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

Early on the back nine Tuesday afternoon it appeared as though Jim Schuman would be relegated to runner-up honors at best in the annual Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship at The Bull in Sheboygan Falls.

The five-time champion’s game seemed to be stuck in neutral.

But there was still time for Schuman’s finishing kick – witnessed many a time in Wisconsin golf tournaments – allowing him a final sprint to the finish line. Schuman closed it out with a flourish, recording five birdies over his final seven holes and stealing his sixth career Wisconsin Senior PGA title.

With win No. 6, Schuman, who works at Blue Mound G&CC, ties Larry Tiziani of Madison for the most Wisconsin Senior PGA Senior titles on the all-time list. The tournament was first held in the early 1980s.

“I haven’t been playing a lot, so to be able to get out and play and represent Blue Mound and its membership is great, and then to win – it’s phenomenal,” Schuman said.

Schuman, 62, has come from behind before to win big tournaments, but he said this one feels a little bit different because … well, he’s 62.

“Obviously, I’m getting older,” he said. “But it’s always nice to relive that kind of stuff from years past. It was just a special day today.”

Schuman claimed his latest win with a 5-under-par 139 total and a narrow one-stroke victory, but that sort of finish probably seemed like a pipe dream halfway through his final round Tuesday.

Schuman was playing catch-up all day Tuesday following Monday’s opening round when he shot even-par 72, leaving him four strokes behind first-round leader Pat Gorman, a PGA Life Member who opened with a 68. Schuman also sat three strokes behind David Roesch of Storm’s Golf Range, who shot 69 Monday and was in second place.

Schuman opened with a birdie in the final round, but he couldn’t get much else going on the front nine. He was still at even-par, and mostly treading water, as he stood on the 12th tee, trailing Roesch by six strokes. And that’s when the magic started.

“It was super-windy, so you just had to hang in there,” Schuman said. “I got around on that back nine and obviously I got on a little bit of a roll and hit some really nice shots. And I made a few putts. It just happened to be my day.”

Schuman said he’s not much of a leaderboard-watcher, but he figured – correctly – that no one was likely to shoot a really low score in that wind, so he kept chugging along, waiting for something to happen. Eventually, it did.

He started his back-nine charge with a birdie on the 209-yard 12th hole, where he hit his tee shot to 3 feet from the hole.

On the next hole, a par-5, he laid up on his second shot but still dropped a 20-foot putt for birdie. The shot-making continued on his final three birdies (Nos. 14, 15 and 17); all were converted with putts in the 6- to 10-foot range.

He closed his round of 67 with a par on The Bull’s tough par-4 18th, where he steered his approach shot to a safe spot short of the green, then got up and down, converting a short putt. Playing conservatively is a common tactic on The Bull’s dicey finishing hole, which like many holes on the course is fraught with danger.

“It’s a great golf course and I love playing it, but there’s disaster lurking around every corner,” Schuman said, laughing. “You’re always sort of on pins and needles out there, but it’s a wonderful facility. It’s just difficult.”

Unfortunately for Roesch, the defending champion, he was on the other side of Schuman’s comeback. Following a birdie on the par-5 13th hole, Roesch sat at 7 under par, which would have won the tournament. But while Schuman was on his birdie binge, Roesch dropped three key strokes, posting a double-bogey on No. 14 and a bogey on No. 16.

Roesch eventually finished second with scores of 69-71 and a 140 total. Ryan Helminen of Ridgeway CC finished third at 142 (71-71), and Gorman was fourth at 143 (68-75).

Also on line this week at The Bull were three highly sought-after spots in the annual National Senior PGA Professional Championship, which will be held on Oct. 22-25 at Superstition Mountain G&CC in Gold Canyon, Ariz.

On top of his win No. 6 in the Wisconsin Senior PGA this week, Schuman tallied another impressive number, as he booked his eighth trip to the national event since 2015.

“Winning the tournament is fabulous, but I think if you ask anybody in that field, they want to get into that National Club Professional, to represent the Wisconsin Section,” Schuman said. “It’s a huge honor, and it’s not one that I take lightly, so I’m really proud of that. I’ll do the best I can to represent us down there, that’s for sure.”

Roesch and Helminen snagged the other two Wisconsin Section spots. Four alternates were also identified.

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

The WPGA would also like to recognize and thank The Bull for doing a great job in hosting the Senior and Assistant Championships the past two days.

Wisconsin Senior PGA Professional Championship Results Summary