Stu Ingraham, the teaching pro at the M Golf Range in Newtown Square, fired a 71 at White Manor Country Club Thursday, but had to settle for second place at the Philadelphia Section PGA Championship.
Rich Steinmetz, the head pro at Spring-Ford C.C., fired a final-round 69 at White Manor to finish a 3-under 209 for the 54-hole event that included two rounds at White Manor and one at St. Davids G.C.
It was the third Philadelphia Section title for Steinmentz (who this golf blogger covered when he was a high school standout at Perkiomen Valley a few years ago) and he earned the top prize of $7,000.
"It definitely gets more exciting each time," Steinmetz told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. "The golf course played tough today, but I got into a really nice rhythm and was able to capitalize on my opportunities."
Ingraham, playing as well as ever despite being eligible for senior events, was just a shot back at 2-under 210. He earned $5,800.
The runnerup finish also earned Ingraham a trip to the 2012 PGA Professional National Championship, which will be played in Northern California for the first time at the Bayonet and Black Horse Courses in Seaside, Calif. The top 20 finishers at that event earn at trip to 2012's final pro major, the PGA Championship. Ingraham has taken that route to the PGA Championship six times in his career, most recently earning a trip to Whistling Straits in 2010.
Ingraham will be joined in California by fellow Philadelphia Section senior standout George Forster, the head pro at Radnor Valley C.C. Forster struggled to a final-round 76 at White Manor, but his 6-over 218 total was good enough to earn him a tie for 10th and one of the last of 11 berths to the National Club Pro that were up for grabs..
Mark Sheftic, the head of instruction at Merion G.C., just missed qualifying for the National Club Pro as his final-round 73 left him at 7-over 219. Sheftic earned trips to the PGA in 2009 and 2010 with high finishes at the National Club Pro, including a runnerup finish in 2009.
Overbrook G.C. head pro Scott Hunter had a final-round 72 to finish in a tie for 16th at 8-over 220. Overbrook's Eric Kennedy and Aronimink G.C.'s Patrick Clark each carded final-round 75s to finish in a tie for 23rd at 10-over 222. Concord C.C. head pro Mike Moses had a final-round 73 and finished 27th at 11-over 223.
Other finishers included Aronimink's Rob Agresti (tied for 44th, 18-over 230) and Merion's George Forster Jr. (59th, 23-over 235), who is the son of the Radnor Valley head pro.
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