PRESENTED BY
Jeremy Lupinek of the WIGSA pictured with Andy Smith
Matt Sabol pictured with Jeremy also
A cool and overcast morning would greet the participants of the first individual Wisconsin PGA Player of the Year point event on Monday. For the eighth straight year the Assistant Professional Stroke Play and Memorial Classic would share a date, venue and time. The annual stroke play events brought together a field of 100 Wisconsin PGA professionals. Once again, the day was supported by the gracious contributions of the Wisconsin Golf Salespersons Association and Rolex.
The assistant professional contest would feature 55 players and also double as seeding for the year-long Assistant Match Play. Five of the professionals in the field opted to just tee it up on the stroke play event, which left 50 players fighting for the 32 match play spots.
The Memorial Classic would include 45 other WPGA professionals in their own stroke play event, with 13 salespeople joining along for a morning of golf. Four of the WPGA professionals in the field would also be onsite as brand representatives for their company and as a WIGSA member.
The day can become dizzying when you factor in all the different contests. There were two separate stroke play events, optional bonus pool for any professional playing on Monday morning, match play seeding for the assistants, a one net best ball event with the professional/salespeople groups, and two professional skin games. To conclude the day the assistant professionals would play their first round of matches in the afternoon.
The stroke play contests would bring plenty of firsts, since the two events started being conducted side-by-side. Two first time Wisconsin PGA winners, two winners representing the same club, and two playoff victories that took two holes to decide.
Earning the victory in the Memorial Classic was Pine Hills CC Head PGA Professional, Andy Smith. Smith and Kurt Mantyla would each card 5-under-par 67s in regulation. Smith’s round was highlighted by his opening stretch, as he posted five birdies in his first eleven holes. However, he could not quite get the round to six-under and an outright victory. In overtime the duo would match birdies on the par-5 1st and then Smith was able to secure the win with a par on the par-4 2nd hole.
It marked the first individual victory for Smith since he transferred into the Wisconsin Section from Minnesota in January of 2024.
In the Assistants Stroke Play contest the winner was Matt Sabol. The Pine Hills CC assistant PGA professional carded a 3-under-par 69 in regulation to match 2023 champion, Josh Grisa of Blackwolf Run. The Sheboygan native would then come up clutch in overtime. On the par-4 2nd, Sabol would have just 70 yards to the green and knock a flip wedge to just four feet. The short birdie putt delivered him the win.
To help propel him into the playoff he carded one eagle, two birdies and just one bogey during his round.
The win marks Sabol’s first individual professional victory. Previously his highest finish in a Wisconsin PGA individual event was a tie for third place at the 2023 WPGA Member Match Play Championship.
Lastly, to a put a cherry on top of the day, Sabol defeated Gunnar Stapp in his first-round assistant match, 6 and 4.
A big thank you goes out to all the Salespeople for their support of the day. The WPGA is extremely grateful to the WIGSA for everything that they contribute to our section. We would also like to express our appreciation to Rolex for their sponsorship of the day.
A great deal of appreciation goes out to Morningstar GC and their staff. The club is a busy place and all the golf organizations throughout the state appreciate the time they take to host competitions.
Memorial Classic – 18-Hole Stroke Play Results
Assistant Professional Stroke Play Results
Assistant Professional Match Play Tree & Results
One Net Best Ball – Memorial Classic Team Game Results