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As they say, letting go can be the hardest thing to do. When the WPGA Professional Championship got underway on Monday morning a familiar item would appear on the no. 1 tee. 2020 champion Mick Smith would arrive with the traveling trophy in hand, and of course a joke about letting the WPGA use it for a few days. However, to Smith it most likely wasn’t a joke. In just under three years as a WPGA member the Australian has quickly earned a reputation as one of the top players in the Wisconsin Section.

At the same time his brother-in-law Steve Stricker was making the final selections for the Ryder Cup team he will lead this month, Mario Tiziani made his own history Wednesday at the Wisconsin State Senior Open. Tiziani, who at 51 made his debut appearance in the State Senior Open this week at Blackhawk CC in Madison, won the title in a five-hole sudden-death playoff over Kurt Mantyla, a PGA professional from Wauwatosa.

After venturing just outside of Madison for the Spring Pro-Ladies in early June, it was time for the Milwaukee area to take their turn in hosting the other annual Pro-Ladies event on Monday. The event once again featured a sold out field of twenty-four fivesomes, with teams participating from throughout the Wisconsin Section. Teams from as far as St. Germain made the trip down to enjoy some fun at The Legend at Merrill Hills.

The PGA Jr. League Wisconsin Section Championship presented by National Car Rental concluded last week at Blackhawk Country Club in Madison, Wisconsin. The Final Four was broken up into two rounds starting at 10:00am. All contestants played their matches on holes 1-9 at #BlackhawkCC. For more details on the format, visit www.pgajrleague.com

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (Aug. 25, 2021) – PGA REACH, the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America announces the 2021 class for the PGA WORKS Fellowship. Established in 2017, the PGA WORKS Fellowship provides the opportunity for a one-year, paid immersion in a PGA Section’s Foundation operations. This employment experience offers a view of what a career in the golf industry can provide. The PGA WORKS Fellowship aspires to be the most valuable entry-level opportunity for individuals from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to gain experience in all facets of the golf industry.

The WPGA fast forwarded the clock a bit on Monday as the Fall Pro-Pro Better Ball found a unfamiliar home in the fourth week of August. The early slot in the schedule was just how the “cards fell” with this year’s schedule. It turned out to be the first time the event has been played in August. Hosting this year’s Fall Pro-Pro Better Ball was the the former host site of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, Thornberry Creek at Oneida.

Two of Wisconsin’s top amateur players tried to make state golf history this week in the Sheboygan area, but on Wednesday afternoon it was the defending champion, Harrison Ott, who won the 101st Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley Wisconsin State Open Championship. And he made history, aligning himself with state golf hall-of-famer Bob Brue as the only players to win consecutive State Opens as amateurs.

Another sold out field made their way to Destination Kohler to enjoy a first class pro-am on Monday. This year’s stop featured the always fun and challenging Meadow Valleys course at Blackwolf Run. It marked the fifth straight year that the WPGA has been fortunate to have one our four-player pro-ams at Destination Kohler. The run of hosting actually started in 2014 and only took a one year hiatus during 2016, when the Meadow Valleys course hosted the Wisconsin State Open.

The 2021 WPGA Match Play Championship came to a close on Friday afternoon. After about three months of play it was time to crown a champion. The event kicked off back in early May with the qualifying round and three rounds of matches over two days at Geneva National Resort. The surviving eight players would then branch out on their own and play their quarterfinal match at a mutually agreed upon time and site.

The members and regular customers at Morningstar GC say it rarely is calm at the Waukesha based golf course. On Monday the players in the Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship experienced one of those rare days and it was a green light to go low in round one. All told, seven players or 1/3 of the field was able to break par, and set the stage for a final round shootout on Tuesday.