Philadelphia PGA Section Announces Class of 2023 Playing Legends
Lower Gwynedd Township, Pa. (October 28, 2021) — The Philadelphia PGA Section is proud to announce its Class of 2023 Playing Legends, which includes PGA Members Ted McKenzie and Jerry Pisano; Pisano will be inducted posthumously. The class will be honored at the Section’s Fall Membership Meeting at Philmont Country Club on October 30.
Established in 1991, the Section’s Playing Legends honorary program recognizes individuals based on criteria set forth by the Philadelphia PGA’s Hall of Fame Committee. One of the main criteria is that individuals must have had success in major events locally or nationally, something that each 2023 inductee has accomplished consistently throughout their careers.
Playing Legends – Class of 2023
Ted McKenzie, now retired, has a remarkable résumé for both playing professional accomplishments. He was the longtime PGA Professional at Waynesborough Country Club in Paoli, Pa., and later helped found the famed Stonewall Links in Elverson, Pa. During his career, he worked his way through the ranks of the Philadelphia PGA Section’s Board of Directors, ultimately serving as the Section’s president, and also served as the Section’s tournament chair. For over 20 years, McKenzie was one of the leading players in the Section. His two biggest wins within the Section included the 1971 Philadelphia Open and the 1979 Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship. He earned the Player of the Year title in 1975, and also earned the F. Edward DeBaufre Trophy for Scoring Average the same year. Throughout his career, he qualified for two U.S. Opens, seven PGA Professional Championships and a Senior PGA Professional Championship. In the first 13 years of the Challenge Cup Matches against the Middle Atlantic PGA Section, McKenzie qualified for the team 11 times and he earned a berth on the team a total of 12 times. In 1984, he was honored as the Section’s PGA Golf Professional of the Year and was inducted into the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame in 2006.
Jerry Pisano, named a Philadelphia PGA Playing Legend posthumously, worked as the PGA Professional at several facilities, including Overbrook Golf Club in Villanova, Pa., Locust Valley in Coopersburg, Pa., Radnor Valley Country Club in Villanova, Pa., and Edgmont Country Club in Newtown Square, Pa. Pisano won the Philadelphia Open three times, in 1957, 1962, and 1965, in addition to the 1964 Pennsylvania Open. Over the course of his career, Pisano competed in five major championships, including three PGA Championships (1961, 1962, and 1963), and two U.S. Opens (1962 and 1963).
About the Philadelphia PGA Section
The Philadelphia PGA Section, covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, is one of 41 geographical managing entities of the PGA of America. This Section manages nearly 900 PGA Members and Associates who are employed at over 590 golf facilities in our region.
Contact: Matt Frey, PGA, Communications Director, Philadelphia PGA Section, mfrey@pgahq.com
