Ohio’s Michael Balcar Wins Event No. 1 in PGA Tournament Series

Professional golfers don’t often get mulligans. Michael Balcar made good use of his Tuesday at PGA Golf Club.

Two weeks after the Ohio resident lost a final-round lead in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship on the Dye Course, struggling to a 77, he shot the best round of the day, a 6-under 66, to win Event No. 1 of the PGA Tournament Series by three strokes.

An 11-shot difference, on the positive side, is usually a good sign.

“It definitely feels good to get some redemption,” said Balcar, a 32-year-old PGA Associate at Brandywine Country Club in Maumee, Ohio. “It was a great round today, just kind of went off how I was doing with the Assistant Championship two weeks ago. I was familiar with the course, and I felt like I was really in control of my ball.”

Balcar started the day behind three veteran senior PGA Professionals – Omar Uresti, Justin Hicks and Bob Sowards – but fired a front-nine 33 to move into a share of the lead. Balcar finished in style, with birdies on the last two holes, including a 7-iron from a waste bunker to 5 feet on the 18th hole.

The 66 was the best round of the day by four shots, enabling him to finish at 7-under 137. He made eight birdies in windy conditions, capped off by the clincher at No. 18.

“I knew it was going to come out spinny, but I could get good contact with it,” he said of his final swing. “It started right where I wanted. I knew it was gonna be a good shot, and it actually ended up better.”

Hicks and Uresti each shot 1-under 71s to finish tied for second at 4-under 140.

“The winds were blowing and the course is playing tough,” said Hicks, a PGA Teaching Professional at Stonebridge Country Club in Boca Raton who won the 2025 Senior PGA Professional Championship in October. “Every time we play up here, they really corner the pins. You don't have a lot of room to work with. You got to kind of play away from them a little bit, or you'll get yourself in a bad spot.”

“Michael played great today. A 66 is pretty awesome,” said Uresti, a PGA Life Member from Austin, Texas. “I had plenty of opportunities and just nothing really fell.”

Sowards (70) finished fourth after a 141, a shot ahead of Ed Kirby (71).

Balcar earned $5,250 for his second PGA Tournament Series win in the last 13 months. He knew he faced a challenge having to chase down the senior triumvirate.

“They probably won 100 championships between them, so I knew that they weren't really going to fall back toward me,” Balcar said. “I had to go out there and play a good round of golf. And fortunately for me today, I did.”

The PGA Tournament Series is presented by GolfPass.