Meet the Team of 20 Competing at the 2022 PGA Championship - Part II

The 2022 PGA Championship is fast approaching and the ‘Team of 20’ PGA Professionals competing are getting ready to tee it up at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. Each of them earned their spot at the PGA Professional Championship last month in Austin.

Among the 20, there are 8 veterans of the PGA Championship while the 12 others will be making their debuts. Now, we’ll be taking a closer look at the Team of 20 so you can get to know them before they tee it up with the best come May 19th. Here are the first 10.

Club/Facility: River Oaks Country Club, Houston, TX
PGA Championship Appearance: 1st
Southern Texas PGA Section

Jared Jones is set to play in the PGA Championship for the first time. He has previously won several tournaments including the 2019 Southern Texas PGA Section Professional Championship, the 2012 Southern Ohio PGA Assistants Championship and the 2012 Southern Ohio PGA Section Classic. He was also named 2016 Southern Ohio PGA Member Assistant of the Year. Jared played collegiately at Ohio State from 2004-07.

Club/Facility: Brown Deer Golf Club, Coralville, IA
PGA Championship Appearance: 2nd
Iowa PGA Section

Sean McCarty is set to make his second career PGA Championship start, he previously teed it up in 2018. He is an 11-time Iowa PGA Section Player of the Year and a six-time Iowa PGA Section Assistant of the Year. McCarty won both the 2021 and 2012 Iowa PGA Section Professional Championship and has four Iowa Open victories. He's no stranger to majors as he also played in the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields.

Sean was a member of 1992 Big Ten Conference Championship team at the University of Iowa, the lone men's golf conference title team in school history. In 1995, he was named an All-American alongside Stewart Cink (Georgia Tech) and Tiger Woods (Stanford). Notably, he also competed in the 1988 Junior PGA Championship and was a three-time Iowa state high school champion at West Branch High School.

Club/Facility: The Farms Golf Club, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
PGA Championship Appearance: 1st
Southern California PGA Section

Kyle Mendoza will be making his PGA Championship debut. He is the back-to-back champion of the 2020 and '21 Southern California PGA Section Professional Championship. Mendoza has also played in and made the cut in the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (finished T-65th). Kyle is a proud PGA Jr. League Captain.

Club/Facility: Grand Canyon University Golf Course, Phoenix, AZ
PGA Championship Appearance: 1st
Southwest PGA Section

Jesse Mueller was the dominant champion at the 2022 PGA Professional Championship by five strokes and will be making his PGA Championship debut. Previously, he has won several tournaments including the 2020 & '17 Southwest Chapter PGA Section Professional Championship, the 2009 Hawaii State Open and the 2009 Hawaii Pearl Open. He also qualified for and played in the 2012 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club. Mueller has 17 career Gateway Tour wins and was the circuit's leading money winner in 2008. Jesse played college golf at Arizona State. In 2001, he was named Arizona Golf Association Player of the Year after winning the Arizona Amateur.

Club/Facility: Brae Burn Country Club, Purchase, NY
PGA Championship Appearance: 1st
Metropolitan PGA Section

Dylan Newman will make his first career PGA Championship start. He is the previous champion of the 2021 PGA Stroke Play Championship and the 2020 and '21 Metropolitan PGA Section Assistants Championship. His other credentials included first place finishes at the 2020 Stroke Play Championship and Event 3 of 2020 PGA Tournament Series. Newman played in the 2013 U.S. Amateur at Brookline Country Club and played college golf at Iona College where he was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Year in 2010.

Club/Facility: Bidermann Golf Club, Wilmington, DE
PGA Championship Appearance: 1st
Philadelphia PGA Section

Zac Oakley is one of 12 PGA Professionals slated to make a PGA Championship debut at Southern Hills. He previously won the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Section Match Play Championship and the 2019 Philadelphia Open among many other tournaments. He was named the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Section Player of the Year and the 2021 Philadelphia Assistants Organization Player of the Year. Zac earned All-American status three times while playing collegiately at Wesley College.

Club/Facility: The Stanwich Club, GreEnwhich, CT
PGA Championship Appearance: 1st
Metropolitan PGA Section

Casey Pyne will be making his PGA Championship debut. Pyne is a conditional member of the Asian Tour and has gained playing experiences on the Dakotas Tour and various others. He layed college golf at Lewis University in Illinois, where he was an All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection before a stint at Lewis, was a two-time All-Region pick at Black Hawk College (Ill.).

Club/Facility: Happy Hollow Club, Omaha, NE
PGA Championship Appearance: 5th
Nebraska PGA Section

Ryan Vermeer is returning for a fifth career PGA Championship appearance, his first since 2020. His previous accolades include a victory at the 2018 PGA Professional Championship, where he became the first Nebraska PGA Section member to do so. He also became the sixth son of a PGA Professional to win (his father is PGA Life Member Bob Vermeer). In 2020, he played in both the the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. His awards include both 2018 and '19 PGA of America Professional Player of the Year. He also played in seven PGA Tour events in 2019 and made two cuts. Vermeer played collegiate golf at the University of Kansas and was a four-time All-Big 12 selection and a two-time All-American (was a member of 1999 Big 12 Championship team).

Club/Facility: Falmouth Country Club, Falmouth, ME
PGA Championship Appearance: 3rd
New England PGA Section

Shawn Warren returns for his third PGA Championship appearance in five years. He has several victories under his belt to prove his chops, including the 2020 TaylorMade National Championship, 2020 and '19 New England PGA Section Professional Championship, 2017 New England Section PGA Assistants Championship and the 2013 Rhode Island Open. At the 2018 PGA Professional Championship, Warren had to earn one of five remaining PGA Championship berths via a seven-member playoff. He had previously lost a PGA berth in 2015, but made a 14-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole in 2018 to make his major debut. Warren is the recipient of the 2012-13 New England PGA Assistant Professional Player of the Year award, the 2013-15, '18 New England PGA Player of the Year award and the 2013 Maine Chapter Player of the Year. Shawn was also a four-year captain of the men's golf team at Marshall University (2004-07).

Club/Facility: The Golf Depot at Central Park, Gahanna, OH
PGA Championship Appearance: 2nd
Southern Ohio PGA Section

Wyatt Worthington II will make his second career appearance in the PGA Championship. His PGA Championship debut came in 2016, and in doing so he became the second African-American PGA Club Professional to earn a PGA Championship berth, following Tom Woodard (1991 PGA Championship). In November 2016, he also became the first African American to win a PGA Tournament Series event (Event No. 1). Worthington II's other victories include the 2021 Southern Ohio PGA Section Professional Championship, the 2014 Southern Ohio PGA Southeast Chapter Stroke Play Championship and the 2014 Southern Ohio PGA Section Classic. Wyatt credits meeting Tiger Woods in July 2001 as one of the most memorable moments in his life and he as worked diligently with mentor, PGA Professional Gerry Hammond, on his growth competitively. He is a 2011 Graduate of the PGA Golf Management program at Methodist University (N.C.).