Shattuck, Oakley land on the leaderboard in PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch

 

   Don’t look now, but Braden Shattuck, the director of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, is in the hunt to repeat as the winner of the PGA Professional Championship at PGA Frisco Fields Ranch in Frisco, Texas.

   The event has been plagued by weather woes since Sunday’s opening round and Shattuck, the reigning two-time Rolex Haverford Trust Philadelphia Section PGA Player of the Year, is even-par for the championship through 11 holes of his third round going into Wednesday’s final day.

   That leaves him six shots behind the leader, Ben Polland, the director of golf at the Shooting Star of Jackson Hole in Wyoming who completed three rounds Tuesday at 6-under 210.

   As always, the club pros from around the country who gather for the PGA Professional Championship – the National Club Pro as it once was known and to many of us still is – have another goal in mind as the top 20 finishers earn a spot on the Colebridge Financial Team that will tee it up in the PGA Championship, one of the men’s four major professional championships, later this month at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

   And Shattuck, who starred scholastically at Sun Valley, is in very good position to grab one of those coveted top-20 spots.

   As is Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club and the reigning Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship winner, as he completed his third round Tuesday, posting a 5-over 77 at the Fields Ranch East Course that left him in the group tied for ninth place at 1-over 217.

   Shattuck became just the second Philadelphia Section PGA pro to capture the title in the PGA Professional Championship when he drained a 12-foot par putt on the 72^nd hole for a dramatic victory a year ago at the Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Shattuck’s defense got off to a rough start when he opened with a 4-over 76 at Fields Ranch West, which seemed to be playing the easier of the two courses at the PGA of America’s new Texas headquarters.

   He was unable to complete his second round and came back early Tuesday to finish a solid 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch East.

   When Shattuck made a double bogey at Fields Ranch East’s second hole at the beginning of his second round, he fell back to 5-over and was in danger of missing the 36-hole cut, which ultimately fell at 3-over.

   But he made five birdies against one bogey the rest of the way to get back on track.

   Shattuck opened his third round with a birdie at the second hole. He made a bogey at the sixth hole, a birdie at eight and a bogey at nine. But a birdie at the 11^th hole, the last hole Shattuck completed before darkness suspended play, got him back to even par for the championship.

   Oakley and Shattuck were colleagues in the Bidermann pro shop a couple of years ago before Shattuck moved on to Rolling Green. They finished 1-2, respectively, with Oakley claiming the title in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship shortened to 36 holes by rain late last summer at the Country Club of Scranton and Elmhurst Country Club.

   Oakley struggled in the third round Tuesday at Fields Ranch East with a 5-over 77. He had opened with a 1-under 71 at Fields Ranch West and added a solid 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch East in the second round.

   Oakley came on strong in the final round in the PGA Professional Championship two years ago at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas to finish in a tie for sixth place and earn a spot on the Colebridge Financial Team in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   Nine years ago, Polland arrived at the classic finishing hole at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course with a two-shot lead in the PGA Professional Championship, but made a double bogey and lost by a shot.

   Polland opened with a 4-under 68 at Fields Ranch West and has added back-to-back 1-under 71s at Fields Ranch East to build a three-shot lead.

   Wyatt Worthington II, a sales representative for Eastside Golf in the Southwest Section, and Jared Jones, the head of instruction at River Oaks Country Club in the Southern Texas Section, are tied for second place, each having completed three rounds at 3-under 213.

   Worthington had jumped out to the lead with a sparkling 7-under 65 at Fields Ranch West and added a solid 2-under 70 in the second round at Fields Ranch East. He struggled in the third round, completing a 6-over 78 Tuesday back at Fields Ranch East to fall back to 3-under.

   Jones added a 2-under 70 in the second round at Fields Ranch East to his opening round of 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch West before carding a 2-over 74 back at Fields Ranch East in the third round.

   Andy Svoboda, playing out of Butler National Golf Club in suburban Chicago, was alone in fourth place as he completed his third round at 1-under 215, two shots behind Worthington and Jones. Svoboda opened with a 1-over 73 at Fields Ranch East and added a 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch West in the second round before backing off with a 3-over 75 at a Fields Ranch East Course that was obviously playing tough Tuesday.

   Trevor Bensel, the talented assistant pro at Sandy Run Country Club, is in the hunt for a ticket to the PGA Championship as he was 4-over for the championship through 16 holes of his third round when darkness fell at Fields Ranch East and in the group tied for 33^rd place.

   Bensel had struggled to a 4-over 76 in the opening round at Fields Ranch East before adding a 2-under 70 at Fields Ranch West in the second round. He was 2-over for his third round when play was halted.

   Two other members of the Philly Section contingent, Danny Lewis of Philadelphia Cricket Club and Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, Del., survived the 36-hole cut.

   Lewis was among the group tied for 57^th place at 7-over with two holes left to play at Fields Ranch East in his third round. Lewis bounced back from a 5-over 77 in the opening round at Fields Ranch East with a 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch West. Lewis was 5-over for his third round at Fields Ranch East when play was halted.

   Krueger’s 1-under 71 in the second round at Fields Ranch West enabled him to make the 36-hole cut on the number at 3-over after he had opened with a 4-over 76 at Fields Ranch East. Krueger recorded a 6-over 78 at Fields Ranch East in the third round that landed him among the group tied for 67^th place at 9-over.

   Whitemarsh Valley Country Club head pro Dave Pagett just missed the 36-hole cut at 4-over as he opened with a 2-over 74 at Fields Ranch East and added another 2-over 74 in the second round at Fields Ranch West.

   Billy Stewart, an instructor at the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course, missed the cut at 6-over as he opened with a 3-over 75 at Fields Ranch East and added another 3-over 75 in the second round at Fields Ranch West.

   Mike Little of Lansdale’s Clubhouse 54 opened with a 4-over 76 at Fields Ranch West and added another 4-over 76 in the second round at Fields Ranch East for a 10-over total.

   Alex Knoll of Glen Brook Golf Club opened with a 7-over 79 at Fields Ranch East and added a 5-over 77 at Fields Ranch West for a 12-over total.

   Rich Steinmetz, the longtime head pro at Spring Ford Country Club, opened with a 6-over 78 at Fields Ranch West and added a 7-over 79 at Fields Ranch East for a 13-over total.

   Steinmetz, the two-time reigning Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship winner, will represent the Philadelphia Section in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a major championship on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, later this month at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich.