Wilmington, Del. (August 30, 2022) — Zac Oakley, PGA, turned in a second round 5-under-par 66 at DuPont Country Club to storm to top of the leaderboard in the 101st Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, placing him at 8-under-par, following his first round 68 at Concord Country Club. The championship is presented by Cadillac, Club Car and Rolex.

The PGA Member representing nearby Bidermann Golf Club in Wilmington, Delaware, leads first round leader Brian Bergtsol of Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort in Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania, by one stroke, after Bergstol shot a 2-under-par 69 on Tuesday.

“I hit it really solid today, again,” Oakley said of his second round. “I hit a lot of greens and a lot of fairways, and today I made some putts, which is good. No bogies, so that was big.”

Oakley’s penultimate round started a bit slow, with only one birdie on the front nine, but he quickly followed with four more on hole Nos. 10, 11, 13 and 16. He went on to say that his game plan for tomorrow’s final round at DuPont will be similar to today’s: “fairways, greens; I know I’m hitting it

. Read my lines, get the speed right, and see what happens!”

Oakley finished in second place in last year’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship behind Brett Walker; the final round was cancelled due to severe weather stemming from remnants of Hurricane Ida.

[View Full Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship Leaderboard]

Twenty-fifteen Philadelphia PGA Professional Champion Dave McNabb, Applebrook G.C., finds himself only three stokes behind the leader in third place, going 70-67–137 at DuPont and Concord, respectively. Five PGA Members are tied for fourth place, six strokes behind Oakley: 2003 Champion Terry Hatch, Royal Oaks G.C.; Braden Shattuck, Rolling Green G.C.; Hugo Mazzalupi, Linfield National G.C.; 2009 Champion John Pillar, C.C. at Woodloch Springs; and Trevor Bensel, Sandy Run C.C.

The Philadelphia PGA Section hosted 13 past champions for its inaugural Philadelphia PGA Professional Champions Dinner on Sunday evening at DuPont C.C., and six past champions find themselves in the top 10, including McNabb; Hatch; Pillar; three-time Champion Rich Steinmetz, Spring Ford C.C.; 2018 Champion Billy Stewart, Union League Liberty Hill; and three-time Champion Terry Hertzog. It is anyone’s guess who will be crowned the Section’s next champion, but those who have been there before plan to play to keep the trophy in the “champions club.”

The top 60 players and ties on the leaderboard made the cut following the second round. One-hundred-fifty-seven of the Philadelphia PGA Section’s best players teed it up to compete for the William B. Packer Trophy and a berth into the 2023 PGA Professional Championship, ​April 30 – May 3, at Twin Warriors and Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Clubs in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. From there, PGA Members from the 41 PGA Sections will compete to join the Team of 20 and earn a berth into the 2023 PGA Championship on May 15-21, at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.

The final round is scheduled for tomorrow, August 31 at 8:00 a.m. at both DuPont C.C. and Concord C.C. Follow the action via our live scoring by visiting golfgenius.com/pages/3409682 and our social media channels: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. For more information on the championship, including the week’s schedule, pairings, and more, visit the championship’s official e-publication.

Members of the media are welcome onsite to cover the championship.

The 101st Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship is presented by Cadillac, Club Car and Rolex, and supported by Titleist, FootJoy, Nike, Callaway, TaylorMade Golf, Golf Channel, the PGA Tour, Precise Yardage Books, SCNS Sports Foods, Ship Sticks, and Visit Delco, Pa. The Philadelphia PGA Section and its PGA Professionals thank our hosts, DuPont Country Club and Concord Country Club, its members, management, host PGA Professionals, and staff, as well as our partners, as the event would not have been possible without their support.

To view the full 101st Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship leaderboard, click here.

The next Philadelphia PGA Rolex / The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year tournament on the schedule is the 25th annual Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic on Tuesday, September 6, at Sunnybrook Golf Club.

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, mfrey@pgahq.com