By CRAIG DOLCH
Special to PGA of America

PORT ST. LUCIE –

It’s not often when you start the final round tied for the lead, shoot even par and lift the trophy.

But that’s what happened to Brett Melton on Friday at PGA Golf Club.

He shot a 72 to win Event No. 5 of the PGA Tournament Series by two shots over Rod Perry, Frank Bensel and Adam Rainaud. Melton finished at 4-under 140 to earn $5,000 for his third career PGA Tournament Series title.

“I got it to 7-under after three straight birdies (at 5, 6 and 7) and just tried to make pars from there,” said Melton, a PGA Assistant Professional at Radley Run Country Club in West Chester, Pa. “But the tough course took over.

“I feel fortunate to shoot even par and not get passed today with the quality of the field.”

Perry (74) had an uncharacteristic up-and-down day, making five birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey on a difficult Wanamaker Course. He was a shot back heading to 18, but made a bogey after his approach barely cleared the water.

“I made too many mistakes and you can’t do that on this type of course,” said Perry, the PGA Head Professional at Crane Lakes Golf & Country Club in Port Orange.

Perry’s third runner-up finish of the PGA Tournament Series leaves him $653 behind Danny Balin ($9,555) for leading money winner of the PGA Tournament Series. Perry has been leading money winner twice, but that’s not his goal for next week’s Event No. 6.

“Winning a tournament,” Perry said. “That’s what we’re all out here for.”

Melton agreed. “Winning never gets old,” he said.

Bensel, who spends his winters working at the two Breakers golf courses, notched his second runner-up finish in the last week. He shot a 73.

“I just couldn’t get it in the hole,” Bensel said. “The greens were really difficult.”

Rainaud started the round tied for 11th, but moved up after a 72. Nick Latimer-Zabor (71-143) was alone in fifth.

The PGA Tournament Series is presented by Golf Advisor.

Tournament Scores

By CRAIG DOLCH
Special to PGA of America

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Zac Oakley’s second swing of the day turned out to be an omen – even if he didn’t see the result.

Oakley holed a 110-yard wedge on the first hole for eagle Tuesday and added a traditional eagle four holes later, jump-starting a 6-under 66 that enabled him to win Event No. 2 of the PGA Tournament Series at PGA Golf Club.

“The first hole I didn’t see it land,” Oakley said. “My partner said it went in the hole. I went up there and it was in the hole. I felt good after that.”

Oakley felt even better when he eagled the par-5 fifth hole on the Dye Course, making a 20-footer. He clinched the victory with a tap-in birdie on the par-5 17th, finishing at 8-under 136, two shots ahead of Danny Balin (68) and Brett Walker (68).

“This is definitely my biggest PGA win since I’ve been in the program,” said Oakley, a part-time Palm City resident who caddies at famed Seminole Golf Club. Oakley was congratulated after the victory by his father, former Senior British Open champion Pete Oakley.

Balin was bidding to win his second consecutive PGA Tournament Series event. The Rockville, Md., native had four birdies in a five-hole stretch after the turn to move into a tie for the lead.

But Balin three-putted the 17th hole from 15 feet, and when Oakley birdied the hole, the two-shot swing left Balin tied for second with Walker of Jupiter.

“I thought I needed to make the putt on 17 and I just misjudged the speed,” Balin said. “I was playing catchup with Zac all day.”

Oakley earned $5,000 for the victory.

Marc Issler of Jupiter was alone in fourth with a 67-139. Three players tied for fifth at 3-under 141: Omar Uresti (69), Andy Hansen (71) and Jonathan Mansfield (71).

The PGA Tournament Series is presented by Golf Advisor.

On Saturday, December 2, the Philadelphia Junior Tour held their inaugural Junior Tour Awards dinner. This event served as a way to recognize all of the junior golfers who achieved success throughout the 2016-17 Philadelphia Junior Tour season. In addition to formally recognizing the year-end award winners, Golf Channel personality and PGA Professional Michael Breed served as the event’s keynote speaker creating a special atmosphere for all in attendance.

After opening remarks from Philadelphia PGA Tournament Director Brian Schulte, PGA the evening’s first awards were given out. The Harry Hammond Scholarship, named in honor of the long time Philadelphia PGA Professional of the same name, recognizes juniors for their accomplishments both on and off the golf course. The 2017 Harry Hammond Scholarship winners were: BOYS – 1^st Conner Bennink, 2^nd Drew Steinmetz, 3^rd Simon Asadoorian; GIRLS – 1^st Savanna Haas, 2^nd Georgia Naples, 3^rd Jessica McClellan & Amanda Jones who all received contributions for their post-secondary education.

For the player awards, juniors were recognized in the following categories; Graham Company Player(s) of the Year for both boys and girls across all age groups as well as the Sam Penecale Scoring Average crown also across all age groups. The 2017 Graham Company Players of the Year were Alec Ryden (Boys 16-18), Grace Hickey (Girls 16-18), Dylan Gooneratne (Boys 13-15), Elizabeth Beek (Girls 13-15), and Benjamin Saggers (12 & under). Taking home the Sam Penecale Scoring titles were Caleb Ryan (Boys 16-18), Grace Hickey (Girls 16-18), Stephen Lorenzo (Boys 13-15), Elizabeth Beek (Girls 13-15), and Matthew Normand (12 & under).

After all the awards were given out the evening was turned over to keynote speaker Michael Breed. Although Breed spoke to all in attendance his message was specifically geared toward the juniors in the room. Breed asked the juniors to understand the difference between character and reputation and how knowing that will help them in all walks of life. Breed also asked that the juniors be appreciative of the sacrifices everyone around them make day in and day out to ensure that they are able to enjoy the game of golf. Finally, Breed fielded questions from the audience and answered everything from: “What was your most memorable moment in golf?” to “What was it like getting to meet and work with Arnold Palmer?” The ceremony and Breed’s comments made for a memorable evening.

For a complete list of Philadelphia Junior Tour award winners as well as updated schedule information please visit the Philadelphia Junior Tour website, www.phillyjuniortour.com.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The PGA of America announced today that Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, will host the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the 2027 PGA Championship.

Founded in 1896, Aronimink has hosted a number of significant golf events during its storied history, including the 1962 PGA Championship (won by Gary Player), the 1977 U.S. Amateur (John Fought) and the 2003 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship (John Jacobs). Aronimink was also the site of the PGA TOUR’s AT&T National in 2010 (Justin Rose) and ’11 (Nick Watney). The BMW Championship will be staged there in ‘18.

With this announcement, Aronimink becomes the first venue to stage each of the PGA of America’s three rotating major championships (PGA Championship, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship).

“The PGA of America is thrilled to return major championship golf to Aronimink Golf Club,” said PGA of America President Paul Levy. “We’re certain that the best players in the world – both men and women – will be pleased, and, when the time comes, sufficiently challenged by one of America’s special layouts. We’re excited to twice celebrate golf and to plug into the enthusiasm for sport that Philadelphia is famous for.”

The KPMG Women’s Championship is a collaboration between the PGA of America, LPGA and KPMG, and focuses on the development, advancement and empowerment of women on and off the golf course. Formerly known as the LPGA Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship includes a women’s leadership summit (KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit) and an ongoing charitable initiative (KPMG Future Leaders Program) designed to inspire and develop new generations of women leaders.

“Through the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, we continue to elevate women on and off the golf course. Aronimink Golf Club will provide another top caliber course on which the world’s best women golfers can compete,” said Lynne Doughtie, KPMG U.S. Chairman and CEO. “To help more women in business advance to the C-suite, the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit provides next-generation women leaders with high-impact leadership development content, networking, and access to inspirational leaders.”

“We couldn’t be happier to take the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to the great state of Pennsylvania and the storied Aronimink Golf Club,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “This Championship continues to elevate the stage for women’s golf and we are very pleased to provide the best players in the world the opportunity to compete at a distinguished venue with an established, rich history of hosting golf championships at the highest levels.”

The PGA Championship is the only all-professional major in men’s golf. It began in 1916, just months after the birth of the PGA of America, and today features one of the deepest international fields in golf. Since 1994, it has perennially featured the most top-100 players in the Official World Golf Rankings of all golf Championships.

During the 1962 PGA Championship at Aronimink, Gary Player claimed the third of his nine career majors as he held off a late charge from Bob Goalby to win by one shot. Jack Nicklaus finished in a tie for third place – two behind Player – in his PGA Championship debut.

Aronimink’s golf course was designed by Donald Ross in 1926. During the Club’s Centennial Year in 1996, a plaque was unveiled behind the first tee, sharing a 1948 quote from Ross pertaining to his work at Aronimink: “I intended to make this my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize that I built better than I knew.”

“The membership of Aronimink welcomes the PGA of America back to the site of Gary Player’s 1962 PGA Championship,” said Joe Fabrizio, Aronimink President. “We are very excited to be the host venue for these two great championship events. Our golf course, recently restored to Donald Ross’ original design, will be a true test of golf for both the women and men.”

For more information about the PGA of America, visit PGAMediaCenter.com, follow @PGA on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

For more information about KPMG, visit KPMG.com/WomensLeadership.

For more information about the LPGA, visit LPGA.com, follow @LPGA on Twitter or find the organization on Facebook.

FUTURE SITES (as of Fall 2017)

KPMG WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

2018 – Kemper Lakes Golf Club, Kildeer, Illinois
2019 – Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota
2020 – Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

2018 – Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri
2019 – Bethpage Black, Farmingdale, New York
2020 – Harding Park, San Francisco, California
2021 – The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island (South Carolina) Golf Resort
2022 – Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, New Jersey
2023 – Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York
2027 – Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
2028 – The Olympic Club, San Francisco, California
2024-30* – Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma
* Date to be announced

Blue Bell, Pa. – On Monday, October 23, the Philadelphia PGA season came to an unofficial end as the Section held its annual Fall Meeting, which, this year, was hosted by Cedarbrook Country Club. The meeting brought together nearly 225 Section Professionals to discuss the Section’s business affairs from the past year. One of the most important issues on the meeting slate was the Section’s biennial elections.

With names brought forth from the Section’s nominating committee, the Section conducted elections for both the Executive Committee and six district directors. The Section is excited to announce that the following Professionals were elected by acclamation to serve the members of the Philadelphia PGA.

President – John Rogers, PGA – Victory Golf
Vice President – Jeff Kiddie, PGA – Aronimink GC
Secretary – Patrick Shine, PGA – Commonwealth National GC
Director of Section Affairs – Chip Richter, PGA – Carlisle CC
Director of Tournaments – Robert Hennefer, PGA – Indian Spring GC
District 1 Director – Kevin Duffy, PGA – Riverton CC
District 2 Director – Anthony Malizia, PGA – Bidermann GC
District 3 Director – Jason Gebhart, PGA – Outdoor CC
District 4 Director – Dustin McCormick, PGA – Glen Brook GC
District 5 Director – Brett Nelson, PGA – Moselem Springs GC
District 6 Director – Eric Schultz, PGA – Sunnybrook CC
District 6 Director – Eric Kennedy, PGA – Overbrook CC

The Executive Committee gained two new additions as both Robert Hennefer and Chip Richter moved from their District Director roles to join the team. With the exception of Eric Kennedy, the remaining elected District Directors will all be serving their first terms. Finally, after his two year run as President of the Philadelphia PGA, Ian Dalzell will now serve as the Section’s Honorary President while John Pillar will join the ranks of the Section’s Past Presidents.

The Section was also privileged to have PGA of America President Paul Levy in attendance to serve as the meeting’s keynote speaker. Levy addressed the meeting attendees touching on various important topics affecting all PGA Professionals before opening of the floor to questions.

In addition to the conducting the business of the Section, the meeting is also a chance for the Section to recognize all of the year-end award winners. Leading the way on the Omega Player of the Year Points List was first time winner and Section newcomer Brett Melton (Radley Run CC). Melton had multiple wins in 2017 including the Pro-Am for Wishes and the Shawnee Open. Melton was also awarded bonus points for finishing with the season’s lowest scoring average, 69.44, also giving him the DeBaufre Scoring Average crown. Melton finished 300 points ahead of second place finisher Stu Ingraham (M Golf Range) who in addition to multiple top ten finishes also claimed victory at the Jack Jolly / Golf Pride Championship. Rounding out the top three was Dave Quinn (Philmont CC) who earned a win at the 2017 Conestoga Classic.

Stu Ingraham (M Golf Range) continued his streak as the Robert “Skee’ Riegel Senior Player of the Year award bringing his consecutive title streak to eight in a row. Ingraham had multiple senior wins which in the end propelled him to a more than 1,000 point lead in the senior player of the year race. Finishing second to Ingraham was Dave Quinn (Philmont CC). Quinn also had multiple senior wins in 2017 however none was bigger than his first Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship. Newly minted senior player, John Pillar (CC of Woodloch Spring) rounded out the top three in his first year of eligibility.

The Section’s Howard “Ike” Turner Most Improved Player went to Michael Caldwell (Biderman GC). Caldwell improved his position on the Omega Player of the Year points list by nearly 100 places to finish 2017 in the 40^th position. Caldwell also dropped his scoring average by three shots while increasing his tournament participation.

The Section’s Comeback Player of the Year went to Billy Stewart (The ACE Club). After finishing inside the top 10 on the 2015 Omega Player of the Year Leaderboard injuries plagued Stewart during the 2016 season. However the time away did not hurt Stewart this past season and even though he had not played competitive golf in over a year, he was nearly a top 10 player in 2017 finishing 12^th place on the final Omega Player of the Year standings.

After the meeting was adjourned almost 50 two person teams headed out to compete in the season’s final event, the Fall Meeting Foursomes. The foursome format was select drive-alternate shot and in the end the pair of Stu Ingraham (M Golf Range) and Jason Calhoun (Univ. of Pennsylvania) finished at 4-under (68) to earn a one shot victory over the field.

Fall Meeting Foursome Results

Concordville, Pa. – For the third consecutive day the Philadelphia PGA returned to Concord Country Club to for the 2017 Match Play Championship. After two exciting days of golf the field was whittled down from 64 players to just four all looking to capture the season’s final point’s event.

The first semifinal match featured Greg Farrow (Deerwood Country Club) and Trevor Bensel (Huntingdon Valley Country Club). Early in the match the players battled back and forth with each gaining no more than a hole advantage. However with a win on the short par-4 5^th hole, Bensel grabbed a 1-up lead and would never relinquish it back. In the end, Bensel closed out Farrow on the 17^th hole to win 2&1 and advanced to the finals.

In the second semifinal match Brian Bergstol (Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort) w battled the 2017 Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic champion Andrew Turner (Sunnybrook Golf Club). After winning the first hole to grab a quick 1-up lead, Bergstol did not win another hole until the par-5 14^th hole. After taking the lead on the 4^th hole, Turner increased his advantage to as much as 4-up before closing out Bergstol on the 16^th hole to win 3&2 and set up a finals match with Bensel.

Bensel’s road to the finals featured wins over John Rudolph (2&1), Mickey Sokalski (2-up), Tom Michaels (2&1) and Jakob Gerney (4&3) before his win over Farrow in the semifinals. Turner had wins over Jimmy Maack (5&4), Carson Solien (4&3), Michael Caldwell (4&3) and Dave Quinn (1-up) before beating Bergstol to advance to the finals.

As the finals match got underway, Bensel got off to a quick start with a win on the first hole to grab a quick 1-up lead. However, his lead did not last long as Bensel dropped the second hole to Turner after making a bogey. But after that dropped hole, Bensel went on to win five consecutive holes to lead the match 5-up through seven holes. Turner cut into the lead with a win on the par-3 8^th hole before the pair traded pars on the 9^th hole giving Bensel a 4-up lead after nine holes.

After making the turn, the pair traded wins with Bensel grabbing the 10^th hole and Turner winning the par-3 11^th with a birdie. After halving the 12^th hole the pair once again traded holes with Bensel winning the par-4 13^th and Turner grabbing the par-5 14^th. The pair both parred the par-3 15^th hole but with the match dormie the halved hole gave Bensel the match 4&3. The win was Bensel’s first Philadelphia PGA tournament win.

“It’s definitely exciting to get my first Philly PGA tournament win”, said Bensel of his Match Play win. “I play matches with the guys at Huntingdon Valley all the time so it’s a format I am comfortable with. I played well in my early matches which gave me a lot of confidence. I want to thank Mike Moses and everyone at Concord Country Club for a great week as well as all of the tournament sponsors for their support.”

The Section would like to thank the membership and staff at Concord Country Club for their hospitality during the week. The Section also thanks event sponsors Omega and the PGA Tour for their continued support of our tournament program.

The next on the Philadelphia PGA calendar is the annual Fall Meeting which, this year, is being held at Cedarbrook Country Club. The meeting is a chance for the Section’s officers to update the membership on all business matters. After the meeting will be the Fall Meeting foursome event, the final tournament of the 2017 season.

Final Match Play Bracket

Concordville, Pa. – The third and fourth rounds of the 2017 Match Play Championship were played on a near perfect fall day at beautiful Concord Country Club. After surviving the tournament’s first day, 16 players returned in hopes of continuing their success for a second consecutive day.

The morning highlights included the continued run of Mike Furey (Mahoning Valley Country Club) who upset the top overall seed Brett Melton (Radley Run Country Cub) 4&3 to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in his career. That was the only upset in the morning matches as the remaining seven matches all went to the higher seeded player.

After grabbing a quick lunch, the remaining 8 players returned to the golf course for their quarterfinal matches. The first player to punch his ticket to the semifinals was Trevor Bensel (Huntingdon Valley Country Club), who as the 36^th seed is the lowest remaining seed to advance. Bensel managed to advance after beating match play veteran Jakob Gerney (Trump National – Philadelphia) 4&3. The next player to join the semifinals was Brian Bergstol (Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort) who battled Ingraham to a 1-up victory which included both players making impressive birdies putts on their 18^th hole. Next to join the semifinals was Andrew Turner (Sunnybrook Golf Club) who battled from three holes down to overtake Quinn and win the match 1-up. The final player to advance to the third day was Greg Farrow (Deerwood Country Club). Farrow battled Furey through four extra holes to ultimately win the match on the 22^nd hole.

The third and final day of the Match Play Championship will be held Thursday, October 20. The final four players will get their semifinal matches underway at 9:00 AM with the championship match set to be played in the afternoon.

Despite not making it past today’s third round, Brett Melton still managed to earn enough points to secure his first Omega Player of the Year point’s title. Melton will be formally recognized for his performance at Monday’s Fall Meeting at Cedarbrook Country Club.

The Philadelphia PGA continues to thank the membership and staff of Concord Country Club for their support of the Match Play Championship. The Section also thanks our tournament sponsors Omega and the PGA Tour for supporting the Philadelphia PGA tournament program.

Match Play Bracket