelly (280) was third. Brett Quigley and Rob Labritz tied for fourth with 282s. First prize was $72,000 with total prize money $4,000,000.

Lookaway Golf Club hosted the Philadelphia Open in the third week of July. Qualifying was held at three sites for the non exempt players. The tournament was open to  Philadelphia PGA golf professionals and amateurs who were members of GAP clubs, with a handicap of 5.0 or lower. 40 professionals and 103 amateurs were in the starting field. No riding golf carts were permitted. The entry fee for the exempt professionals was $185 and $220 for the professionals who had to play a qualifying round. The amateurs paid a lower fee. After eighteen holes the field was cut to the low sixty and ties. At the 2022 Philadelphia Open, Braden Shattuck had been on the tee of the last hole of the tournament tied for the lead. He proceeded to hit his tee shot out of bounds by a few inches, losing the tournament by one stroke. In 2023 Shattuck stood on the last tee at Lookaway with a one stroke lead. He hit a 2-iron down the middle of the fairway and a 7-iron to the green from 166 yards to five feet from the hole. From there he holed the putt for a 2-stroke victory. Shattuck’s rounds were 68 and 66 for a ten under par 134. Amateur Campbell Wolf was second at 136. Trevor Bensel and amateur William Pabst tied for third with 137s. Alex Knoll finished fifth alone at 138. Total prize money was $35,000 with first money $7,000.

In the fourth week of July Joanna Coe tied for fifth at the LPGA Professionals National Championship,  which qualified her for the 2024 Women’s PGA Championship. Her rounds were 70, 71 and 75 for a three over par 216. Coe won $2,350. Alexandra White finished in a tie with Sandra Chagkja at 211 and won a sudden death playoff for the title. First prize was $8,000.

The British Open was played at the par 71 Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England in late July. American Brian Harman, playing left handed, won the tournament by six strokes. He managed to avoid the penal bunkers and putted great. Harman began with rounds of 67 and 65 which gave him a five stroke lead going into the weekend. With a 69 on Saturday he stayed five in front and a 70 on Sunday secured the title. His 271 total won by six strokes. Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Tom Kim and Sepp Straka tied for second with 277 totals. Total prize money was $16,500,000 and first money was $3,000,000.

On the last day of July Zac Oakley won the Philadelphia PGA Assistant Championship at the Rolling Green Golf Club. Oakley put together rounds of 69 and 68 for a five under par 137. During the two rounds he made nine birdies, which included birdies on the par five 17th and 18th holes of the final round. Oakley’s name was engraved on the George Izett memorial trophy. For many years Izett, owner of Izett Golf and a Section member, sponsored the tournament. The defending champion, Trevor Bensel, finished second at 139. Rusty Harbold finished third at 140 and Manufacturers Golf & Country Club assistant Rob Wolfers was fourth at 143. First prize from the $13,256 purse was $1,876. This was also qualifying for the Assistant PGA Professional Championship. Based on the number of entries the Section had five spots to qualify for. The first four spots went to Bensel, Harbold, Wolfers and Parks Price, who posted a 144. A second Manufacturers assistant, Alex Willey, won the fifth spot with a 145. St. Davids Golf Club assistant Mike Wilson (146) was the first alternate and got into the tournament when the PGA of America awarded the Section another spot. Brian Bergstol and Oakley were exempt. At the 2022 national tournament Bergstol had finished second and Oakley had tied for fourth.  

The Pro-Am for Wishes was played at the Penn Oaks Golf Club in the first week of August. The first day two professionals were paired with two amateurs in a pro-am format. The professionals’ scores counted toward a two-day total for the individual money. Trevor Bensel came from one stroke off the pace to win. He posted rounds of 69 and 65 for an eight under par 134 to win by four strokes. In his second round Bensel carded six birdies and no bogies. Michael Little and Zac Oakley tied for second with 138 totals. Andy Sebastianelli finished fourth at 141. First prize from the $21,500 purse was $3,000.

The Country Club of York hosted the Pennsylvania Open in the middle of August. Kevin Kraft won the tournament for a second time. Kraft began the three-day tournament with a par 70 which trailed the leader by seven strokes. A second round 64 brought him to within one stroke of the leaders. He finished the last round with birdies on the last two holes for a 67. His 201 total won by two strokes. Amateur Calen Sanderson finished second at 203. Western Pennsylvania’s Louis Olsakovsky and Huntingdon Valley Country Club assistant Steven Cerbara tied for third with 204 totals. Cerbara had been tied for the lead with one round to play. Kraft had also won the tournament in  2018. Prize money totaled $40,000 and first money was $8,000. After the second round the field was cut to the low 40 and ties with the cut coming at one over par 141.

The Philadelphia Section Women’s Championship was hosted by the Chester Valley Golf Club on the fifth Tuesday of August. Aronimink Golf Club assistant Tessa Teachman won with a four over par 74. Teachman had only 20 putts for the 18 holes. Jennifer Cully finished second with a 77. Joanna Coe was third at 78 strokes. Patty Post, Huntingdon Valley Country Club assistant Kelly Sanderson and Green Valley Country Club assistant Brittany Weddell tied for fourth with 80s. First prize from the $5,478 purse was $1,425.

The second annual Silvercrest Cup was played at the Applebrook Golf Club on the first Tuesday of September. Michael Little turned in the low score for the day, but one day later he contacted the Section’s Executive Director Geoff Surrette. Little said that he might have signed for a lower score than he had for the round. After consulting with his marker and the other player in his pairing, it was determined that he had signed for a par on the second hole, when he had made a bogey. As he had signed for a lower score than he shot, he was disqualified. It was a very hot day and Little thought the heat may have been a factor. This made Whitemarsh Valley Country Club professional Dave Pagett the co-winner along with amateur Andrew Keeling, the defending champion. Pagett took home the top money of $15,000. Braden Shattuck, Anthony Sebastianelli, Andrew Turner, Louis Kelly and Wilmington Country Club assistant Ryan Rucinski tied for third. They each won $3,420. Qualifying for the tournament had been held at four locations with the top two players winning the extra $3,000 in prize money at each of those events. Silvercrest Asset Management also donated $10,000 to PGA Reach Philadelphia, the Philadelphia PGA’s umbrella charity, and $10,000 to the GAP’s J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust. Total prize money for the event was $37,875 along with the $12,000 paid out at the four qualifying events. Twenty nine professionals won money at the final event.

Zac Oakley won the Philadelphia Section Championship in the second week of September. There were 130 entries. The tournament was hosted by the Country Club of Scranton and the Elmhurst Country Club. Play at the CC of Scranton’s 54-hole facility was on its Walter Travis designed Old Course. The first two rounds were shared by the two golf courses with the field then cut to the low 60 and ties. The plan had been for the final round to be played at CC of Scranton but with rain earlier in the tournament  and more rain after the second round, the golf course was inundated. It was determined by the Section staff and the Club’s staff that the golf course was not fit for championship golf. With that the third round was canceled and the tournament was shortened to two rounds. Oakley won with back to back five under par 67s, first day at Elmhurst and the second day at CC of Scranton. His 134 score edged out Braden Shattuck (135) by one stroke. Oakley’s father Pete Oakley, won many major Philadelphia Section tournaments and the 2004 British Senior Open, but he never won the Philadelphia Section Championship. First prize was $9,000. Prize money totaled $72,000. This was also qualifying for the 2024 PGA Professional Championship. Based on the number of entries the Section was allotted ten spots. The first spot went to Oakley. Shattuck was exempt as the winner of the 2023 PGA Professional Championship. Rich Steinmetz and Tavistock Country Club teaching professional Michael Meisenzahl picked up the second and third spots with a tie for third at 138. Billy Stewart won the fourth spot with a 139. The fifth, sixth and seventh spots went to Alex Knoll, Trevor Bensel and Robert Fenton with 140 totals. Brian Kelly (141) scored low enough to qualify but was not eligible, as he was now a PGA Life Member. Dave Pagett and Chris Krueger took the eighth and ninth spots with 142s and the tenth spot went to Michael Little with a 143 total. The head professional at the CC of Scranton was John Rogers and the head professional at Elmhurst CC was PGA Associate John Roche.

The 2023 Ryder Cup was played near Rome, Italy at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in the fourth week of October. At the end of day one the final outcome was practically decided. The European team won all four morning foursome matches for a 4-0 lead. In the afternoon the US team held 1up leads in three of the four-ball matches teeing off on the 18th hole, only lose to all three leads to 2 birdies and an eagle. With Europe winning one match and tying three the afternoon count was 1-1/2 for the US and 2-1/2  for Europe. At the end of day one Europe led the US 6-1/2 to 1-1/2. On Saturday morning Europe won 3 matches and lost 1. The US team bounced back in the afternoon winning 3 matches and losing one, but they still trailed by five points going into Sunday’s twelve singles matches. On Sunday the US won five matches, lost five and tied two. The final score was US 11-1/2 points against 16-1/2 for Europe. The US had not won the Ryder Cup in Europe since 1993.

Braden Shattuck won the Lehigh Valley Open on the second Tuesday of October at the Berkleigh Country Club. A 66 the first day and a 67 the second day left his fellow competitors well behind. His eleven under par 133 won by four strokes. Trevor Bensel and Brian Bergstol tied for second at 137. Louis Kelly finished fourth alone at 141. First money from the $16,045 purse was $2,338.

Aronimink Golf Club hosted the final 2 rounds of the Section Match Play Championship on the first Thursday of October. The format for the tournament had been changed from being played in one week to a year long event of seven rounds played over six months. Rounds one through five were played with deadlines of June 1, July 1, August 1, September 1 and October 1, with the semifinals and final on October 5. For rounds one through five the two players had to play their match on a golf course other than their own. In the semifinals Michael Little defeated Braden Shattuck and Ryan Rucinski defeated  DuPont Country Club teaching professional Matt Finger. In the final Little prevailed over Rucinski by 2&1. There were 117 in the starting field with 11 byes. First money was $2,414 from total prize money of $19,307.

The annual challenge match between the Philadelphia PGA and the Golf Association of Philadelphia was played on Saucon Valley Country Club’s Grace Course, on the third Tuesday of October. The PGA lost. It was the firth loss in the 31 times the matches had been played. There were at least 2 senior golfers on each team. The PPGA teams of Braden Shattuck-Zach Barbin and Michael Little-Anthony Sebastianelli each won 2-1/2 points. The teams of Hugo Mazzalupi-Jerry Hatch and Andrew Turner-Andrew Cornish each won 1 point. The team of Brian Kelly-Jeff Herb won 1/2 point. The other PGA team was Brian Bergstol-Trevor Bensel. The final score was GAP 10-1/2 points to PPGA 7-1/2 points. The 31 year standing was now 22 PPGA wins, 5 GAP wins and 4 ties. Barbin was the assistant at the Chesapeake Bay Golf Club where his father Andy was the owner/head professional.

The Senior PGA Professional Championship was held at the end of October at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The tournament was played on the par 71 Ryder Course and par 72 Wanamaker Course. The final two rounds were played on the Wanamaker Course. There were 264 in the starting field. Bob Sowards won the tournament with a fifteen under par 272. His rounds were 67, 70, 69 and 66. Jerry Haas was second at 278 and Mike Small third at 280. Tracy Phillips and Jeff Brehaut tied for fourth at 282. Rich Steinmetz and Dave McNabb tied for 20th with 289 totals. By finishing in the top 35 they qualified for the 2024 Senior PGA Championship. They each won $3,930. Stu Ingraham made the cut also, tying for 62nd at 296. He won $1,530. Terry Hertzog, Hugo Mazzalupi and John Allen missed the cut. Rob Shuey was there but had to withdraw in the first round. First money from the $335,000 purse was $27,000.

The annual meeting of the Philadelphia PGA was held at the Philmont Country Club on the fifth Monday of October. 170 Section members, associate professionals and guests were in attendance. The meeting was called to order by president Patrick Shine and opened with a prerecorded rendition of our national anthem by Clark Luis. The invocation was given by Johnny Carpineta. The feature guest was PGA of America’s new Chief Operating Officer Craig Kessler. Kessler told the Section professionals about his background and how he became the PGAA’s COO. Seth Waugh was still the CEO, with Kessler reporting to him. He spoke on his vision for making the PGA of America and its members more successful. After that he fielded questions from the floor. John Pillar, the Section’s PGA Director representing District 2 spoke on national affairs. The Ryder Cup, which was owned by the PGA of America and the British PGA, was a subject and mentioned by both Pillar and Kessler. Some Ryder Cup team members had been mentioning a desire to be paid for playing on the team. For several years each player had been receiving a set amount of money, which had to donate to their designated charity. For 2023, each member of the team received $200,000 for their charity. Along with that the PGA gave the PGA Tour 20 percent off the top of their Ryder Cup income, before expenses. Pillar stated that the PGA would continue to own the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Playing golf tournaments in Dallas, Texas during January and February weather was not feasible. Pillar also mentioned that national dues were being increased by $25. It was the first increase in national dues in 32 years. He also informed those in attendance that the PGA had a new logo. The new logo prominently showed this was the “PGA of America”, not the PGA Tour. The Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour had another successful year with an increase in memberships from 820 in 2022 to 849 in 2023. Executive Director Geoff Surrette reported that the Restricted Fund which now had a balance of $552,289, had a challenging year. Playing awards were announced. The Section’s Player of the Year was Braden Shattuck. For a second straight year the Skee Riegel Senior Player of the Year was Rich Steinmetz and for a second straight year the Section’s Women’s Player of the Year was Joanna Coe. The DeBaufre trophy award winner was Trevor Bensel with a scoring average of 70.65 strokes in the designated events.  It was an election year. After two years as president, Shine stepped down to honorary president. Peter “Chip” Richter moved to the president’s chair from vice president and Bob Hennefer moved from secretary to vice president. Eric Kennedy, who had been director of tournaments, moved to secretary. Dustin McCormick moved from director of section affairs to director of tournaments. Bidermann Golf Club professional Anthony Malizia was elected director of section affairs. All of the officers were elected without opposition.  

Two new Philadelphia PGA Playing Legends, Jerry Pisano and Ted McKenzie were inducted at the Section’s annual meeting. Pisano won three Philadelphia Opens; 1957, 1962 and 1965 and the 1964 Pennsylvania Open. He won the Pennsylvania Open at the Hershey County’s Club West Course by seven strokes with a ten under par (68-68} 136. He qualified for the PGA Championship three times and the US Open twice. At the 1963 PGA Championship Pisano finished in a tie for 40th. McKenzie won the 1979 Philadelphia PGA Championship and the 1971 Philadelphia Open. He finished second in the Philadelphia Open three times. One of those was when he lost an 18-hole playoff to Pisano in 1965. He also qualified for two US Opens. In 1975 McKenzie was the Section’s Player of the Year and the DeBaufre Trophy winner for the low scoring average in the Section that year.

The PGA of America’s annual meeting was held at the new headquarters of the PGA in Frisco, Texas from November 6 to 10. The meetings were at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort, which also housed the delegates. The Philadelphia Section was represented by President Peter “Chip” Richter, Vice President Bob Hennefer, and Executive Director Geoffrey Surrette along with other officers and staff. John Pillar was in attendance at the director from District. He was attending his final national meeting, completing his three-year term. Two Section members were honored. Jeff Kiddie was the “PGA Professional of the Year” and Johnny Carpineta received the Patriot Award. Kiddie was the first Philadelphia Section member to be the “PGA Professional of the Year”.

Jeffrey D. “Jeff” Kiddie was honored as the “ PGA Golf Professional of the Year” at the PGA of America’s annual meeting. Born in Albany, NY and raised in Rochester, NY Kiddie’s father was a golf professional who became a professional golf salesman . Kiddie graduated from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he played on the golf team. He then turned professional, beginning his career in golf as an assistant at the Locust Hill Country Club near Rochester. From there he moved to the Monroe Golf Club, working under Jim Mrva, who would later be a “ PGA Golf Professional of the Year”. As an assistant at Monroe, Kiddie was the “Assistant Professional of the Year” in the Western New York PGA for the year 1999. In 2000 he arrived in the Philadelphia Section as an assistant at Pine Valley Golf Club. One year later he was the professional at the Applebrook Golf Club and soon after that became the general manager of the club as well. In 2008 he moved to Aronimink Golf Club as its head professional. Kiddie became involved in the Philadelphia Section politics as a district director in 2013. He was elected to the office of section affairs for 2014-15 and began a progression through the Section offices of secretary 2015-17, vice president 2018-19 and president 2020-21. After being the “Merchandiser of the Year for Private Clubs” in the Philadelphia Section two times, in 2011 he received the award at the national level. In his first four years at Aronimink he had increased the golf shop sales by 39 percent. By 2018 the sales increased 96 percent and in 2023 the sales had exceeded $1,600,000. In 2011 he was also the Philadelphia Section’s “PGA Professional of the Year”. Along with merchandising, Kiddie and his assistants played golf with the members, which was becoming a lost part of golf at private clubs. At Aronimink, Kiddie started a “Golf Get Ready” program for juniors and women so they were ready to play golf on the golf course when their opportunities arrived. He created a Wednesday evening league which created more rounds of golf for the club. Kiddie hosted education programs for the PGA along with being a presenter or panel member for education seminars. He received the Section’s Bill Strausbaugh Award In 2011 and in 2016 he received the Professional Development award. Kiddie hosted hosted Drive, Chip and Putt qualifiers and the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Championship, the 100^th edition of this event. As Aronimink’s professional, Kiddie hosted four national professional tournaments. While Aronimink was conducting a search for a new general manager in 2021, Kiddie held down that position as well for six months while still serving as the club’s head professional. This came at a time when the club was taking on a $35,000,000 capital project campaign. As a head professional thirteen of his assistants hsd gone on to be head professionals. After becoming involved with the Philadelphia Rules Committee, in 2013 he became a member of the PGA of America Rules of Rules Committee. Along with being a faculty member for PGA/USGA Rules Workshops instructor five times. Kiddie served as a rules official at major championships which included five PGA Championships and the 2021 Ryder Cup. Now Kiddie and Aronimink were involved with making preparations for the 2026 PGA Championship.

Johnny Carpineta, the recipient of the PGA of America Patriot Award, did not take up golf until the the age of  27. After serving in the US Army he worked in the business world until age 57. He began his career in golf as an assistant at Bensalem Township Country Club in 1998. Carpineta took the PGA playing ability test several times. Through perseverance he finally passed the test, becoming a PGA member in 2003. Through the Veterans Affairs he was introduced to teaching golf to wounded veterans. For the next fourteen years Carpineta spent every day working on making golf available to his country’s wounded veterans along with assisting with Philadelphia’s First Tee program. He spent hours collecting golf clubs from the golf professionals for the veterans and recruited his fellow golf professionals to help him with golf instruction for the veterans. No miles were too far for him to travel if he could help a wounded veteran. At the Bensalem Township golf course Carpineta converted a section of the practice range, making it accessible for the veterans with disabilities. He made the Bensalem facility a home for wounded veterans. Carpineta was the Philadelphia PGA Patriot Award recipient in 2017, 18 and 20 and the Section Player Development Award winner in 2015. In the years 2018, 19 and 20 he was a finalist for the PGA’s Patriot Award. Carpineta was recognized by his local community for his tireless efforts in assisting the wounded veterans. He was the 2020 Philadelphia Section’s “PGA Professional of the Year”. Every year at the Section’s spring and fall meetings Carpineta gave the invocation where he always mentioned the country’s veterans, wounded physically and mentally. In the Philadelphia Section PGA Johnny Carpineta symbolized the Patriot Award every day of the year.

Zac Oakley finished in a tie for third at the PGA Assistant Professional Championship in the third week of November. The tournament was played in Port St. Lucie, Florida on the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course. Trevor Bensel led the first day with a five under par 66, which turned out to be the low round of the tournament. The winner was Preston Cole with rounds of 68, 68, 71 and 68. His 275 total won by three strokes. Mike Ballo finished second at 278. Oakley and Peter Ballo tied for third at 280. Oakley won $7,000. Bensel finished 7th with a 284 total, winning $4,350. Brian Bergstol tied for 26th at 293 and won $1,465. Parks Price finished in a tie for 48th at 300 and won R982.50. Rusty Harbold tied for 60th at 303, winning $830. By finishing in the top four Oakley qualified for the 2024 championship. Rob Wolfers, Alex Wiley and Mike Wilson missed the cut. First prize from the $165,000 prize pool was $12,500. There were 132 in the starting field.

The leading money winner on the PGA Tour was Scottie Scheffler with $21,014,342 in 23 tournaments. Sean O’Hair won $489,032 which made him number 175 on the money list for the year. Brandon Matthews won $265,711 which made him number 202. Ben Kohles was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour’s developmental tour with earnings of $692,148. Steve Stricker led the PGA Tour senior money winning list with $3,986,063. Jim Furyk finished 72nd on the money list with $169,274.

2024
With the change in the logo in 2023, all of the forty-one PGA Sections were faced with having to change its signage and logos along with numerous other things, The PGA gave each PGA Section $25,000 to cover the costs and three years to complete the process.  

The spring meeting of the Philadelphia PGA was held at the RiverCrest Golf Club on the fourth Monday of March. Clark Luis opened the meeting with the national anthem. Dick Smith, Jr., a past president of the Philadelphia Section, was in attendance after being away for several years. He was back in the Section as the professional at the Out Door Country Club. Section President Peter “Chip” Richter announced that the Section had two new national award winners. Jim Smith, Jr., the Bill Strausbaugh Award winner and Dean Kandle, the PGA of America Professional Development Award winner. They would be honored at the PGA of America’s annual meeting in November. There was a “break out session” during the meeting where the golf professionals sat at tables for ten. Aspects of the golf business like hiring and retaining assistant golf professionals was discussed. Executive Director Geoffrey Surrette, reported that the Section’s Restricted Fund had gained more than $100,000 during 2023 due to a favorable business climate. The fund now had a value of $612,273. The mortgage on the Section’s office was now $225,000, the last of the Section’s auto loans had been paid off and a new van had been purchased. Dustin McCormick was introduced as the Section’s 2023 “ PGA Golf Professional of the Year” . Nicholas Iacono, who was now the Director of Instruction at Merion Golf Club, was the Section’s Teacher of the Year.

Dustin McCormick, the Section’s “PGA Golf Professional of the Year” began his golf career in 2007 as an assistant at Water Gap Country Club. In 2014 he moved to the township owned Glen Brook Country Club as the head professional. When McCormick arrived the facility had been losing money for several years. He presented a business plan to the township that provided him with complete decision making authority. Through market research, vendor changes and pre-booking, the facility generated a profit in his first year without having to cut the payroll. He sold the local golfers on joining the club and then selling their friends on joining as well. McCormick’s revitalization increased the membership roster from 43 to 325. With a major increase in rounds of golf the facility began making a profit. New cart paths were installed, tees were rebuilt and 400 out of place trees were removed. A golf simulator was installed, which kept the facility and golf shop busy and prosperous during winter months. McCormick instituted a “Dinner with the Pro”, having dinner with 20 of the club’s golfers to discuss ways to improve the facility and answer questions. In 2022 he hired two-time Section champion Alex Knoll to upgrade the golf instruction program. McCormick was the Section’s 2018 Merchandiser of the Year for public facilities. After serving on the Section’s Board as a District Director, in late 2021 McCormick was elected to the office of director of section affairs for a two-year term. At the Section’s fall meeting in 2023 he was elected director of tournaments.

The Masters Tournament was played in the second week of April at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The golf course measured 7,555 yards. There were 84 professionals and 5 amateurs in the starting field. Overnight rain caused a two and one-half hour delay of the start of round one. With the late start more than 20 players had to complete round one Friday morning. When the rain abated brisk winds arrived, lasting into Saturday afternoon. There were several late meltdowns on Friday with many big name golfers failing to make the cut, which came at six over par, the highest in many years. The last players putted out with little daylight remaining. After 36 holes, Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau were tied for the lead at 138. On Saturday scoring was still difficult, even later in the day with calmer weather. Only three players broke 70. Scheffler, with an up and down round, birdied the 1st and 18th holes to finish with a 71 and a one stroke lead. On Sunday, Scheffler made birdies on the 8th and 9th holes for a one under par 35. From there, while his closest competitors were falling away, Scheffler played the second nine in 33 strokes, to win by four strokes. His four rounds were 66, 72, 71 and 68 for an eleven under par 277. It was Scheffler’s second Masters victory in three years. Ludvig Aberg was second at 281. Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood tied for third at 284. First money was $3,600,000. The total payout was $20,000,000.

The PGA Professional Championship was held at the PGA of America’s Fields Ranch East and West courses in late April, ending on May 1. The East Course measured 7,365 yards and the West Course 7,080 yards.  Both golf courses were par 72. There were 13 Philadelphia PGA members in the starting field. Due to heavy rains and storms the start of the first round was delayed four hours and nearly half of the players were not able to complete their rounds. Then on day two, play was delayed for one hour and fifty minutes before play could begin. Due to the bad weather causing delay of play totaling nearly six hours, the cut after round two was changed from the low 90 and ties to the low 70 and ties. The cut fell at 147 surviving to play the final 36 holes. The first two rounds were played on both golf courses and the final two rounds were played on the East Course. After the rain early in the tournament the last two days were windy with few players breaking par. Ben Polland won with rounds of 68, 71, 71 and 78 for a four round total of  286. Polland was the only one under par for the tournament. Andy Svoboda and Jared Jones tied for second with 289s. John Somers and Jesse Muller tied for fourth with 29os. The defending champion Braden Shattuck, birdied the last hole to tie for 16th at 293. Zac Oakley (293) also tied for 16th. The tie for 16th qualified them for the PGA Championship in May. They each won $9,030. Michael Meisenzahl eagled the par five final hole and finished one stroke higher at 294, tied for 21st. He won $8,000. The top 20 qualified for the PGA Championship. Trevor Bensel tied for 26th at 295 and won $7,100. Danny Lewis, who was new to the Philadelphia Section as an assistant at the Philadelphia Cricket Club tied for 61st at 302, winning $3,750. Lewis had qualified as a 2023 member of the New Jersey PGA. Chris Krueger tied for 69th at 304 and won $3,100. Billy Stewart, Michael Little, Alex Knoll, Rich Steinmetz, Robert Fenton and Brian Bergstol missed the cut. Bergstol got into the tournament as an alternate when Dave Pagett did not play. Total prize money was $715,000.

Local qualifying for the US Open was held at the Country Club of York on the first Thursday of May. Seventy-eight professionals and amateurs were competing for four spots in sectional qualifying in early June. Downingtown, Pennsylvania amateur and high senior Nickolas Gross led with a seven under par 63. Michigan professional Winton Munch picked up the second spot with a 66. Maryland professional Joey Medora and Sweden amateur Casper Nerpin tied for third with 67 to win the third and fourth spots.

The Union League at Liberty Hill hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the first Monday of May. There were 120 players for seven spots in sectional qualifying. Peter Bradbeer, who was playing minitours out of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, led with a six under par 66.  Kyle Vance, a former assistant at Green Valley Country Club who was now playing minitours out of Norristown, Pennsylvania, won the second spot with a 67. Maryland amateur Austin Barbin, a son of Philadelphia PGA professional Andy Barbin, and amateur Michael Lugiano from Jackson Township, Pennsylvania, picked up the third and fourth spots with 68s. Eric Beringer, a minitour player from Philadelphia, won the fifth spot with a 69. Amateurs Joseph Tigani from Delaware and Pennsylvania’s Benjamin Saggers took the last two spots with 70s.

Running Deer Golf Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the first Tuesday of May. There were 66 players for three spots in the sectional qualifying. Langhorne’s Stephen Cerbara, who was now playing minitour golf, tied for the medal with North Carolina professional Matthew Ryan. They posted three under par 69s. Trevor Bensel won the third and last spot with a 70.  

Elmhurst Country Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the second Monday of May. There were 64 players for 3 spots there. Amateur Billy Pabst led with a three under par 68. New York professional David Powers was next with a 69. The third spot was won by amateur Logan Paczewski in sudden death playoff with Andrew Turner, who became the first alternate. Turner was back at Whitford Country Club as the teaching professional.

The Pennsylvania Senior Open was played at the Sewickley Heights Country Club in the second week of May. Kevin Kraft came from three strokes behind to win after a first day 74. A three under par second round 69 for a two day total of 143 made him the winner by one stroke. John Pillar put together rounds of 76 and 68 to finish in a tie for second with western Pennsylvania professional Kevin Shields and amateur Jeff Frazier at 144. A birdie on the final hole made Kraft the winner. Having won the 2023 Pennsylvania Open, Kraft was now the holder of both the Pennsylvania Open and Pennsylvania Senior Open titles at the same time. First prize was $4,000 from a total purse of $15,000. Fifteen golf professionals won money.

The PGA Championship was at the Walhalla Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky in the third week of June. The Philadelphia Section had two members, Braden Shattuck and Zac Oakley in the starting field. With wet weather early in the tournament week and the first two days of the tournament, the golf course which was more than 7,600 yards was defenseless. Drives in the fairways stayed in the fairways and balls that landed near the flagsticks stayed near the flagsticks. Record equaling scoring scores were posted. Zander Schauffele opened the tournament with a 9 under par 62, which tied the lowest round ever shot in a major championship. At the end of round one he led by three strokes. From there he never trailed but it was close all the way. His next three rounds were 68, 68 and 65 for a total of 263 that won by one stroke. It was the lowest 72 hole score in the history of major championships. First prize was $3,300,000 from total prize money of $18,500,000. Bryson DeChambeau finished second at 264 and Viktor Hovland was third at 266. Colin Morikawa and Thomas Detry tied for fourth with 269 totals. Shattuck was the low club professional finishing 72nd at 283, He won $22,830. Oakley missed the cut. The cut fell at one under par.

After playing 72 holes at the PGA Championship, Braden Shattuck drove ten hours home from Louisville, Kentucky to Pennsylvania to play in the Delaware Valley Open, one day later. The Philadelphia PGA gave Shattuck a 2:30 starting time in the DVO which was being played at the Bellewood Country Club. Shattuck won the tournament, breaking the course record with an eight under par 63. His round consisted of eight birdies and ten pars. Even with a course record Shattuck won by only two strokes over Louis Kelly, who shot a 65. Trevor Bensel and Brendan Post tied for third with 67s. First prize was $1,304.

The Senior PGA Championship was played at the Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Michigan during the fourth week of May. England’s Richard Bland led from day one to win by three strokes. His four rounds were 65, 66, 74 and 63 for a seventeen under par 267. Australia’s Richard Green finished second at 270 and Greg Chalmers was third at 271. Jason Caron and Australia’s Scott Hend tied for fourth with 272s. Dave McNabb and Rich Steinmetz were entered in the tournament off having finished in the top 35 at the 2023 Senior PGA Professional Championship. McNabb missed the cut and Steinmetz had to withdraw before the tournament started due to an injury. First prize from the $3,500,000 purse was $680,000.

John Pillar won the Haverford Classic in at three-way sudden death playoff with Braden Shattuck and Waynesborough Country Club assistant Kyle Early. The tournament was played at the Sunnybrook Golf Club on the fourth Tuesday of May. The three professionals finished their 18 holes with two under par 70s, so a sudden death playoff was held on the 18th hole. On the first playoff hole Shattuck lost out with a bogey five. Playing the 18th hole again Pillar and Early both made birdies with Pillar holing a 25-foot putt for to stay alive. For a third time they returned to the 18th tee. Another birdie by Pillar made him the winner and recipient of  a check for $100,000. Early and Shattuck each took home $3,053 from the day’s $117,592 in prize money. Michael Little, Brian Bergstol, Rusty Harbold and Steve Swartz, who was now the head professional at the Carlisle Country Club, tied for fourth with 71s.

The two-day Burlington Classic was played at the Burlington Country Club in early June. The first day two professionals were paired with three amateurs in a pro-am format with the professionals’ individual scores counting for a two-day professional tournament. For the first round, which was on a Sunday, the golf course was set up shorter in order for the large number of teams to finish before dark. On Monday the course was stretched out to create a competitive finish. Braden Shattuck led the first day with a five under par 65, but did not capitalize on it. Shooting a lower round the second day than the first day, Zach Barbin turned in rounds of 67 and 66. His 133 total won by two strokes. The results were in doubt until Barbin made a birdie three on the final hole. John Pillar finished second at 135. Shattuck, Brian Bergstol, Danny Lewis and Mike Meisenzahl tied for third with 138s. Total prize money was $20,899 with a top money of $3,000.

On the first Monday of June the Steel Club hosted qualifying for the US Senior Open. New Jersey professional, Brian Gaffney, New Jersey amateur Michael Brown and New York professional Jason Caron qualified with even par 72s. They survived a five-man playoff as five players had tied for the three spots with 72s.

Pennsylvania Senior Open title holder, Kevin Kraft, and former Section member Ted Tryba qualified with six under par 66s on the Homestead Hotel’s Cascades Course in Hot Springs, Virginia. There were two spots at the Homestead.

Sandy Run Country Club hosted the Philadelphia PGA Senior Championship in the second week of June. This was also qualifying for the Senior PGA Professional Championship. Based on the number of entries, of which there were 49, the Section had six spots to qualify for. After having won the money rich Haverford Classic just two weeks before, John Pillar chalked up another victory. It was the third time Pillar had won the Section Senior Championship. After trailing the first round leader by four strokes with an even par 72, Pillar put together a 68. His 140 total edged out Rich Steinmetz (141) and Brian Kelly (141) by one stroke. Eric Kennedy finished fourth at 142 That made Pillar, Steinmetz, Kelly and Kennedy the first four qualifiers. George Forster, Sr. and Chris Krueger picked up the fifth and sixth spots with 144s. Pete Lovenguth (146), who was now the head professional at the Sandy Run Country Club, and Steve Swartz (146) earned the first and second alternate spots. When Steinmetz and Forster didn’t go to the tournament in Sunriver, Oregon, Lovenguth and Swartz got in. First prize from a prize pool of $6,770 was $1,003.

The US Open was held in Pinehurst, North Carolina on the Pinehurst Resorts’s No. 2 Course in the middle of June. The par 70 golf course measured 7,548 yards. 10,052 professionals and amateurs had filed entries for the tournament with most of them being eliminated through two levels of prequalifying. On what was known as a challenging golf course the scores on day one were better than expected, with a pair of 65s leading the field of 156 starters. On day two the scores were a little higher.  Five under par still led. The 36-hole cut fell at five over par 145 as the low 60 and ties played the weekend. On Saturday Bryson DeChambeau turned in a steady 67 to take a three stroke lead into the final round at seven under par. In the early part of the final round DeChambeau played steady golf. Then around the turn Rory McIlroy made four birdies in five holes and DeChambeau began to falter, putting McIlroy in the lead by two strokes. Then McIlroy made a bogey on the 15th hole, missed a 30 inch par putt on the next hole and after a great pitch to 4 feet at the last hole he missed the putt. With that DeChambeau needed a par at the last hole to win. A 55-yard bunker shot to 4-feet and a holed putt made DeChambeau the U.S. Open champion for a second time. First money was $4,300,000. DeChambeau’s rounds were 67, 69, 67 and 71 for a six under par 274 with McIlroy at 275. Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay tied for third with 276 totals. Total prize money was $21,500,000.

In late June Braden Shattuck was notified by the PGA of America that he had been selected as a member of the PGA Cup team. The biennial contest against a team of club professionals from Great Britain & Ireland would be in Oregon in mid September. But, due to being away from Rolling Green Golf Club for the PGA Championship and the PGA Professional Championship, Shattuck decided not to play and declined the invitation.

The US Senior Open was held at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of June. The field was cut to the low 60 and ties after 36 holes. In the fourth round play was stopped due to severe weather, with the leaders having completed ten holes. On Monday, due to damage from the weather no spectators were allowed on the property. England’s Richard Bland shot a last round 66, even though he ended the round with a bogey five on the last hole, to tie Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita at 13 under par. There was a two-hole playoff on holes No. 1 and No. 18 which ended in a tie with both players making pars fours on both holes. The two players returned to the 18th tee for sudden death and both made bogies. Playing the 18th hole again, Bland nearly holed out his greenside bunker shot, making a par to win. Bland’s rounds were 68, 64, 69 and 66 for a total of 267. Bland had now won the Senior PGA Championship and the US Senior Open in a period of five weeks. Australia’s Richard Green finished third at 270 and Steve Stricker was fourth at 271. First prize was $800,000 from the $4,000,000 prize pool. Jim Furyk tied for 55th winning $8,014.50. Furyk had an exemption into the tournament as a former winner of the US Open. Kevin Kraft missed the cut by one stroke and Ted Tryba also missed the cut.

Anthony Sebastianelli won the two-day Lehigh Valley Open in the second week of July. There was a 90-minute weather delay the second day but play finished on time. Sebastianelli put together two rounds of three under par 68. His 136 total edged out Michael Little (137) and Brendan Post (137) by one stroke. Rich Steinmetz, Trevor Bensel and John Cooper, the professional at the Green Valley Country Club, tied for fourth with 138s. After a first round of 75, Dave Pagett shot a 65, breaking the course record. The previous record of 66, had been set by Stan Dudas while winning a playoff for the 1968 Section Championship. First prize from the $15,450 prize pool was $1,851.

The Philadelphia Open was hosted by the 6,894 yard Applebrook Golf Club in the third week of July. Prequalifying for the professionals and amateurs was held at various locations. 147 professionals and amateurs teed off in oppressive heat that reached 97 degrees in the first round on Tuesday. After 18 holes the field was cut to the low 60 and ties as three over par 73s survived to play the next day. Wednesday’s temperatures were nearly as high as Tuesday. 2019 reinstated amateur Jonathan Rusk (66-70) finished in a three-way tie for the title with Andrew Cornish (68-68) and amateur Zak Dresher (68-68) with 136 totals. At the conclusion of play there was a four-hole aggregate playoff on holes No. 8, 9, 10 and 18, which was interrupted for nearly one hour by threatening weather. Rusk handled the playoff in eagle, birdie, par and bogie for a total of 15 strokes against 17 for Cornish and 19 for Dresher. As a professional Cornish picked up the $8,000 first place check. A trophy which had been newly created for the tournament, the Johnny J. McDermott Trophy, was presented to the winner. Danny Lewis tied for fourth at 137 with four amateurs; William Howard, Ryan Tall and William Pabst. Total prize money was $40,000.

The British Open was at Royal Troon, Troon, Scotland during the third week of July. As it quite often does at the British Open weather played a role. Those who played late and then early on day one and two had an advantage. As the second day wore on the cut line went up, ending at four over par 146. With ties 80 players survived to play on the weekend. On Saturday the early players who had barely made the cut faced benign conditions which allowed several players to score well enough to now be under par at the end of day. The leaders faced rain and wind in the late afternoon with only a couple of players breaking par. On Sunday Billy Horschel teed off at four under par with one stroke lead, but many players were in contention. Six were only one stroke back. Dander Schauffele who was trailing rose to the occasion, shooting a six under par 65 to win by two strokes. Schauffele rounds were 69, 72, 69 and 65 for a total of 275. Horschel and Justin Rose tied for second with 277 totals. Thriston Lawrence was fourth at 278. The total purse was $17,000,000 and first prize was $3,100,000.

The Senior British Open was held at Carnoustie Golf Club, Carnoustie, Scotland in the fourth week of July. South Korea’s K.J. Choi won by two strokes with a ten under par 274. Richard Green finished second at 276. Paul Broadhurst (278) was third and Stephen Ames (281) was fourth. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania native Jason Bohn missed the cut. First prize was $447,800 from the total prize money of $2,850,000.

Zach Barbin won the Philadelphia PGA Assistant Championship on the fifth Monday of July. The tournament was hosted by the White Manor Country Club. Barbin made twelve birdies in the 36 holes, with seven in the second round. Five came on the last nine. Still his eight under par 134 only won by one stroke. His rounds were 68 and 66. Barbin’s name was engraved on the George Izett memorial trophy. Zak Oakley finished second at 135 and Brian Bergstol was third with a 136. Anthony Sebastianelli was fourth at 141. First prize from the $14,765 purse was $2,089. This was also qualifying for the Assistant PGA Professional Championship. With only PGA members being eligible for the national championship, With Barbin and Sebastianelli still being PGA Associates, they were not two of the qualifiers. Based on the number of entries in the Section’s Assistant Championship there were four spots available. Oakley was exempt off having finished in the top four In the national championship the year before. With that Bergstol picked up the first qualifying spot. Robert Fenton (145), Rusty Harbold (145) and Trevor Bensel (145) took the second third and fourth spots. The fifth spot went to Andrew Turner (146) in a sudden death playoff. Jeff Fick (146), the assistant professional at the Moselem Springs Golf Club, was the first alternate and later got into the tournament.

In the first week of August the Pro-Am For Wishes tournament was played at the Penn Oaks Golf Club. The first day two professionals and two amateurs were paired in a two-best-balls format, with the professional’s score counting towards a two-day individual event. Michael Little won with rounds of 67 and 67. His 134 total won by two strokes over Zac Oakley (136). Mark Sheftic and Billy Stewart tied for third with 142 totals. First prize from the $25,500 purse was $3,000.

The Pennsylvania Open was played in western Pennsylvania at the St. Clair Country Club in the second week of August. The tournament was won by a western Pennsylvania golf professional, Jake Sollon, for a second time. Sollon had also won the tournament in 2022. With rounds of 67 and 68 Sollon had taken a six stroke lead into the final round. After a triple-bogey on the fourth hole of his final round, Sollon finished with a 75 to win. His 210 total was two strokes better than amateur Tanner Johnson. J.D. Hughes, an unattached golf professional from Carlisle, and Mike Van Sickle tied for third with 213s. Conor McGrath, now an assistant at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, Kyle Vance, now an assistant at Cedarbrook Country Club, and amateur Nickolas Turowski tied for fifth. Prize money totaled $40,000 and first money was $8,000.

The Philadelphia Section Championship was held in the fourth week of August. The three-day tournament was hosted by Rolling Green Golf Club and Chester Valley Golf Club with the final round at Rolling Green. There were 146 players in the starting field. In the first round, played on a Monday, the scores were much lower at Rolling Green than Chester Valley. There were six rounds under par at Rolling Green with a seven under par 64 the lowest. At Chester Valley there were no rounds under par and only one round of even par 70. The second day was about the same. There were six rounds under par at Rolling Green with a low of 68 and the low round at Chester Valley was one lone 71. The cut to the low sixty and ties fell at 154. Having turned in the low round in each of the first two rounds Brett Walker (64-71=135), the teaching professional at Chester Valley, took a three stroke lead into the final round at Rolling Green. On Wednesday Walker, leading wire-to-wire, closed the deal with 69, but by only one stroke. Braden Shattuck, playing on his home course, shot a 67 to finish at 205, one stroke behind Walker’s 204.  It was Walker’s second Philadelphia Section Championship victory having won in 2021. Brian Bergstol finished third at 210 and Michael Meisenzahl at 212 was fourth. This was also qualifying for thirteen spots in the PGA Professional Championship. The fifth spot went to Trevor Bensel at 213 and Rusty Harbold won the sixth spot with a 215 total. Terry Hatch picked up the seventh spot with a 216. David Quinn, Jeff Herb and Zac Oakley took the eighth, ninth and tenth spots with 217 totals. The last three spots; eleven, twelve and thirteen, were won by Andrew Turner, Terry Hertzog and Dave Pagett with 219 totals. Billy Stewart finished alone in 14th place with at 220 to be the first alternate. Total prize money for the tournament was $72,000 with first money $9,000. The host professionals were Scott Chisholm (Rolling Green GC) and Sam Ambrose (Chester Valley GC), who both played well, making the cut and tying for 15th.

The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale hosted the Philadelphia PGA Women’s Section Championship on the second Wednesday of September. Joanna Coe (70) won by one stroke over Tessa Teachman (71). Brittany Weddell was third with a 72. Patty Post and Stonewall’s new head professional Megan Leineweber tied for fourth with 78s. First money was $2,350 from total prize money of $4,700.

Anthony Sebastianelli won the Silvercrest Cup on the third Monday of September. The tournament, which was one of the most lucrative events on the Section’s schedule, was hosted by the Union League Liberty Hill golf course. Sebastianelli’s six under par 66 won by two strokes over Andrew Cornish. Sebastianelli made eight birdies and two bogies. Michael Little, Trevor Bensel, Zac Oakley and Joe Kogelman, the teaching professional at GolfTEC-Moorestown,  finished in a four-way tie for third with 70s.  Total prize money was $37,275 and first prize was $15,000. Players qualified at four earlier events on the Section schedule with $4,000 in prize money for the two low qualifies at each of those. Through points earned in those four tournaments 67 professionals qualified for the tournament. Silvercrest Asset Management also donated $10,000 to the Philadelphia PGA’s umbrella charity PGA Reach Philadelphia and $10,000 to the GAP’s J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust.

The Senior PGA Professional Championship was held at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon at the end of September. With 264 professionals in the starting field the tournament was played on Sunriver’s two golf courses, the Meadows and the Woodlands. The field was cut to the low 100 after two rounds and the low 70 after the third round. Alan Morin (271) won the tournament with rounds of 68, 69, 69 and 65. Robert Russell (273) finished second. Jeff Gove (274) and Tracey Phillips (274) tied for third. John Pillar tied for 44th with a 287 total for the four rounds.  Pillar won $2,370. Eric Kennedy and Pete Lovenguth made the 36-hole cut but missed the 54-hole cut. They each won $800. Chris Krueger, Brian Kelly and Steve Swartz missed the 36-hole cut. Rich Steinmetz and George Forster, Sr. had qualified for the tournament but did not make the trip to Oregon. With that, Lovenguth and Swartz got in as the first and second alternates from the Philadelphia Section. Total prize money was $335, 000 and first money was $29,800. The top 35 qualified for the 2025 Senior PGA Championship.

The seven-round year long Philadelphia Section Match Play Championship came to a conclusion on the first Wednesday of October. The semifinals and final matches were to be played on Merion Golf Club’s East Course. Due to schedule conflicts the finalists, Zac Oakley and Dave Pagett, won both of their semifinal matches by default. Pagett’s default came via Mark Sheftic and Oakley’s came via Joanna Coe, who was in Oregon as a member of the United States Women’s PGA Cup team. Oakley won by defeating Pagett 6&5. Oakley took home a check for $2,285 and Pagett picked up $1,883. Total prize money was $18,280.

For a third straight time, Joanna Coe was a member of the five-person Women’s PGA Cup team. The matches wee played on the Sunriver Resort’s Meadows Course in the first week of October. Six countries; United States, Great Britain & Ireland, Sweden, Canada, South Africa and Australia, were represented in the competition. The format was stroke play with three of each team’s players daily score counting toward a three-day total. The USA won for the third straight year by a large margin. Their 14 under par 625 total was 12 strokes better than second place Canada (637). Coe’s three day total of even par 213 was the fourth lowest of the 30 players from the six teams. Former Section member Ashley Grier was a member of the US team.

The annual challenge match between the Philadelphia PGA and the Golf Association of Philadelphia amateurs was played on third Tuesday of October. The match was hosted by the Saucon Valley Country Club on its Grace Course, with the Philadelphia PGA winning. There were 12 on each team with at least two seniors on each team. In each four-man pairing there was a better ball match and two singles matches. The teams of Anthony Sebastianelli/Daniel Lewis and Bret Walker/Mark Sheftic each won 3 points. The team of David Quinn/Michael Little won 2-1/2 points. The team of Trevor Bensel/Brian Bergstol won 2 points. The teams of Braden Shattuck/Zac Oakley and Brian Kelly/John Pillar each won 1 point. Overall the Philadelphia PGA team won 12-1/2 points to 5-1/2 for the GAP. With 32 years of the matches the Philadelphia now had 23 wins against 5 victories for the GAP, with 4 ties.

The annual meeting of the Philadelphia PGA was hosted by the Medford Village Country Club on the fourth Monday of October. The meeting was opened at 8 a.m. with Clark Luis’s resounding rendition of our national anthem. That was followed with John Carpineta giving the invocation. Section President Peter “Chip” Richter then called the meeting to order. In Richter’s report it was mentioned that the Section’s office was becoming too small for the present number of staff people. With the 2026 PGA Championship scheduled for Aronimink Golf Club a report was presented by the PGA’s on site Championship Director, Ryan Ogle. Incoming PGA District Director David Reasoner gave his report on national affairs. One topic was the Ryder Cup which was going to be held at Bethpage Golf Club in 2025. The high price of tickets to the upcoming Ryder Cup had been a topic in recent weeks. Reasoner said that having the event in New York, with union contracts, was adding $40 million to the cost of hosting. Playing awards for 2034 were announced by Director of Tournaments Dustin McCormick. Braden Shattuck was the Section’s Player of the Year and led the DeBaufre scoring average with 68.42 strokes a round for the twelve designated rounds. The 68.42 average was a record for the 62 years of the award. It was 2.33 strokes under par per round and .51 lower than the previous low average set by Zac Oakley in 2021. The Skee Riegel Senior Player of the Year was John Pillar. The Section’s Women’s Player of the Year was Joanna Coe. The Section’s Junior Tour had another successful year with participation and income well over budget. A portion of Executive Director Geoffrey Surrette’s  report was a chart showing a breakdown on how tournament entry fees and added money from sponsors were applied. As of September 30, with the purchase of a new van and some other major expenses, there was $670, 384 in the restricted fund. Vice President Bob Hennefer announced that Jeff Kiddie and John Pillar were being inducted into the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame.

Jeff Kiddie was born in New York. His father was a golf professional who became a professional golf salesman . Kiddie graduated from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he played on the golf team. He then turned professional, beginning his career in golf as an assistant at the Locust Hill Country Club near Rochester.  As an assistant in the Western New York PGA he was the “Assistant Professional of the Year” in 1999. In 2000 he arrived in the Philadelphia Section as an assistant at Pine Valley Golf Club. One year later he was the professional at the Applebrook Golf Club and soon after that became the general manager of the club as well. In 2008 he moved to Aronimink Golf Club as its head professional. Kiddie became involved in the Philadelphia Section politics as a district director in 2013. He was elected to the office of section affairs for 2014-15 and began a progression through the Section offices of secretary 2015-17, vice president 2018-19 and president 2020-21. After being the “Merchandiser of the Year for Private Clubs” in the Philadelphia Section two times, in 2011 he received the award at the national level. In 2011 he was also the Philadelphia Section’s “PGA Professional of the Year”. Kiddie hosted education programs for the PGA along with being a presenter or panel member for education seminars. He received the Section’s Bill Strausbaugh Award In 2011 and in 2016 he received the Professional Development Award. Kiddie hosted the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Championship, the 100^th edition of this event. As Aronimink’s professional, Kiddie hosted four national professional tournaments. While Aronimink was conducting a search for a new general manager in 2021, Kiddie held down that position as well for six months while still serving as the club’s head professional. As a head professional thirteen of his assistants went on to be head professionals. After becoming involved with the Philadelphia Rules Committee, in 2013 he became a member of the PGA of America Rules of Rules Committee. Along with being a faculty member for PGA/USGA Rules Workshops instructor five times. Kiddie served as a rules official at national championships which included five PGA Championships and the 2021 Ryder Cup. In 2023 Kiddie was honored as the PGA of America’s “ PGA Golf Professional of the Year”. In 2024 Kiddie was inducted into the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame.

John E. Pillar was born in Arizona in 1967 and grew up in Hawley, Pennsylvania. A high school athlete, he was introduced to golf by an uncle at age 15, as his caddy. After three days of caddying for his uncle at the local Cricket Hill Golf Club, Pillar played golf for the first time at the age of 15, shooting a 52 with his uncle’s golf clubs. With that, his uncle bought Pillar a membership at the club. After one year of college at East Stroudsburg University. Pillar left to help with the family business. One year later, in early 1988, he began a career in golf, as an assistant golf professional at Fernwood Resort. After four years at Fernwood, he moved to The Country Club at Woodloch Springs, which had just opened. For four of those years he worked in south Florida as an assistant professional during the winter months. After two years as an assistant at Woodloch Springs, Pillar moved into the head professional position in 1994. As the professional at Woodloch Springs, Pillar was the Section’s Merchandiser of the Year for resort facilities five times. With somewhat of a late start in golf, Pillar soon developed into a successful tournament player as a golf professional, qualifying for the 1997 US Open. In 2009 he won the Philadelphia PGA Championship. He qualified for the PGA Professional Championship 15 times. At the age of 47, he won the 2014 Pennsylvania Open. As a senior, Pillar won the Philadelphia Section Senior Championship three times, 2019, 2020 and 2024. Along with that he won the 2021 Pennsylvania Senior Open. He qualified for the 2017 US Senior Open and the 2022 Senior PGA Championship. He attained the status of Playing Legend in the Section in 2021 and was the Section’s Senior Player of the Year in 2024.  In 2002 Pillar became involved in Section politics, serving as a district director for four years. He was then elected to the office of tournament director for years 2006 to 2009. From there he served as secretary (2010-11), vice president (2012-13) and president (2014-15). He went on to serve a three year term (2021-23) on the PGA of America board as the director for District 2. Pillar was honored in 2007 as the Philadelphia PGA’s Professional Golfer of the Year and in 2019 he received the Section’s Patriot Award. In 2024 Pillar was inducted into the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame.

The PGA of America held its annual meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the frist week of November. It was an election year. Don Rae, Jr. was elected president without opposition, as John Lindert stepped down after a two-year term. Rae was the 44th president of the PGA of America. Nathan Charnes moved up to vice president, also without opposition. Eric Eshleman was elected secretary. In attendance at the meeting were Jim Smith, Jr. and Dean Kandle who were honored with national awards. Smith received the Bill Strausbaugh Award and Kandle received the Professional Development Award. Section President Peter “Chip” Richter and Section Secretary Bob Hennefer were there representing the Philadelphia PGA. Geoffrey Surrette, the Section’s Executive Director was also in attendance along with alternate delegates from the Section. John Pillar, who had completed a three-year term as the PGA’s director from District the previous year, was also in attendance.

Jim Smith, Jr. was honored at the national meeting of the PGA with the Bill Strausbaugh Award for helping his fellow PGA professionals with their employment. After one year as an assistant at Riverton Country Club he had become a non-PGA member head professional at the Abington Club. Through PGA education and educating himself, Smith achieved great success as the COO and Director of Golf of the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s three golf courses. Smith had risen to a position in golf that few club professionals had attained. He was a three-time recipient of  the Bill Strausbaugh Award in the Philadelphia PGA; 2006, 2013, 2022, and the Section’s Golf professional of the year in 2005. He served as president of the Philadelphia PGA and president of the Section’s assistant organization. From his early days in the Section Smith hosted educational seminars and meetings at his clubs. As chairman of the Section’s Employment Relations Committee and a continuing member Smith continued to organize Section seminars and cracker barrel sessions focusing on career issues. Smith was a trusted mentor, confident and counselor in the Philadelphia Section and for golf professionals from outside the Section. From assistant professionals to green superintendents, thirty five of his former employees had advanced to higher positions in the golf industry. One professional who he mentored was one of his former assistants, Dean Kandle, who was awarded the Professional Development Award at that same meeting. Smith was only a telephone call or an email away from being willing to counsel a fellow golf professional. As the director of golf at the Philadelphia Cricket Club Smith helped bring the PGA Professional Championship and a Senior PGA Tour major championship to the Club. This played a major role in placing the Club at the top echelon of golf in the United States.

Dean Kandle was honored at the national meeting of the PGA with the Professional Development Award. Kandle had been an assistant at the Philadelphia Cricket Club and head professional at St. Davids Golf Club. He was now the general manager at St. Davids. In 2018 he was the Section’s Bill Strausbaugh Award winner and in 2020 he was the Section’s Golf Professional of the Year. For three years, 2019, 2020 and 2022, he had been the Section’s Professional Development Award winner. In 2017 Kandle created a website called golfprofessionalgrowth.com., which he took six months to assemble. The theme was productivity, time management and leadership for club professionals. Kandle served on the Section’s education and special awards committees. He hosted Section tournaments, meetings and education seminars at St. Davids. Along with that Kandle began hosting a Podcast titled “Getting Better Now”, which aired 32 episodes for his fellow golf professionals. Then he created a Podcast in partnership with Golf Genius and its 8,000 contacts, titled “The Golf Professional Growth Project”.  When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020 Kandle met those challenges. He communicated with the St. Davids members and brought virtual golf instruction to their homes. Through the internet he helped guide his fellow Philadelphia Section golf professionals through the pandemic during 2020. Kandle had an unwavering dedication to education and development of PGA club professionals.

Zac Oakley finished tied for second at the PGA Assistant Championship in the middle of November. The tournament was played at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida on its Wanamaker Course. Domenico Geminiani won the tournament with a 12 under par 276. His rounds were 65, 67, 70, and 74. Oakley picked up six strokes on Geminiani in the last round with a 68, but was too far back to catch him. Oakley tied with Preston Cole with 279s. Evan Bowser and Michael Kartrude tied for fourth with 281s. Oakley picked up a check for $10,000. Trevor Bensel tied for 15th at 287 and won $1,870. Brian Bergstol tied for 25th with a 280 total, winning $1,490. Rusty Harbold tied for 48th at 296 and won $1,030. Jeff Fick, got into the tournament when the PGA awarded the Section another spot and won $790 for a tie for 60th at 302. Robert Fenton and Andrew Turner missed the cut and each won $370. By finishing in the top four in the tournament, Oakley was exempt for next year’s tournament. First prize was $14,700 and the total prize money was $150,000.

In the second week of December Scott Vandergrift, was named Labron Harris Sr. Award winner for 2024, as the college golf coach of the year. The award was presented by the Golf Coaches Association of America for teaching, coaching and involvement in the community. As the men’s golf coach at Millersville University he had taken his team to the NCAA Division Two Regional 17 times. In 2008 he started a women’s team at Millersville and soon built it into one of the top teams in its conference. In the 2023-24 golf season the men’s and women’s teams both set records for number of wins at Millersville. Vandergrift was a four-time PSAC coach of the year. For more than those 30 plus years, Vandergrift had worked at various golf facilities enhancing their teaching programs during the summer months. This was only the third time that a coach from a Division Two program had received the award. One of the others was Harry Hammond, at West Chester University in 2016.

Scottie Scheffler was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour with earnings of $29,228,357. For a third straight year Scheffler was the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Matt McCarty led the PGA Tour’s developmental tour with $1,001,602 in earnings. The leading money winner on the PGA Senior Tour was Steven Alker with $2,447,588.

The Philadelphia Section had some record setting 18-hole scores recorded during the 2024 tournament season. In early May, Brian Bergstol tied the course record at Tavistock Country Club with an eight under par 64 in the Taylormade Classic. Later in May, Braden Shattuck broke the course at Bellewood Country Club to win the Delaware Valley Open with an eight under par 63. In July, Dave Pagett broke the course record at Brookside Country in the second round of GALV Lehigh Valley Open with a six under par 65. Along with that Shattuck set a new low for the DeBaufre scoring average of 68.42, which was .51 strokes better than the previous low for a year.

2025
The Philadelphia Section’s spring meeting was held at DuPont Country Club on the fifth Monday of March. Clark Luis opened the meeting with his stirring rendition of our national anthem. Next, Johnny Carpineta gave the invocation. Then past president Tom Carpus was called to the head table by Section President Peter “Chip” Richter. Carpus was invited to the podium to recognize Luis. For 47 consecutive years Luis had opened the Section’s spring and fall meetings by singing our national anthem. It was appropriate that Carpus would do the honors as he and Luis has created the first rules of golf committee in the Section and had served together on the PGA of America rules of golf committee. Carpus and Richter presented Luis a plaque for his 20 years on the PGA of America Rules Committee. A news worthy event was that the Section  had paid off the mortgage on its office. With the mortgage due for refinancing  and interest rates expected to rise, the Section officers decided to pay off the $207,730 remaining on the building’s mortgage. They were able to do this without taking money from the restricted fund. As of February 28 there was $683,785 in the restricted fund. Also on the subject of money the Section’s dues were being increased five percent and Section Executive Director Geoff Surrette’s contract had been extended. It was the first time in three years that the Section dues had been increased. In 2024 the Section’s Junior Tour had made a profit of $147,000 while offering nearly 90 events. The money was well earned through many hours spent by Section employees and volunteers. Due to money being tight at the national level, the Philadelphia PGA’s Reach Foundation was going to be receiving $150,000 less from PGA of America. The Reach Foundation was the charitable arm of the Philadelphia PGA. It was mentioned that the 2026 PGA Championship, which was being hosted by Aronimink Golf Club, was on the horizon and PGA volunteers were going to be needed. The Section’s “Golf Professional of the Year” was Rolling Green head professional Scott Chisholm. The teacher of the year was Fieldstone Golf Club director of instructor John Rudolph.

Scott Chisholm, the Section’s “Golf Professional of the Year” grew up in northern New Jersey where he learned to play golf as a teenager. He must have been a good student. After high school he enrolled at Columbia University where he was the captain of the golf team and a four-year letter winner. Instead of using his college degree to enter the business world

Scott Chisholm, the Section’s “Golf Professional of the Year” grew up in northern New Jersey where he learned to play golf as a teenager. He must have been a good student. After high school he enrolled at Columbia University where he was the captain of the golf team and a four-year letter winner. Instead of using his college degree to enter the business world he followed his passion, becoming a golf professional. Before coming to the Philadelphia Section he spent time as an assistant at Baltusrol Golf Club and Plainfield Country Club. While in the NJ PGA he served on its board of directors and received the Player Development Award in 2017. In 2018 Chisholm arrived in Philadelphia as the head professional at Rolling Green Golf Club. As a head professional two of his assistants moved on to head professional positions and two to director of instruction positions. As the head professional at Rolling Green, Chisholm put together the strongest playing staff in the Philadelphia Section. His teaching assistant, Braden Shattuck, won the 2023 PGA Professional Championship and his other assistants won many Philadelphia Section tournaments. A goal of his at Rolling Green was to provide world class instruction. He had been named to Golf Digest’s “Best Young Instructors in America” list nine years. After five years at Rolling Green, Chisholm was promoted to Director of Golf/COO of the Club, which gave him the opportunity to use more of his Columbia University education. As the COO Chisholm led a $100,000 renovation of the golf shop, which showed immediate results in increased sales. Starting with his first year at Rolling Green he took the Club’s junior golf program to a new level of participation. His assistants played golf with the members because Chisholm made them available to play golf,. To improve communications with the members, which may be the most important thing a golf professional does, he promoted a new website for the Club and started the Rolling Green Podcast. Chisholm co-hosted the 2024 Philadelphia PGA Championship along with college tournaments. He served on the Philadelphia PGA board of directors from 2022 to 2025. In his seven years in the Section Chisholm made himself an important member of the Philadelphia PGA.

The Masters was held at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia during the first full week of April. There were 90 in the starting field on Thursday. When it was all over on Sunday evening Rory McIlroy had won the Masters title after years of near misses. With that he had now won all four major golf tournaments during his career. After rounds of 72, 66 and 66 he teed off on Sunday with a two stroke lead. Sunday’s round was a series of lows and highs. He began by losing his lead with a double bogey six on the first hole. From there he regained the lead on the third hole, only to later lose the lead. With a birdie on the seventeenth hole he held the lead teeing off on 18. From the fairway his wedge shot finished in the right hand greenside bunker, which led to a bogey five. Earlier Justin Rose had holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole, so now he and McIlroy were tied at 277. A sudden death playoff began on the 18th tee. With a long drive and a wedge to the green, McIlroy holed a short putt for a three against a four for Rose to win. McIlroy’s rounds were 72-66-66-73=277 and Rose’s rounds were 65-71-75-66=277. Patrick Reed finished third at 279 and Scottie Scheffler was fourth at 280. Total prize money was $21,000,000 and first money was $4,000,000.

Local qualifying for the US Senior Open was held at the Outdoor Country Club on the fourth Wednesday of May. For the first time the USGA was holding two levels of qualifying for the tournament. There were 85 players for 17 spots. Maryland’s Curley Bishop and New York’s Craig Thomas led the scoring with three under par 69s. Three players advanced from the Philadelphia PGA. Retired PGA professional John Allen turned in the third best score, a 70. David Quinn (73) and retired PGA professional Jason Panter (74) also advanced. Five players with 75s played off for the last three places.

Brian Bergstol finished in a tie for third at the PGA Professional Championship. The tournament was held in Port St. Lucie, Florida on the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker (par 71) and Ryder (par 72) courses on the last four days of May. There was a cut after two rounds to the low 90 and ties, and then a cut after three rounds to the 70 and ties. Florida’s Tyler Collett ran away with the tournament by 10 strokes with a thirteen under par 272. His four rounds were 65, 67, 68 and 72. Jesse Droemer finished second at 282. Bergstol tied with Michael Block with 283 totals, each winning $36,700. Zac Oakley finished in a tie for 48th at 292. Oakley won $5,380. Brett Walker and Michael Meisenzahl tied for 51st with 293s and each won $4,980. Trevor Bensel, who was now the director of instruction at Lulu Country Club, tied for 63rd at 296 winning $3,730. Braden Shattuck and Joanna Coe made the two round cut and then missed the cut after the third round. They each won $1,000. David Quinn, Jeff Herb, Billy Stewart, Andrew Turner, Rusty Harbold, Tony R. Perla, Dave Padgett and Terry Hertzog all missed the cut. Coe was in the tournament off having been on the 2024 Women’s PGA Cup Team. Stewart got in as the first alternate from the Philadelphia Section when Terry Hatch did not play. Perla, had qualified in the New Jersey Section and was back in the Section as the teaching professional at the Huntingdon Valley Country Club. All of the others had qualified at the 2024 Philadelphia Professional Championship. The top 20 qualified for the PGA Championship. Total prize money was $750,000 and first prize was $66,700.

On the first Thursday of May local qualifying for the US Open was held at the Country Club of York. Western Pennsylvania’s Jason Li and Maryland amateur Jack Hartman tied for the medal with five under par 67s. Harrisburg amateur, Garrett Engle, picked up the third spot with a 68. Alex Blickle, the 2021 Pennsylvania Open champion from Lancaster County, took the fourth and last spot with a 69. There were 78 players for 4 spots.

Laurel Creek Country Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the first Tuesday of May. There were 113 players for 6 spots. Amateur Luke Sample from New York, NY was the medalist with an eight under par 63. Trevor Bensel and New York professional Peter Creighton took the second and third spots with 67s. Vince Covello and Florida’s Aman Gupta won the fourth and firth spots with 68s. David Sanders, a minitour professional  from South Jersey, won the sixth and last spot in a two-man sudden death playoff after posting a 69.

Local qualifying for the US Open was held at the Jericho National Golf Club on the second Tuesday of May. There were 120 players for six spots. Doylestown professional Patrick Sheehan, who was playing the professional golf minitours, Newtown Square amateur Hunter Stetson, Langhorne amateur Stephen Cerbara and Virginia professional J.D. Dornes led with five under par 67s. Minitour professional Cole Miller, out of New Tripoli, Pennsylvania, took the fifth spot with a 68. Eric Beringer, who was playing the PGA Tour’s developmental tour out of Narberth, PA, posted a 69 and then won the sixth spot in a two-man sudden death playoff.

The Pennsylvania Senior Open was played at the Gulph Mills Golf Club in the second week of May. The tournament was won by Pittsburgh amateur Rick Stimmel with rounds of 70 and 71. His one under par 141 edged out five players by one stroke. Mark Sheftic, Kevin Kraft and Brian Cooper along with amateurs Neil Gordon and Arnie Cutrell all finished with 142 totals. The three professionals each won $2,500. Total prize money was $10,000. The second round was played in wind with a steady rain.

The PGA Tour returned to the Philadelphia PGA’s region in the second week of May. The Truist Championship was played at the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s par 70 Wissahickon Course. The tournament; usually played at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, had been relocated because the PGA Championship was being held one week later at Quail Hollow, the usual home of the Truist Championship. The Truist Championship was a no-cut tournament with 72 starters and a $20,000,000 purse. Most of the top 70 players in the world were entered. Sepp Straka won with rounds of 63, 67,  66 and 68. His fourteen under par 264 was two strokes better than Shane Lowry (266) and Justin Thomas (266). Lowry could well have been second. He took three putts on the last green, when in trying for a birdie to tie Straka, his first putt went well past the cup. Patrick Cantlay, Tommy Fleetwood and Jacob Bridgeman tied for fourth with 268s. The players all said good things about the golf course, except at 7,119 yards, it was 500 yards too short for championship golf in the 21st century. First money was $3,600,000.

Huntsville Golf Club hosted local qualifying for the US Open on the second Monday of May. Evan Brown, who was playing the PGA Tour Americas out of Chadds Ford, was low with a two under par 70. Alex Pillar, Brandon Matthews and T.J. Howe all posted 71s to wrap up the other three spots. Matthews was home on a break from the PGA Tour’s developmental tour. Pillar, the son of John Pillar, was an assistant professional in the Metropolitan Section. No playoffs were needed for the last spots. There were 78 players for 4 spots.

The PGA Championship was back at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina in the third week of May. 99 of the top 100 players in the World Golf Rankings were entered, with a total of 154 in the starting field. Leading up to the tournament there were several days of rain in the Charlotte area, which led to soft fairways for Thursday’s first round. Some of the big name players recorded over par rounds, which led to some complaints about mud on some golf balls in the fairways. But, there was a 64 and two 66s on the scoreboard in the first round. The 36 hole cut to the low 70 and ties fell at one over par 143. Many of the big name players played poorly. Scottie Scheffler proved that he was the number one golf professional in the world, but at one point in the last round there was some doubt. Scheffler began the last round with a four stroke lead. But, then he played the first nine in two over par and standing on the tenth tee, instead of leading he was tied for the lead. From there the contenders fell away and Scheffler played his nine holes in two under par for an eleven under par 273, winning by five strokes. Scheffler’s four rounds were 69, 68, 65 and 71. Harris English, Davis Riley and Bryson DeChambeau tied for second with 278s. Top money from the $19,000,000 total prize pool was $3,420,000. Brian Bergstol, who had qualified by tying for third at the PGA Professional Championship in April, missed the cut. The golf course measured 7,626 yards, 500 yards longer than the Philadelphia Cricket Club, where the PGA Tour had been one week before.

The Senior PGA Championship was at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland in the fourth week of May. It was played on Congressional’s 7,152 yard par 72 Blue Course. Argentina’s Angel Cabrera won with rounds of 72, 69, 70 and 69. His 280 total edged out Padraig Harrington (281) and Thomas Bjorn (281) by one stroke. Harrington and Cabrera both took three putts on the 72nd green. Retief Goosen (282) and Jason Caron (282) tied for fourth. First money was $630,000. No one from the Philadelphia PGA earned their way into the starting field.

On the fourth Tuesday of May the Haverford Classic was played at the Sunnybrook Golf Club for the 27th time. Trevor Bensel made a birdie three on the first hole and never looked back. With four more birdies on first nine holes, he made the turn in 31. A birdie three on the 10th put him at six under par. Bensel followed that up with a bogey four on the 13th hole, a birdie four on the 16th hole and a bogey four on the 17th hole. With that he needed a par on the 18th hole for a 67 to win the tournament. Bensel missed the green with his second shot, but a good chip shot and a three-foot holed from below the hole secured the win. Braden Shattuck shot a 68 to finish second and won $5,000. Zach Barbin, Alex Knoll and Parks Price,  now the head professional at the Hanover Country Club, all posted 69s to tie for third. Total prize money was $113,600. Again the $100,000 top prize was the largest offered in all of the 41 PGA Sections in the PGA of America.

The two-day Burlington Classic was held at the Burlington Country Club in the first week of June. The first round played on Sunday was a pro-am format with two professionals paired with three amateurs. At the same time the professional’s Sunday score counted as the first of a two-round competition. The golf course was set up shorter on Sunday than Monday in order to accommodate the large number of players. Mark Sheftic led at the end of the first day with a five under par 65. On Monday Anthony Sebastianelli shot a 68 to go with his first round 67 for a 135 total, That left him in a tie with Hugo Mazzalupi, who had put together rounds of 66 and 69 for his 135 total. Sebastianelli achieved his 135 score the difficult way. He made a double bogey six on the next to last hole and then made a birdie three on his last hole. A sudden-death playoff was held which Sebastianelli won with a par. Terry Hatch finished third alone at 136. Jeff Herb, Austin Barbin and Sheftic tied for fourth with 137 totals. Sebastianelli took home a check for $3,000 from the prize money that totaled $19,409.

The 125th United States Open was hosted by the Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the second week of June. It was the tenth time the tournament had been played at Oakmont. There were 10,202 entries, which was a record and 156 in the starting field. Oakmont’s greens were very fast as usual, but the story was the penal rough. Between each round the rough was fluffed up with air blowers and golf course workers wielding rakes. There were a few low rounds the first two days, but at the end of 36 holes there were only three players under par. The cut to the low 60 and ties fell at seven over par 147. As it unfolded the first round leader, J.J. Spaun with a 66, went on to win, but not without ups and downs. Trailing the leader by one stroke with 18 holes to play, Spaun began the last round with bogies on five of the first six holes. Then he played the last seven holes in three under par to win by two strokes. Needing two putts to win on the last green, he holed the putt of 64 feet. Spaun’s rounds were 66, 72, 69 and 72 for at total of 279. Robert Macintyre finished second at 281 and Viktor Hovland was third at 282. Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Carlos Ortiz tied for fourth with 283 totals. The total prize money came to $21,500,000, with a first prize of $4,300,000. No one from the Philadelphia PGA qualified for the US Open.

The Women’s PGA Championship was held at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch Course East during the middle of June. Minjee Lee won the tournament by three strokes with a four under par 284. Joanna Coe, who was in the tournament off having been on the 2025 PGA Women’s Cup Team, missed the cut. First prize from total prize money of $12,000,000 was $1,800,000.

John Pillar won the Philadelphia PGA Senior Championship for a fourth time in the fourth week of June. The two-day tournament was hosted by the Spring Ford Country Club. Other than the par 72 golf course, the biggest obstacle was near 100 degree temperatures both days. After posting a 68 on Tuesday, Pillar got off to a slow start on Wednesday with a two over par front nine, but he made five birdies on the last nine. Three came on the last three holes. His rounds of 68 and 70 for his final total of 136 won out over Brian Kelly (142) by four strokes. Stephen Swartz and Dave McNabb tied for third with 143s. This was also qualifying for the 2025 Senior PGA Professional Championship in October. There were seven spots to qualify for with the first four going to Pillar, Kelly, Swartz and McNabb. The next and last three spots went to Rich Steinmetz, Terry Hertzog and Frank Bensel with all of them posting 144 totals. Bensel was new to the Section as the teaching professional at Galloway National Golf Club. Total prize money was $5,546 and first money was $1,366.

The Reading Open, sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Golf Association, was scheduled for a Monday and Tuesday in early July at the Berkleigh Country Club and Moselem Springs Golf Club. For several years the tournament had been the Lehigh Valley Open, but with the move to Reading area golf courses it was now the Reading Open. In the first round, which was played at Berkleigh, Andrew Cornish, who was now the teaching professional at the Green Valley Country Club, shot a course record nine under par 63. That was one stroke better than Braden Stattuck’s 64. The tournament field moved to Moselem Springs for the second round. With the leaders in the early stages of their second round, play was stopped by severe thunder storms which put an end to golf for the day. Due to that, Cornish was declared the winner. Trevor Bensel finished third with a 65 and David Quinn was fourth with a 66. For winning Cornish took home $2,405.

Bidermann Golf Club hosted the Philadelphia Open in the third week of July. The tournament returned to Bidermann fifty years after amateur Jay Sigel had won the tournament by 12 strokes with a 137 total. There were 40 professionals and 99 amateurs in the starting field. After the first round there was a cut to the low 60 and ties with the 75s making the cut. Amateur Drue Nicholas led after the first round with a seven under par 65, with Braden Shattuck one stroke behind. In the second round Shattuck made birdies on five of the first seven holes, which included driving the 307 yard 7th hole. With that he was 11 under par and leading by three strokes. Then Shattuck over shot the 10th green making a bogey and took three putts for a bogey on the next hole, while Nicholas was making a par and a birdie. Now they were all even and then Nicholas birdied the next hole. Then with birdies on the 15th and 16th holes, Nicholas led by three strokes and won by that margin. Nicholas’ rounds were 65 and 67 for a 12 under par 132. Shattuck’s 135 total captured the top money of $8,000 by five strokes. Amateurs Aaron Williams and Charlie Barrickman tied for third with 138s. Total prize money was $30,000.

The British Open was held at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in northern Ireland in the second week of July. For a British Open the weather was good. Only the first day was a little wet and windy. Scottie Scheffler won his fourth major championship without much of a challenge. The first day was a challenge for Scheffler. His tee shots only found three fairways, but he still got around in 68 strokes to trail by one stroke. On the second day Scheffler took a one stroke lead with a 64. After a third round 67 he led by four stokes and a final round 68 brought him home with the same four stroke lead. Scheffler’s final total of 267 was 17 under par. Harris English finished second at 271 and Chris Gotterup was third at 272. Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li tied for fourth with 273s. The cut to the low 60 fell at one over par 143. Total prize money was $17,000,000 and top money was $3,100,000.

Ryan Rucinski won the Philadelphia PGA Assistant Championship at the Whitemarsh Valley Country Club on the fourth Monday of July. Whitemarsh Valley, always a challenge, presented an extra challenge with mid 90s temperatures, but Rucinski blew the field away with a nine under par 135. His rounds of 66 and 69 won by four strokes. Zac Oakley and Austin Barbin tied for second at 139. Andrew Turner, who was now the teaching professional at the Country Club of York, and Brian Bergstol tied for fourth with 141 totals. This was also qualifying for the 2025 Assistant PGA Professional Championship. As they were still in the PGA Associates program and not PGA members yet, Rucinski, aa assistant at the Wilmington Country Club, and Barbin were not eligible for the national championship. The Section had six spots to qualify for. Oakley was exempt off his tie for second at the 2024 championship. The first two qualifying spots went to Turner and Bergstol. Andrew Cornish and Matt Zehner, who was now an assistant at Pine Valley Golf Club, took the third and fourth spots with 142s. Austin’s brother, Zach Barbin won the fifth spot with a 143 and Chad Ferguson, who was also an assistant at Pine Valley Golf Club, won the sixth and last spot with a 144. First money was $2,354 and total money was $15,963.

The two-day Pro-Am for Wishes tournament was played in the first week of August at the Penn Oaks Golf Club. The first day two golf professionals were paired with two amateurs in a pro-am format with the professional’s score counting toward a two day score for individual money. Aronimink Golf Club assistant professional Riley Wheeldon won with rounds of 69 and 67. His six under par 136 won by one stroke. Trevor Bensel, Stephen Swartz and Braden Shattuck tied for second with 137 totals. The total payout for the pro-am and individual money came to $24,170 and first place paid $3,000. 50 years before the tournament had started out at the Whitford Country Club  as the Westlake-Lexan Invitational.

The 3-day Pennsylvania Open was hosted by the Llanerch Country Club in the second week of August. Patrick Sheehan, who was playing out of the Talamore Country Club won with rounds 70, 64 and 66. After his 64 in the second round, Sheehan was tied for the lead with Andy Sebastianelli, In the final round with those two paired together the first nine was back and forth. Sheehan began the round with birdies on the first two holes, but then Sebastianelli made an eagle three on the 5th hole to even the score. In the end, two bogies by Sebastianelli on the 13th and 14th holes made the difference with Sheehan’s ten under par 200 total winning by two strokes. Sebastianelli finished alone in second pace at 202. Riley Wheeldon and the defending champion Jake Sollon tied for third at 2004. Braden Shattuck ended up in fifth place with a 2005 total. Sheehan had turned pro in early 2025 and was playing on the PGA Tour Americas which was operated by the PGA Tour. Sheehan’s winning check was $8,000 and total money was $40,000.

Braden Shattuck won the Philadelphia PGA Section Championship in the third week of August. Shattuck had won everything else in the Section and now he was the Section champion for the first time. The tournament was hosted by the Concord Country Club. The first day, a Monday, Shattuck and Riley Wheeldon got off to strong starts with five under par 66s, that led all entries by two strokes. Wheeldon’s round included eight birdies. The second day Shattuck finished his round in 67 strokes with help of a five under par back nine. That put him three strokes in front of Wheeldon. Shattuck held off Wheeldon in the final round with a steady 69. Shattuck’s eleven under par 202 won the title by two strokes. Wheeldon’s 204 total was four strokes better than the third place score. Zac Oakley finished third alone at 208. Zach Barbin and Will Scarborough, the professional at the Peninsula Golf & Country Club, tied for fourth with 209s. This tournament was also qualifying for the PGA Professional Championship. The Section had eleven spots to qualify for with Shattuck being exempt off having won the PGA Professional Championship in 2023. Also exempt was Brian Bergstol, off his third place finish in the tournament in 2025. With that the first four spots went to Wheeldon, Oakley, Barbin and Scarborough. The fifth, sixth and seventh spots were won by Tony R. Perla, Brett Walker and Chris Krueger with 211 totals. Perla came from well back with a final round 65, the low round of the tournament. Trevor Bensel and Sam Ambrose took the eighth and ninth spots with 212s. The final two spots, tenth and eleventh, were picked up by Joanna Coe and Frank Bensel with 213s. David Quinn (214) won a three-way sudden death playoff for the first alternate spot. There were 142 players in the starting field with a cut to the low 60 after the second round. The total prize pool was $73,888, with the winner taking home $9,250. For a tenth time, Mike Moses was the tournament’s host professional.

On the fourth Wednesday of August Tessa Teachman won the Philadelphia PGA Women’s Section Championship at the Gulph Mills Golf Club. Teachman played the front nine at Gulph Mills in two over par and then played the back nine in two under par with the help of four birdies. Her even par 70 won by eight strokes. Having won the tournament in 2023, it was now the second time Teachman had won the title. Gulph Mills assistant professional Beatrice Smith and Brittany Weddell finished tied for second with 80s. Wilmington Country Club’s Meghan Spero finished fourth with an 81. First place paid $2,300 and the total purse was $4,600.

The 2025 Ryder Cup was played in Farmingdale, New York on Bethpage State Park’s Black Course during the last week of September. There were five golf courses at that facility. It concluded with a victory for Europe which only looked close due to a resurgence by the USA team on the final day. There were 12 players on each team. On both Friday and Saturday there were 4 foursomes matches in the morning and 4 four-ball matches in the afternoon. On Friday the results were USA 1-Europe 3 in the morning and USA 1-1/5-Europe 2-1/5 in the afternoon. On the second day it was USA 1-Europe 3 in the morning and it was USA 1-Europe 3 in the afternoon. On Sunday all 12 players on each team were scheduled to play until Europe’s Viktor Hovland came up with a stiff neck. He did not play and under the current Ryder Cup agreement his match was a halved match. With that the USA won 8-1/5 points against 3-1/5 for Europe. The final result was USA 13 points against 15 for Europe. At this Ryder Cup each USA player and the captain received $500.000 with $300,000 going to charity. The other $200,000, called a stipend, could be used as the player wished, but most said there stipend would be going to charity also. Beginning with the 1999 Ryder Cup each USA player had been receiving $200,000 for a charity decided by them. Two Section members, Jeff Kiddie and Tom Carpus, were PGA rules officials at the Ryder Cup. On Sunday they were both walking rules officials with the singles matches.

Zac Oakley won the Philadelphia PGA Match Play Championship. The year-long tournament’s rounds had been played at various golf facilities. 114 Philadelphia PGA professionals were in the starting field with byes for the 14 higher ranked players. The semifinal and final matches were played on Merion Golf Club’s East Course on the last day of September. In the morning semifinals Zac Oakley defeated Kyle Early 6&5 and Zach Barbin eliminated Trevor Bensel 4&3. The final was a tightly contested with Oakley prevailing with a birdie on the first extra hole of sudden death. It was the fourth time Oakley had won the Section Match Play Championship. First money was $2,237 and the total payout was $17,888.

On the second Wednesday of October the annual challenge match between the Philadelphia PGA and the Golf Association of Philadelphia was played at the Lehigh Country Club. The Philadelphia PGA was victorious which was not always the case. There were 12 players on each team with each team having at least two seniors. In each four-man pairing there were two professionals and two amateurs. There was a better-ball match and two singles matches with a total of three points to play for. The PGA teams of Steven Swartz-Hugo Mazzalupi, Trevor Bensel-Riley Wheeldon and Zac Oakley-Joe Kogelman each won all of their three points. The team of Andrew Cornish and Michael Little won two points. The team of Austin Barbin-Zach Barbin won one point. The other PGA team was Kyle Early-Ross Brown. Brown was the head professional at the Fox Hill Country Club. The final score was: Philadelphia PGA 12 points, GAP 6 points. This was the 33rd year the match against the GAP had been played. The record now stood at 24 wins for the PGA, 5 wins for the GAP and 4 ties.  

The annual meeting of the Philadelphia PGA was held on the third Monday of October. The meeting was hosted by the Indian Valley Country Club with 150 Section members and associates in attendance. Clark Luis opened the meeting with his solo rendition of our national anthem. That was followed by Johnny Carpineta giving the invocation, where he made it a point for the game of golf to continue its diversification in employment and on the golf courses. Tom Carpus, a member of the PGA of America Rules Committee, made a presentation on the rules of golf. His talk was helpful to every golf professional in attendance as they are expected to be the experts on the rules. As a rules official at the recent playing of the Ryder Cup, Carpus touched on that. Playing awards for the year were announced. The Player of the Year was Braden Shattuck and he also led the DeBaufre Scoring Average with 67.93 in the designated tournaments. The 67.93 was a record, breaking the previous record of 68.42, set the year before by Shattuck. The Women’s Player of the Year was Joanna Coe. This was the fourth straight year that Shattuck and Coe had been the players of the year. The Skee Riegel Senior Player of the Year was John Pillar. Five PGA members, all deceased, were added to the Section’s Playing Legends. They were: Jack Campbell, Bruce Coltart, Rod Munday, Ted Turner and Joe Zarhardt. In the Section’s executive director’s report, Geoffrey Surrette reported that all loans on the Section’s vehicles had been paid off. As of October there was $713,448 in the Section’s Restricted Fund, which was invested with the Haverford Trust Company. George Connell, the founder of the Haverford Trust and the sponsor of the Section’s annual Haverford Trust tournament, was made an honorary member of the Philadelphia PGA. The Section’s junior golf programs had another successful year with 89 Junior Tour events. There were 922 members of the Junior Tour. From June through August the Section held a junior tournament nearly every day from Monday to Friday. The Section continued to give its full attention to PGA Hope (Helping our Patriots Everywhere) with golf instruction and equipment. A resolution presented to the Section members passed with nearly 100 percent voting yes. The resolution was created to make it possible to add one at-large district director if the Section members choose to nominate one. It was an election year. Without opposition those elected were: Bob Hennefer president, Eric Kennedy vice president, Dustin McCormick secretary, Anthony Malizia director of section affairs. For the first time in many years someone opposed the person put up by the nominating committee. For the office of director of section affairs Joanna Coe ran from the floor against Michael Caldwell. Both candidates made campaign speeches after which Caldwell, the professional at the DuPont Country Club, was elected. As the golf professionals and guests were arriving for the meeting the host professional Thomas Link was standing outside the front door of the clubhouse welcoming each person upon their arrival.

The Senior PGA Professional Championship was played at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie during the fourth week of October. The tournament was contested on the par 72 Wanamaker Course and the par 72 Dye Course, with the final two rounds played on the Wanamaker Course. There were 264 in the starting field. The winner was Justin Hicks with rounds of 70, 70, 69 and 71. Hicks’ 280 total won by one stroke. Alan Morin finished second at 281, Omar Uresti was third at 282 and Tim Cantwell was fourth at 283. Frank Bensel tied for 19th with a total of 289. Bensel won $3,890. John Pillar tied for 32nd with a 291 total, winning $3,203.33. Mark Sheftic tied for 61st with a 297 winning $1,170. Dave McNabb, Rich Steinmetz, Terry Hertzog, Brian Kelly and Stephen Swartz missed the cut. Steinmetz got into the tournament as an alternate on his past record, when both a qualifier and the first alternate from another Section could not play in the tournament. By finishing in the top 35, Bensel and Pillar qualified for the 2026 Senior PGA Championship. The winner picked up a check for $31,100 and had his name engraved on the Leo Fraser trophy. The total prize money was $350,000.

The 2025 annual meeting of the PGA of America was held in the first week of November at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort in Frisco, Texas. Early in the meeting, President Don Rae apologized for not doing a better job of quelling the unruly behavior of some of the spectators at the Ryder Cup. It was announced that one goal of the PGA was to operate the PGA of America for the next four years without having to dip into its reserve fund. Then in four years the Ryder Cup, which would provide a cash influx, would be back in the USA. Section President Bob Hennefer and Vice President Eric Kennedy were the Section’s delegates to the meeting. The Section’s Executive Directory Geoff Surrette was there along with Anthony Malizia who was there as an alternate delegate.

Zach Barbin finished in a 3-way tie for second in the PGA Assistant Professional Championship in middle of November. The championship was played on the PGA Golf Club’s Dye Course at Port St. Lucie, Florida with 132 in the starting field. There was a cut to the low 70 and ties after the second round. The tournament was won by Sandra Changkija with a 72-hole total of 280. The winner with rounds of 68-70-70-72, took home $17,800. Barbin, Andre Chi and Evan Wartgow finished five strokes back with 285 totals. They each won $10,966.67. Zac Oakley tied for seventh at 287, winning $5,420. Brian Bergstol finished at 293 to tie for 16th and won $2,158. Andrew Cornish tied for 54th at 304 and won $1,110. Chad Ferguson, Andrew Turner and Matt Zehner missed the cut. Oakley was in the tournament off having finished in the top four the year before and now, with his tie for second Barbin was exempt for the 2026 championship. Total prize money was $200,000.

Scottie Scheffler was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour by more than nine million dollars with $27,659,550. Scheffler also led the tour’s scoring average with 68.13 strokes per round and was the Player of the Year for the fourth straight year. The leading money winner on the PGA Tour’s developmental tour was Johnny Keefer with $831,686. Stewart Cink was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour’s senior tour with earnings of $3,247,147.

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