Polland wins PGA club pro title. Nineteen others advance to PGA Championship
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Wyoming club pro Ben Polland atoned from a crushing loss in 2015 with steady golf in a tough Texas wind, closing with a 4-over 76 for a three-shot victory Wednesday in the PGA Professional Championship.
Polland and 19 other club professionals advance to the PGA Championship on May 16-19 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
Among them will be Tracy Phillips, the longtime Oklahoma professional who will make his PGA Championship debut in two weeks at age 61.
Wyatt Worthington II of Ohio will be playing the PGA Championship for the third straight year by making it harder than it needed to be. He went from the 36-hole lead to rounds of 78-80 and claimed the 20th spot by making a 4-foot bogey putt on the par-5 18th at Fields Ranch.
Polland, the director of golf at Shooting Star of Jackson Hole, thought he had the PGA Professional Championship won in his debut in 2015. He took a two-shot lead to the final hole and made a double bogey, while Matt Dobyns made birdie for a three-shot swing to win.