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Not only do golf's majors bring together the biggest names in the sport, they also afford lesser-known but still talented players the opportunity to tee it up alongside the superstars.
The Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship all give those spots to amateurs to help introduce fans to the next generation of household names. But some of the best golfers in the world who don't play on tour work as instructors and teaching professionals at your local country club or golf academy. That's why the PGA of America sets aside 20 spots in the PGA Championship field for those club pros, known as the Corebridge Financial Team.
Of course, there is one PGA Professional who isn't exactly "lesser-known." That's Michael Block, who will make his eighth start in the PGA Championship this week at Aronimink Golf Club. Anyone who has followed golf over the last decade is surely familiar with Block, who finished tied for 15th at the 2023 PGA Championship — the highest finish in the major tournament by a club pro since 1983.
Block and 19 other PGA of America Professionals are set to tee it up at Aronimink. Here's a look at who they are, where they're from and how many times they've qualified for the PGA Championship.
Listed below is each PGA of America Professional in the field at Aronimink, all of whom are representing their PGA section as well as their home club or academy.
Every year, each PGA Section stages its own championship. The highest finishers in each section then advance to the PGA Professional Championship, which brings together 300+ of the nation's best teaching pros to compete for a national title and a spot in the field at the PGA Championship alongside the world's top tour players. The top 20 finishers at the PGA Professional Championship make up the Corebridge Financial Team and punch their ticket to the major.
This year, the PGA Professional Championship was held at the scenic Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, where Jesse Droemer emerged victorious by just one stroke in a hotly-contested tournament that saw the lead change hands several times on the final day. Droemer will be making his third start in the PGA Championship this year. Tyler Collet, the winner 2025 PGA Professional Championship, also advanced to Aronimink thanks to a T-4 finish at Bandon Dunes.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Who are the 20 PGA Professionals playing in the PGA Championship?
Continue reading...
The Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship all give those spots to amateurs to help introduce fans to the next generation of household names. But some of the best golfers in the world who don't play on tour work as instructors and teaching professionals at your local country club or golf academy. That's why the PGA of America sets aside 20 spots in the PGA Championship field for those club pros, known as the Corebridge Financial Team.
Of course, there is one PGA Professional who isn't exactly "lesser-known." That's Michael Block, who will make his eighth start in the PGA Championship this week at Aronimink Golf Club. Anyone who has followed golf over the last decade is surely familiar with Block, who finished tied for 15th at the 2023 PGA Championship — the highest finish in the major tournament by a club pro since 1983.
Block and 19 other PGA of America Professionals are set to tee it up at Aronimink. Here's a look at who they are, where they're from and how many times they've qualified for the PGA Championship.
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Who are the 20 PGA Professionals in the PGA Championship field?
Listed below is each PGA of America Professional in the field at Aronimink, all of whom are representing their PGA section as well as their home club or academy.
- Derek Berg (1st appearance)
- Pacific Northwest Section
- PNW Golf Academy, Issaquah, Washington
- Francisco Bide (1st appearance)
- Georgia Section
- Capital City Club Brookhaven, Atlanta, Georgia
- Michael Block (8th appearance)
- Southern California Section
- Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, Mission Viejo, California
- Tyler Collet (5th appearance)
- South Florida Section
- John’s Island Club, Vero Beach, Florida
- Jesse Droemer (3rd appearance)
- Southern Texas Section
- Riverbend Country Club, Sugar Land, Texas
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- Bryce Fisher (1st appearance)
- Pacific Northwest Section
- Arrowhead Golf Club, Molalla, Oregon
- Chris Gabriele (1st appearance)
- Metropolitan Section
- Old Westbury Golf & CC, Old Westbury, New York
- Mark Geddes (2nd appearance)
- Southern California Section
- Coronado Golf Course, Coronado, California
- Zach Haynes (1st appearance)
- Kentucky Section
- The Club at Olde Stone, Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Austin Hurt (2nd appearance)
- Pacific Northwest Section
- Wing Point Golf & CC, Bainbridge Island, Washington
- Jared Jones (3rd appearance)
- Southern Ohio Section
- Scioto Country Club, Columbus, Ohio
- Michael Kartrude (2nd appearance)
- South Florida Section
- The Bear's Club, Jupiter, Florida
- Ben Kern (3rd appearance)
- Southern Ohio Section
- Hickory Hills Golf Club, Grove City, Ohio
- Ryan Lenehan (2nd appearance)
- Michigan Section
- Walnut Creek Country Club, South Lyon, Michigan
- Paul McClure (1st appearance)
- Alabama-Northwest Florida Section
- RTJ Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove, Mobile, Alabama
- Ben Polland (5th appearance)
- Rocky Mountain Section
- Shooting Star of Jackson Hole, Teton Village, Wyoming
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- Garrett Sapp (1st appearance)
- Southern California Section
- San Gabriel Country Club, San Gabriel, California
- Braden Shattuck (3rd appearance)
- Philadelphia Section
- Rolling Green Golf Club, Springfield, Pennsylvania
- Ryan Vermeer (6th appearance)
- Nebraska Section
- Happy Hollow Club, Omaha, Nebraska
- Timothy Wiseman (2nd appearance)
- Indiana Section
- Different Strokes Golf Center, New Albany, Indiana
How do club pros qualify for the PGA Championship?
Every year, each PGA Section stages its own championship. The highest finishers in each section then advance to the PGA Professional Championship, which brings together 300+ of the nation's best teaching pros to compete for a national title and a spot in the field at the PGA Championship alongside the world's top tour players. The top 20 finishers at the PGA Professional Championship make up the Corebridge Financial Team and punch their ticket to the major.
This year, the PGA Professional Championship was held at the scenic Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, where Jesse Droemer emerged victorious by just one stroke in a hotly-contested tournament that saw the lead change hands several times on the final day. Droemer will be making his third start in the PGA Championship this year. Tyler Collet, the winner 2025 PGA Professional Championship, also advanced to Aronimink thanks to a T-4 finish at Bandon Dunes.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Who are the 20 PGA Professionals playing in the PGA Championship?
Continue reading...
