ASSISTANTS CHAMPIONSHIP
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Write-Up Provided by Rick Pledl of Wisconsin.Golf
Michael Nagy’s win at the Wisconsin Assistant PGA Professional Championship Monday came with a few perks. One of them is a coveted spot in November’s National Assistant Championship in Florida, and the best part of that, Nagy said – sounding like the golf pro that he is – is the opportunity to extend the season and play even more golf.
Nagy, 31, won the state title Monday at The Bog in Saukville in the one-day, 36-hole tournament. He shot 70 in the morning round and closed with a superb 66 in the afternoon to finish at 8-under 136.
“It’s on my calendar now,” Nagy said of the national event. “It’s nice because it elongates the golf season and gives me another month to get ready for a tournament.”
An assistant pro and PGA of America member who works at TPC Wisconsin, Nagy won the title by three strokes over his final-round-playing partner Jeffrey Perry of Whistling Straits, who shot 70-69 to finish at 139.
Maxwell Schmidtke, the first-round leader who also works at Whistling Straits, and Cody Strang of The Legend at Bergamont tied for third place at 142. Schmidtke shot rounds of 68-74, and Strang shot 71-71.
Wyatt Wilderman of Concordia shot 69-74 to place fifth at 143 and was the only other player to finish 36 holes under par.
The Wisconsin Assistant PGA Professional Championship is shotgun-start event, and Nagy began round one on No. 1. The pairings were reshuffled after the first round with Nagy starting round two on the fifth hole.
Nagy felt he let some opportunities slip by over the course of his first round, but he closed the morning session with a key putt for par on the 18th hole that measured about 20 feet.
“It was nice to see one go in at the end,” Nagy said of his finish in the first round. “I think I found a little key with my putter there, and I was able to use that momentum to go into round two.”
That led Nagy to a sweet round of 6-under 66, which he said is his low competitive round of the summer.
“I’ve had some rounds of 70, so I was hoping to break into the 60s soon, and it came around on a good day,” he said. “That was a fun one.”
Nagy, a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, said he tried to “kind of lose track of where I was” and just worry about playing for most of the final round. On the last few holes he looked at the scores and found he had a small but comfortable lead over Perry, one of his afternoon playing partners.
The third member of the threesome was Strang, and Nagy said all three players hit the ball well in the afternoon, spurring each other on.
“So we had a good group – everyone played solid – which always helps,” Nagy said. “Like I said, I didn’t really look at a leaderboard, but when other guys are making birdies, you want to keep pace.”
So now it’s on to the National Assistant Championship, scheduled for Nov. 13-16 at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He made the field in Florida last year, too, where he represented Wisconsin well, finishing 29th.
“I played half-way decent (last year)” Nagy said, assessing his experience. “It’s definitely a unique time – the middle of November. So this year I’ll probably prepare a little differently.”
Nagy said he might go down to Florida a little earlier this fall to ready his game, and maybe he’ll focus more on short game prep this time.
Nagy, who was elected to PGA of America membership in May, and Strang locked up the two Wisconsin Section berths in the National Assistant Championship based on their PGA of America status, and their play in Monday’s tournament.
Three alternates were also identified. In order, they are Matt Sobol of Pine Hills CC (73-72-145), David Bach of Whistling Straits (72-73-145) and Josh Grisa of Blackwolf Run (69-77-146).
Perry, Schmidtke and Wilderman were not eligible for the national event.
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A big thank you goes out to Hornung’s Golf Products and Cleveland/Srixon for their support of the WPGA Assistant Professional Championship. Their contributions are key to helping provide a great championship for our A-8 PGA members and associates.
The WPGA would also like to recognize and thank everyone at The Bog for being a very accommodating and welcoming host site.
Wisconsin Assistant PGA Professional Championship Results Summary