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West Palm Beach, FL - Eric Veilleux, PGA, was elected the 24th South Florida PGA President yesterday at the SFPGA Annual Meeting, hosted at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens.
A PGA of America Golf Professional since 1993, Veilleux is the Director of Golf at The Bear’s Club, a position he has held since 1999 when the Club was founded. Before his time with The Bear’s Club, Veilleux was on the bag for the golden bear, Jack Nicklaus, for five years.
Veilleux succeeds Paul Clivio, PGA Director of Golf at St. Andrews Country Club, who completed his two-year term as President and will now serve as the Honorary Past President of the Section and Secretary of the SFPGA Foundation.
Jeff Waber, PGA, follows Veilleux as Vice President. Waber is the Director of Golf at Broken Sound Club - Old Course and has served as the Section Secretary for the last two years. Ben Bauer, PGA Director of Golf at Hunter Run Golf & Racquet Club, was elected by the Membership as the new Section Secretary.
In addition to the Section Officer Election, yesterday’s annual meeting marked the first in-person meeting since 2019 and was hosted at the SoFi Center, gathering over 200 South Florida PGA Professionals and partners. CJS Global served as the presenting partner of the Meeting, while Airshare, Florida Window & Door, and PGA National Resort served as supporting partners.
Eric Veilleux, PGA - 24th Section President
Veilleux first became a PGA of America Golf Professional in 1993 when he was employed in the Colorado Section. From 1993 to 1996 Veilleux split time between the South Florida Section and the Southern Ohio Section prior to making South Florida his permanent home in 1997.
Before serving as an officer of the Section, Veilleux first took on a leadership position in 2012, serving as the Education Chairperson from 2012-2014. Veilleux was then elected Section Secretary in 2021, Vice President in 2023 and now Section President.
Jeff Waber, PGA - Vice President
Waber, a member of the South Florida PGA Section since 2000 has been elected Section Vice Present after his term as Section Secretary. Prior to being elected as a Section Officer, Waber served as the Southeast Chapter President from 2020-22.
The 2022 South Florida PGA Golf Professional of the Year, the highest honor a PGA Golf Professional can receive at the Section level, began his involvement in Section leadership in 2015 when he served on the Executive Committee as the Tournament Chairperson until 2020 and due to vacancy in the position in 2022, he assumed that role once more from 2022-23.
Ben Bauer, PGA - Secretary
A PGA of America Golf Professional since 2006, Bauer has been elected by the Membership as the Section Secretary. Bauer spent the last six years serving on the Southeast Chapter board as the Secretary, Vice President and most recently as the President from 2022-2024. Prior to being a Chapter Officer, Bauer’s leadership involvement began as the 2017 Southeast Chapter Education Chairperson.
In addition to his service to the Chapter, Bauer has been heavily recognized for his involvement in the association, being named the 2016 Southeast Chapter Horton Smith Award recipient, 2018-19 Southeast Chapter Bill Strausbaugh Award Recipient and the 2021 South Florida PGA Section Professional Development Award Recipient.
Miromar Lakes, FL - Dakun Chang, PGA wins the Championship Division while Justin Hicks, PGA wins the Senior Division at the E-Z-GO South Florida Open, played June 24-26 at Miromar Lakes Golf Club and Bonita Bay Club.
The second South Florida PGA Major of the year and first three-day Major featured 167 total players competing at Miromar Lakes Golf Club and Bonita Bay Club. Following round 2, a Senior Champion was crowned, and the field was cut to 51+ ties for the final round.
Seminole Golf Club Assistant Professional, Dakun Chang, PGA, opened the three-day event with a 5-under 67 to trail John Lento, PGA, by one. Chang managed a shot better in the second round, firing a 6-under 66 to hold the lead by one over Justin Hicks, while managing a clean scorecard through the first 36-holes. Chang's first bogey didn't come until the 14th hole in the final round as he held a two-shot lead over the field.
“After I made my first bogey on 14, I had to look at the leaderboard," Chang said. “I felt like I was in a pretty comfortable position, and after I looked, it did help me understand what I had to do.”
Following his first bogey, Chang birdied the par-5 16th before making a double bogey on the 17th hole, narrowing his lead to one. Chang rebounded with a birdie on the 18th to secure the win by two with a final score of 67-66-71–204.
“I have been working on my game pretty hard this summer, and things have been turning around for me,” Chang said. “The putter was very clutch this week. I am pretty excited for this win.”
Capitulating himself up the leaderboard over the final 18 holes was Brant Peaper of Lost Tree Club, who fired a tournament round low of 8-under 64 to finish in a tie for second at 10-under, tied with Michael Kartrude, PGA of the Bear’s Club.
Hicks finished in fourth at 9-under while Evan Bowser, PGA of LaPlaya Golf Club rounded out the top-5 at 7-under.
In the Senior Division, Justin Hicks, PGA Teaching Professional at Stonebridge Golf and Country Club secured the title with a pair of 5-under 67 performances. After trailing Mark Mielke, PGA of High Ridge Country Club for the majority of the final round, Hicks managed to birdie three of the last four holes, including the 18th, to earn the win by one shot over Mielke.
Hicks, who is coming off a start in the U.S. Open at Oakmont now adds his first South Florida PGA Senior Championship win of his career.
Finishing in third at 6-under was Tim Cantwell, PGA of PGA National Golf Club, while Matt Lucchesi, PGA of the Loxahatchee Club, and Joe Kern, PGA of Mangrove Sands Golf Club, finished in a tie for 5th at 5-under.
The E-Z-GO South Florida Open is the second of four South Florida PGA Major Championships to be played throughout the 2025 season. E-Z-GO served as the event's title partner while Ahead, Ballz4Change, Foresights Sports, Perry Weather, StrackaLine, StickX, and Winners Award Group served as supporting partners.
Miromar Lakes Golf Club and Bonita Bay Club boast 15 combined PGA Members. Miromar is led by PGA General Manager Kenneth McMaster and PGA Head Professional Daniel Lee, while Bonita Bay Club is led by PGA Director of Golf Elliott McDonnell and PGA Head Professionals Andrew Gibson and Kyle Heaton.
