20 PGA Professionals to tee-off alongside the giants at PGA Championship
Out of the 156 top ranking players who will be part of the field at this year’s PGA Championship which is also the concluding major of the season, some 20 PGA Professionals who have qualified for the event will also be playing alongside giants of the sports.
These 20 players represent some 19 states and 17 PGA Sections. The contingent gathered on Tuesday at the Atlanta Athletic Club charged with high spirit, posing with the Wanamaker Trophy, something which has become more of a ritual for past several years.
“We are all coming from a variety of jobs back home, but we are all here to play well and to enjoy being part of a major championship,” said David Hutsell who is currently the reigning champion of the PGA Professionals who won the event playing from Baltimore,
Maryland. “It's my second straight PGA Championship., and I learned that you have to pace yourself. The course is great; the fairways are great and the greens are great. You can't ask for more.”
The 44th PGA Professional National Championship, June 29, at Hershey (Pa.) Country Club, was also a qualifying event where the aspirants pitched their bids to be a part of the coveted title. 40-year-old Hutsell was not only the top performer in
the qualifying event but has also played last year at the Atlanta Athletic Club and as returned with the same vigor and aplomb as last year.
One of the most notable of players among these 20 players is Craig Stevens who has played on this course for a good part of his life. The 50-year-old Stevens hail from Dallas, Ga., and have played on the course for no less than nine times in his sporting
career. He was also part of the field of the PGA Championship in 2001 where David Toms went over to win the event.
“I'm looking forward to a great week, and just enjoying it and representing the Georgia PGA Section,” said Stevens, PGA teaching professional at Steel Canyon Golf Club in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
Rest of the players include Marty Jertson of Reno, Nevada, who is a design engineer at the PING club designing facility, will be making his debut in the event. Scott Erdmann of Tigard, Ore., is also one of the debutants and holds dual nationalities of both
New Zealand and United States.
The 93rd edition of the PGA Championship, the last major of the season will kick off this week boosting of some 156 top ranking players of the sport. Martin Kaymer the defending champion will be hoping to retain the title he won last year at a
difficult three-hole aggregate Playoff against Bubba Watson, but has not won a single event in the current year.
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