McNabb moves into position for fourth trip to PGA Championship with 68 at Bayonet

   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 10^th 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 17^th 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 36^th 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 57^th 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 67^th.

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.