Gene Fieger eyes second Senior PGA Professional National Championship

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Gene Fieger is the first to admit that golf is a lifetime learning process. As you age, your game also evolves. For the 54-year-old from Naples, Florida, his competitive evolution has been mostly positive.

Last April, Fieger had all the answers at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, posting four sub-70 rounds to win the 25th Senior PGA Professional National Championship. This week, Fieger, PGA Director of Golf at the Hideout Golf Club in Naples, gets the rare opportunity to duplicate his trophy moment in just a seven-month period.

PGA Golf Club hosts the 26th Senior PGA Professional National Championship presented by Mercedes-Benz USA, Nov. 13-16. The back-to-back Championships in one calendar year came about when the 2013 Championship was postponed in October that year due to heavy rain in northern Virginia.

“Every event, no matter where, I’ve tried to learn from the experience,” said Fieger. “I was (South Florida PGA) Section Senior Player of the Year and runner-up for Section Player of the Year. It’s been a good summer, and I look forward to finishing the year as well as I can.”

Fieger leads 16 past Champions among a 264-player field representing 42 states, as the Championship makes its 10th appearance at PGA Golf Club. The field also features five past PGA Professional National Champions and four PGA Assistant Champions.

The low 35 finishers earn a trip to the 76th Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, May 21-24, at French Lick (Indiana) Resort.

Like Fieger, many in the field have extensive experience at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker and Ryder Courses, which will both be used over the first two rounds. The final two rounds will be played on the Wanamaker Course.

The added bonus, says Fieger, is the condition of the greens.

“PGA Golf Club’s greens are the best that I’ve ever seen there. It was like hitting shots into sponges,” said Fieger, a member of the South Florida PGA Section team that drew, 15-15, with the North Florida PGA, Oct. 28, in the annual Senior Challenge Cup Matches.

This will be Fieger’s fifth consecutive appearance in the national championship, dating back to 2010 when he finished 15th after a final-round 78 ended his momentum.

“It’s a great field every year, and any one of us can contend,” said Fieger. “At PGA Golf Club, you have to birdie the par-5s to have a chance. Because of the many drop-off areas near the greens, you also have to chip and pitch the ball well. I was able to do that last spring.”

Fieger finished with a 72-hole total of 13-under-par 275 for a six-stroke victory in April. He became the fifth South Florida PGA Section member to capture the Leo Fraser Trophy.