With birdies on three of his last six holes Saturday, Colin
Inglis of Emerald Valley Golf Course in Creswell, Ore. rose to the top of a
crowded leaderboard after three rounds of the 43rd National Car
Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker
Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
The Wanamaker Course seemed to play pretty tough in
Saturday’s third round, but the 30-year-old Inglis overcame his lone bogey of the
day at the fifth hole to fire a 3-under-par 69 that left him with a 54-hole
total of 6-under 210 and a one-shot lead.
Inglis and the rest of the field of top assistant pros from
all around the country are competing for a first-place check of $12,000 out of
a total purse of $150,000. The Assistant PGA Professional Championship is
supported by Srixon/Cleveland Golf/XXIO, Golf Advisor and John Deere.
Inglis began the third round at 3-under 141 and quickly
birdied the first hole. Following the bogey at the fifth, Inglis settled in
with seven straight pars before birdies at the 13th, 16th
and 18th holes got him to 6-under.
“I played pretty well,” Inglis told the PGA of America
website. “Birdied the first hole, but then I started hitting it all over the
place. I made some really long par putts that saved my round. On the back nine,
I started to figure things out.”
Former Seton Hall standout Colin Van Es, who works out of
the Providence Golf Club pro shop in Davenport, Fla., and Caleb Wittig, an
assistant pro at Zanesville Country Club in Zanesville, Ohio, were just a shot
behind Inglis in a tie for second at 5-under 211.
The 30-year-old Van Es, who was just a shot out of the lead
to begin the day, posted a second straight 1-under 71 to remain very much in
the hunt for the title. The 25-year-old Wittig had struggled to an
opening-round 75, but moved up the leaderboard with a sparkling 5-under 67 in
Friday’s second round and matched Inglis’ 3-under 69 Saturday to join Van Es at
5-under.
Matt Rachey, an assistant coach at Minnesota, where he
starred collegiately, was alone in fourth place at 4-under 212 after carding a
1-over 73. The 25-year-old Rachey was tied for the 36-hole lead after adding a
1-under 71 to his opening-round 68.
Alex Beach, an assistant pro at Westchester Country Club in
Rye, N.Y., had shared the lead at the halfway point with Rachey, but struggled
on the back nine at the Wanamaker Course Saturday to fall into a tie for fifth
place with Carlos Sainz Jr. of Houston at 3-under 213.
The 30-year-old Beach, winner of the PGA Professional
Championship last spring at Belfair in Bluffton, S.C., posted a 2-over 74. It
looks like Beach will be able to leave his club pro job behind and take a shot
at the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 after advancing out of the second stage of
Q-School last week.
Beach can enhance his Korn Ferry status when he tees it up
in the Final Stage of Q-School, which tees off Dec. 12 at Orange County
National in Winter Garden, Fla.
Couldn’t quite figure out where the 34-year-old Sainz is
based, but he has spent some time on the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour’s top
developmental circuit. Sainz carded a solid 2-under 70 to get his piece of
fifth place along with Beach.
Tony Perla, who works out of the Canoe Brook Country Club
pro shop in Summit, N.J., fell just outside the top 10 as a 3-over 75 left him
in the group tied for 11th place at even-par 216. The 32-year-old
Perla, formerly the head pro at LedgeRock Golf Club in the Philadelphia Section
PGA, had opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-under 71 in Friday’s second
round.
Speaking of the Philly Section, Mike Little of Lookaway Golf
Club headed the trio of local assistant pros who survived the 36-hole cut at
the PGA Golf Club. The 35-year-old Little, consistently one of the top
performers on the Philly Section PGA circuit, struggled to a 5-over 77 in
Saturday’s third round and was among the group tied for 53rd place
at 8-over 224.
Rusty Harbold, out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club pro
shop, was two shots behind Little in the group tied for 61st place
at 10-over 226 after carding a 3-over 75. The 37-year-old Harbold shared low
Philly Section honors when he finished in a tie for 30th place at
the PGA Golf Club a year ago.
Chris Filling, out of the pro shop at Seaview, was tied for
74th place at 230. After posting a pair of 3-over 75s, the
24-year-old Filling struggled to an 80 in Saturday’s third round.
Josh Rackley, out of the Tam O’Shanter Country Club pro shop
in Glen Head, N.Y. on Long Island, carded a 1-over 73 and was among the group
tied for 37th place at 6-over 222. Rackley, who turned 30 earlier
this month, was one of the top players in the Philly Section in 2015 when he
was an assistant pro at Gulph Mills Golf Club. Rackley finished third in the
Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago.
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