The PGA of America sections representing upstate New York are taking center stage this week as the PGA Championship returns to Oak Hill in Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester.
The Northeastern New York Section of the Professional Golfers Association (NENY PGA) is truly in the spotlight, thanks to member Chris Sanger, the head professional at Woodstock Golf Club. He is the first NENY player to qualify for the PGA Championship through the local section, which is based at the Town of Colonie Golf Course.
“It’s so, so exciting for him, for the section and for his club,” said Tracie Warner, NENY PGA Executive Director. “We’re going out there on Friday to join his Woodstock contingent.”
Golf Digest hopped on the Sanger bandwagon with a terrific piece published Saturday entitled “PGA Championship 2023: The most unlikely professional in the field at Oak Hill has a wild story to tell.” One excerpt from Mark Whitaker’s essay: “In a plot line that could be described as a cross between “Finding Woodstock” with “Tin Cup,” Chris Sanger, a club pro at a nine-hole course in upstate New York, had never been out of the Eastern Time Zone until earlier this month. Now he’s teeing it up in a major at Oak Hill.”
With approximately 180 PGA members and associates, the Northeastern New York PGA is one of the smallest sections in the country. Twenty of the 156 spots in the PGA Championship are reserved for club professionals who compete in the PGA Professional Championship.
May certainly has been a time of celebration for the NENY PGA as organizers just announced the slate of annual award winners of section members who help the organization fulfill its mission to grow the game.
You can bet these professionals will be cheering for Sanger this week:
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Marc Levesque, PGA Head Professional at Wyantenuck, NENY PGA Golf…
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