Lucy, Port St. Fla. — Tyler Colette had an easy time reaching the majors, closing at an equal 72 on Wednesday and recording the PGA Professional Championship to lead the 20 club pros who competed in the PGA Championship.
Colette began the final round, taking a seven-shot lead on the Wannamaker course at PGA Golf Club, but it was never challenged. His goal was not to have a round above par, but to achieve that by making an 18-foot bogey putt in the final hole.
“My way of thinking wasn’t to go back a week,” said Colette, an assistant pro at the Johns Island Club, about 15 miles from Vero Beach.
He finishes at 15 under 272 and makes his fourth play in the PGA Championship. The PGA Championship will begin on May 15th at the Cool Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.
A California Club pro and a pleasant storyline for the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Michael Brock has been in the PGA Championship for the third year in a row. Colette, John Summers and Larkin Gross have won spots for the second year in a row.
As always, far more drama was heading towards the bottom of the leaderboard.
The four players who finished in Perth took part in the sudden death playoffs in their 20th final spot at Quazlo Hollow. Andrew Svoboda is eliminated in the first hole with a bogey, and Dakun Chang bumps in the next hole with three putts.
I came down to 60-year-old Brad Lardon and Michael Cartrude. He made a bogey on the 18th hole in the regulations and thought he might make a sacrifice.
Lardon had a 7-foot birdie putt in the third extra hole, stopping one turn from falling.
Lardon failed to reach the green in two innings on the par 5 13th (fourth playoff hole). He used the putter and began celebrating when the putt hit the center of the flagstick and somehow slammed it out.
Kartrude chipped to 4 feet, and that birdie left for victory, and Lardon removes the cap to congratulate him as soon as the ball left Kartrude’s putter. But it missed and they advanced to the fifth playoff hole.
Kartrude sent the tee shot to the right and then into the tree, knocking the driver down with impact. However, it hit a tree and barely returned to play. Still blocked by the trees, he set up a par by hitting power fades around the trees and over the greenery.
Raldon tipped 7 feet and missed a putt, causing Cartrude to move forward.
“The best moments in my golf life, certainly,” Kurtrude said. “I’m going to play Major.”
That might not have been possible without the meltdown from Jesse Mueller, who won the tournament three years ago. He was in the top 20 and looked good at 2 under for the tournament, with Pal 5 16th, the easiest one on the course.
He had just put the tee shot in the hazard, indicating that enough of the golf ball had decided to remove the socks and shoes to stand on the muddy stream. The shot became clear – perhaps too clean – and sailed into the palmetto bushes.
Mueller was unable to find it and had to go back to where he had been in his previous shot. This time he took a penalty drop and hit it to the left of the green, then took two chips and made a quadruple bogey nine.
Kartrude, an assistant to Bear’s club, is one of the 12 experts who are first qualified for the PGA Championship.