Shattuck comes on strong at Bandon Dunes to earn himself a starting time in the PGA Championship at Aronimink

 

   The lines on a map would tell you that Aston and Aronimink Golf Club both lie within the borders of Delaware County.

   Golf-wise, though, Aronimink might be as far away from Aston as the Moon is from the Earth.

   But with a dramatic rally in the final round of the PGA Professional Championship Wednesday at the windblown Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline, Braden Shattuck, the kid who was the Ches-Mont League’s individual champion as a senior at Sun Valley in the fall of 2011, the kid from Aston, earned himself a starting time when the PGA Championship tees off May 14 at Aronimink, the Donald Ross masterpiece in Newtown Square.

   Shattuck had become just the second Philadelphia Section PGA representative to capture the title in the PGA Professional Championship – you might remember it better by its old-school moniker, the National Club Pro – three springs ago at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Shattuck had just begun his new role as the head on instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, deep in the heart of Delco in Springfield, when he won at Twin Warriors.

   His PGA Professional Championship win sent him to Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y. for his first appearance in a major championship.

   A year later, Shattuck just snuck into the top 20 in the PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas and again made the Corebridge Financial Team that represents club pros all across America in the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

   This time, Shattuck made the cut, one of just two Corebridge Financial Team members to do so and earned low-club pro honors.

   But you knew this year would be extra special for Shattuck to play in a major championship so close to home.

   After three straight runnerup finishes in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship – the qualifier for the National Club Pro – Shattuck captured the title for the first time at another Delco course close to his heart, Concord Country Club, where he learned the ropes of what it means to be a club pro from head pro Mike Moses.

   Shattuck, the reigning four-time Rolex/Haverford Trust Player of the Year in the Philly Section, had gotten off to an impressive start in the PGA Professional Championship with a sparkling 4-under-par 67 at the Pacific Dunes Course, the Tom Doak design at the Bandon Dunes Resort.

   It looked like he was a lock to make the Corebridge Financial Team when he added an even-par 72 at Bandon Dunes Monday and was tied for fifth place at the halfway point.

   And then the temperature dropped and the wind blew – as it is wont to do at Bandon -- and Shattuck struggled to an 8-over 80 at Bandon Dunes in Tuesday’s third round. He was tied for 43^rd place. It didn’t look good.

   I’ve often repeated a story of talking to Shattuck following his tie for 14^th place in the PIAA Championship in 2011 at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County when I was covering golf for the Delaware County Daily Times.

   “I’m as good as these guys,” Shattuck spat out. He didn’t have to prove it to me, only to himself.

   He proved it again Wednesday at Bandon Dunes. He shot out of the gate with birdies at the first three holes. Bogeys at the fifth, eighth and ninth holes slowed his roll a little.

   But Shattuck bounced right back with birdies at the 10^th, 11^th and 13^th holes. For the second day in a row, though, the tough par-3 15^th hole bit him, resulting in a double bogey.

   But Shattuck was determined. He birdied the 16^th hole and a 20-foot birdie try at 17 just caught the side door and went in, followed by an emphatic fist pump.

   Shattuck had only a tap-in for birdie at the par-5 finishing hole and it capped a 4-under 68. He had gone from tied for 43^rd to tied for ninth with his even-par 287 total. He would ultimately end up in a tie for eighth place and get a nice little payday of $21,450.

   The Golf Channel broadcast hadn’t even begun when Shattuck completed his round, but there were video highlights of his finish when the telecast did get under way. The leaders still had a couple of hours of golf left, but it was obvious, even then, that Shattuck was in, he was headed for Aronimink.

   There were also highlights of the only round better than Shattuck’s, the 5-under 67 fired by Tyler Collet, an assistant pro at the John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Fla., who had captured the PGA Professional Championship by a whopping 10 shots a year ago at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Collet’s blazing finish left him in a tie for fourth place at 1-under 286.

   Michael Block, the head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, Calif., also made a big move Wednesday with a 3-under 69 that earned him his fourth straight trip to the PGA Championship with a 1-over 288 total that left him in a tie for 10^th place.

   Block, of course, made a huge splash three years ago in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, finishing in a tie for 15^th place and electrifying the gallery and golf fans everywhere with a hole-in-one in the final round.

   The Philly Section nearly had a second representative in the PGA Championship at Aronimink as Trevor Bensel, the talented assistant pro at LuLu Country Club, carded a solid 1-under 71 that left him just a shot out of the top 20 in a tie for 21^st place with a 3-over 290 total.

   Bensel had started the day in the group tied for 43^rd place that included Shattuck at 4-over.

   It was a disappointing day for Riley Wheeldon, the director of instruction at Aronimink who was trying to become the first club pro to qualify for a PGA Championship at his home club out of the PGA Professional Championship.

   Wheeldon, the runnerup to Shattuck in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Concord last summer in his first year in the Philly Section, was in when the day began, sitting in the group tied for 17^th place at 1-over.

   But Wheeldon, a native of Canada, couldn’t get anything going in Wednesday’s final round.

   Birdies at the 12^th and 13^th holes couldn’t offset double bogeys at five and 15 and five bogeys as Wheeldon closed with a 7-over 79 that left him in a tie for 51^st place with an 8-over 295 total.

   The title went to Jesse Doermer, an instructor at Riverbend Country Club in Sugar Land, Texas who gutted out a 2-under 70 in the final round for a 4-under 283 total that was one shot better than Ben Kern, the general manager of Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio.

   The weather looked considerably better than it did for Tuesday’s third round, but the wind was still blowing when the leaders teed off. The golf course is such a star of the show whenever there's a telecast from Bandon Dunes.

   After an early bogey at the sixth hole, Doermer rattled off birdies at seven, nine, 10 and 13 to get it to 5-under for the tournament. He made a bogey at the tough 15^th hole, but was able to stave off Kern.

   Stoermer put his name on the Walter Hagen Cup and pocketed the top prize of $75,600.

   Kern closed with a solid 1-under 71 that left him a shot behind Stoermer with a 3-under 284 total.

   Michael Kartrude, an assistant pro at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla., was another shot behind Kern in third place with a 1-under 285 total after closing with a 2-under 70.

   The top-20 finishers who make up the Corebridge Financial Team are all heading to Aronimink for the PGA Championship.

   But there will be an especially warm Delco welcome for Braden Shattuck, one of its own.

   The Rolling Green people will come out, the Concord people will be out there and, yeah, a couple of Aston people will be there, too, thrilled to see you can make it all the way from Aston to Aronimink.

 

 

 

 

Scranton Prep's Powell caps solid weekend in Delaware with a Philly Junior Tour victory at Maple Dale

 

   Cole Powell, a Fell Township resident and winner of the PIAA Class AA Championship as a sophomore at Scranton Prep last fall, carded a solid 1-over-par 73 in chilly conditions Sunday at Maple Dale Country Club in Dover, Del. to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   The stop at Maple Dale was the back end of a weekend Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) Delaware Series following Saturday’s Philly Junior Tour event at Rock Manor Golf Club in Wilmington, Del.

   The JGS events award players points that can earn them status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). Pretty sure you had to tee it up in both ends of the Delaware Series to be eligible for the JGS points.

   Powell, who also helped the Cavaliers capture the state Class AA team crown last fall at Penn State, made birdies at the sixth, ninth, 12^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard at Maple Dale.

   Powell finished in second place for the weekend among the players who teed it up at both Rock Manor and Maple Dale, in less-than-ideal weather, with a 145 total. Powell had posted a 1-over 72 Saturday at Rock Manor.

   Luke LaScala, a junior on the Salesianum golf team, had the best overall score for the Delaware Series after signing for a 3-over 75 Sunday at Maple Dale to finish in a tie for second place, two shots behind Powell.

   LaScala made birdies on the third and 15^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   LaScala had the best score of the day Saturday with a 3-under 68 at Rock Manor and his 75 at Maple Dale gave him a 143 total.

   Sharing second place with LaScala in the 16-to-18 division at Maple Dale was Onyu Park, a sophomore on the Germantown Academy golf team.

   Park made birdies on the 11^th and 14^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including six straight pars from two through seven.

   Ben Fifer of Wyoming, Del. took fourth place among the older guys with a 4-over 76 and Brayden Hughes of Hockessin, Del. and Ben Nowland, a sophomore on the Avon Grove golf team, shared fifth, each tallying a 78.

   Bryce Erwin, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Hershey last fall, Benjamin Perticari of West Deptford, N.J. and Kie Shaw, a Wilmington, Del. resident and a junior on the Delaware Military Academy golf team, finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 80.

   Johnny LaViola of Berlin, Md. and Jack Tunnell of Lewes, Del. rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each recording an 81.

   Max Davis, a Newtown Square resident and a freshman in the Malvern Prep golf program, got off to a great start with birdies at the first, second and fourth holes, added a birdie at 12 and capped his round with an eagle at the par-4 17^th as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 2-over 74.

   Davis also had seven pars on his scorecard.

   Nathan Lobo of Collegeville capped a solid weekend in Delaware as he rattled off four straight birdies at the ninth, 10^th, 11^th and 12^th holes and had nine pars on his card to earn runnerup honors among the younger guys with a 3-over 75.

   Lobo had finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division Saturday at Rock Manor with a 2-over 73 and his 148 total was the third best overall among the players who completed both ends of the Delaware Series.

   Henry Sokol, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Harriton last fall, made a birdie at the second hole and had 12 pars on his card, including a run of seven straight pars from three through nine, as he finished in third place in the 13-to-15 division with a 5-over 77.

   Sokol had posted a 5-over 76 Saturday at Rock Manor and his 153 total was fourth best among players who completed both ends of the Delaware Series.

   Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg took fourth place with a 78, Noah Gates of Ardmore and Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr shared fifth, each registering an 84 and Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford and Sam Nelligan of Gilbertsville finished in a tie for seventh, each signing for an 86.

   Lucas Shank of West Chester took ninth place with an 88 and Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with an 89.

   Ellie Walls of Millsboro, Del. had 10 pars on her scorecard, ripping off six straight pars from the eighth to the 13^th holes, as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with an 84.

   Emma Bergey of Kennett Square made a birdie on the sixth hole and had seven pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors among the older girls with an 88.

   Bergey, however, bettered Walls by four shots among the players who completed both ends of the Delaware Series.

   Bergey also posted an 88 Saturday at Rock Manor for a 176 total for the weekend. Walls had carded a 96 Saturday at Rock Manor for a 180 total for Delaware Series.

   Gabrielle Hamstead of Milton, Del. made a birdie on the second hole and had two pars on her card as she rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing in third place with a 94.

   A couple of Wilmington, Del. gals, Dahlia Garrick and Hannah LeGrew, matched Walls for the best score of the day among the girls as each posted an 84 to share a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Garrick made birdies at the third, 12^th and 18^th holes and had seven pars on her scorecard. LeGrew had eight pars on her card.

   LeGrew also completed both ends of the Delaware Series and finished third in the overall scoring among the girls after recording a 96 at Rock Manor for a 180 total.

   Gigi Gratz, a sophomore on the North Penn golf team, had four pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 93 at Maple Dale.

   Kerena Boyd of Kennett Square rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in fourth place with a 137.

   The always competitive boys 12-and-under nine-holers ended up with a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard as Baylor Keim of Blue Bell, Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr and James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. each carded a solid 3-over 39.

   Keim had six pars on his scorecard, including five straight pars to close out his round. Muego finished up his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had five pars on his card.

   Wilson, coming off a runnerup finish a day earlier at Rock Manor, also closed out his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had five pars on his card.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. and Ben Adkins of Lewes, Del. shared fourth place, each registering a 42, Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. was sixth with a 43 and James Schneider of Penn Valley was seventh with a 47.

   Shiv Toli of Newtown Square rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished in eighth place with a 62.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester bested a short field in the girls 12-and-under division with a 53.

   Aashi Chakraborty of Kennett Square was the only other entry in the division and finished in second place with a 55.

 

 

 

 

 

Wheeldon in position to make field for PGA Championship at his home course at Aronimink

 

   Riley Wheeldon, the head of instruction at Aronimink Golf Club, enters Wednesday’s final round of the PGA Professional Championship at a windblown Bandon Dunes Course at the Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline with a very real chance at representing his new home course in next month’s PGA Championship at Aronimink.

   Wheeldon battled winds that grew increasingly fierce as the day wore on Tuesday to card a 3-over-par 75 at Bandon Dunes that left him in a tie for 12^th place at 1-over 216 going into the final round.

   Wheeldon is four shots out of the lead shared by Austin Hurt, the head pro at Wing Point Golf & Country Club in Washington, and Charlie Beljan, once a winner on the PGA Tour who is now an instructor at Torrean Golf Club in Arizona.

   A win would be nice, but the ultimate goal at the PGA Professional Championship – I’ve always preferred its old-school moniker, the National Club Pro – is to finish among the top 20 and become a member of the Corebridge Financial Team that will represent club pros from across the country in professional golf’s next major, the PGA Championship, which tees off May 14 at Aronimink.

   The classic Donald Ross layout at Aronimink in Newtown Square will host the PGA Championship for the first time since Gary Player won it in 19 and 62. Yeah, it’s been a while.

   Wheeldon is in a group of 12 players tied for 12^th place at 1-over with another five guys sitting at even-par 215. The battle for a top-20 finish is going to be as wild as the weather frequently gets on Oregon’s southern coast.

   Caught the tail end of The Golf Channel’s coverage of the PGA Professional Championship late Tuesday night and the players were alternately adding and shedding layers between shots and the caddies were in full cold-weather gear, gloves and all. It looked really cold.

   The forecast for Wednesday is for a deceptive high of 59 degrees with increasing winds. More wind is just going to make the proceedings all the more unpredictable.

   Wheeldon, a native of Canada who starred collegiately at Louisville, arrived at Aronimink last year and promptly contended for the title in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Concord Country Club, which was the qualifier for a trip to Bandon Dunes.

   He settled for a runnerup finish, ending up two shots behind Braden Shattuck, the head of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club and the reigning four-time Rolex/Haverford Trust Philadelphia Section PGA Player of the Year.

   Wheeldon opened with a sparkling 3-under 68 in relatively tranquil conditions Sunday at Pacific Dunes, the scenic Tom Doak design at the Bandon Dunes Resort, that had him in a tie for sixth place.

   A 1-over 73 at Bandon Dunes Monday dropped him back into a tie for 17^th place at the halfway point.

   Caught the tail end of the replay of Monday’s coverage of the PGA Professional Championship on The Golf Channel when I had an early wakeup call Tuesday for a Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Inter-Club Match at Stonewall and they did a nice little feature on Wheeldon’s quest to tee it up in a PGA Championship at the place of his employ, which would be a first for a Corebridge Financial Team member.

   Tuesday was a struggle for Wheeldon, and just about everybody else.

   After making an early birdie at the third hole, Wheeldon made a bogey at six and a double bogey at seven before righting the ship with another birdie at nine to make the turn at 1-over.

   Wheeldon made a bogey at the 11^th hole and a birdie at 13 before a couple of bogeys down the stretch at 15 and 18 dropped him back to 3-over for the round.

   Shattuck, a Sun Valley graduate, appeared to be in great shape to earn a third trip to the PGA Championship – and this one would be special for the Delco native – when he opened with a 4-under 67 at Pacific Dunes and matched par with a 72 at Bandon Dunes in Monday’s second round, leaving him in a tie for fifth place at 4-under at the halfway point.

   But Tuesday’s difficult conditions took their toll on Shattuck as he made a pair of double bogeys and five bogeys before finally making his lone birdie of the day at the 17^th hole. It added up to an 8-over 80 that dropped him into a tie for 43^rd place with a 4-over 219 total.

   Don’t count him out just yet, though. He is just three shots out of the projected cut for the Corebridge Financial Team and the final-round weather will make for some wild swings in momentum.

   Shattuck became just the second Philly Section player to claim a PGA Professional Championship crown three years ago at the Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   A year later, he made the Corebridge Financial Team on the number in the PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas and went on to make the cut and earn low-club pro honors in the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

   Shattuck got a little taste of the kind of weather that would await him in Bandon Dunes when he captured the title in the first Rolex/Haverford Trust Player of the points event of the 2026 season in the Radnor Golf Foundation Tournament Players Division Championship in cold conditions April 20^th at Galloway National Golf Club, across the bay from Atlantic City, N.J.

   Shattuck piled up 29 points in the Modified Stableford scoring to finish two points ahead of Wheeldon and Andrew Cornish, who has moved from Green Valley Country Club to the pro shop at Llanerch Country Club.

   Shattuck was joined by fellow Philly Section player Trevor Bensel, an assistant pro at LuLu Country Club, in the large group tied for 43^rd place at 4-over at Bandon Dunes.

   The talented Bensel had matched par in the opening round with a 71 at Pacific Dunes and added a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round at Bandon Dunes to survive the 36-hole cut, which came at 3-over 146. He added another 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s third round, a number that was good enough in the challenging conditions to enable him to move up the leaderboard.

   Hurt had grabbed the lead with a spectacular opening round of 8-under 64 at Bandon Dunes. He still held a three-shot lead after matching par in Tuesday’s second round with a 71 at Pacific Dunes.

   He struggled to a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s third round, but still maintained a share of the lead at 3-under.

   Beljan had opened with a 1-over 73 at Bandon Dunes and surged into contention on the strength of a sparkling 6-under 65 at Pacific Dunes in Monday’s second round. A 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s fierce winds back at Bandon Dunes enabled him to join Hurt at the top of the leaderboard at 3-under.

   Ben Kern, the general manager of Hickory Hills Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio, took full advantage of  an early tee time Tuesday, before the wind really kicked up, to post a 5-under 67 as he rocketed up the leaderboard and landed among a trio tied for third place at 2-under 213 that included Derek Berg, an instructor at the Pacific Northwest Academy in Washington, and Jesse Doermer, an instructor at Riverbend Country Club in Sugar Land, Texas.

   Kern had opened with a 2-over 73 at Pacific Dunes before adding a 1-over 73 at Bandon Dunes in Monday’s second round.

   Berg had it to 4-under after opening with a 2-under 69 at Pacific Dunes and adding a 2-under 70 at Bandon Dunes in Monday’s second round. He got it in at 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s difficult conditions to get his share of third place.

   Doermer was also 4-under at the halfway point as he opened with a 2-under 70 at Bandon Dunes and added a 2-under 69 at Pacific Dunes in Monday’s second round. Like Berg, Doermer gutted out a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s third round.

   Two other Philly Section players, Brett Walker, an assistant pro at Chester Valley Golf Club, and Dave Quinn, one of the Section’s outstanding senior players who works out of the pro shop at Laurel Creek Country Club, survived the 36-hole cut, but missed the 54-hole cut, which fell at 7-over 222.

   Walker opened with a 1-over 73 at Bandon Dunes before matching par with a 71 at Pacific Dunes in Monday’s second round. A 6-over 78 back at Bandon Dunes in Tuesday’s third round left him a shot off the cutline with an 8-over 223 total.

   Quinn had opened with a 2-over 74 at Bandon Dunes and added a 1-over 72 at Pacific Dunes in Monday’s second round to make the 36-hole cut on the number at 3-over 146. Quinn struggled to an 81 back at Bandon Dunes in Tuesday’s third round for a 227 total.

   The Philly Section contingent to Bandon Dunes was 13 men and one woman strong.

   Zach Barbin, the talented young pro at the Chesapeake Bay Golf Club in Rising Sun, Md., came up just short of surviving the 36-hole cut that followed Monday’s second round.

   After opening with a solid 1-over 73 at Bandon Dunes Sunday, Barbin, the BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion in 2020, added a 3-over 74 at Pacific Dunes in Monday’s second round to end up one shot off the cutline with a 4-over 147 total.

   Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club who has had some success in the PGA Professional Championship, also landed in the group a shot off the cutline with a 4-over 147 total.

   Two years ago, Oakley earned a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team for the PGA Championship at Valhalla by finishing in a tie for 16^th place in the PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas.

   Oakley opened with a 2-over 73 at Pacific Dunes Sunday before adding a 2-over 74 at Bandon Dunes in the second round.

   Tony Perla, working out of the pro shop at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, opened with a 5-over 77 at Bandon Dunes and added a 4-over 75 at Pacific Dunes in Monday’s second round for a 9-over 152 total.

   Frank Bensel, who winters in Jupiter, Fla., but took a position at Galloway National last year, opened with a 7-over 78 at Pacific Dunes and added a 3-over 75 at Bandon Dunes in Monday’s second round to finish with a 10-over 153 total.

   Sam Ambrose, the head pro at Chester Valley, opened with a 2-over 73 at Pacific Dunes and added an 8-over 80 at Bandon Dunes in Monday’s second round to join Frank Bensel at 10-over 153.

   Brian Bergstol, the talented instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, opened with a 2-over 74 at Bandon Dunes, but struggled with an 81 at Pacific Dunes in Monday’s second round for a 155 total.

   Bergstol finished in a tie for third place in the PGA Professional Championship a year ago at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. and earned a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team for last year’s PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.

   Joanna Coe, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club and the four-time reigning Rolex/Haverford Trust Women’s Player of the Year in the Philly Section, opened with a 7-over 78 at Pacific Dunes and added a 6-over 78 at Bandon Dunes for a 156 total.

   Will Scarborough, who works out of the pro shop at the Peninsula Golf & Country Club, opened with an 8-over 79 at Pacific Dunes and added a 7-over 79 at Bandon Dunes in Monday’s second round for a 158 total.

   Chris Krueger, who works out of the pro shop at Kings Creek Country Club, rounded out the Philly Section contingent at Bandon Dunes as he opened with a 9-over 80 at Pacific Dunes and added a 7-over 79 at Bandon Dunes in Monday’s second round for a 159 total.