Game Changers

Jesse Mueller, PGA Opens with an Eagle to Lead Team of 20

By Keith Stewart, PGA
Published on

Jesse Mueller of the Team of 20 hits his shot on the 16th hole. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)

Imagine playing in your first Major Championship and holing out for eagle on your very first hole. That’s what Jesse Mueller, PGA, did in the opening round of the 2022 PGA Championship.
“I hit a really good tee shot and then that pin placement was a gettable pin placement if you could hit it in the right spot. I was trying to hit it long and right and then hopefully it would draw back, and it happened to go in. What a start to my first ever PGA Championship. Pretty amazing.”
What an amazing start indeed for the 2022 PGA Professional Champion. A little over a month ago Jesse Mueller, the PGA General Manager at the Grand Canyon University Golf Course, won the PGA Professional Championship by five strokes. His tremendous play last month carried right over to the opening hole at Southern Hills.
Mueller leads the Team of 20 PGA Club Professionals after the opening round. Alex Beach and Matt Borchert are just a stroke behind.
Alex Beach on the eighth hole during the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/PGA of America)
Alex Beach on the eighth hole during the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/PGA of America)
Beach, a PGA Teaching Professional at Westchester Country Club in New York and was 1-under through ten holes. But the afternoon conditions were extremely difficult and Beach closed with a 73.
Matt Borchert plays his shot from the third tee during the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Matt Borchert plays his shot from the third tee during the first round of the 2022 PGA Championship. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Matt Borchert, PGA Director of Instruction at IIsleworth Country Club in Florida, made birdies on Nos. 1 and 13. Borchert is making his second appearance in the PGA Championship.
For all member of the Team of 20, this experience will change their careers. Whether you are Alex Beach playing in your 5th PGA Championship or one of the rookies, Friday is a big day.