Mark Sheftic, the director of instruction at Sunnybrook Golf Club, and Dave Quinn, who works out of the pro shop at Laurel Creek Country Club, will be part of the Corebridge Financial Team of club pros teeing it up in next spring’s Senior PGA Championship at The Concession Club in Bradenton, Fla.
Sheftic and Quinn got in on the number as they finished among a group tied for 31st place at 3-under-par 295 in the Senior PGA Professional Championship, which wrapped up Sunday at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club’s Lost Gold Course in Gold Canyon, Ariz.
The top 35 finishers in the Senior PPC, which was supported by The Golf Channel and PXG, earned a spot in next spring’s Senior PGA Championship, a major on the PGA Tour Champions.
There were eight players tied at 3-under with just five berths to the Senior PGA Championship still up for grabs. Not sure if there was a playoff or how it was decided, but Sheftic and Quinn were among the five survivors.
Sheftic reached the PGA Championship on three different occasions with top-20 finishes in the PGA Professional Championship, the National Club Pro as it used to be known.
Sheftic got off to a slow start at Superstition Mountain with a 3-over 75 at the Prospector Course, but steadily moved up the leaderboard over the final three rounds at the Lost Gold Course.
Sheftic posted a 1-under 71 in the second round to survive the 36-hole cut, added a 3-under 69 in Saturday’s third round and closed with a 2-under 70 to join the group at 3-under.
Quinn opened with a 2-under 70 at the Lost Gold Course and added a 1-over 73 in his second round at the Prospector Course. A 5-under 67 in Saturday’s third round back at the Lost Gold Course put Quinn very much in the hunt for one of the spots in the top 35 before he struggled a little in the final round with a 3-over 75.
Warren Pineo, an instructor at Montreux Golf & Country Club in Reno, Nev., dropped an 18-foot birdie putt on the third hole of a playoff with Justin Hicks, an instructor at Stonebridge Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla. and the defending champion in the Senior PPC, to put his name on the Leo Fraser Trophy and claim the top prize of $37,800.
Pineo needed a 5-under 67 in the final round at the Lost Gold Course to catch Hicks, who had taken a two-shot lead into the final round following a sizzling 6-under 66 in Saturday’s third round at the Lost Gold Course.
Pineo and Hicks both landed on 17-under 271 for the regulation 72 holes.
Pineo holed an eight-foot par-saving putt on the second hole of the playoff, the first two holes of sudden death contested on the par-4 18th hole, to send the playoff to a third hole.
The playoff shifted to the par-5 10th hole and Pineo’s drive ended up in the desert. He was able to lay up and then lofted a lob wedge to 18 feet. When Hicks three-putted for a bogey, Pineo had two putts to win and the birdie putt tumbled into the cup.
Pineo had opened with a 5-under 67 at the Prospector Course and added a 3-under 69 in the second round at the Lost Gold Course. A 4-under 68 at the Lost Gold Course in Saturday’s third round kept him in contention and set the stage for his finishing 67.
Hicks matched Pineo’s opening round of 5-under 67 at the Prospector Course and took control of the tournament with a 3-under 69 at the Lost Gold Course in the second round and that sizzling 6-under 66 at Lost Gold in Saturday’s third round.
Hicks closed with a 3-under 69, although he needed a par on the 72nd hole to force the playoff and he got it.
Pineo is looking forward to making a return trip to Concession next spring for the Senior PGA Championship.
“If feels awesome,” Pineo told the PGA of America website. “I played in it last year and I missed the cut on the number. I lipped out on the last hole to miss the cut and it hurt. I came back to this week knowing that my goal was to get back there.
“I would like to play Concession again because I felt like I have some unfinished business with that golf course and I’m really, really excited to get back there again.”
Chris Moody of Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah and Jason Schmuhl of Windsor Golf Club in Windsor, Calif. shared third place, each ending up with a 14-under 274 total that left them three shots behind the top two.
Moody opened with a 4-under 68 at the Lost Gold Course and added a 2-under 70 in the second round at the Prospector Course. Two more 4-under 68s at Lost Gold in the last two rounds enabled Moody to end up at 14-under.
Schmuhl grabbed the early headlines with a spectacular opening round of 10-under 62 at the Lost Gold Course. He cooled off by matching par in the second round at the Prospector Course with a 72 and another even-par 72 back at Lost Gold in Saturday’s third round.
Schmuhl closed with a solid 4-under 68 to get his share of third place with Moody.
Chris Krueger, who works out of the pro shop at Kings Creek Country Club, came up just short of a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team for the Senior PGA Championship as he survived two cuts and played four rounds at Superstition Mountain.
Krueger got off to a solid start with an opening round of 3-under 69 at the Lost Gold Course and a 3-under 69 in the second round at the Prospector Course. Krueger struggled a little with a 3-over 75 back at the Lost Gold Course in Saturday’s third round before closing with a solid 1-under 71 that left him in the group tied for 39th place with a 2-under 286 total.
Another Philly Section PGA representative, Brendon Post, who coaches the men’s golf team at Delaware, also played four rounds at Superstition Mountain.
After opening with a 3-over 75 at the Prospector Course, Post bounced back with a 1-under 71 at the Lost Gold Course to survive the 36-hole cut. Another 71 at the Lost Gold Course in Saturday’s third round enabled Post to survive the 54-hole cut and he closed with a 4-over 76 to finish in the trio tied for 71st place with a 5-over 293 total.
Hugo Mazzalupi, the director of the Radnor Golf Foundation, survived the 36-hole cut, but didn’t make it to Sunday’s final round.
After opening with a 2-over 74 at the Prospector Course, Mazzalupi recorded a solid 1-under 71 at the Lost Gold Course to survive the 36-hole cut. A 4-over 76 back at Lost Gold in Saturday’s third left Mazzalupi with a 5-over 221 total that missed the 54-hole cut by three shots.
Dave McNabb, the long-time head pro at Applebrook Golf Club, opened with a 1-over 73 at the Prospector Course and added a 4-over 76 at the Lost Gold Course in the second round as his 149 total was outside the 36-hole cut.
Aronimink Golf Club head pro Jeff Kiddie had captured the title in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship in June at Bellewood Country Club, which was the qualifier to get to Superstition Mountain.
Kiddie opened with a 3-over 75 at the Lost Gold Course and added a 2-over 74 at the Prospector Course and was unable to survive the 36-hole cut as he matched McNabb’s 149 total.
The final member of the Philly Section contingent at Superstition Mountain, Life Member Terry Hertzog, was another shot behind McNabb and Kiddie with a 6-over 150 total and missed the 36-hole cut.
Hertzog opened with a 1-over 73 at the Lost Gold Course and added a 5-over 77 in the second round at the Prospector Course.
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