Nearly one-third of 34 PGA club professionals make cut
Of the 34 PGA of America club professionals who began the 65th Senior PGA Championship, 10, including three from the Tri-State PGA Section and defending PGA Senior Club Professional Champion Mike San Filippo, made the 36-hole cut Saturday at Valhalla Golf Club.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Ten PGA club professionals, including three from the Tri-State PGA Section, made the 36-hole cut Saturday in the 65th Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
The group includes three-time PGA Club Professional Player of the Year Lonnie Nielsen, who last winter left his position at Crag Burn Golf Club in East Aurora, N.Y., to earn an exemption on the Champions Tour.
Nielsen, 50 of Orchard Park, N.Y., first earned his way into the 65th Senior PGA Championship by finishing third in last fall's Callaway PGA Senior Club Professional Championship. He then tied for fourth in the Champions Tour Qualifying School and has earned $200,807 in 10 Champions Tour events this season.
The Tri-State PGA Section trio features two-time PGA Senior Club Professional Player of the Year Roy Vucinich of Moon Township, Pa., 1987 PGA Golf Professional of the Year Bob Ford of Oakmont, Pa., and John Aubrey of Butler, Pa.
A PGA Life member, the 57-year-old Vucinich was the low PGA club professional finisher in the 2002 and 2001 Senior PGA Championships. The 1989 Tri-State PGA Teacher of the Year, Vucinich is competing in his seventh Senior PGA Championship. In 2002, at Firestone Country Club, he enjoyed his best performance in the oldest senior major by tying for fourth. He earned $86,000, which was his best-ever golf paycheck. In 2001, Vucinich tied for 36th place.
A PGA Master Professional and seven-time Tri-State PGA Champion, Ford is making his debut in the Senior PGA Championship on a special invitation after turning 50 last Jan. 16. He splits his year as director of golf at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club and as head professional at Seminole Golf Club in North Palm Beach, Fla.
Aubrey, 52, is competing in his second Senior PGA Championship. He is head professional at Aubrey's Dubbs Dred Golf Course in Butler, Pa., a course his family has owned since 1961.
Complete Scorecards and Bios for PGA of America Club Professionals
| Senior PGA Club Professionals Who Made the 36-Hole Cut | ||
| Pos. | Player/Hometown | Results |
|---|---|---|
| T23 | Lonnie Nielsen, Orchard, N.Y. | 74-70144 |
| T23 | Roy Vucinich, Moon Township, Pa. | 74-70144 |
| T39 | Jeff Thomsen, Boise, Idaho | 71-75146 |
| T39 | Mike San Filippo, Hobe Sound, Fla. | 76-70146 |
| T46 | Scott Bess, Columbia, Mo. | 76-71147 |
| T46 | Bob Ford, Oakmont, Pa. | 74-73--147 |
| T46 | Bob Boyle, Raleigh, N.C. | 72-75147 |
| T46 | Bob Ralston, Little Rock, Ark. | 75-72147 |
| T46 | Jim White, Lincoln, Neb. | 75-72147 |
| 64 | John Aubrey, Butler, Pa. | 75-74149 |
| Did Not Make 36-Hole Cut | ||
| T76 | Darrell Kestner, Glen Cove, N.Y. | 74-76150 |
| T76 | Bobby Heins, Purchase, N.Y. | 76-74150 |
| T86 | Bob Bilbo, Olney, Md. | 75-76151 |
| T86 | Tom Strueber, Dallas, Texas | 70-81151 |
| T91 | Paul Parajeckas, Woburn, Mass. | 81-71152 |
| T91 | Pete Oakley, Lincoln, Del. | 73-79152 |
| T91 | Gary Baker, Naples, Fla. | 79-73152 |
| T91 | Jerry Wisz, Covina, Calif. | 74-78152 |
| 99 | Mike Harrigan, Arlington Heights, Ill. | 79-74153 |
| 109 | Bill Schumaker, Columbia City, Ind. | 75-79154 |
| T117 | Tom Herzan, Findlay, Ohio | 78-77155 |
| T117 | Gary Sowinski, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. | 78-77155 |
| T117 | Tom Joyce, Huntington, N.Y. | 80-75155 |
| T125 | Don Brigham, Rumson, N.J. | 79-77156 |
| T125 | Dick McClean, La Quinta, Calif. | 77-79156 |
| T125 | Jim Fellner, Myrtle Beach, S.C. | 78-78156 |
| 131 | Roger Kennedy, Stuart, Fla. | 78-79157 |
| T133 | Bob Giusti, Halifax, Mass. | 75-83158 |
| T133 | Jon Fiedler, Camarillo, Calif. | 80-78158 |
| T135 | Buddy Harston, Lexington, Ky. | 81-78159 |
| T135 | Patrick OBrien, Coral Gables, Fla. | 79-80159 |
| T135 | George Newbeck, Maryville, Tenn. | 80-79159 |
| 142 | Jerry Tucker, Stuart, Fla. | 78-86164 |
| 144 | Roy Christensen, Spanish Fork, Utah | 83-83166 |
| John Brott, Sanford, Fla. | 87WD | |
| Will Frantz, North Port, Fla. | WD | |
| Ed Sabo, Tequest, Fla. | WD | |
Copyright 2004 by PGA.com. All rights reserved.
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