Applebrook Golf Club head pro Dave McNabb moved into
contention at the PGA Professional Championship Monday at the Sunriver Resort
in Sunriver, Ore. with a 4-under-par 67 on the Meadows Course that has him tied
for 10th heading into the third round.
McNabb had five birdies in his first 10 holes over the
6,974-yard, par-71 Meadows Course to fuel his surge up the leaderboard. McNabb
opened the tournament with a 2-over 74 over the tough 7,530-yard, par-72
Crosswaters Course Sunday. His 67 Monday left him at 2-under 146, just four
shots out of the lead.
The final 36 holes will be played at the Crosswaters Course.
There is more at stake than just the tournament title at what was traditionally
known as the National Club Pro. The top 20 finishers earn a ticket to the PGA
Championship, the last of professional golf’s four major championships, Aug. 10
to 13 at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.
McNabb earned a trip to the PGA the last time the National
Club Pro was at Sunriver in 2013 and again in 2014. And he is very much in the
hunt for another top-20 finish with Monday’s solid showing.
Last week McNabb was the medalist in a U.S. Senior Open
qualifier, an effort that earned him a trip to that PGA Tour Champions major,
which gets under way June 29 at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass.
McNabb made birdies at one, two, five and seven on the front
side at the Meadows Course then added another birdie to reach 5-under for the
day. He cooled off with bogeys at 12 and 15 before making one more birdie, his
sixth of the round, at the 17th.
The only other member of the Philadelphia Section PGA contingent
that I could find who made the cut – I think I’ve accounted for all of them, but
it always seems like I miss somebody – is Merion Golf Club’s head of
instruction Mark Sheftic.
Sheftic contended at Sunriver in 2013 and finished tied for
fourth. After struggling in the opening round with a 5-over 77 on the
Crosswaters Course Sunday, Sheftic
bounced back with a 1-under 70 at the Meadows to make the cut to the top 90 and
ties on the number at 4-over 147.
There will be another cut to the low 70 players and ties
following Tuesday’s third round.
Gulph Mills Golf Club assistant pro Jordan Gibbs, who won
the Philadelphia Section PGA championship last year, missed the cut by one at
5-over 148. He opened with a solid even-par 71 at the Meadows, but could only
manage a 5-over 77 on the Crosswaters Monday.
Stu Ingraham, the head of instruction at the M Golf Range in
Newtown Square, was another shot behind Gibbs at 6-over 149, two shots off the
cut line. Ingraham rescued his opening round with a 3-under 33 on the back nine
of the Crsosswaters.
Playing in his 28th PGA of America national
event, Ingraham posted a 2-over 73 at the Meadows Monday. Ingraham will join
McNabb at the U.S. Senior Open next week at Salem Country Club.
Philadelphia Country Club head pro Scott Reilly and John
Pillar, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs, both
ended up at 10-over 153. Reilly added a 4-over 76 at Crosswaters to his
opening-round 77 at Meadows. Pillar had a 79 at Crosswaters after opening with
a 74 at Meadows Sunday.
Radley Run Country Club’s Brett Melton and Philadelphia
Cricket Club assistant pro Tony Perla both landed at 12-over 155. Melton had a
77 at Crosswaters Monday after a 78 at Meadows while Perla added a 77 at
Meadows to his opening-round 78 at Crosswaters.
Michael Molino, out of The Country Club of Scranton pro
shop, bounced back from an 83 at Meadows Sunday with a 78 at Crosswaters to end
up at 161. Perla’s colleague in the Cricket Club pro shop, John Spina, had an
85 at Crosswaters Monday for a 165 total.
Michael Little of Lookaway Golf Club, the reigning
Philadelphia Section Player of the Year, was disqualified at some point Sunday.
Not sure what the issue was there, although I know he was looking forward to
teeing it up at Sunriver.
Defending champion Rich Berberian Jr., the director of
instruction at Vesper Country Club in Tyngsborough, Mass., earned a share of
the 36-hole lead at 6-under 137 after adding a 2-under 70 at Crosswaters to his
opening-round 67 at Meadows Sunday.
He was joined at that figure by Toledo golf coach Jamie
Broce, who had a sparkling five-birdie, no-bogey 5-under 67 at the tough
Crosswaters Course Monday.
Brian Smock, a 44-year-old veteran of the Web.com Tour who
accepted the position of head pro at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course in his
California home town, is tied for third at 5-under 138 after a sizzling 7-under
64 Monday at the Meadows Course.
He was joined at 5-under by Rod Perry, the head pro at Crane
Lakes Golf & Country Club in Port Orange, Fla. who won the PGA Professional
Championship the last time it was held at Sunriver in 2013. Perry added a solid
2-under 70 at Crosswaters Monday to his opening-round 68 at Meadows.
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