The beginning of 2025 marked an annual tradition for many PGA of America Golf Professionals in search of warm-weather playing opportunities: the 2025 PGA Winter Championships presented by GolfPass and On Location at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Kicking off the six-event stretch was the Quarter Century (Jan. 8-9) and Senior Stroke Play Championships (Jan. 12–14), followed by the Senior- Junior Team Championship (Jan. 27–30) and the Four-Ball Stableford Team Championship (Feb. 2–4).
A review of the first four PGA Winter Championships follows. The Men’s Stroke Play Championship (Feb. 9–11) and Women’s Stroke Play Championship (Feb. 16–18) will be reviewed in next month’s issue of PGA Magazine.
Four-Ball Stableford TeamChampionshipDye/Ryder CoursesFeb. 2–4
Drahman and Wiseman prevail in a playoff over Anderson and Proehl
The team of Vince Drahman of Fortville, Indiana, and Timothy Wiseman of Louisville birdied the last three holes on Feb. 4 to win the PGA Four-Ball Stableford Team Championship at PGA Golf Club.
They birdied the 17th and 18th holes on the Dye Course to force a playoff with JC Anderson of Hardeeville, South Carolina, and Chad Proehl of Urbandale, Iowa, with 47 points. Drahman, who had a series of close calls two years ago in the PGA Tournament Series, made an 18-foot birdie on the first playoff hole for the win.
“I had basically the same putt in regulation, just three feet longer,” said Drahman, the PGA of America Director of Instruction at Old Oakland Golf Club. “It was just outside right. I hit a good putt, and it went right in the middle. It feels awesome to finally win one of these.”
That sentiment was shared by Wiseman, the PGA of America Director of Instruction at Old Capital Golf Club. The duo are members of the same PGA Section (Indiana) and have played together since 2019. They shared the $10,000 first prize.
“We don’t have the best playoff track record down here, so it’s good to finally get one,” Wiseman said. “The finish was unbelievable. The whole week we kept picking each other up, matching each other’s intensity and never really doubting each other.”
Anderson and Proehl can relate to close calls. This marked their third runner-up finish in the Four-Ball Stableford in the last six years.
“It’s tough to come so close again and not win,” said Proehl, a PGA of America Teaching Professional at Sugar Creek Golf Course.
Anderson and Proehl led by 3 points entering the final round, but quickly lost the advantage by scoring minus–1 points on the first six holes, including a costly bogey on the par-5 fifth hole.
They found their game with five birdies on the back nine. Proehl’s near-eagle at No. 17 gave them a two-point lead, but Drahman made an 8-footer at 18 to force the playoff.
The team of Liam Friedman and Jeff Martin of Wollaston Golf Club in Massachusetts charged into contention with 18 points on nine birdies.
Friedman and Martin tied for third place with Dylan Newman of New Rochelle, New York, and Matthew Sita of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Top Finishers
1 Vince Drahman, Fortville, Ind. Timothy Wiseman, Louisville, Ky.17–14–16—+47
2 JC Anderson, Hardeeville, S.C. Chad Proehl, Urbandale, Iowa18–18–11—+47
T3 Jeff Martin, Attleboro, Mass. Liam Friedman, Marlborough, Mass.15–12–18—+45
T3 Dylan Newman, New Rochelle, N.Y. Matthew Sita, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.10-23–12—+45
Senior-Junior Team ChampionshipDye/Ryder/Wanamaker CoursesJan. 27–30
Ohioan and Michigander come together to capture PGA Senior-Junior
Mike Stone of Perrysburg, Ohio, and Patrick Wilkes-Krier of Ann Arbor, Michigan, could sense their Jan. 30 victory coming.
After all, in the last three PGA Senior-Junior Team Championships, the duo finished T12 in 2022, T10 in 2023 and T3 last year.
“We had our eyes set on winning,” said Wilkes-Krier, a PGA of America Teaching Professional at Kendall Academy of Golf in Michigan. “We’ve been climbing the ranks.”
The climb finished when the pair combined for a 5-under 67 on the Wanamaker Course to win the Senior-Junior Team Championship by two shots at PGA Golf Club. They finished the 72-hole tournament at 30-under 257 for their first PGA Winter Championship. The winners split $10,000.
“The last couple of years, we would make a mistake like a double bogey that would cost us,” said Stone, a PGA Assistant Professional at Belmont Country Club who has qualified for three PGA Championships. “We just kept it in front of us, and Patrick played really well today.”
And who said golfers from Michigan and Ohio can’t get along?
Stone and Wilkes-Krier finished two shots ahead of Scott Berliner of Queensbury, New York, and Shawn Warren of Falmouth, Maine (69), and the team of Walt Chapman and Casey Flenniken (64) of Knoxville, Tennessee.
The teams of Stone-Wilkes-Krier and Berliner-Warren started Thursday’s final round tied for the lead at 25-under 190. They fired rounds of 62 and 61, respectively, on Jan. 29 to gain a three-shot advantage over the rest of the field.
Each team was 3-under through their first 10 holes on the Wanamaker Course to continue to share the lead at 28-under. A bogey by Berliner- Warren at the 11th enabled Stone-Wilkes-Krier to take a lead they would never relinquish.
“It was a combination of both,” said Warren, PGA, the PGA Head Professional at Old Marsh Country Club in Maine. “The Wanamaker Course was playing tough with the firm greens and the wind, and we didn’t have it like the previous three days. You’re trying not to force it, but we just kind of ran stale there. If you had told us we would have won with a final-round 6-under, we would have taken it.”
Chapman and Flenniken shot the day’s third-lowest round, an 8-under 64. They were 7-under after 10 holes but a bogey at the par-3 11th slowed their momentum.
1 Mike Stone, Perrysburg, Ohio Patrick Wilkes-Krier, Ann Arbor, Mich.63-65-62-67—257
T2 Walt Chapman, Knoxville, Tenn. Casey Flenniken, Knoxville, Tenn.64-62-69-64—259
T2 Scott Berliner, Queensbury, N.Y. Shawn Warren, Falmouth, Maine64-65-61-69—259
T4 Bob Sowards, Dublin, Ohio Alex Beach, Stamford, Conn.65-69-65-62—261
T4 Mark Brown, Hobe Sound, Fla. Matt Dobyns, Glen Head, N.Y.63-67-68-63—261
Senior Stroke Play ChampionshipRyder/Wanamaker CoursesJan. 12–14
McCarty, Robison claim PGA Senior Stroke Play with hot putting
It came down, as it usually does, to a putting contest. Sean McCarty of Solon, Iowa, had a 15-foot downhill putt on the 18th green of the Wanamaker Course. Justin Hicks of Boca Raton, Florida, faced an uphill 6-footer. Both were tied at 9-under.
First in, won.
McCarty drained his putt, Hicks missed his and McCarty walked away with the victory in the 50-to-59 Division of the PGA Senior Stroke Play Championship at PGA Golf Club on Jan. 14.
“It was really quick,” McCarty, PGA, Head Professional at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, Iowa, said of the winning putt. “It’s always great to win with a nice putt, especially for me because putting isn’t the strongest part of my game.”
McCarty’s birdie capped off a 2-under 70 that left him at 10-under 205. He birdied four of his last six holes to rally from a three-shot deficit.
Hicks, who had back-to-back top-three finishes on the PGA TOUR in 2014, wasn’t upset after the runner-up finish. He spends most of his time teaching instead of playing during the busy South Florida winter season.
Hicks, the reigning South Florida PGA Section Rolex Player of the Year, closed with a 72 that left him at 9-under 206. He started the day with a one-shot lead and birdied the first two holes, but was caught by McCarty’s hot putter.
Both McCarty and Hicks received a bonus prize:
Their 1-2 finish got them into the 2025 Senior PGA Professional Championship in October.
There was little drama in the 60-and-older Division. Gary Robison of Port St. Lucie, Florida, made sure of that. The 70-year-old bettered his age by a combined 16 shots – he opened with a 60 – to finish at 20-under 194 and beat Darrell Kestner (64) of Glen Cove, New York, by three shots.
This wasn’t new ground for Robison. Two years ago, he dominated the older division, winning by 11 shots at 21-under 193.
“That’s close to being as good as I can play,” said Robison, who teaches in the summers at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. “I had it going really good in the first two rounds. If I hadn’t hit it into the water at 15 and 18 (on Monday), I wouldn’t have made a bogey in the first two rounds.”
Frank Esposito (65-204) of Florham Park, New York, finished third, a shot ahead of Sonny Skinner (70-205) of Sylvester, Georgia.
In the 50–59 Division, Joe Summerhays (70-207) of Syracuse, Utah, was third. Omar Uresti (67-208) of Austin, Texas, tied for fourth with Rod Perry (72-208) of Port Orange, Florida.
Ages 50–59 Division
1 Sean McCarty, Solon, Iowa70-65-70—205
2 Justin Hicks, Boca Raton, Fla.66-68-72—206
3 Joe Summerhays, Syracuse, Utah69-68-70—207
Ages 60-and-Older Division
1 Gary Robison, Port St. Lucie, Fla.67-67-60—194
2 Darrell Kestner, Glen Clove, N.Y.69-64-64—197
3 Frank Esposito, Florham Park, N.J.71-65-68—204
4 Sonny Skinner, Sylvester, Ga.75-70-60—205
Quarter Century ChampionshipWanamaker/Ryder CoursesJan. 8–9
Oakley, Hickson Win PGA Quarter Century; Milne Claims Half Century
In cold, windy weather that was more like the British Open than South Florida, it was fitting that Pete Oakley of Hobe Sound won the 65-and-older Division of the Quarter Century Championship at PGA Golf Club.
Oakley, after all, won the 2004 Senior British Open at Royal Portrush for the biggest win of his career. He didn’t mind temperatures that dropped into the 40s with heavy winds.
There he was Jan. 9, bundled from head to toe, on the par-4 10th tee on the Wanamaker Course in a playoff against Darrell Kestner of Glen Cove, New York. Playing from a forward tee, the 75-year-old Oakley ripped his driver 256 yards to six feet.
After Kestner missed his birdie putt, Oakley two-putted for the birdie to win after both players finished at 4-under 140.
“I hit the drive perfect,” said Oakley. “I was really trying to make the eagle, but I hit it to a couple inches.
“The conditions were similar. I wore the same kind of outfit at Royal Portrush. I play good when it’s miserable, and it was miserable.”
For Kestner, the longtime PGA Director of Golf at Deepdale Golf Club, it was the second consecutive year he lost the Quarter Century Championship in a playoff.
Bill Schumaker (73) of Columbia City, Indiana, was third, a shot behind. Former champ Gary Robison (72) of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was fourth.
The conditions didn’t seem to bother John Hickson of Melbourne, Florida. He shot a bogey-free, 5-under 66 on the Ryder course to come from three shots back and win the 64-and-under Division by two shots at 8-under 134.
Three players tied for second at 6-under: Mark Anderson (66) of St. Simons Island, Georgia, JC Anderson (71) of Hardeeville, South Carolina, and defending champion Chad Proehl (70) of Urbandale, Iowa.
“It was pretty tough out there,” said Proehl. “It was definitely windy and cold, but everybody played in the same conditions.”
In the Half Century Division – meaning a player had to have at least 50 years as a member of the PGA of America – Chuck Milne of Vancouver, Washington, shot a 2-over 74 to finish at even-par 144 and win by two shots over Jim Sheeran (73) of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
“I’m tickled pink to still be out here playing,” Milne said. “At my age (77), it doesn’t get any easier.”
The oldest player in the field, 90-year-old Larry Mancour of Conway, Michigan, made the first hole-in-one in this year’s Winter Championships. He aced the 101-yard fourth hole on the Wanamaker Course with a wedge. It was his 14th career ace.
—Craig Dolch
64-and-Under Division
1 John Hickson, Melbourne, Fla.68-66—134
T2 Mark Anderson, St. Simons Island, Ga.70-66—136
T2 JC Anderson, Hardeeville, S.C.65-71—136
T2 Chad Proehl, Urbandale, Iowa66-70—136
65-and-Older Division
1 Peter Oakley, Palm City, Fla.69-71—140
2 Darrell Kestner, Glen Cove, N.Y.68-72—140
3 Bill Schumaker, Columbia City, Ind.68-73—141
4 Gary Robison, Port St. Lucie, Fla.71-72—143
