Droemer wins PGA Professional Championship and leads 20 club pros into the PGA Championship
BANDON, Ore. (AP) — Jesse Droemer survived a late bogey by finishing with three pars at windy Bandon Dunes to close with a 2-under 70 and win the PGA Professional Championship by one shot Wednesday, one of 20 club pros who earned a spot in the PGA Championship. Droemer, a teaching pro at Riverbend Country Club in the Houston area, was among six pros who qualified for the PGA Championship for the second year in a row.
The PGA Championship is May 14-17 at Aronimink outside Philadelphia. Ben Kern, the general manager at Hickory Hills Golf Club in central Ohio, made a pair of birdies on the back nine and tied for the lead when Droemer in the group ahead took bogey on the par-3 15th. Kern, however, went long of the 17th and failed to get up-and-down to fall one behind.
He chose to lay up on the par-5 closing hole and missed a 12-foot birdie putt. Droemer finished at 4-under 283 to win the Walter Hagen Cup. “I always say it's such a blessing to test your game against the best in the world,” Droemer said.
“To represent thousands of PGA professionals on that stage is a dream come true. ” The best finish belonged to Chris Gabriele, the head pro at Old Westbury Golf and Country Club in New York. He was at 3-over par, one shot out of what appeared to be a playoff for the final PGA spots, when he hit his approach to 3 feet for eagle on the final hole to secure a top-20 finish.
There was no playoff because of the back-nine collapse by Charlie Beljan, the former PGA Tour player who won at Disney in 2012 for his lone title. Beljan shot 40 on the back nine and closed with a 78, missing out by one shot. Droemer, Michael Kartrude, Tyler Collet, Michael Block, Ryan Lenahan and Timothy Wiseman are returning to the PGA Championship for the second straight year.