Write-Up provided by Rob Hernandez (robhernandez.golf@gmail.com) and Wisconsin.Golf
Sam Weatherhead will be at Tuckaway Country Club in Franklin in August to defend his title at the Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley Wisconsin State Open, but — believe it or not — that’s not the only tournament on the 2026 Wisconsin PGA schedule that the 2025 champion has already circled.
Weatherhead, the general manager at Links and Drinks Indoor Golf Bar in Oconomowoc, can’t wait to tee it up April 20 at the WPGA Spring Pro-Pro Better Ball at West Bend Country Club. He will partner with wife Kristyn, the buyer and retail manager at Erin Hills, in the event, which also serves as the qualifier for the WPGA Four-Ball Match Play Championship.
“We played last year and qualified for the season-long match play,” wrote Weatherhead via text to Wisconsin.Golf of their 2-down loss to WPGA veterans Mark Voeller and Kurt Mantyla in the opening round. “Despite an early exit in the pouring rain, it was my favorite event of the year playing with her.”
Indeed, there is a lot to like about the 2026 WPGA tournament calendar.
Its State Open series will once again garner the bulk of the attention. The 30th Sentry Wisconsin State Women’s Open will get things started June 15-17 at SentryWorld in Stevens Point with former University of Wisconsin golfer Chloe Chan as the defending champion and the 42nd Wisconsin State Senior Open will wrap things up Sept. 8-9 at Wausau CC in Schofield with Fox Point’s Michael Crowley set to defend his title in his bid to win a third title overall.
It is the first time since 2011 that SentryWorld has hosted a Women’s State Open. The Senior Open will be the first State Open of any kind to be played at Wausau CC.
In between, the 106th playing of the Wisconsin State Open will take place at Tuckaway CC, home to the Greater Milwaukee Open from 1972 through 1993. It will mark the fifth time that Tuckaway has played host to the Wisconsin State Open and first since 2013 when Jim Lemon of Madison edged former Badgers teammate Ryan Helminen of Menasha by one shot for the title.
Registration for the Wisconsin State Open series will begin April 1, according to WPGA assistant executive director Chris Hoel. Qualifying for the Wisconsin State Open will begin July 14 at Wild Ridge GC in Eau Claire with six other qualifiers to follow plus the last-chance qualifier at Janesville CC.
“I’ve never played Tuckaway CC, but I’ve heard great things and it has a great track record hosting tournaments,” Weatherhead wrote of a facility that also boasts Wisconsin Golf Hall of Famers Johnny Revolta (1930) and Tommy Veech (1948) among its four State Open winners and Gary Menzel (1997) and Eddie Terasa (2013) as the champions of the two State Senior Opens held there. “With those things in mind, I can’t wait to get out there.”
Weatherhead is not eligible to play in another marquee event on the WPGA schedule — the WPGA Professional Championship, which will be played Sept. 14-15 on the Pines Course at Lake Arrowhead GC near Nekoosa with David Bach of Whistling Straits as the defending champion — but he’s working at it. Only WPGA members with Class A standing can compete in that event and Weatherhead is finishing his portfolio for Level 1 with a goal of completing the second of three levels by the end of the calendar year.
It is all part of a juggling act for WPGA professionals like Weatherhead.
“The winter at Links and Drinks is the busiest time of the year for me,” he wrote. “The customer support has been great, and they’ve been keeping our bays booked up most days. We have our largest league turnout in our first three years this season, and that gives me a lot to manage.
“That being said, I am starting to turn my focus back to my progress through the PGM Program. Becoming a Class A professional would not only be a great step in my career and life, but it would also open up new opportunities to compete on the course (like the section championship). The PGM Program isn’t something you can just breeze through, and for good reason. It’s higher learning designed to make you a better golf professional and person.
“It certainly takes dedication and I’m looking forward to putting the work in this year to advance through the program.”
Meanwhile, as the 30-year-old Weatherhead looks to rise through the ranks, the WPGA’s accomplished senior professionals will continue to battle one another in events for the over-50 set.
Summit’s Mick Smith, the WPGA Professional and Senior Professional of the Year who qualified for the Senior PGA Championship, will look to dethrone Menomonee Falls’ David Roesch at Wisconsin Senior Professional Championship, which is June 20-21 at The Bull at Pinehurst Farms in Sheboygan Falls; and Hortonville’s Brad Lanning at the season-long Wisconsin Senior Match Play Championship.