The final round of the 102nd Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship was shaping up to be a dramatic showdown between two of the Philadelphia Section’s most talented players, Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, and Braden Shattuck, the head of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club.
But Mother Nature had other plans. With the Country Club of Scranton inundated with drenching rain between the completion of Tuesday’s second round and Wednesday’s scheduled final round, the final round had to be cancelled.
Turned out the 5-under-par 67 carded by Oakley at the Country Club of Scranton in Tuesday’s second round, which had given him a one-shot lead over Shattuck with a 10-under 134 total, earned him the title and the $9,000 top prize out of a total purse of $72,000.
It was a bit of a role reversal for Oakley, who looked like he was going to win the 100th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Aronimink Golf Club two years ago when the remnants of Hurricane Ida descended on the region and led to the cancellation of the final round. The standings reverted back to the 36 holes that were completed and Oakley had to settle for a runnerup finish behind then Sunnybrook Golf Club pro Brett Walker.
I don’t have a list of the past winners of what used to be known as the Philadelphia Section PGA Championship, but there’s a good chance that when Oakley’s name is added to the William B. Packer Trophy it will join that of his dad, Pete Oakley, who was one of the top players in the Philadelphia Section for a decade or so.
Zac Oakley had carded a 5-under 67 at Elmhurst Country Club in Monday’s opening round.
Shattuck, who was a colleague of Oakley’s in the Bidermann pro shop two years ago before moving on to Rolling Green, had opened with a 2-under 70 at the Country Club of Scranton before posting a sizzling 7-under 65 at Elmhurst in Tuesday’s second round that enabled him to close within a shot of Oakley with a 9-under 135 total.
Oakley and Shattuck will head a group of 12 Philadelphia Section pros who will tee it up in the PGA Professional Championship, which tees off April 28 at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s new headquarters in Texas.
The top 20 finishers in what used to be known as the National Club Pro will form the Corebridge Financial PGA Team at the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major championships, which returns to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. The PGA tees off May 13th of next year.
Two years ago, Oakley finished in a tie for sixth place in the PGA Professional Championship at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas and earned a spot in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Oakley attributed his solid play at Elmhurst and the Country Club of Scranton to switching to a new putter.
“I put in a lot of work at the end of the summer, as I struggled in the beginning of the year,” Oakley told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “This validates putting in the practice and the time. I wasn’t putting well and my speed was off. I switched to a more face-balanced putter and I made everything inside six feet this week at the Country Club of Scranton and Elmhurst Country Club.”
Shattuck, a scholastic standout at Sun Valley, pulled off a dramatic victory in last spring’s PGA Professional Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M., becoming just the second Philadelphia Section representative to win one of the PGA of America’s biggest events, the other being Ed Dougherty, another Delco guy.
The win earned Shattuck, the Philadelphia Section’s reigning Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year, a spot in last spring’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course in Pittsford, N.Y., his first appearance in a major championship.
The top 11 finishers in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship earned berths in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship. Shattuck was exempt from qualifying as the defending champion.
Brian Kelly, who retired as the head pro at Bucknell Golf Club, finished in ninth place with a 3-under 141 total, but is prohibited from playing in the National Club Pro due to his status as a PGA Life Member. It’s the Omar Uresti Rule, a story much too involved to repeat for purposes of this post.
Also qualifying for a trip to Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco were Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz and Michael Meisenzahl of Little Mill Country, who finished in a tie for third place at 6-under 138; Billy Stewart, an instructor at the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course who was fifth with a 5-under 139 total; Alex Knoll of Glen Brook Golf Club, Robert Fenton of Sunnybrook and Trevor Bensel of Sandy Run Country Club, who finished in a tie for sixth at 4-under 140; Whitemarsh Valley Country Club head pro Dave Pagett and Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club, who finished in a tie for 10th with a 2-under 142 total; Mike Little of Clubhouse 54, who finished 12th at 1-under 143; and Caleb Wittig of Elmhurst, who was one of five players who finished in a tie for 13th with an even-par 144 total.
Not sure if there was a playoff or a tiebreaker to decide that final berth to the PGA Professional Championship, but the other four players tied for 13th place at even-par 144 are alternates from the Philadelphia Section, including Brian Bergstol, the talented instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort who is the first alternate; Mark Sheftic, the head of instruction at Sunnybrook who is the second alternate; Terry Hertzog of Bent Creek Country Club who is the third alternate; and Rusty Harbold of Philadelphia Cricket Club who is the fourth alternate.
Joanna Coe, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club and of the top women club pros in the country, is the fifth alternate as she shared 18th place with Rob Shuey of the Colonial Golf & Tennis Club, eac landing on 1-over 145.
The Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship was presented by Club Car, Corebridge Financial and Rolex and was supported by The Golf Channel, Gallagher, the PGA Tour, Titleist, FootJoy, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade Golf and SCNS Foods.
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