The Professional - Volume V, Issue III

TABLE of

CONTENTS E-Z-GO MAPGA Players Cup

The Professional Volume V, Issue III December 10, 2020

7 9 11 12 14 16 17 18 19

Dear PGA Professional

E-Z-GO MAPGA Team Championship

2021 Tournament Schedule

PGA National Events

Rick Schuller Wins MD Sr Open

Desination Kohler Match Play Champ.

Section Meetings Conducted Virtually

Player of the Year Winners

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The Professional

Letter

From The

President

Josh Tremblay, PGA Section President

Dear MAPGA Professionals, It continues to be an honor to serve as your Section President. My first year in office has been unlike any we’ve encountered but I am proud of the efforts of our MAPGA Professionals and Staff in 2020. The pandemic has challenged us in a variety of ways and continues to do so. Golf has been a safe haven for so many during this uncertain times and you the PGA Professionals are at the forefront of this wave of activity.

Thank you for all you have done above and beyond your normal duties to make golf safe and accessible for so many this year.

We held virtual Chapter Meetings and a virtual Section Meeting this fall and the feedback was very positive. Thank you to our Chapter leaders and Section Staff for making us look good. I trust you have all become experts on ZOOM and other platforms but I look forward to the day when we’re able to meet in person to conduct business and network. The 2020 tournament season was a great way to see our fellow professionals and I hope many of you made time to play golf with members or students, even if you couldn’t compete.

With the holidays and New Year celebrations approaching, more social distancing will be required and as we look forward to 2021, I hope that by this time next year we’re on the other side of this and still in a strong position at our facilities. Don’t let this momentum just fade away…take time over the winter months to learn and improve your skills. Reach out to fellow professionals to share best practices, take time to track successes and update your resumes and portfolio. Prepare for 2021 to make it an ever better year for your facility, your family and you the PGA Professional.

The Professional Volume V, Issue III Editor: Ben Smith

2021 is an election year for the chapters and Section…our Chapter Boards and Section Board are always looking for new leaders to join our ranks. Now is the time to start planning if you think you’d like to run…discuss it with your family, your employer and reach out to those currently serving. It truly is a rewarding process and I can’t believe that 2021 will be my 15th year on the Section Board of Directors.

It all starts by joining a Committee or running for regional director or Chapter Secretary! I wish you all a Happy Holidays and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

Contributing Writers:

Warm Regards,

Ben Smith MSGA.org

Joshua Tremblay, PGA MAPGA President joshtremblay@pga.com

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The Professional Dear MAPGA Professionals, As I write this letter, shortly after Thanksgiving in the craziest, most worrisome year of my tenure, I certainly have to stay with the Thanksgiving theme of gratitude. This has been a year unlike any other, but that doesn’t mean it was all negative! I am thankful for you all as MAPGA professionals, who adapted and led our industry to record rounds and play. Many of you found creative ways to operate safely under pandemic guidelines, even when short staffed!

got out and marked some courses for you all. I am so happy to have this team with me at the Section office, especially in these difficult times.

Letter

From The

ED

It was a strange year. But I am extremely proud of how we handled ourselves, together and individually.

Some of the rounds growth numbers I hear from you are staggering.

I know those numbers didn’t come without a Jon Guhl price, whether it was Executive Director extended work hours or additional financial costs to ensure the safety of your members/guests/patrons.

All of you peers understand and know what you have been through. And your Section and industry both appreciate the effort.

One of the things I am most appreciative of is how we all as a group banded together. I am aware of several email groups and conference calls where MAPGA professionals shared best practices and ideas on how to survive the shutdown and the new normal that came after it. Our education committee, chaired by Mark Russo and Sean English, brought their peers together with a wonderful Zoom education series in March/April. Our tournament program, chaired by Kevin Haney and operated skillfully by Bob Heintz and Eric Southard, found a way to make our events happen in a safe manner. And our junior programs were successful and safe with some additional When we look back on 2020, we will probably focus precautions led by co-chairs Robin Beach and Brian on the craziness and how bad things got on the health Liebler and led operationally by Collin Elphic. front.But we must also remember how we overcame challenges, how we empathized with and helped On an association level, the state golf associations, each other. Even without being able to get together, the Owners, Superintendents and Club Managers all for meetings or education, for Teaching Summits or joined the Section to consult each other on government hanging around after tournaments, the camaraderie guidelines, best practices and strategies to open Golf and fraternal aspect of our Section has grown safely.On the national level, that coordination led to exponentially. That being said, I can’t wait until we the Back2Golf guidelines. can start getting together in a meaningful way again.

I miss seeing you all!

Lastly, I am thankful for our wonderful staff. They all have been so efficient, whether working from home Warm regards, or at the office, or onsite at the events we were able to conduct. New protocols were formulated and Jon Guhl tested and changed. We all got much better at Zoom Executive Director and other video call platforms. While our office was jguhl@pgahq.com shutdown, we offered programs for you all to make some money submitting videos for social media, and

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The Professional

DEAR PGA PROFESSIONAL A look into the growth of golf amid a global pandemic, and who we should thank for it.

E

rik Anders Lang is one of the biggest golf influencers in the business. With over 150 thousand followers on Instagram, he travels the world showing the beauty of the game. He started an article titled Dear Golf, where he writes a letter to golf about all that he loves about the game. “To say you changed my life is an understatement because what you actually did was define my life. You gave me meaning the way a child does to a couple. You gave me structure. You gave me questions. You gave me joy, and you gave me pain. But, all the time, it was a fair pain.� A Adam Smith, PGA makes sure to keep his stulot of us have these feelings towards the game, it is what dent safe by wearing a mask. keeps us coming back for more. And while we have this unconditional love for the game, it is important to highlight who helps the game move forward.

The state of the game of golf has often been a disputed subject. Some say it is on the rise while others have said it is declining. Whatever your viewpoint, a global pandemic was sure to squash any growth in the game. That looked to be the case, as many courses were forced to shut down during the months of March and April due to the Coronavirus. With a 42% decrease in rounds played in the month of April compared to 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), golf as an industry was looking bleak.

Josh Tremblay, PGA changing a hole amid the Coronavirus shut down.

While many courses were forced to shut down, some PGA Professionals were forced to furlough employees or even be let go themselves with courses going into survival mode.

A plethora of jobs were left open as courses had to come up with ways to keep golfers safe when they did open back up. However, what we saw in

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The Professional reality was that golf became a refuge for so many. In our area, Virginia courses remained open with new processes, and became busier than ever.

Craig Callens, PGA of Hermitage Country Club said, “we spent more time working with our front-line staff to execute new procedures and cleaning processes.” Others like Loren White, PGA from Kingsmill Resort had to take on outside staff jobs like cleaning carts and picking the range while others had to assist the agronomy team and their skeleton crew with mowing or blowing off common areas.

With more than 90% of courses opening back up by the 2nd week of May according to NGF, PGA Professionals (in particular those in Maryland who suffered a long shutdown) had to be ready for the impending rush back to golf. Many professionals have seen their busiest years, even with almost Sedrick Bailey, PGA from the Country Club of a 2-month shut down. Long hours, new restrictions, and Maryland adapts to new protocols by wearing short staffs gave many courses a long golf season. a face mask.

Golf has given many people an outlet during these dark times. A place to be outside and socially distanced. As Erik Anders Lang says in his piece, “you will connect people, you will define individuals, you will create circumstances that provide happiness and community for millions.” This has become even more apparent in the midst of a global pandemic. And while golf has been the vehicle in all this craziness, the driver needs to be recognized as well.

Dear PGA Professional, THANK YOU. Thank you for the hard work. The extra hours. The extra planning and precautions to keep us safe. Without you, golf wouldn’t be available. This great game that has given us a little escape has been made possible because of you. You have taken this game we love to the next level and for that, we are forever grateful. Your creativity in adjusting our regular play and events to happen is appreciated! Your dedication for providing a safe space for our junior golfers is admirable. Your persistence in keeping your facility open and safe is inspiring. We would not have had this refuge without you.

Josh Tremblay, PGA and Larkin Gross, PGA of Springfield G & CC help their short-staffed agronomy team.

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The Professional

JOSH SPEIGHT AND RICK SCHULLER DOMINATE E-Z-GO MAPGA PLAYERS CUP Williamsburg, VA – The 2020 E-Z-GO MAPGA Players Cup is usually the year-ending event to determine the MAPGA Players of the Year. Due to COVID-related rescheduled events, the season won’t end until early November. The Players Cup had two polar opposite weather days, starting with perfect weather for golf on day one at Williamsburg Club. The same couldn’t be said for day two as heavy rains caused the event to be shortened to 27 holes. It wouldn’t matter what the weather was for PGA Professionals Josh Speight and Rick Schuller, as they both went on a scoring tear.

Speight (Colonial Heritage GC) has had a great 2020 season thus far with two wins (Maryland Open and Southern Chapter Championship) and a Top-5 at our Section’s biggest event, the MAPGA Professional Championship.

He continued that great play in the first round of the Players Cup. He made 8 birdies and no bogies to shoot an impressive 64 and take the overnight lead by 5 shots over Billy Hoffman. Speight continued the great play on day two with 4 more birdies on his nine holes. That put him 12-under through 27 holes with no bogies! He would win the event by a mere 9 shots.

It wouldn’t be as easy for Rick Schuller (Stonehenge CC) in the Senior Division. He was tied after the first day with Ricky Touma (Burning Tree Club). Touma shot even-par 36 on his first nine but got off to a hot start on the back with three birdies in a row and closed well with two more birdies on 17 and 18 to get into the clubhouse with the lead. Schuller had a very steady first round with 5 birdies and no bogies to get him to a 5-under par tie with Touma. In round two, Schuller would continue his bogey free streak and add two birdies to shoot 34 while Touma wasn’t able to keep up. This earned Schuller the win after 27 holes by 3 shots.

Tim White (Lake Chesdin GC) took the Senior 60+ Division by 3 shots over Jon Corliss (Heron Ridge GC) by shooting even par. Congratulations to all our winners! Also, congratulations to Zac Ellis of CC of Fairfax for a Hole-in-One on the 5th hole of round 2! Thank you to E-Z-GO Golf Cars for their title sponsorship. Another note of appreciation goes to Dan Capozzi, Tim Poland and the staff at Williamsburg Club for hosting us and all of their hard work to make the event happen.

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The Professional

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The Professional

BILLY HOFFMAN AND JOSH SPEIGHT WIN E-Z-GO MAPGA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP IN COMEBACK FASHION

Billy Hoffman (left) and Josh Speight (right) celebrate after their improbable comeback Sterling, VA – The successful completion of the 2020 EZGO MAPGA Team Championship was in question all year with COVID-19 swirling. One of our most beloved tournaments was eventually able to be played safely with single carts, a venue change, and precautions to make sure teams stayed as distanced as possible while playing. It ended up being well worth it as the tournament had drama all the way down to the end.

The unique format and team environment are a few of the many reasons this tournament is one of our most popular. The tournament is contested via two days of 27 holes each day with different formats (9 holes of scramble, 9 holes of fourball, and 9 holes of alternate shot).

The alternate shot 9 is historically

Ferguson had a lot of teams gunning for them in the second day with eighteen teams within five shots Rick Schuller (Stonehenge Golf & of the lead. It turns out, there was Country Club) and Frank Ferguson one team outside of that group they (Washington Golf & Country Club) would also need to keep an eye on. led the way after round one. They started their tournament with four- Billy Hoffman (Westwood Country ball and got off to a steady start, Club) and Josh Speight (Colonial making two birdies to one bogey. Heritage Golf Club) were one of That was their only bogey on the the first groups to tee off in round day as they went four-under in the two because they were six shots scramble and an impressive 3-under behind the leaders. They knew in the alternate shot. Their 8-under they needed a near perfect round total (100) gave them the lead after to get back in contention. Hoffman the first round. There were plenty of and Speight began with four-ball other great rounds such as Mark Fry and didn’t get off to the hot start (The Homestead Resort) & Barry they needed, birdieing three holes Ryder (The Homestead Resort) against one bogey. Their next nine and Daniel Neben (TPC Potomac) was the scramble, where they were & Greg Pieczynski (George Mason able to put it into high gear. They University) shooting 7-under made birdie, eagle, birdie on the and tied for second. Schuller and first three holes, a birdie on the sixth make-or-break for the teams coming down the stretch.

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The Professional hole, and two more on holes eight and nine to finish their scramble nine 7 under and vault them to just 2 shots off the lead. They continued the great play into the alternate shot, making two more birdies in a row.

Speight and Hoffman mixed in two more birdies to finish the second round with a crazy thirteen-under par day over 27 holes. That comeback put them in the mix with Schuller/Ferguson and Neben/Pieczynski.

Alternate shot would be the deciding nine coming down the stretch for those two teams.

Ferguson and Schuller played great golf all day, making seven birdies through their first 18 holes to have a chance for the victory. A birdie on the Par-5 12th gave them the solo lead but bogies on 13 and 15 upended their run at a win. Neben and Pieczynski played the four-ball and scramble sides at 7 under to put themselves in contention as well. Four pars to start the alternate shot kept them in the hunt. Backto-back birdies on 14 and 15 vaulted them into the lead before a bogey on 16 dropped them back into a tie with Speight and Hoffman. A par on the Par-5 17th brought them to 18 needing a birdie to win and par to go into a playoff. After hitting the fairway and green, a tough pin location made 2 putts for the playoff a tough task. They weren’t able to make it happen and a three-putt bogey gave Speight and Hoffman the come short notice and making the tournament a success. This from behind victory. This is a repeat title for Speight as tournament would also not be possible without our title he won last year’s title with Troy Thorne. sponsor, E-Z-GO, and presenting sponsor Cleveland/ Thank you to Kevin Morris, Andy Bonn and their staff Srixon Golf. at Trump National Golf Club for allowing us to play on

The Professional

The Professional

RICK SCHULLER WINS 21ST MARYLAND SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Article Written by the Maryland State Golf Association

Rick Schuller, an MAPGA Professional from Chester, Va., earned his first victory in his seventh attempt in the 21st Maryland Senior Open Championship conducted by the Maryland State Golf Association at Norbeck Country Club in Rockville, October 6-7. Schuller was the only player in the field who finished under par for the 36-hole championship with scores of 74-69—143.

Schuller, a Middle Atlantic PGA member employed

by Stonehenge Golf & Country Club in Richmond, Va., holds an impressive and extraordinarily consistent record in this event. From his first year of eligibility (2013), Schuller has played his way in to the second-to-last or last group of the second round in seven of the previous eight years. Prior to winning this year, he finished runner-up twice (2014, 2019) and was in the top-5 every other year, except in 2015 when he did not compete at Andrews Air Force Base.

Schuller’s 69 on Wednesday was the only round in the sixties for the entire tournament. He shot 74 in the first round and entered the final round three shots back of the leaders who were tied at 1-under par. Schuller bogeyed his opening hole but gained some ground with birdies at the fifth and tenth holes. He never gave another shot back following the early bogey and closed his round with consecutive birdies on holes 17 and 18.

Those final two holes helped Schuller separate from four other MAPGA members who finished two shots behind him at 145 (+1). The runners-up included Maryland Open past champion, David Hutsell, Senior Open past champion Jim Estes (2019), Sean English, and Tim Lewis. Following Josh Speight’s victory at the 99th Maryland Open earlier this year, this was the first year in which the winners of both the Maryland Open and Maryland Senior Open Championships were PGA

professionals since 2011, when Hutsell won the aforementioned 90th state open, and Bob Affelder was the 12th Senior Open champion.

Three more professionals (Andy Kelley, Carey Hodsden, and Ricky Serrano) and three amateurs (Ty Bordner, Tom Winegardner, and Ron Thomas) tied for sixth-place. Tom Winegardner, the Cannon Club, posted a 2-under 70 in the second round that was enough for the second best round of the day.

He made the turn in the second round at even par and picked up birdies on holes 10 and 12. Backto-back bogeys on 14-15 could have derailed his round, but they were offset by an eagle-three at the par-5, seventeenth.

After 36 holes Thomas, Bordner and Winegardner teed off the first hole for a playoff to decide low amateur. Bordner was eliminated after a bogey on the first playoff hole. On the second playoff hole, Thomas chipped from off the green to kick-in range, and his par save looked like it would extend the playoff, but Winegardner poured in a 15-footer for birdie to earn the title of low amateur.

The super senior division finished with a tie between Tom Grem and Jim Kyttle at 150 (+6). The low professionals in the super senior division were

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The Professional Jon Corliss (+8) and Jim and 22 in the super senior Fitzgerald (+13) finishing division. The weather was fifth and eighth respectively. nearly perfect, with mostly sunny conditions and Norbeck Country Club’s temperatures in the midwell-conditioned course seventies. recently underwent a bunker renovation project over the summer that restored original bunker shapes and dimensions while improving drainage, conditions and aesthetics.

Players contended with slick greens and were presented challenging hole locations throughout both rounds.

The field was comprised of 98 players, with 76 registered in the senior division (50+)

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The Professional

MAPGA REPRESENTED WELL AT NATIONAL EVENTS Senior PGA and Assistant PGA Professional Championships conducted this Fall at PGA Golf Club in Florida SENIOR The MAPGA had 8 representatives play in the Senior PGA Professional Championsip. The event was hosted on the Wanamaker and Ryder Courses at PGA Golf Club on October 15-18. Dick Mast, David Hutsell, Carey Hodsden, Sean English, Dirk Schultz, Brendan McGrath, Tim Lewis, and Rick Schuller all made their way down to Florida for a chance at the national championship.

There were 2 cuts in the event, one after the 2nd rouund and another after the 3rd round. We had 2 players make it through both cuts: Dick Mast and David Hutsell.

Mast got his tournament off to a great start, shooting a first round 65 to best his age by 4 and put him in the lead. He did not play as well the next 3 rounds, shooting 76-77-72 to come in a tie for 33rd out of 264 players.

That finish was good enough to give him an alternate spot into the 2021 Senior PGA Championship. David Hutsell had one bad round in the tournament that prevented him from being closer to the top. He shot 70-71-78-68 to finish in a tie for 22nd. His final round 68 vaulted him up the leaderboard and gave him a spot in the 2021 Senior PGA Championship!

ASSISTANT The MAPGA had 5 representatives play in the Assistant PGA Professional Championsip. The event was hosted on the Wanamaker Course at PGA Golf Club on November 12-15. Steve Delmar, Larkin Gross, Ian McConnell, Alex Hoffman, and Jay Newcomb all made their way down to Florida for a chance at the national championship.

The 132 player field was cut down to the top-70 in ties after the 2nd round. All 5 players made it through the cut and finished in the top 37! Ian Mcconnell was able to overcome a rough first round 78 with three even par or better rounds in a row. He finished in a tie for 18th and was the low MAPGA Assistant.

The Professional

JOHN O’LEARY WINS DESTINATION KOHLER MAPGA MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP Alexandria, VA – The 2020 Destination Kohler MAPGA Match Play Championship turned out to be the final tournament in an unusual but successful MAPGA tournament season. The different format was a fun way to end the year and have some of the best players in our section compete one-onone. Fawn Lake Country Club hosted the first four rounds of matches while the semifinal and final matches were held at Belle Haven Country Club two weeks later.

There were some Cinderella stories in this year’s tournament. Seedings were based on 2020 Player of the Year points and the semifinal matches saw a 16-seed vs a 12-seed and a 2-seed vs 6-seed. Josh Apple (16-seed, Raspberry Falls GC) and Sean English (12-seed, Elkridge CC) battled to take their Cinderella runs to the final match while Josh Speight (2-seed, Colonial Heritage GC) and John O’Leary (6-seed, Trump National DC) battled for their spot in the final. Belle Haven CC was playing very difficult on a chilly day and wind gusts up to 25 mph.

Josh Apple was able to play steady golf while Sean English admittedly didn’t have his best stuff. Apple jumped out to an early lead, winning 2 of the first 3 holes. He wouldn’t look back as he limited his mistakes and didn’t allow English to climb his way back into the match. Apple closed out the match on the Par-3 17th to take the match 3&1. Speight vs. O’Leary saw some fantastic play between both players. Speight birdied 5 holes on the front nine but O’Leary wouldn’t let him build a commanding lead, as he made the turn with just a 1up lead. O’Leary took advantage of some mistakes

by Speight on the 10th and 11th holes to flip the match in his favor. He wouldn’t look back after that, playing steady down the stretch and also closing out his match on 17 for a 3&1 victory.

John O’Leary (top) and Josh Apple (bottom) watch their tee shots on the Par-3 6th. They both won their semi-final matches and were set to square off in the finals.

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The Professional John O’Leary was playing in the finals of this tournament for the third consecutive year. O’Leary made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 2nd hole to take an early one-shot lead. Apple didn’t let it phase him as the match stayed the same through the 7th hole. He was able to make a move on the 8th hole after O’Leary’s approach missed the green and led to bogey. Apple got his up and down for par to get the match to all square. On the 11th hole, they both hit their approaches in the right bunker.

O’Leary got his up and down while Apple could not, giving John a 1up lead. O’Leary was then able to make a birdie on the Par-5 12th hole to push the lead to 2up.

He then made a long birdie putt on 14 to go 3 up. Apple put up a fight, making birdie on the 15th hole to get him back to 2 down but O’Leary closed the door with a win on 16 to win the match 3&2.

Thank you to our host sites, Fawn Lake Country Club and Belle Haven Country Club for having us and to our sponsors Destination Kohler and Taylormade for supporting this great event.

SECTION MEETINGS SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTED VIRTUALLY Due to the pandemic, we conducted our Fall Section Meeting virtually. The meeting went very smoothly and was met with high praise from our professionals.

Thanks to Vice President John Lindert for virtually attending along with D-10 Director John Madden.

About 170 people attended via Zoom. Thank you to our officers and Membership Director Kristine Hoffman for making this meeting go so well!

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR OUR WINTER EDUCATION SERIES! This series will be conducted online like earlier this year. Professionals from our Section will host some of the best teachers golf has to offer to help you become a better teacher and overall PGA Professional. Be on the lookout for the schedule of events.

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The Professional Stafford, VA – The 2020 Tournament season did 2020 not get off to the start the MAPGA was hoping or expecting. The Coronavirus put a halt to PLAYER OF THE for the beginning of the season. The first MAPGA didn’t take place until June 29th, YEAR WINNERS tournament about two months later than the normal start date, with an abundance of safety precautions. However, that didn’t deter some great play from all of our Professionals this season and especially our 4 Player of the Year Award winners.

Josh Speight, PGA (Colonial Heritage Golf Club) has finished in the Top-7 of the Open Player of the Year points standings for the last 3 years. He was finally able to break through on top this season. It was a close race for the top spot as only 205 points separated 1st and 4th place (Larkin Gross, Steve Delmar, John O’Leary). Speight was able to win the award in large part due to his historic win at the Maryland Open Championship where he became the first PGA Professional to win the event since David Hutsell in 2011. He mixed in two others wins (Southern Chapter Championship & E-Z-GO Players Cup), a top-5 at the Section Championship, and a clutch T-3rd place at our final event of the year (Destination Kohler Match Play) to be named the 2020 OMEGA Open Player of the Year.

Joanna Coe, PGA (Baltimore Country Club) has been dominant in the Women’s Division, winning OMEGA Player of the Year honors the last four years. She would keep that dominance going by winning the award for the 5th consecutive time in 2020. She had 3 tournaments as low female finisher on the season (JaniKing Stroke Play Championship, MAPGA Section Championship, E-ZGO Players Cup). Her year was highlighted by becoming the first women to compete in the State Open of Virginia and playing in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

FINAL WOMEN’S POINTS AND PAYOUTS Women’s (Winnings) 1. Joanna Coe ($250) 2. Shannon McKew 3. Joy Bonhurst

EXPERTS IN THE GAME AND BUSINESS OF GOLF

Points 258 149 141

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The Professional Rick Schuller, PGA (Stonehenge Golf Club) dominated the Senior Division, winning the OMEGA POY race by 300 points. This is his third OMEGA Senior Player of the Year award. He had four wins in 2020, highlighted by the Maryland Senior Open Championship to make it a sweep for the MAPGA Professionals in the Maryland Open Championships. He also won the Senior division of the Panacea Life Sciences Stroke Play Championship, JaniKing Stroke Play Championship, and E-Z-GO Players Cup. FINAL SENIOR POINTS AND PAYOUTS Senior (Winnings) 1. Rick Schuller ($625) 2. David Hutsell ($375) 3. Brendan McGrath ($250) 4. Jim Estes 5. Dick Mast

Points 1,064 763 710 657 632 Larkin Gross, PGA (Springfield Golf & Country Club) was impressive in his first season of MAPGA events. He made a name for himself in the Open Division, finishing a close second behind Josh Speight. He was able to take the Assistant Player of the Year with his great play in the APA events. Gross won two of those events (APA Open – Hermitage & APA Players Cup) to give him the award over co-worker Ian McConnell.

FINAL ASSISTANT POINTS Assistant 1. Larkin Gross 2. Ian McConnell 3. Steve Delmar 4. Joe Lussier 5. Kevin O’Connor

Points 315 312.5 300 235 206.5

FINAL OPEN POINTS AND PAYOUTS Open (Winnings) 1. Josh Speight ($1,155) 2. Larkin Gross ($840) 3. Steve Delmar ($630) 4. John O’Leary ($490) 5. Yong Joo ($385)

Points 1,206 1,071 1,023 1,002 863

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The Professional

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Register by clicking the button below.

Please reach out to Doug Wert (dwert@pgahq.com) or Claire Jansa (cjansa@ pgahq.com) if you have any questions or if you would like to learn about other player development opportunities that you can implement at your facility.

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MAPGA Staff Jon Guhl

Executive Director

Eric Southard

Assistant Tournament Director

Bob Heintz, PGA

Assistant Executive Director/ Tournament Director

Collin Elphic

Kristine Hofmann Membership Director

Claire Jansa, PGA

Junior Golf Director

Player Development Coordinator

Ben Smith

Andrew Gridley

Tasita Garcia

Communication Manager

Director of Business Affairs

PGA Works Fellow