In a place he loves, Benzel's back at it again
Benzel was a hero of the 2007 PGA Cup at the Reynolds Plantation Resort, where the U.S. team of top PGA Club Professionals defeated their counterparts from Great Britain & Ireland. And with his first-round performance of this tournament taking place at the same resort (albeit two different courses than the Oconee Course where the PGA Cup matches took place), there apparently is a great comfort level for this Bothell, Wash., resident in the Deep South.
Benzel started the Championship with back-to-back birdies at the Reynolds Landing Course. Considering he made back-to-back birdies including a heroic and historic one on the final hole of the 2007 PGA Cup, Benzel had a four-hole birdie streak that spanned nine months. Obviously, the Georgia landscape fits his eye.
"I have incredible memories of Reynolds Plantation so coming back here is a lot of fun," Benzel stated. "Even outside of the golf, I'm just very comfortable and relaxed in this setting. And the golf courses are just fantastic. Even if we are playing different courses, the setting and the atmosphere is just really one of the best."
Benzel is still riding a wave of success from 2007, when he established himself as one of the top PGA Club Professional players in the country.
His second-place showing at the 2007 PGA Professional National Championship earned him a spot in The PGA Championship at Southern Hills. There, he was only one of two PGA Club Professionals to make the cut and play into the weekend. After his efforts at The PGA Cup helped bring back the Llandudno Trophy back to the United Sates, Benzel took on a new job, moving from being an Assistant Professional at The Seattle Golf Club to being the PGA Head Professional at Mill Creek Country Club.
Benzel's drive to do better in all areas of his life has kept him motivated and focused.
"I'm always looking to improve," Benzel said, "but there's not a lot of room to go up from last year (at this event). But anytime you come to this event, you want to earn an exemption in the following year, you really want to qualify for the PGA Championship and of course, you want to put yourself in position to win."
Benzel is learning the balance between being an elite player while also running a successful golf facility. Amid the tall Georgia pines and beautiful Lake Oconee, he is learning a bit more about both. It's a long way from Bothell, Wash., to Greensboro, Ga., but for one PGA Professional in the field, it is feeling more and more like home.
In a related note, Benzel's streak of four straight birdies at Reynolds Plantation that spanned nine months might not have been his most impressive streak. His opening two birdies in this Championship were his first holes played in the PGA Professional National Championship since he holed out a 9-iron from 154 yards at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore., last year. Thus, Benzel's birdies to start meant he had played his last three holes of this Championship in 4 under par.
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