There is something about the PGA Professional Championship,
presented by Club Car and OMEGA, that brings out the best in Applebrook Golf
Club head pro Dave McNabb’s game.
McNabb fired a 4-under-par 68 over the 7,084-yard, par-72
Bayonet Course on a chilly Tuesday at the Bayonet and Black Horse Resort on the
Monterey Peninsula to move into a tie for 10th after three rounds
and put himself in great position to earn his fourth trip to the PGA
Championship in six years.
McNabb had some so-so results in the early going on the
Philadelphia Section PGA circuit this spring and opened with a 4-over 76 over
the tough Bayonet layout in Sunday’s opening round. But he moved up the
leaderboard with an even-par 72 at the Black Horse Course Monday and really
made his move Tuesday.
McNabb’s 68 gave him an even-par total of 216, six shots
behind the leader, Ryan Vermeer, the director of instruction at the Happy
Hollow Club in Omaha, Neb.
A year ago at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon, McNabb had the
lead down the stretch, but a bogey at the 17th hole left him a
playoff with former PGA Tour player Omar Uresti. McNabb had to settle for
runnerup honors when he lost in the playoff to Uresti.
The top 20 finishers after Wednesday’s final round earn a
ticket to the PGA Championship, the final major professional championship of
the year, which tees off Aug. 9 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
McNabb’s runnerup finish enabled him to tee it up in the PGA
Championship last summer at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. He also
advanced to the PGA Championship out of the PGA Professional Championship – I prefer
its old-school name, the National Club Pro -- in 2013 and 2014.
McNabb headed a group of five Philadelphia Section PGA pros
who survived Tuesday’s second cutdown to the low 70 and ties and will play in
Wednesday’s final round. The original field of 312 was trimmed to the low 90
and ties following Monday’s second round.
Alex Knoll, an assistant pro at Bethlehem Golf Club, and
Brendon Post, an assistant coach and director of player development for the
Delaware men’s golf team, both landed among the group tied for 36th
at 4-over 220.
Knoll had his best round of the week, a 1-under 71, while
Post carded a 1-over 73. Both still have a shot at a top-20 finish, but might
have to go several shots under par to get in the mix.
Radley Run Country Club assistant pro Brett Melton, the
Philadelphia Section’s reigning OMEGA Player of the Year, carded a 2-over 74 at
Bayonet Tuesday and is tied for 57th at 6-over 222.
Billy Stewart, an assistant pro at The ACE Club, struggled
to a 5-over 77 Tuesday, but made it to the final round on the number as his 7-over 223 total
left him in the group tied for 67th.
Vermeer, who advanced to Quail Hollow out of the National
Club Pro, carded a third straight 70 for a 6-under 210 total.
The 40-year-old former All-American at Kansas has a
three-shot lead over Shawn Warren, an assistant pro at Falmouth Country Club in
Falmouth, Maine. Warren fired a 4-under 68 for a 3-under 213 total.
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