Coming off the biggest payday of his professional career, John Pillar, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs, continued his spring roll by capturing the title in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship, which wrapped up June 12th at Sandy Run Country Club in Oreland.
Pillar survived a playoff the day after Memorial Day to win the Haverford PGA Professional Classic and its whopping $100,000 payoff, the largest prize offered in any PGA Section event in the country, at Sunnybrook Golf Club.
The 57-year-old Pillar entered the second round of the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship four shots out of the lead after matching par in the opening round June 11th with a 72. But he quickly started to make up ground. Pillar rattled off birdies at the third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes to quickly get it to 5-under.
After a bogey at the 10th hole, Pillar quickly got that shot back with a birdie at 11. He followed up back-to-back bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes with birdies at 15 and 16, his seventh and eighth birdies of the round. A bogey at the 17th hole left Pillar with a 4-under-par 68 and a 4-under 140 total.
That gave him a one-shot victory over Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz, who had won the previous two Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship titles in his first two years of senior eligibility, and Brian Kelly, the now retired long-time head pro at Bucknell Golf Club.
Steinmetz added a 1-under 71 in the second round to his opening round of 2-under 70 to finish with a 3-under 141 total. Kelly was just a shot out of the lead following an opening round of 3-under 69 before matching par in the second round with a 72 to join Steinmetz at 3-under.
Pillar, Steinmetz, and Kelly will head a contingent of at least six Philadelphia Section PGA pros at the Senior PGA Professional Championship, which tees off Sept. 26 at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon.
The top 35 finishers in the Senior PGA Professional Championship will earn a spot in the field for next May’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a major championship on the PGA Tour Champions which will be played at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
Pillar was still trying to process his startling success in the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic when he added a victory in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship to his two previous wins in the event in 2019 and 2020.
“Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I was going to win again, at 57, competing with the younger PGA professionals,” Pillar told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “To be able to follow that up with a win here is really special. It means the world to me.”
Eric Kennedy, the head pro at Overbrook Golf Club, finished a shot behind Steinmetz and Kelly in fourth place with a 2-under 142 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Kennedy closed with a 2-under 70.
George Forster, the ageless PGA Life Member who maintains his association with Radnor Valley Country Club where he was the long-time head pro, and Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club, finished a shot behind Kennedy in a tie for fifth place, each landing on even-par 144.
Forster opened with a 2-under 70 before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round. Krueger had the identical splits, adding a 2-over 74 in the second round to an opening round of 2-under 70.
Kennedy, Forster and Krueger also earned spots in the Senior PGA Professional Championship at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon. Forster has represented the Philadelphia Section in the Senior PGA Professional Championship probably a dozen times, at least.
Three players – Pete Lovenguth, the host professional at Sandy Run, Jeb Boyle, a Philadelphia PGA entry, and Stephen Swartz of Carlisle Country Club – finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up with a 2-over 146 total.
Lovenguth opened with a solid 1-under 71 before adding a 3-over 75 in the second round. Lovenguth is the first alternate to the Senior PGA Professional Championship.
Swartz and Boyle had the identical splits as Lovenguth, each adding a 3-over 75 in the second round to an opening round of 1-under 71. Swartz and Boyle are the second and third alternates, respectively, to the Senior PGA Professional Championship.
Rounding out the top 10 in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship was the trio of Dave Quinn of Laurel Creek Country Club, Dom DiJulia of the DiJulia School of Golf, and Brendon Post, the head coach of the Delaware men’s golf team, all of whom finished in a tie for 10th place at 3-over 147.
Quinn and DiJulia had identical splits as each added a 2-over 74 in the second round to an opening round of 1-over 73. They are the fourth and fifth alternates, respectively, to the Senior PGA Professional Championship.
Post matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 3-over 75 in the second round.
Bill Sautter, out of the pro shop at Philadelphia Cricket Club, took top honors in the super-senior division as he opened with a 3-under 69 before adding a 3-over 75 in the second round.
Wayne Phillips of Lehigh Country Club was the super-senior runnerup as he added a 4-over 76 in the second round to the solid 1-under 71 he put up in the opening round.
The Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship was supported by The Golf Channel, Jani-King, and Ohana Farms LLC.
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