10 PGA of America Golf Professionals advance in golf’s most historic senior Major
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BRADENTON, Florida – Justin Hicks, PGA Teaching Professional at Stonebridge Country Club in Boca Raton, Fla., is tied for sixth place and leads 10 Corebridge Financial Team Members into the weekend at the 86th Senior PGA Championship at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
Competing in his first Senior PGA Championship, Hicks opened round one with a 3-under 69, well positioned on the leaderboard and three-strokes off the lead. He continued his good play with a hot start to the second round on Friday. Beginning on the 10th hole, he birdied three of his first five holes, capitalizing on holes 10, 12 and 14.
“Yeah, I hit a lot of great shots,” said the South Florida PGA Section Member. “Then we kind of made the turn, and golf happened a little bit.”
Paired with PGA TOUR Champions Members Notah Begay (1-under) and Justin Leonard (3-under), Hicks cooled off with bogeys on holes 2 and 5 thanks to some difficulties on the greens. However, he salvaged his round on the Par-5 7th hole, his 16th of the day, with an eagle putt from just off the green.
“I hung in there and decided to try to give it a run there at seven. I left it just short and holed a long putt,” Hicks said. “I think I was so excited I didn’t know how to hit the next tee shot.
“That thing was probably 45 feet, including the fringe area I was putting through,” Hicks continued. “You know, we’re playing with two guys that have been world-class players for decades. It inspires me to understand, you know, don’t settle for where you’re at. Keep pushing.”
Hicks’ eagle led to a second-consecutive 3-under par, 69 round and a top ten position heading into the weekend at 6-under par at a Major Championship.
On a typical Friday afternoon around 4:00 p.m., Hicks is coaching a two-hour junior golf lesson, but there’s nothing typical about this weekend in Bradenton.
“If we keep driving it well and getting short irons on a lot of these holes like I’ve been fortunate enough to do, I think we’ll hopefully have a good weekend.”
Hicks is one of 36 PGA of America Golf Professionals playing under the Corebridge Financial Team moniker this week. Corebridge Financial has partnered with the PGA of America to sponsor the PGA of Member teams in the Association’s three Major Championships: PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Also in the hunt for low Corebridge Financial Team member honors this week is The Club at Ibis PGA Assistant Professional Alan Morin, PGA, who sits at 1-under T35 following rounds of 74-69.
Morin had only one blemish on the card Friday at The Concession’s par-5 18th. He made four birdies on the day to propel his 3-under round.
Omar Uresti, PGA, sits at even-par following rounds of 71-73, balancing his three bogies and a double with four birdies, allowing him to advance to the weekend.
Bob Sowards, PGA, and Jeff Martin, PGA, are 1-over, while five Corebridge Members finished on the cut line at 2-over.
Corebridge Financial Team Playing the Weekend
Justin Hicks (-6, T6) – Wellington, Fla., Stonebridge Country Club, South Florida Section
Alan Morin (-1, T35) – Royal Palm Beach, Fla., The Club at Ibis, South Florida Section
Omar Uresti (E, T45) – Austin, Texas, PGA Life Member, Southern Texas Section
Bob Sowards (+1, T54) – Dublin, Ohio, Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club, Southern Ohio Section
Jeff Martin, PGA (+1, T54) – Attleboro, Mass., Wollaston Golf Club, New England Section
Tracy Phillips, PGA (+2, T63) – Tulsa, Okla., Cedar Ridge Country Club, South Central Section
John Pillar, PGA (+2, T63) – Hawley, Pa., CC at Woodloch Springs, Philadelphia Section
Jeffrey Schmid, PGA (+2, T63) – Iowa City, Iowa, Brown Deer Golf Club, Iowa Section
Steve Holmes, PGA (+2, T63) – Ventura County, Calif., Rustic Canyon Golf Course, Southern California Section
Mick Smith, PGA (+2, T63) – Summit, Wis., Mick Smith Golf, Wisconsin Section
Australian Scott Hend and American Brian Gay share the lead at 10-under at the mid-way point of the Championship. Stewart Cink, Ben Crane and Retief Goosen are T3 at 8-under par.
The 86th Senior PGA Championship, golf’s most historic senior Major Championship, will continue April 18-19 at The Concession Club and broadcast on Golf Channel. Follow the action at srpgachampionship.com and @seniorpgachamp on Facebook, Instagram and X.
About the PGA of America
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Media Contacts
Jesse Dodson, PGA – PGA of America, jdodson@pgahq.com
Jared Minski – Mastro Communications, jared@mastrocomm.com
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