Daniel Mills, Chris Hummel and Brian Little claim titles at PGA WEST and Indian Wells Golf Resort in Southern California
Men’s Final Results | Photos | Championship Website
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. ー The Men’s Divisions at the 2025 PGA National Club Championship provided plenty of drama as they wrapped up Monday in Southern California. Three amateur club champions ultimately came away with hard-fought victories, including two via playoffs.
The Championship featured three Men’s Divisions: Open (any age), Senior (50+ years old) and Legend (65+ years old) competing on the Pete Dye Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament Courses at PGA WEST and the Celebrity Course at Indian Wells Golf Resort.
Two divisions were decided in playoffs, with Daniel Mills (Kenwood Golf & Country Club, Bethesda, Md.) emerging victorious in the Open Division and Chris Hummel (Greystone Golf & Country Club, Birmingham, Ala.) claiming his second consecutive Senior Division title. Brian Little (Troon Country Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.) took the Legend Division by two shots with a final score of 4-under 212.
Mills defeated Michael Schnegelberger (Heritage Park Golf Course, Olathe, Kan.) in a playoff for the Open Division after both finished at 6-under 210.
“Growing up, winning the club championship was always the goal, and it took me a little while to finally win it,” said the 27-year-old Mills. “I think coming here was more of a celebration of that, but being a competitive person, I think being a champion among other club champions, it means a lot. It’s really fun. I never really thought I’d win this thing, but this is really cool, really special.”
Entering the day tied atop the leaderboard, Mills and the 40-year-old Schnegelberger battled throughout Monday’s final round at PGA WEST’s Stadium Course. The pair traded leads before a two-stroke swing on hole 16 gave Mills a one-shot margin after he birdied the par-5 against Schnegelberger’s bogey. With a chance to win in regulation, Mills hit his opening shot on the 18th hole into the water. While he managed to save bogey, he would need a playoff to win, but he “wasn’t too worried about it.”
“I thought I made a really good swing off the tee and the ball just sliced about 20 yards,” said Mills of his shot on 18. “I knew I made a good swing on it, and sometimes the ball just doesn’t react well. I didn’t think much of it honestly. I had the same tee shot then maybe 15 minutes later [in the playoff]. I knew I could make a good swing on it.”
On the playoff hole, both Mills and Schnegelberger missed the fairway right and found themselves in a bunker. Mills, on a downhill lie off the face of the bunker, found the back of the green while Schnegelberger found water. Mills was able to putt out to win the Open Division, an honor he’s excited to share with the people back at Kenwood Golf & Country Club.
“I’ve been playing at Kenwood since I was a little kid in grade school,” said Mills. “I’ve got a bunch of buddies out there that I play with. This has been really fun getting texts from them throughout the tournament. I’m very excited to bring this thing back home.”
Mills credited the PGA of America Golf Professionals he’s worked with along the way.
“Back when I was still learning the game, my teaching pro was Pete Labourdette,” he said. “He’s moved to another club (nearby Lakewood Country Club), but Pete’s been great for me. The Head Pro, Lynne Hunter, at Kenwood has been great. Kenwood runs an excellent golf program. They continue to cater to the youth. They’re teaching new people the game that I love and they do such a great job of it. I’m very appreciative of them.”
Damian Telles (Sterling Grove Golf & Country Club, Surprise, Ariz.) finished just one shot behind Mills and Schnegelberger in third place at 5-under 211. Braylon Bingham (Cedar Ridge Golf Course, Cedar City, Utah) was fourth at 4-under 212 followed by Adam DeArmond (Bonita National Golf & Country Club, Bonita Springs, Fla.) in fifth at 1-under 215.
In the Senior Division, it came down to a playoff between previous champions as Hummel, who won the 2024 edition, took on Chad Scott, the 2022 Senior Champion from Ashland Golf Club in Ashland, Ohio. Hummel won on the first playoff hole after the two finished at 6-under 210.
“Chad, obviously a former champ, has been playing great all day,” Hummel said while recounting the playoff hole. “He hit his drive a little right off the tee marker and I didn’t see it. I hit a good one. He was down in the sand waste area and hit a shot into the water. So then I was able to just kind of hit the ball in the middle of the green and try to two putt to get out of there.”
The win gave Hummel his second consecutive Senior Division title following his win at the 2024 PGA National Club Championship held in March 2025 at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia.
“I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to play in both of them and play well,” said the 54-year-old Hummel, who is honored to represent Greystone Golf & Country Club in Alabama. “I hit a lot of good iron shots today, and I finally made a few putts. I missed several birdie putts, but I made a few when I needed to. That was really the difference.”
Scott had surged up the leaderboard with a Championship-low 6-under 66 on the Celebrity Course in the second round, leaving Hummel one shot behind him in a tie for second heading into Monday. The pair battled in the final round, both going even-par through their first nine holes. Hummel found his momentum with three straight birdies on holes 14-16, and if not for a bogey on 17, he would have won without a playoff.
“Chad was up there close on 14, and I made about a 20-footer to try to stay with him,” said Hummel. “Then on the par-5 [15th], I hit the green in two shots and had about a 15-footer for eagle and ended up with a 2-putt there for birdie. And then I made another little swinger putt from about 15 feet for that third birdie in a row. That really got it going there to try to close the gap because Chad was playing so good all day.”
Coleman Tidwell, the 2020 Senior Division Champion from Idle Hour Golf & Country Club in Macon, Ga., finished third at 3-under 213. David Burroughs (Serrano Country Club, El Dorado Hills, Calif.) was fourth at 2-under 214 followed by Paul Erdman (Robson Ranch Golf Club, Eloy, Ariz.) in fifth at 1-under 215.
Although there was no playoff, the Legend Division was just as close atop the leaderboard. Little shot a 3-under 69 on the Celebrity Course Monday, giving him the low round of the day in the Legend Division and securing his two-shot victory.
“It was fun,” said the 68-year-old Little. “Both my wife and I have played in it before. It was a close match with the two guys I was playing with. Just a fun day and really nice weather.”
Little carded five birdies against two bogeys in the final round, highlighted by back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13, the latter of which included a memorable wedge shot to about 8 inches.
“For the most part, I stayed away from trouble,” said Little. “That was the biggest thing I did. I was pretty steady all the way around and didn’t get myself in too many jams.”
Randy Hicken (Timpanogos Golf Club, Provo, Utah) finished second in the Legend Division at 2-under 214 followed by Jon Valuck (1-under 215) from the The Mirabel Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., in third and John Brennan (5-over 221) from Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz., in fourth.
The PGA National Club Championship features amateur club champions from facilities across the country with a PGA of America Golf Professional. Winners of any 2025 club championship received an invitation to compete from their PGA of America Golf Professional.
All champions receive a five-year exemption into the PGA National Club Championship, and the top five finishers in each division will be invited to compete in next year’s championship.
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