Sowards Wins 2nd Sr. PGA Club Pro Title; Berry Ties for 7th

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Bob Sowards went into the final round of the Senior PGA Professional (Club Pro) Championship on Sunday with a three-stroke lead. His plan was to be conservative, not take any foolish chances, hit fairways and greens, make a lot of pars, and find any birdies wherever he could.

As it turned out, he found quite a few birdies, and he also managed to make an eagle. The 55-year-old Director of Instruction at Kinsdale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio, started the round at the PGA Golf Club's Wanamaker Course with four pars, as planned. But then he birdied the par-4 fifth and par-3 sixth holes on the way to a front-nine 34. He added birdies at the par-4 12th, the 559-yard, par-5 13th and the par-4 15th, which essentially locked up the Club Pro title for him. But he added an eagle at the 510-yard, par-5 16th for good measure, hitting a 224-yard 3-iron shot to 12 feet and draining the putt. He parred the last two holes for a 6-under 66.

That gave him a 72-hole aggregate of 272 (-15), and a six-shot victory. It was the second Senior Club Pro title for Sowards (he won the first in 2018), and it was worth $27,000.

A pair of college coaches finished second and third. Jerry Haas, 60, is the head coach at Wake Forest. He is also the younger brother of Jay Haas, who has won on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Jerry shot 67 to claim second place at 278 on Sunday. Like Sowards, the younger Haas lit up the back nine at Wanamaker. He birdied the 10th hole, bogeyed the 11th and then ran off five birdies in a row, from the 12th to the 16th, meaning that he birdied six of the first seven holes on the inward nine.

Two behind him was Mike Small, the head coach of perennial Big Ten champion Illinois. He shot 70 and finished at 280.

Tracy Phillips had a 69, which moved him up into a tie for fourth, along with Jeff Brehaut, at 282. Brehaut shot 70.

Don Berry, the 61-year-old head pro at Edinburough USA -- and the 17-time Minnesota PGA Player of the Year -- birdied the first and second holes Saturday on the way to a 68, which equaled the low score of the day. But he bogeyed the first two holes on Sunday. He also bogeyed the first two holes on the back nine and was 5 over for the round after he bogeyed the 14th hole. But the winner of a record 54 Minnesota state championships birdied the 16th and 17th holes, which gave him a valedictory 75 and elevated him back into the top 10. He tied for seventh at 285.

That was worth $9,035, and the tie for seventh also earned him a spot in next year's KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor. Mich.


2023 Senior PGA Professional Championship

At PGA Golf Club

Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Final results

1. Bob Sowards, Dublin, Ohio $27,000 67-70-69-66--272

2. Jerry Haas, Winston-Salem, N.C. $22,050. 66-72-73-67--278

3. Mike Small, Champaign, Ill. $17,900 65-71-74-70--280

T4. Tracy Phillips, Tulsa, Okla. $13,125 67-71-75-69--282

T4. Jeff Brehaut, Park City, Utah $13,125. 73-71-68-70--282

6. Jeffrey Schmid, Iowa City, Iowa $10,535 71-69-76-68--284

T7. Don Berry, Rogers $9,035 72-70-68-75--285

T7. Mike Smith, Summit, Wis. $9,035 65-71-73-76--285

T62. Derek Stendahl, Maple Grove $1,530 75-69-77-75--296