As the 2025 playing season came to a close across the country, the PGA Tournament Series presented by GolfPass entered its 49th year of providing additional playing opportunities for PGA of America Golf Professionals and Associates during the winter season.
With South Florida as the host, the series of six events is open to PGA of America Members, as well as PGA Associates currently registered in the PGA PGM Program who are in good standing.
A review of all six PGA Tournament Series events, which were each hosted at PGA Golf Club’s Dye, Wanamaker and Ryder courses in December in Port St. Lucie, Florida, follows:
Event No. 1Dec. 1-2, 2025Dye Course
Blistering 6-under 66 carries Balcar to championship
Professional golfers don’t often get mulligans. However, Michael Balcar made good on his second chance at PGA Golf Club.
Two weeks after the Ohio resident lost a final-round lead in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship on the Dye Course, struggling to a 77, he shot the best round of the day, a 6-under 66, to win Event No. 1 of the PGA Tournament Series by three strokes on Dec. 2.
An 11-shot difference, on the positive side, is usually a good sign.
“It definitely feels good to get some redemption,” said Balcar, a 32-year-old PGA of America Assistant at Brandywine Country Club in Maumee, Ohio. “It was a great round today, just kind of went off how I was doing with the Assistant Championship two weeks ago. I was familiar with the course, and I felt like I was really in control of my ball.”
Balcar started the day behind three veteran senior PGA of America Professionals – Omar Uresti, Justin Hicks and Bob Sowards – but fired a front-nine 33 to move into a share of the lead. Balcar finished in style, with birdies on the last two holes, including a 7-iron from a waste bunker to 5 feet on the 18th hole.
The 66 was the best round of the day by four shots, enabling him to finish at 7-under 137. He made eight birdies in windy conditions, capped off by the clincher at No. 18.
“I knew it was going to come out spinny, but I could get good contact with it,” he said of his final swing. “It started right where I wanted. I knew it was gonna be a good shot, and it actually ended up better.”
Hicks and Uresti each shot 1-under 71s to finish tied for second at 4-under 140.
“The winds were blowing and the course is playing tough,” said Hicks, a PGA of America Teaching Professional at Stonebridge Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, who won the 2025 Senior PGA Professional Championship in October. “Every time we play up here, they really corner the pins. You don’t have a lot of room to work with. You’ve got to kind of play away from them a little bit, or you’ll get yourself in a bad spot.”
“Michael played great today. A 66 is pretty awesome,” said Uresti, a PGA Life Member from Austin, Texas. “I had plenty of opportunities and just nothing really fell.”
Sowards (70) finished fourth after a 141, a shot ahead of Ed Kirby (71).
Balcar earned $5,250 for his second PGA Tournament Series win in the last 13 months. He knew he faced a challenge having to chase down the senior triumvirate.
“They probably won 100 championships between them, so I knew that they weren’t really going to fall back toward me,” Balcar said. “I had to go out there and play a good round of golf. Fortunately for me, I did.”
Event No. 2Dec. 4-5, 2025Wanamaker Course
Patient Balin pulls away for four-stroke triumph
A younger Danny Balin might have played aggressive on Dec. 5 with a three-shot lead. But at 43, he knew he didn’t have to aim at every pin or try to make every putt. Patience was the 15th club in his bag.
Balin shot a 1-under 71 in difficult conditions on the Wanamaker Course to methodically pull away for a four-shot victory in Event No. 2 of the PGA Tournament Series presented by GolfPass at PGA Golf Club.
“I was trying to keep it in front of me and not make any dumb mistakes,” said Balin, a Lake Success, New York, resident and PGA of America Head Professional at Fresh Meadow Country Club. “I just wanted to hit the ball where I was looking and make a birdie here or there.”
Balin saw his three-shot lead evaporate when Chris Gabriele of West Harrison, New York, made three early birdies, but Balin regained the lead with a birdie at the par-5 seventh and never trailed. He made two birdies and a bogey to finish at 7-under 137 after opening with a 66.
“The seventh hole was probably the key moment,” said Balin, who has played in nine major championships. “I hit a 4-iron to 10 feet. Should have made eagle. Then I birdied 10, and was able to avoid mistakes.”
Gabriele, who won a pair of PGA Tournament Series events in 2024, shot 72 and tied for second with Rick Morton (72) of Jacksonville, North Carolina, at 3-under 141.
Morton rode with Balin on Dec. 5 and said he was impressed with every part of his game. “He doesn’t hit bad shots,” Morton said of Balin.
Bob Sowards (71) of Dublin, Ohio, tied for fourth place with Darin de Lelys of Westfield Center, Ohio, at 2-under 142. It was a second consecutive top-five finish for Sowards.
Michael Balcar (72-144) of Toledo, Ohio, who won Event No. 1 three days prior, tied for seventh.
There were only two rounds in the 60s on Dec. 5, as constant winds on a gorgeous day made the Wanamaker Course tricky. Jeff Martin of Attleboro, Massachusetts, shot 68 and Tim Pearce of Birmingham, Michigan, had a 69 to finish tied for 11th at 1-over 145.
Event No. 3Dec. 8-9, 2025Ryder Course
Sowards warms up in time to claim first Series victory
It had been a slow start to the 49th PGA Tournament Series for Bob Sowards with just a pair of top-5 finishes. Sowards’ game finally warmed up in Event No. 3. And how.
Sowards capped off another brilliant performance on Dec. 9, firing a 5-under 66 on the Ryder Course to cruise to a four-shot victory over Scott Berliner at PGA Golf Club. It came on the heels of a 63 on Dec. 8 that gave Sowards a two-shot lead entering the final round.
“I just did everything well,” said Sowards, the PGA of America Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio. “Made one bogey in 36 holes and that’s always a positive. I didn’t miss many shots and was in control of my ball all day.”
Sowards took his two-shot lead and expanded it with three birdies on his first six holes. The closest he came to making a bogey was a 5-foot par putt at No. 11, enabling him to post a 13-under 129.
“I was nervous most of the day and kept hitting good shots,” Sowards said. “That’s the ultimate, being nervous and still hitting good shots. I was rusty when I first got here, but I played my way into it.”
The 57-year-old Sowards has won a record nine PGA of America Player of the Year Awards – five as a senior – and has always been one of the dominant players in the Tournament Series.
Berliner started Dec. 9 six shots back, but the Vero Beach resident got within three of Sowards after he made seven birdies. Berliner’s hopes ended when he failed to birdie the par-5 17th and he settled for a 64.
“I played better on the back nine yesterday and that momentum kind of trickled into today,” Berliner said. “I wasn’t thinking about winning.”
Sowards became the first senior player (50-and-older) to win a PGA Tournament Series event since the PGA of America adjusted its rules to give seniors a 5 percent distance advantage. The yardage for players 50-and-older on Dec. 9 was 6,455, compared to 6,825 for the younger players.
Omar Uresti of Austin, Texas, shot 66 to tie Tracy Vest (68) of Iowa City, Iowa, and University of Illinois Coach Mike Small (70) for third place at 7-under 135.
Event No. 4Dec. 11-12, 2025Dye Course
Newman registers four birdies in final six holes
Dylan Newman almost delivered a knockout blow early in Event No. 4 of the PGA Tournament Series at PGA Golf Club on Dec. 12.
Six birdies in his first eight holes enabled the New Rochelle, New York, native and PGA of America Assistant Professional at Meadow Brook Club in Jericho, New York, to go from one behind first-round leader Craig Isabel to three ahead. Just to make sure, Newman made four birdies in his final six holes to finish off a 9-under 63 on the Dye Course and a five-shot win over Isabel.
Newman earned $5,250 by finishing at 13-under 131. He said his hot start could be traced to an aggressive thought in the first fairway.
“The pin was all the way back and I was in between wedges,” Newman said. “And I was like, ‘Why are we going to play to the middle of the green today?’ It landed perfectly and spun it back to about a foot.”
And off Newman went, adding birdies at 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 to take control of Event No. 4 with a four-shot lead. Then things got interesting when Isabel made a couple of birdies and Newman bogeyed the 12th hole; he actually made a 5-foot putt to keep his lead at 1.
But Newman birdied the 13th while Isabel bogeyed, and Newman chipped in at 14 to regain command.
“All of a sudden I started thinking about the leaderboard as I’m standing on my second shot at 12,” Newman said. “I knew it was important to make that (bogey) putt to stay ahead.
“When I needed it, I putted well and I hit great iron shots. I felt very comfortable.”
Isabel, PGA, the Head Professional at Stonehenge Golf Club in Winona Lake, Indiana, shot 69 to finish second. He said he wasn’t surprised by Newman’s torrid start.
“I knew he was going to do that. I prepared for that and just tried to play my game,” Isabel said. “You know Dylan’s not going to get phased.”
Danny Balin (68) of Lake Success, New York, who won Event No. 2, was third at 5-under 139. Ed Kirby (67) of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, tied for fourth with Troy Pare (70) of Vero Beach, Florida, at 3-under 141.
Event No. 5Dec. 15-16, 2025Wanamaker Course
Hrabak cruises to impressive three-shot victory
Remember the name Cooper Hrabak. That’s Cooper Ray-back. Silent “h.” Plenty of game.
The 23-year-old fired a 5-under 67 on Dec. 16 to cruise to a three-shot victory in Event No. 5 of the PGA Tournament Series at PGA Golf Club. It was his third win as a professional – he won the Carolinas PGA Section Championship during the summer of 2025 – after a stellar collegiate career.
Hrabak compiled an impressive resume while playing at Methodist University. In 2021, he won the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award. Three years later, he finished second in the Division III Championship and won the USA South Atlantic Conference title.
Few players in the 88-player field had heard of Hrabak before Dec. 16, but that’s not new for the Medina, Ohio, native.
“I kind of take the underdog approach,” said Hrabak, a PGA of America Assistant Professional at Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club in North Carolina. “I didn’t get highly recruited out of high school.
“It’s just been kind of show up, put the work in. You don’t have to post about it on social media all the time. Just get your work done and it’ll take care of itself.”
Hrabak took care of business on the back nine of the Wanamaker Course. After watching his lead drop from four shots to one, he birdied the 12th, 13th and 15th holes – somehow missing a 14-inch birdie try at No. 14 – to stretch his lead to four shots. He finished at 9-under 135, three ahead of Illinois Coach Mike Small and Event No. 2 winner Danny Balin, to earn the $5,250 first prize.
“I had checked the leaderboard around 10 or 11 and I felt like I had played some good golf, but I still didn’t have much of a lead,” Hrabak said.
Added Small about Hrabak, “He’s got a good game, good tempo, good rhythm, good control.”
Small started the final round with a one-shot lead, but was 4-over after six holes. He rallied to shoot 71 and catch Balin for second place.
Justin Hicks (68) of Wellington, Florida, tied for fourth place with Chad Proehl (68) of Des Moines, Iowa.
Event No. 6Dec. 18-19, 2025Ryder Course
Balcar claims second PGA Tournament Series win
Michael Balcar ended the PGA Tournament Series the way he started it: Holding a trophy. If only it was that simple.
Balcar started the final round of Event No. 6 on Dec. 19 with a one-shot lead, quickly lost it and saw four other players hold the lead during a topsy-turvy day on the Ryder Course at PGA Golf Club.
Balcar had four birdies (and two bogeys) on his last eight holes to shoot 3-under 68 and win by a stroke over two players at 10-under 132. He birdied the 17th to take the lead for good and parred the 18th with a two-putt from the back fringe.
“My goal when I came down for the PGA Tournament Series was to win a check in every event,” said Balcar, a 32-year-old PGA of America Assistant Professional at Brandywine Country Club in Maumee, Ohio. “I’m proud of that consistency. To win two tournaments makes it really special.”
Ben Kern (66), who took 2024 off from competition, tied for second place with Andre Chi (64) at 9-under 133. Kern, low PGA of America Golf Professional at the 2018 PGA Championship, took the lead with a 5-under 31 on the front nine, but settled for an even-par 35 on the back nine.
Chi, who played in the mid-December Korn Ferry Tour final stage of Q-school, fired a front-nine 30 to earn a share of the lead. He bogeyed 11 and 12, then eagled the par-5 13th when he hit a 4-iron to 4 feet. He birdied 17 to tie Balcar before the latter matched his birdie at 17.
Chi said he expected Balcar to birdie 17, and he was proven correct. Balcar hit his second shot over the green, knowing he needed to get up and down to take the lead.
“It was a nice 20-yard chip up the hill,” Balcar said. “I clipped it just the way I wanted to, and hit it to 4 or 5 feet.”
The money title for the six-event PGA Tournament Series came down to the back nine. Danny Balin of Lake Success, New York, who entered with a $279 lead over Bob Sowards of Dublin, Ohio, fell behind when Sowards eagled the par-4 14th, but regained the money lead when Sowards double bogeyed the 17th. Balin finished first overall, totaling $15,310; Sowards was second ($14,364); and Balcar came in third ($13,990).—Craig Dolch
