New name, field size await the PGA's finest professionals
The name may be different, but the competition to be known as the PGA's best player is sure to be as intense as ever at The PGA Professional National Championship -- formerly the PGA Club Professional Championship.
By Roger Graves, PGA Magazine
Much has happened to the PGA Club Professional Championship since University of Illinois Golf Coach Mike Small's three-stroke victory last June on The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C., earned him the coveted Walter Hagen Cup and a check for $67,000.
Simply stated, The CPC has undergone a timely transformation for 2006, a significant makeover that includes a new name, new format, new venue and a new method to identify the most proficient player among the PGA Club Professional ranks.
First, the name change. Now, it's the PGA Professional National Championship (PPNC), a title which more accurately reflects the national championship nature of this prestigious event, which began in 1968 and has seen prominent PGA members such as Sam Snead, Bob Rosburg, Don Massengale, Larry Gilbert, Bruce Fleisher and Sammy Rachels use the Championship as a stepping-stone to stardom on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.
Second, the new format and new venue. When the newly named 2006 PGA Professional National Championship is held June 22?25, The PGA of America will be the guest of the Oneida Indian Nation at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y. An expanded field of 312 players will tackle Turning Stone's Atunyote (uh-DUNEyote) and Shenendoah Golf Club courses, located 30 miles east of Syracuse in Central New York.
After each competitor plays one round on each course, the field will be cut to the low 70 and ties for the final 36 holes, which will be contested over the Tom Fazio-designed Atunyote course with a purse of $550,000 at stake.
The change to a multiple-course, 300-plus player field is actually a "Back to the Future" transformation. The showcase event for PGA Professionals previously embraced a 360-player field at three golf courses. Then, in 1997, the PGA Club Professional Championship created local Section Club Professional Championships, four new Regional Championships, and moved its dates to one month prior to the PGA Championship.
The top finishers in the CPC Regional events advanced to the 156-player National Championship. Under the new PGA Professional National Championship format, PGA Professionals qualify for the national 72-hole tournament by finishing among the top players in their PGA Section Championship.
By approval of the PGA Board of Directors, the Regional Tournaments have been discontinued, with $1.3 million in prize money now being disbursed through the Section Championships and the PGA Professional National Championship.
PGA President Roger Warren believes the new format, which uses a formula to determine the number of qualifiers from each of the 41 PGA Sections based on the number of players who compete in the Section Championship, places more PGA Professionals on the national stage while providing more national exposure via The Golf Channel and national media to PPNC sponsors.
"There is a tremendous tradition associated with the PGA Professional National Championship, and we are always looking for ways to improve the experience for everyone involved," emphasizes Warren. "This year's event, with an expanded field, underscores our Association's efforts to further promote our member professionals by bringing more members and their playing skills into the national spotlight. We are continuing The PGA's 90-year commitment to conduct a premier National Championship for our Professionals, and to take the PGA Professional National Championship to outstanding venues around the country.
"The PGA Professional National Championship continues to evolve, and we believe everyone associated with the 2006 event at Turning Stone Resort will embrace the changes that have been made to improve the tournament."
<STRONG>Large Field Spread Over Two Central New York Courses</STRONG>
At first glance, it might seem that hosting 312 players on two golf courses in the 2006 PGA Professional National Championship could create logistical challenges. But Mark Tschetschot, director of PGA member tournaments, is comfortable with the new PPNC format and believes Turning Stone's Shenendoah and Atunyote courses will be well accepted by the 312-player field.
"The courses are about 10 minutes apart location-wise, but the good news is that we're playing in late June, so we have all the daylight we need to accommodate 312 players on two courses," says Tschetschot. "Anytime you're dealing with a field this large, you're going to face some challenges, but we really don't anticipate any major problems. We already conducted two Regional CPC Championships at Turning Stone Resort (in 2002 and 2004), and they both went off without a hitch.
"We're looking forward to a very successful week. I think the players will enjoy these golf courses because both are in such great condition."
By eliminating the Regional Championship qualifier, the PGA Board of Directors has streamlined the qualifying phase of the PGA Professional National Championship and has made it possible for PGA Professionals to compete in the National Championship without missing three weeks of work.
"A lot of the Professionals who have played in the National Championship said they were missing too many days of work," adds Tschetschot. "By the time you play in the Section Championship, then take a week off to travel to the Regional Championship and then play in the National Championship, you have been away from your job for three weeks. That wasn't the best situation for many PGA Professionals. For those who go on to qualify for the PGA Championship by finishing in the top 20 at the National Championship, that means another week away. So when you add it up, that's a month of work they missed."
Says defending PPNC Champion Small, who has never played the two Turning Stone courses: "You have to remember that all of us have other jobs in the golf industry that take priority. The PGA has always run the National Championship like a Tour event. It's the biggest event of the year for club professionals, and it's always played on the highest quality golf courses. The name of the event might be different, but I don't expect anything to change as far as the quality of the tournament is concerned."
Small knows it may be more difficult to win the PGA Professional National Championship now that he will be competing against 311 other PGA Professionals instead of the final field of 155 colleagues he confronted last year at Kiawah Island. But he likes the national flavor of the 2006 event, even if no PGA Professional has successfully defended his national title since Larry Gilbert won back-to-back Championships in 1981 and 1982.
"My preparation might be a little different, because I haven't played the golf courses and I haven't played against that many guys in a single tournament since Tour School," observed Small, a former PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour traveler. "Strategically, you might have to be a little more cautious the first two days, because your mistakes will be magnified with such a large field. You want to make sure you make the 36-hole cut and then go from there.
"Last year, I went into the National CPC without the benefit of playing a multi-day tournament because of my coaching commitments (at Illinois). This year, I just have to make sure I'm ready. I've heard a lot of good things about the golf courses, and I'm looking forward to the new format and expanded field."
Small warmed up last month for the 2006 PPNC by competing in the EDS Byron Nelson Classic on the PGA Tour and the LaSalle Bank Classic on the Nationwide Tour.
<STRONG>Thomas and Gilmore Have Excelled at Turning Stone</STRONG>
As the defending Champion and as runner-up in 2004 to Ohioan Bob Sowards at Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio, Small joins an allstar cast comprised of 10 of the last 11 PGA Professional National Championship winners as favorites at Turning Stone Resort.
However, since the Regional Championships have been discontinued, identifying additional favorites for the 2006 PPNC is difficult -- unless you consider PGA Professionals who have excelled on Turning Stone's Shenendoah and Atunyote courses during the 2002 and 2004 Regional CPCs, and during the New York State PGA Championship contested annually at Turning Stone Resort since 2001. That means players such as 2004 CPC Eastern Regional and New York State PGA Champion Craig Thomas of East Norwich, N.Y., and 2005 New York State PGA Champion Mike Gilmore of Locust Valley, N.Y., have an obvious advantage.
Thomas and Gilmore bring familiarity with the courses at Turning Stone Resort to the 2006 PGA Professional Championship, and all have experience in dealing with the pomp and pressure of the national-championship stage. Gilmore placed second to National Champion Barry Evans in 2002 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., and Thomas has two top-15 PPNC finishes in four starts, including a tie for 11th in 2004 at Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio.
Darrell Kestner of Manhassett, N.Y., the 1996 National Champion, is expected to bypass the 2006 PPNC in order to participate in the Champions Tour's Commerce Bank Championship in East Meadow, N.Y. Tournament officials recently extended him a sponsors' exemption after he finished fifth in the event last year.
"You have to take a long look at Craig Thomas when you're looking at a player who has had success here and know how to play the golf courses," admits Bob O'Brian, PGA director of golf at Turning Stone Resort & Casino. "Some players just naturally play well on certain courses, and Craig Thomas has always played well on the Shenendoah and Atunyote courses. He has a great history on both courses, and he has played pretty well in The CPC in the past."
Indeed, the 42-year-old Thomas recorded an impressive "double" in 2004 when he won the New York State PGA Championship on the Shenendoah course at Turning Stone and later in the year sculpted a course-record 63 in the second round en route to winning the Eastern Regional CPC title at Atunyote on the first hole of a playoff opposite Ron Philo Jr.
"Turning Stone is a great resort facility, from the hotel tower and casino to all of the golf facilities. The two courses we will be playing are challenging, but fair," says Thomas, PGA head professional at Muttontown Golf & Country Club in East Norwich, N.Y. "When you look at the guys who have won the New York State PGA at Turning Stone the past two or three years, it has been guys who are a little longer off the tee, but they are also good iron players and pretty good putters.
"At the Shenendoah course, there are three par 5s you can reach in two, so the longer hitters might have a little advantage there. On the Atunyote course, the front nine is fairly forgiving, but once you reach No. 11, it gets tighter and becomes extremely challenging. The greens at Atunyote have more movement and more undulations to them than Shenendoah, but the thing players will notice the most is that all the greens are always in tremendous condition. And they're always pretty quick. If you're not putting well, it can be a long day at Atunyote."
What does Thomas predict it will take over 72 holes (54 at Shenendoah and 18 at Atunyote) to win the 2006 PGA Professional National Championship?
"It depends to some extent on how high they grow the rough and if they narrow the fairways a little bit," says Thomas, "but I think someone will get it to 12- or 13-under-par without doing anything really super-duper. That means shooting a 69 each day, and someone should be able to do that under normal weather conditions because the conditioning of the courses is so good. If someone really gets the putter going, they can go low on those courses."
<STRONG>Spotlight Shines on Turning Stone Resort & Casino</STRONG>
While predicting who might prevail in the 312- player, 72-hole shootout at Turning Stone Resort & Casino is an inexact science, picking a real star at the 2006 PGA Professional National Championship is simple. The Shenendoah and Atunyote courses promise to steal the show with their breathtaking greenery and scenery while capturing the imagination of millions of viewers worldwide through The Golf Channel's daily telecasts.
"Hosting the PGA Professional National Championship is the culmination of a dream for the Oneida Indian Nation and for all of us who have been involved with Turning Stone since the day the first golf course opened," acknowledges Turning Stone's O'Brian. "Turning Stone Resort has a lot of other amenities such as a great casino and a great hotel and lodge. But from the day Oneida Indian Nation Representative and CEO Ray Halbritter hired me, I knew he wanted to turn this into a golf resort capable of hosting prestigious local, regional and national championships."
In six short years, O'Brian and his staff have worked their way up the ladder.
"Turning Stone has hosted the New York State PGA Championship every year since the Shenendoah course opened (in May 2000), then we hosted the PGA Regional CPC twice, and now we have the PGA Professional National Championship," he says. "It is a milestone accomplishment for the Oneida Nation and for the resort, and I think all 312 players will gain a new appreciation for Turning Stone Resort and for the Shenendoah and Atunyote courses when the week is finished."
Ah, yes, the golf courses. The stages on which the finest PGA Professionals in the land will compete for the coveted Walter Hagen Cup, a firstplace check of nearly $70,000, an invitation to the PGA Championship Aug. 17?20 at fabled Medinah Country Club outside Chicago, and six exemptions to PGA Tour events.
Turning Stone Resort & Casino has become a veritable golf mecca in the Northeast featuring three highly decorated, highly challenging 18-hole championship courses, the nine-hole Sandstone Hollow par-3 course and the 18-hole Pleasant Knolls "recreational" course. The three crown jewels of Turning Stone are the Kaluhyat Golf Club designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., Shenendoah Golf Club designed by Rick Smith and Atunyote Golf Club designed by Tom Fazio.
It is Shenendoah and Atunyote, a pair of par-72 Mona Lisas, that will identify the 2006 PGA Professional National Championship winner. Both PPNC courses own impressive pedigrees despite their youthfulness among America's top golf facilities.
Shenendoah, which will play to 7,069 yards for the 2006 PGA Professional National Championship, was crafted by Smith from a natural landscape of open pastures, wetlands, native grasses and deep-wooded areas.
The course, which opened in May of 2000 and played host to the Eastern Regional CPC in 2002, was ranked No. 2 in New York behind only Bethpage Black in Golfweek's "America's Best" public-access courses and was ranked No. 1 in conditioning by Golf Digest's Best Places to Play in 2002?2003 while earning a permanent niche among Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses."
Atunyote, the Oneida word for "eagle," was built two and a half miles from the main Turning Stone Resort property in Vernon, N.Y. The course is sculpted from a traditional parkland setting with gently rolling hills, rock formations, a preserved deadwood marsh, a stream, waterfalls, and several lakes and ponds. Large, undulating greens and steep-faced bunkers accent the Fazio masterpiece, which is overlooked by a spacious New England-style clubhouse that opened in 2005.
The Atunyote course, which opened in July 2004 and will play at 7,297 yards for the PPNC, also features a 13-acre body of water that runs along three fairways, including the 18th hole.
Atunyote was the only United States course to be featured in the 2005 Robb Report as one of the best new courses in the world. Golf Magazine also recognized the Atunyote course on its 2004 "Top 10 New Courses You Can Play," while Travel & Leisure Golf listed the Fazio layout as one of the "Ten Best New Public/Resort Courses?h in 2004.
Atunyote drew high praise from the participants in the 2004 Eastern Regional CPC, which was held just 12 weeks after the course opened. It also earned praise from Arnold Palmer and 1991 PGA Champion John Daly after they joined LPGA star Natalie Gulbis in an exhibition in 2005.
"The golf course is outstanding, one of the best conditioned courses I have played, and I've played a lot of golf courses," said Palmer. "The superintendent and the people here have done a wonderful job getting the course ready. I didn't see a flaw out there."
Added Daly: "It's absolutely gorgeous. The greens are perfect and every hole is a little bit different. It's a blast, so pure, and top notch. It's a super golf course. This is definitely a national championship-caliber course."
That "national championship" arrives at Atunyote and Turning Stone Resort in the form of the 39th PGA Professional National Championship June 22-25. The name, venue and format may be new for the 2006 PPNC, but the drama promises to be every bit as riveting as that old national championship for PGA Club Professionals.