Shattuck a dominant six-shot winner as he repeats in Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Whitemarsh Valley

 

   Braden Shattuck continued his domination of the Philadelphia Section PGA circuit by finishing off a six-shot victory in the 105^th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship
Wednesday with a business-like 4-under-par 68 at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.

   It was the second straight win in the marquee event for the Philadelphia area club pros for Shattuck, the director of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club. Shattuck has been the winner of the Philly Section’s Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year Award the last four seasons.

   Shattuck’s win in the Philadelphia PPC, his fourth of the season, likely puts him in the driver’s seat for a fifth straight Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year Award.

   Shattuck led or shared the lead right from the start. His opening round of 8-under 64 Monday at nearby Sandy Run Country Club left him in a tie for the lead. He surged to a three-shot lead on the strength of a sizzling 6-under 66 in the second round at Whitemarsh Valley, a classic George C. Thomas Jr. design in Whitemarsh Township that once hosted a regular stop on the PGA Tour.

   Shattuck’s final-round 68 gave him an 18-under 298 total and a six-shot victory over Zach Barbin, who works out of the pro shop at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club and closed with a Whitemarsh Valley course record of 10-under 62.

   Shattuck’s name will be inscribed on the William B. Packer Trophy for a second time and he collected the top prize of $10,000.

   Shattuck was exempt into next spring’s PGA Professional Championship on the strength of his victory in that event in 2023 at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   He will head a group of 12 Philadelphia Section players who will tee it up in the PPC next April at the Streamsong Golf Resort in Bowling Green, Fla. The top 20 finishers at Streamsong will form the Corebridge Financial Team that will represent club pros all across America in the  PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   It would be one thing if you could make the argument that Shattuck is dominating a group of club pros that don’t measure up competitively. Nothing could be further from the truth.

   Shattuck finished in a tie for eighth place in the PPC in the spring at the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon to earn a starting time in the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, not all that far from where the Sun Valley product grew up.

   But he was not the only player in the field this week who has taken that route to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major championships.

   Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, has been a member of the Corebridge Financial Team twice, joining Shattuck in the field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. two years ago. Oakley finished in a tie for sixth place in this week’s Philadelphia PPC and will be headed for Fields Ranch East next spring.

   Brian Bergstol, the head of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, represented the Philadelphia Section in the PGA Championship in the spring of 2025 at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. after finishing in a tie for third place in the PPC at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Bergstol, who was exempt to next spring’s PPC as a member of the United States team that competed in the PGA Cup, finished in a tie for eighth place in this week’s Philadelphia PPC.

   Zach Barbin finished in a tie for second place in last fall’s Assistant PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club’s Dye Course, an event in which both Bergstol and Oakley have contended in recent years.

   These are players who have performed well on national stages that Shattuck is dominating, making his accomplishments even more impressive.

   Shattuck became the first repeat winner of the Philadelphia PPC since Alex Knoll of Glen Brook Golf Club did it in 1999 and 2000.

   If anybody thought Shattuck was going to falter in the final round, he dispelled that notion pretty quickly with birdies at the second, third and fifth holes.

   After making a bogey at the eighth hole, Shattuck made a birdie at 11, a bogey at 12, a birdie at 12 and a bogey at 14 before putting an exclamation point on his week with birdies at 15 and 17.

   “With three rounds, mathematically speaking, I have a better chance than in a one-round shootout,” Shattuck told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “Being able to play consistently and steadily grow the lead is a little easier for me than going out and trying for a career round.”

   Zach Barbin put together a 10-birdie, no-bogey masterpiece that broke the course record at Whitemarsh Valley that was held by Gary Player (1963), Ray Floyd (1975) and Tom Kite (1978) back in the days when the course was a regular stop on the PGA Tour. I count 14 major championships among those three guys.

   Zach Barbin started his round with birdies at the first, second and third holes. After birdies at the fifth, eighth and 11^th holes, Zach Barbin again ripped off three consecutive birdies at 13, 14 and 15 before recording his 10^th birdie of the day at 17.

   Zach Barbin’s final-round 62 left him alone in second place with a 12-under 204 total.

   The lowest round ever recorded in the Philadelphia PPC was a 61 posted by Al Besselink in 1960 at Bala Golf Club.

   Zach Barbin’s 62 matched the 62 carded by Knoll in the Philadelphia PPC in 2019 at the Union League’s Torresdale Course. Knoll’s 62 broke Sam Snead’s course record of 64 that had stood since 1941.

   Zach Barbin was coming off a three-shot victory over Whitford Country Club’s Anthony Sebastianelli earlier this month in the Pro-Am for Wishes with an 8-under 134 total at Penn Oaks Golf Club.

   Tony Perla of Huntingdon Valley Country Club had been Shattuck’s closest pursuer through two rounds and he matched par with a 72 in Wednesday’s final round at Whitemarsh Valley to get a share of third place with Riley Wheeldon, an instructor at Aronimink, each landing on 11-under 205, a shot behind Zach Barbin.

   Wheeldon, the runnerup to Shattuck a year ago at Concord Country Club, closed with a sparkling 6-under 66 to join Perla at 11-under.

   Chester Valley Golf Club’s Brett Walker, the winner of the Philadelphia PPC in 2021 at Aronimink and again two years ago at Rolling Green, finished up with a solid 3-under 69 to end up alone in fifth place with a 10-under 206 total.

   Oakley, the 2023 Philadelphia PPC champion at the Country Club of Scranton, closed with a solid 4-under 68 to get a share of sixth place with Sebastianelli at 8-under 208.

   Sebastianelli, winner of the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship earlier this summer at Laurel Creek Country Club, tallied a 2-under 70 in Wednesday’s final round to join Oakley at 8-under.

   It was four more shots back to Bergstol, who recorded a 1-over 73 in Wednesday’s final round, as he finished in a tie for eighth place with Parks Price of Bent Creek Country Club, each ending up with a 4-under 212 total.

   Price matched par with a 72 in the final round at Whitemarsh Valley to get his share of eighth place with Bergstol.

   Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz, one of the Philly Section’s top senior players and another Philadelphia PPC past champion, Joanna Coe, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club, Joe Kogelman of GOLFTEC Moorestown and Trevor Bensel of LuLu Country Club finished in a tie for 10^th place, each ending up with a 2-under 214 total.

   Steinmetz, who has advanced out of the PPC to the PGA Championship at least twice in his career, closed with a 1-under 71.

   Coe, the four-time reigning Philadelphia Section Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Women’s Player of the Year, finished up with a 1-over 73 to join the foursome at 2-under.

   Coe represented the Philadelphia Section in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Coe failed to make the cut.

   Coe defeated Ashley Grier, the one-time assistant pro at Overbrook Golf Club, in a playoff for the fourth and final spot out of the PGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in February to earn her seventh trip to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

   Kogelman had grabbed a share of the lead following a sizzling 8-under 64 at Whitemarsh Valley in the opening round. He finished up with a 1-over 73 at Whitemarsh Valley to join the group at 2-under.

   Bensel closed with a 3-over 75 to end up at 2-under.

   Steinmetz, Coe and Kogelman got the final three tickets to next spring’s PPC at Fields Ranch East. Bensel is the first alternate and stands a pretty good chance to get the call for a trip to the PPC.

   Michael Little of Clubhouse 54 and Knoll were the second and third alternates, respectively, as they finished in a tie for 14^th place at 1-under 215. Little matched par in the final round with a 72 while Knoll closed with a 1-over 73.

   Dave Quinn, another of the Philly Section’s senior stalwarts who plays out of the Laurel Creek pro shop, was the fourth alternate and Zach Barbin’s younger brother Austin Barbin, also playing out of the Chesapeake Bay pro shop, was the fifth alternate as they were two of the four players who finished in a tie for 16^th place at even-par 216.

   Quinn posted a 1-over 73 in the final round while Austin Barbin closed with a 3-over 69 over the same Whitemarsh Valley layout where he captured the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship two years ago after concluding his college career at Liberty.

   Billy Stewart, an instructor at the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course, and Andrew Turner, playing out of the Green Valley Country Club pro shop, rounded out the group tied for 16^th place at even-par.

   Stewart, who had opened with a sparkling 7-under 65 at Sandy Run, closed with a 3-over 75. Turner registered a 2-over 74 in the final round.

   The Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship was presented by Club Car, Corebridge Financial and Rolex. The tournament was supported by Gallagher, The Golf Channel, the PGA Tour, ShipSticks, Titleist/Footjoy, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Sun Cruiser Vodka Iced Tea, Mid-Atlantic Golf Cars, StrackaLine and SCNS Sports Foods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shattuck surges to three-shot lead heading into final round of Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship

 

   Braden Shattuck, the director of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, surged to a three-shot lead Tuesday going into the final round as he tries to successfully defend his title in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship.

   Shattuck delivered a seven-birdie, one-bogey masterpiece at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club for a 6-under-par 66, easily the best score of the day over the George C. Thomas Jr. gem that once played host to a regular PGA Tour stop.

   Combined with his opening round of 8-under 64 Monday at nearby Sandy Run Country Club, Shattuck was at 14-under 130 through two rounds, giving him a three-shot lead over Tony Perla, who is working out of the pro shop at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

   The Philadelphia PPC is the first step on a road that can lead a Philadelphia Section PGA pro to next May’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   The top 10 eligible finishers in the Philadelphia PPC will earn a spot in the field in the PGA Professional Championship next April at the Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Fla.

   The top 20 finishers at Streamsong form the Corebridge Financial Team that will represent club pros from across America in the PGA Championship at PGA Frisco.

   Shattuck is exempt from qualifying for the PPC at Streamsong on the strength of his epic 2023 victory in the PPC at the Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Another Philly Section pro, Brian Bergstol, the head of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, is also exempt by virtue of his being selected to play on the U.S. PGA Cup team.

   Shattuck, the Philadelphia Section’s reigning four-time Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year, rallied in the final round this past April to finish in a tie for eighth place in the PPC at the Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline to earn a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team for the PGA Championship right here in Delaware County at Aronimink Golf Club, the Donald Ross masterpiece in Newtown Square.

   Starting off the 10^th tee in Tuesday’s second round, Shattuck got right to work with back-to-back birdies at the 10^th and 11^th holes. He added a birdie at the 15^th hole and turned to Whitemarsh Valley’s outgoing nine at 3-under for his round.

   Shattuck, a product of Sun Valley High School, opened the front nine with birdies at the first, third and fifth holes. A bogey at the sixth hole was the only blemish on his scorecard and dropped him to 5-under for his round before he got one more birdie at eight to complete his 6-under tour of Whitemarsh Valley.

   Whitemarsh Valley has been playing the tougher of the two courses over the first two days. The field was cut to the top 60 and ties, the cut coming at 6-over 150. The survivors of the cut will all finish up in the final round Wednesday at Whitemarsh Valley.

   “I hit it great today,” Shattuck told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I kept track of my proximity to the hole today and I hit 10 shots within 10 feet.”

   Shattuck is trying to become the first repeat winner of the Philadelphia PPC since Alex Knoll of Glen Brook Golf Club did it in 2019 and 2020.

   Perla had grabbed a share of the lead with Shattuck by matching Shattuck’s 8-under 64 Monday at Sandy Run. Perla put together a solid 3-under 69 at Whitemarsh Valley in Tuesday’s second round that left him in second place, three shots behind Shattuck with an 11-under 133 total.

   Brett Walker of Chester Valley Golf Club added a 2-under 70 at Whitemarsh Valley Tuesday to his opening round of 5-under 67 at Sandy Run that left him another four shots behind Perla in third place with a 7-under 137 total.

   Walker is a two-time winner of the Philadelphia PPC, two years ago at Rolling Green Golf Club and in 2021 at Aronimink in the tournament’s 100^th edition.

   Walker is one of four former Philadelphia PPC champions among the top-10 players on the leaderboard chasing Shattuck going into the final round.

   Anthony Sebastianelli of Whitford Country Club, winner of the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship earlier this summer at Laurel Creek Country Club, matched par at Whitemarsh Valley with a 72 Tuesday after opening with a 6-under 66 at Sandy Run and was a shot behind Walker in fourth place at 6-under 138.

   The Shawnee Inn’s Bergstol, the 2022 Philadelphia PPC champion at DuPont Country Club, headed a trio of players that included Aronimink instructor Riley Wheeldon and Trevor Bensel of LuLu Country Club tied for fifth place a shot behind Sebastianelli at 5-under 139.

   Bergstol finished in a tie for third place in the PPC at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in the spring of 2025 and represented the Philly Section as part of the Corebridge Financial Team at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.

   Bergstol had opened with a 3-under 69 at Whitemarsh Valley and added a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round at Sandy Run.

   Wheeldon, the runnerup to Shattuck in the Philadelphia PPC a year ago, added a 1-under 71 at Whitemarsh Valley Tuesday to his opening round of 3-under 68 at Sandy Run.

   Bensel had spent some time working in the pro shop at Sandy Run and his familiarity with the course showed as he tallied a 4-under 68 there in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 1-under 71 at Whitemarsh Valley.

   Two more past Philadelphia PPC champions, Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, and Billy Stewart, an instructor at the Union League’s Liberty Hill course, headed a foursome tied for eighth place at 4-under 140.

   Oakley, the 2023 Philadelphia PPC winner at the Country Club of Scranton, added a 3-under 69 at Whitemarsh Valley Tuesday to his opening round of 1-under 71 at Sandy Run.

   Oakley has taken the road through the PPC to the PGA Championship a couple of times in his career.

   Stewart, the 2018 Philadelphia PPC winner at Concord Country Club, had opened with a sparkling 7-under 65 Monday at Sandy Run, but struggled to a 3-over 75 in Tuesday’s second round at Whitemarsh Valley.

   Stewart, who starred scholastically at Malvern Prep and collegiately at Saint Joseph’s, captured the title in the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic and its whopping $100 grand payday in May at Sunnybrook Golf Club.

   Joining Oakley and Stewart in the quartet tie for eighth place at 4-under were Parks Price of Bent Creek Country Club and Mike Meisenzahl of Tavistock Country Club.

   Price matched par with a 72 at Sandy Run Tuesday after opening with a solid 4-under 68 at Whitemarsh Valley.

   Meisenzahl matched par with a 72 at Whitemarsh Valley Tuesday after opening with a 4-under 68 at Sandy Run.

   The Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship is presented by Club Car, Corebridge Financial and Rolex. The tournament is supported by Gallagher, The Golf Channel, the PGA Tour, ShipSticks, Titleist/Footjoy, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Sun Cruiser Vodka Iced Tea, Mid-Atlantic Golf Cars, StrackaLine and SCNS Sports Foods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shattuck grabs share of the lead as he opens defense of his Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship title

 

   Braden Shattuck, the head of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, struck the opening drive in the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in May.

   It was a proud moment for Shattuck personally and for the Philadelphia Section PGA, which was hosting the PGA of America’s major championship for the first time since the PGA was played at Aronimink in 19 and 62.

   Shattuck, a product of Sun Valley High School in Aston, earned his spot in the field at Aronimink by finishing in a tie for eighth place in the PGA Professional Championship at the Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline.

   The top 20 finishers in the PPC each year form the Corebridge Financial Team and get to represent club pros all across America in the PGA Championship. It was the third time in the last four springs that Shattuck had earned a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team and got to tee it up in the PGA Championship.

   This one, at Aronimink, so close to home, was special.

   Shattuck took the first step on what could be a return trip to the PGA Championship in 2027 by firing a sizzling 8-under-par 64 Monday at Sandy Run Country Club to get a share of the lead in the 105^th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship.

   After three straight runnerup finishes in the Philadelphia PPC, Shattuck broke through and captured the title a year ago at Concord Country Club.

   He opened defense of that title by grabbing a share of the lead with Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Tony Perla, who matched Shattuck’s 64 at Sandy Run, and Joe Kogelman of GOLFTEC Moorestown, who posted a sizzling 8-under 64 of his own at nearby Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, the George C. Thomas Jr. classic that once upon a time hosted a regular stop on the PGA Tour.

   The players will switch courses for Tuesday’s second round and the field will be cut to the low 60 and ties with the survivors of the cut teeing it up in the final round at Whitemarsh Valley Wednesday.

   The top 10 eligible finishers will earn a trip to the PGA Professional Championship next spring at the Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Fla. The top 20 finishers at Streamsong will form the Corebridge Financial Team for the PGA Championship, which will be held at the Fields Ranch East Course at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s new headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   Shattuck, the Philly Section’s four-time reigning Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year, and Brian Bergstol, the director of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, are exempt into next spring’s PPC at Fields Ranch East.

   I have not been able to keep up with the Philly Section circuit as much as I'd like during this busy summer, but Shattuck has been his typically solid self.

   Shattuck was coming off a third-place finish in the 50^th annual Pro-Am for Wishes earlier this month with a 4-under 138 total at Penn Oaks Golf Club.

   In early July, Shattuck put together a blistering 14-under 128 total in rounds over Berkleigh Golf Club and Moselem Springs Golf Club to take the title in the Golf Association of the Lehigh Valley’s Reading Open.

   Did manage to get a little roundup of Shattuck’s victory in the Delaware Valley Open at Scotland Run Golf Club a few days after he failed to make the cut in the PGA Championship at Aronimink.

   Shattuck had tuned up for the PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes in April with a victory in the Radnor Golf Foundation Tournament Players Division Championship at Galloway National Golf Club.

   Shattuck was flawless Monday at Sandy Run as he made birdies at the fourth, seventh, ninth, 10^th, 12^th and 14^th holes before adding an eagle at the par-5 15^th.

   Perla got off to a nice start at Sandy Run with birdies at the fourth, sixth and ninth holes on the outgoing nine before turning it on on the back nine, going back-to-back with birdies at 11 and 12, going back-to-back again with birdies at 15 and 16 and finishing up his round with a birdie at the last.

   Kogelman blitzed Whitemarsh Valley with seven birdies in his first 11 holes. He went back-to-back with birdies at the first and second holes, went back-to-back again with birdies at four and five and then ripped off consecutive birdies at nine, 10 and 11.

   A double bogey at the 13^th hole slowed Kogelman’s roll a little, but he got back on track with a birdie at 15 and the finished strong with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18.

   Billy Stewart, an instructor at the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course, was a shot behind the three co-leaders with a sparking 7-under 65 at Sandy Run.

   Stewart, the 2018 Philadelphia PPC champion, cashed the biggest check offered by any Section tournament in the country when he won the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic and its top prize of $100,000 the day after Memorial Day at Sunnybrook Golf Club.

   Whitford Country Club assistant pro Anthony Sebastianelli, who captured the title in the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship at Laurel Creek Country Club earlier this summer, was a shot behind Stewart in fifth place after signing for a 6-under 66 at Sandy Run.

   Sebastianelli was the runnerup to Chesapeake Bay Golf Club’s Zach Barbin in the Pro-Am for Wishes earlier this month at Penn Oaks with a 5-under 137 total.

   Chester Valley Golf Club’s Brett Walker, a two-time winner of the Philadelphia PPC, most recently two years ago at Rolling Green Golf Club, was a shot behind Sebastianelli in sixth place with a 5-under 67 at Sandy Run.

   The trio of Aronimink Golf Club instructor Riley Wheeldon, Tavistock Country Club’s Mike Meisenzahl and Bent Creek Country Club’s Parks Price were in a tie for seventh place, each ending up at 4-under.

   Wheeldon, the runnerup to Shattuck in the Philadelphia PPC a year ago at Concord, and Meisenzahl both carded their 68s at Sandy Run while Price recorded his 68 at Whitemarsh Valley.

   Wheeldon nearly earned a spot in the field in the PGA Championship at his home course, but struggled in the final round in the PPC at Bandon Dunes to finish in a tie for 51^st place.

   Rounding out the top 10 following the opening round of Philadelphia PPC were the Shawnee Inn’s Bergstol and Jake Gerney of Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia as they ended up in a tie for 10^th place at 3-under.

   Bergstol, the Philadelphia PPC champion in 2022, opened with a 69 at Whitemarsh Valley while Gerney’s 69 came at Sandy Run.

   Bergstol finished in a tie for third place in the PPC in the spring of 2025 and represented the Philadelphia Section as a member of the Corebridge Financial Team in the  PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.