Tyler Collet’s mindset was as pure as his golf game. Collet’s approach during the 2025 PGA Professional Championship was about playing smart but aggressive golf over the Wanamaker Course and Ryder Course at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on April 27–30. Make birdies when given the opportunity, but don’t take risks that result in bogeys or worse.
The result was a record-setting performance by Collet, a 29-year-old PGA of America Assistant Professional at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Florida. Collet cruised to a 10-shot victory after finishing at 15-under 272. It was the largest margin of victory in the Championship’s 57-year history, eclipsing Matt Dobyns’ eight-shot win in 2012.
“My mindset all week was not to play not to win,” Collet said. “We had a game plan, and we stuck to it religiously. We played the smart, safe shots. Tiger (Woods) won 82 championships by playing to the middle of the greens, and that’s what we did this week.”
Collet led 20 PGA of America Golf Professionals to make the Corebridge Financial Team by qualifying for last month’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s the fourth time he’s earned a spot in the PGA Championship in the last five years.
The smile on Collet’s face (pictured), when he got to lift the Walter Hagen Cup said it all: pure joy after his virtuoso performance.
“It means everything to hold this trophy,” explained Collet, who was embraced by wife Sadie and 2-year-old son Theo on the 18th green. “I was looking at the names on it. There are some really spectacular people there. It means the world.”
Collet made history by becoming the fourth wire-to-wire PGA Professional Champion. He was tied for the lead with 2014 champion Michael Block after opening with a 7-under 65, pushed it to three shots after 36 holes, seven after 54 and double digits at the end. Jesse Droemer, a PGA of America Teaching Professional at Riverbend Country Club in Sugar Land, Texas, was a distant second (74-282).
“That was next-level stuff,” Block, the PGA of America Head Professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California – who finished tied for third – told Collet.
He becomes the second player from the South Florida PGA Section to win the PGA Professional Championship, joining Bruce Fleisher in 1989. Collet’s victory also gave the South Florida PGA a sweep of the PGA’s three most recent national member tournaments – Alan Morin from The Club at Ibis won the 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship and Domenico Geminiani of Naples won the 2024 Assistant PGA Professional Championship.
In addition to having his name on the Walter Hagen Cup and earning a spot in the season’s second major, Collet earned the first prize of $66,700 from the $750,000 purse. Another benefit that goes with winning: He received exemptions into six selected PGA TOUR events during the next 12 months. For a player who has been on the edge of playing on the major tours – he had conditional status on the DP World Tour last year – the opportunities might have meant more than the first prize.
“It’s huge,” Collet said. “It was in the back of my mind out there, but I tried my best not to think about it. It means a lot to get those six starts, plus the major. It’s big to me when I have goals in life.”
Collet made only six bogeys all week, more than offsetting them with an eagle and 19 birdies. He bogeyed the final two holes, when the outcome was already decided, but even then he closed with an impressive 25-foot bogey putt on No. 18 for a 72.
“Making that last putt was big for me because I didn’t want to shoot over par,” he said.
Droemer finished second at 5-under 282 after a 2-over 74 in the final round. He dealt with back issues throughout the week to post his best PGA Professional Championship finish. Droemer overcame two early bogeys in the final round with 14 consecutive pars.
“I was just hoping to be able to hang in there,” he said. “I got off to a bad start. I’m just proud of myself for hanging in there. It was a grind and mind over matter.”
Block thrilled the golf world in 2023 when he made a hole-in-one in the final round of the PGA Championship playing alongside Rory McIlroy to finish T15. After his opening 64 in the 2025 PGA Professional Championship, Block played his final 54 holes in 3-over to share third place with Brian Bergstol, PGA, the Assistant Golf Professional at Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort in Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania.
“The goal this week was to kind of show my kid (his caddie, son Ethan) the nuances of playing golf, and I think I did,” said Block. “Keep it in the fairway off the tee. Hit the green. If you miss the green, get up and down, make a conservative chip, and then be a decent putter. I think I showed him a good way to do it. I’m going to Quail Hollow.”
Dylan Newman (Westbury, New York), Brandon Bingaman (Dallas, Texas), Ryan Lenahan (New Hudson, Michigan) and Andre Chi (Queens, New York) tied for fifth at 3-under.
Other notables to advance to the 2025 PGA Championship were 56-year-old Bob Sowards, who shot 68 in the final round to qualify for his record-tying 12th PGA Championship, and 50-year-old Justin Hicks of Wellington, Florida, who qualified for his first PGA Championship after playing in six U.S. Opens – he was tied for the lead after the first round in 2008 – and an Open Championship.
“It’s really hard to get in the majors,” Hicks said. “It’s not intended for just anybody to have a seat at the table.”
There was a dramatic four-for-one playoff for the final spot between Dakun Chang, Michael Kartrude, Brad Lardon and Andy Svoboda. It took five holes, with Kartrude winning the playoff after hitting a great recovery shot from the trees on the par-4 14th hole to save par. Lardon missed an 8-foot bogey putt after barely missing putts by inches on the previous two holes.
“Best moment of my golfing life, for sure,” said an emotional Kartrude, a PGA of America Assistant Professional at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Florida. “I just hit one of the best shots of my life out of the trees, and I’m playing in my first major.”
The constant winds at PGA Golf Club were a major part of the story during the tournament’s four days, making the firm-and-fast Wanamaker and Ryder courses play even more difficult. Choosing the proper club was as important as the swing. Ball marks on the hard greens were difficult to find.
Collet opened the Championship by firing a 7-under 65 on the Wanamaker to tie Block, who opened with a 7-under 64 on the Ryder Course, for the first-round lead. It was Collet’s second opening-round 65 at the PGA Professional Championship; he shot the same score in the first round in 2022.
“The Wanamaker is really firm and fast and fiery,” Collet explained. “Our game plan, we kind of executed it flawlessly. It was nice to feel the pressure. It’s been a little bit, so I’m really happy.”
Block didn’t need any heroics for his 64. He and son Ethan adopted a simple game plan of “go to work” as the elder Block said they sought to treat each shot as a “new shot, new day, new everything.
“We never had to do anything crazy. It was one of those rounds where it was an easy 64.”
Collet started to take control in the second round with a 4-under 67 on the Ryder Course to earn a three-shot lead over Block (71 on the Wanamaker) at 11-under 132. Collet stretched his lead to seven after a third-round 68 on the Wanamaker.
Collet was just as sturdy in the final round when he played his first 16 holes in 2-under. By then, it was just a question of how much he would win by and who would finish second.
It was Collet’s week, a week that will be remembered for years to come.