WPGA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
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Write-Up Provided by Rick Pledl of Wisconsin.Golf

There’s a path – winding though it is – that connects this week’s Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship and the Senior PGA Championship, one of senior golf’s majors.

Mick Smith successfully traveled that path recently, and on Tuesday afternoon he looked primed to do it again.

The Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship, held this week at Reedsburg CC, also serves as a qualifying event for the National Senior PGA Professional Championship, which this year is scheduled for September in Oregon. There, players have the chance to advance to the 2025 Senior PGA Championship.

Smith, a “young” senior player at 51 years of age, won this year’s Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship by two strokes over Michael Crowley at Reedsburg CC, in a contest that went down to the final holes on Tuesday afternoon.

Smith, an Australia native who operates his own golf instructional facility, Mick Smith Golf, shot a superb round of golf on Tuesday with a 5-under 67. He followed it up with a 69 on Tuesday to win by two strokes at 8-under-par 136.

“I just played solid,” Smith said Tuesday. “I started a bit slow yesterday, but I knew I was playing well so I didn’t get flustered by the poor start. Then I got it going good from the eighth hole yesterday on to today.”

Smith said his goal for Tuesday was to keep it in play “and not give away any shots,” which he was able to do. That’s despite a spate of lipped-out putts he suffered through this week.

Smith’s closest pursuer – they shared a golf cart for the final round – was Crowley, who works at Morningstar GC. Crowley and Mark Voeller of Golf Galaxy-Brookfield began the final round two strokes behind Smith.

Crowley closed the gap in rapid fashion Tuesday morning, birdieing three of his first six holes to draw even with Smith at 6 under. But Smith tried not to let that faze him.

“I try not to think about that stuff, to be honest,” Smith said. “I’m just trying to do what I can do and play well. That’s the best result I can get. So I just try to play my own game, and if (Crowley) played better than me, so be it.”

Smith managed to avoid any serious trouble on Tuesday, and the match was still tight going into the final holes. Both Smith and Crowley birdied Reedsburg’s par-5 16th hole, and Smith maintained his one-stroke lead.

Crowley said he was pleased with his play for most of Tuesday’s round, as he had his putter and driver working until the final stretch. On 17 and 18, however, Crowley’s drives sailed into tree trouble, leading to a par-bogey finish.

Smith made par on the last two holes to win by two strokes.

“Overall it was a good round,” Crowley said. “I hit a lot of quality shots that I needed to hit at the time. But I just didn’t give myself as many opportunities on the back nine as I did on the front.”

Crowley knew he had a tall task in front of him chasing down Smith, the top senior player in the Wisconsin PGA the last couple years and the defending tournament champion.

“He doesn’t make many mistakes, that’s for sure,” Crowley said. “So you have be more on offense, and when you do that, you can make a mistake here and there.”

Last year, Smith followed the aforementioned path all the way from Wisconsin to the Senior PGA Championship. He won the Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship at Meadowbrook CC last summer, then tied for seventh at the National Senior PGA Professional Championship in the fall, which earned him a spot in the 2024 Senior PGA Championship in Harbor Shores, Mich., where he made the cut.

Smith hopes to follow a similar path this year.

That seventh-place finish at the 2023 national event was important because it earned Smith an exemption into this year’s championship, scheduled for Sept. 24-29 at Sunriver Resort in Oregon.

Three other Wisconsin PGA Professionals will join Smith in Oregon, thanks to their play at Reedsburg this week. Crowley, who finished second (69-69-138) qualified for the national event along with Jim Schuman of Blue Mound G&CC (71-70-141) and Voeller (69-73-142).

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The WPGA would like to thank Hornung’s Golf Products, The PGA Tour, and The Golf Channel for their great support of the Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship.

The WPGA would also like to recognize and thank Reedsburg CC for taking the opportunity to host the senior and assistant championships the past few days.

Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship Results Summary