Stewart's final-round 69 lifts him to tie for fifth in Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   The ACE Club’s Billy Stewart ended up doing pretty well in his debut in a PGA of America national event.

   The Malvern Prep and Saint Joseph’s University product zoomed up the leaderboard with a 3-under-par 69 in rain and wind at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Sunday to finish in a four-way tie for fifth in the 41^st National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   The 33-year-old Stewart ended up with a 4-under 284 total.

   When he won the Pennsylvania Open at Rolling Green Golf Club in 2015, Stewart said he was ready to start taking his game to the national level in the club pro ranks. He was getting a late start after playing on mini-tours, mostly in Florida, for a decade.

   At that time, Stewart wasn’t eligible yet to compete in the national PGA of America events. He pretty much sat out 2016 while rehabbing after surgery. He was ready this weekend and all those years on the Florida mini-tours probably helped him in Port St. Lucie.

   After opening with a 4-under 68 over the 7,123-yard, par-72 Wanamaker Course layout, Billy the Kid fell back a little with 2-over 74 in the second round and a 1-over 73 in the third round that left him tied for 26^th heading into the final round.

   After opening with a birdie Sunday, he made a double bogey at the third and a bogey at the fourth. Stewart proceeded to birdie six of the last 13 holes. He got back under par for the round with birdies at six, seven and nine.

   After a bogey at the 12^th dropped him back to even for the round, he closed with a flourish, making birdies at 13, 16 and 18 to finish at 3-under.

   Stewart led the way among the foursome of pros representing the Philadelphia Section PGA.

Brian Bergstol of the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish tied for 31^st at 2-over 290. Bergstol claimed the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship last summer at the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale, which was the qualifier for this weekend’s national event.

   Jordan Gibbs of Gulph Mills Golf Club finished tied for 39^th at 4-over 282 after a final round of 2-over 74. Stewart and Gibbs, winner of the 2016 Philadelphia Section PGA Championship, had identical 68-74 starts in the first two rounds and were paired together in Round 3 Saturday.

   Andrew Turner of Sunnybrook Golf Club finished with a solid 1-over 73 and ended up tied for 49th at 6-over 294.

   The championship turned into a two-horse race and Ryan Zylstra of The Federal Club in Virginia overtook Derek Berg of Sahalee Country Club in Washington to capture the top prize of $12,000 out of a total purse of $150,000.

   The 38-year-old Zylstra was the Middle Atlantic PGA Section OMEGA Player of the Year and the Assistant PGA Professional Championship win was his 13^th victory in 2017, including the State of Virginia Open.

   Zylstra fired a final round of 3-under 69 to finish with an 11-under 277 total. Berg, who held the lead after 36 and 54 holes, matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish a shot behind Zylastra in second at 10-under 278. Berg was five shots clear of the rest of the field.

   Zylstra, playing in the group in front of Berg, got off to a good start with birdies at three, five and six, stumbled with three-putt bogeys at the ninth and 10^th, then made birdies at 13 and 16 that proved to be the difference.

   “I knew was going to be tough,” Zylstra told the PGA of America website concerning the difficult conditions. “You have two options, you either embrace it and take it for what it is or let it bother you and get upset. I figured if I could maintain a good attitude, that I’d be able to do the best I could.

“Accept that there’s going to be rough patches, you’re going to hit bad shots and get bad breaks. Everyone’s getting it, I’m not the only one playing these conditions. I think that really helped keep me level-headed.”

   Bogeys at 11 and 14 left the 36-year-old Berg alone in second place.

   Adam Rainaud of Winged Foot Golf Club, the famed A.W. Tillinghast design in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Ryan Botts of Old Hickory Country Club in Tennessee finished tied for third at 5-under 273. 

   Rainaud fired a final-round 69 and Botts, who was a shot out of the lead heading into the final round, fell back with a 4-over 76.

   Joining Stewart in the quartet tied for fifth at 4-under 284 were Frank Bensel of Century Country Club in New York, Michael Auterson of Hickory Woods Golf Course in Ohio and Benjamin Cook of Beechmont Country Club in Michigan. 

   Like Stewart, Bensel had a final-round 69 to climb 21 spots on the leaderboard. Auterson matched par in the final round with a 72 and Cook, who, like Botts, had been hanging around the lead all weekend, fell back with a final-round 76.