PGA of America Year in Review to premiere on Dec. 17 on Golf Channel

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Storybook performances by PGA Champion Rory McIlroy and Senior PGA Champion Roger Chapman; a Ryder Cup thriller to the end; and an award-winning roster of PGA Professionals fill the script for "A Season of Glory, The 2012 PGA of America Year in Review," featuring events and personalities that shaped the 96th anniversary year of the world's largest sports organization.
 
Championship moments along with growth of the game endeavors that touch thousands fill an hour-long Golf Channel special that debuts Monday, Dec. 17, from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET. The PGA of America is composed of 27,000 men and women professionals who serve as ambassadors to the 26 million Americans who play the game of golf.
 
Narrated by NBC Sports commentator Jimmy Roberts, "The PGA of America Year in Review" will have additional airings Tuesday, Dec. 18, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Wednesday, Dec. 19, from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET. Golf Channel has a viewership of 84 million domestic households.
 
The program reflects The PGA's championship year beginning with McIlroy's remarkable march to the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C., a performance that would lead to his taking over the No. 1 world ranking and ultimately capturing his first PGA Player of the Year and Vardon Trophy.
 
As remarkable as McIlroy was, his story was preceded by a stunning chapter written by England's Roger Chapman nearly three months earlier in the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid. Chapman, winner of only one small European Tour event a dozen years ago in Brazil, put on a shotmaking clinic at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich., finishing with a two-stroke triumph in senior golf's most prestigious and historic event.
 
The year's crowning weekend of drama in golf was reserved for a Sunday in September in Medinah Country Club outside Chicago, where Europe staged a record-matching comeback to stun the United States and retained the Ryder Cup.
 
The "PGA's Year in Review" also features a segment on how PGA Professionals have made significant strides to bring more players into the game through the "Get Golf Ready" program. PGA of America President Ted Bishop highlights the success along with PGA Director Instruction Katherine Marren of Pacific Grove, Calif.
 
The program also includes HLN "Morning Express" host Robin Meade, who took advantage of Get Golf Ready instruction with PGA Professional Suzy Whaley of Farmington, Conn. Also featured is PGA Past President Will Mann of North Myrtle Beach, S.C., now an instructor at Coastal Carolina University of Conway, S.C., one of 20 accredited PGA Professional Golf Management Universities throughout the country.
 
The PGA's Year in Review also features:
--The PGA building golf's next generation of players through the National Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, Junior PGA Championship, and the Junior Ryder Cup.
--PGA Professional National Champion Matt Dobyns of Sea Cliff, N.Y., making his debut in the PGA Professional's showcase event look effortless by posting a record eight-stroke triumph.
--Jim Woodward of Oklahoma City executing one of the clutch golf shots of the year to become the Southworth Senior PGA Professional National Champion.

A review of the 2012 PGA of America national award winners:
--PGA Golf Professional of the Year: Mike Schultz, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn.
--PGA Teacher of the Year: Michael Breed, (formerly of Sunningdale Country Club, Scarsdale, N.Y), now Michael Breed Golf Academy, Manhattan Woods Golf Club, West Nyack, N.Y.
--Horton Smith Award: Carl Alexander, Golf Club of Purchase, N.Y.
--Bill Strausbaugh Award: Harry Hammond Jr., Penn Oaks Golf Club, West Chester, Pa.
 --PGA Junior Golf Leader: Don Law, Club Med Academies, Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Don Law Academy (Boynton Beach and Boca Raton, Fla.)
--PGA Player Development Award: Mark Holiday, Bridger Creek Golf Course, Bozeman, Mont.
--Patriot Award: John Kennedy Jr., Westchester Country Club, Rye, N.Y.
--Herb Graffis Award: The 452 Professionals of the New Jersey PGA Section

PGA Merchandisers of the Year:
--Resort Facilities: Amy Pendergast, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon, Ore.
--Public Facilities: Dale Smigelsky, Collindale Golf Club, Fort Collins, Colo.
--Private Facilities: George Kahrhoff, The Country Club at Castle Pines, Castle Rock, Colo.