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Casa De Campo: The 8th Annual Caribbean Pro-Am Championship took place at the Teeth of the Dog and Dye Fore courses from January 29-31, 2026. The field consisted of 11, 4-person teams in a Low Gross/Low Net scoring format (a PGA Professional & 3 Amateurs).
Team Ronny Ross (p), Ryan Ross (a), Mike Wooten (a), and Vance Cox (a) took first place with a three-round score of 27-under.
Ronny commented later, “Wow, what an awesome experience this week! The courses, service, food, and accommodations were unbelievable! As a PGA Professional, you always want your Pro-Am Team to feel as though the experience far and above exceeds what they expected for the trip. My entire group said that it is the best experience they have had, and they are old like me! Haha We are looking forward to next year already. Those of you who have never been, start getting your team ready now.” He added, “We want to thank Robert Birtel and his staff at Casa de Campo, and Gulf States PGA staff, for putting this event on.”
Our next tournament is the Yamaha/Antigua Pro-Pro Championship on February 9th, 2026, at Ellendale Country Club. We hope to see everyone there!
HOUMA, LA – February 9th, 2026: Kyle Ramey, PGA of Hattiesburg Country Club, and two of his partners earned the title of 2026 Yamaha & Antigua GSPGA Pro-Pro Champion with a winning score of 11-under par at Ellendale Country Club in Houma, Louisiana.
This year’s event featured the traditional Pro-Pro format while allowing PGA Professionals to compete with more than one partner. Ramey took full advantage of the format, earning the winning score with two separate partners – Greg Sonnier, PGA of Lake Charles Country Club, and Camilo Avila Salazar of Hattiesburg Country Club.
Ramey took home the Low PGA Professional honors with a stout 64 to start his competitive golf season off strong. Ramey, the Director of Golf at Hattiesburg Country Club, was joined by one of his Assistant Professionals at the club, Camilo Avila Salazar, in the top 3, with Camilo finishing 2nd with a 4-under 68. Joseph Hanko, PGA of Elm Lake GC, and Jacob Berry, PGA of New Orleans Country Club, rounded out the top 3 with a 3-under 69.
Ellendale Country Club featured nicely with a brand new fleet of Yamaha Golf Cars, great weather, and impressive course conditions. A total of 61 players competed yesterday, forming 69 different teams for the championship. A tremendous turnout to start the year.
The Gulf States PGA would like to thank event sponsors Jeff Jungers and Shannon Caverly of Yamaha, along with Joe Graves of Antigua, for their continued support of this event. The Gulf States PGA also extends its appreciation to Devin Thomas, PGA, and Greg Crain, PGA of Ellendale Country Club, who served as gracious hosts throughout the championship.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our next event, The Mackel Cup, taking place February 22 and 23 at Bayou Oaks at City Park / Metairie Country Club.
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The first PGA HOPE Training of the year for the Gulf States Section took place at Sunkist Country Club in Biloxi, Mississippi. General Manager Rory Nelson, PGA, hosted 13 GSPGA Members for a day of education and instruction on PGA HOPE. Jordan Leblanc, PGA, led the training and was a phenomenal lead instructor & teacher. PGA HOPE continues to be one of the most successful programs to date for the PGA of America and its members, and serves Veterans around the country to better the lives of those who need it most.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – February 23rd, 2026: Team Mississippi holds on to a 33 to 30 lead over Team Louisiana to retain the Mackel Cup. In a Ryder Cup Format, point leaders from the Mississippi Chapter PGA and the Louisiana Chapter PGA compete for the honor of holding the Mackel Cup. The two-day competition is in honor of the late, great Frank Mackel, PGA, who was the longtime Pro at Bayou Oaks at City Park.
Round 1 fourball took place at the South Course at Bayou Oaks, which was primed for competition with superb course conditions. Sunday brought one of the windiest days of 2026 in New Orleans with gusts up to 35mph. Former GSPGA President Jake Narro, PGA, who was competing for Team Louisiana, reported hitting a 9-iron from 101 yards. It was at least a 2 to 3 club wind the entire day.
A back-and-forth Day 1 led to Team Mississippi taking an 11-10 lead over Team Louisiana into Day 2, which was set to be held at the revered Metairie Country Club. As tradition at the end of the first day of The Mackel Cup, both teams, staff, sponsors, and the Mackel Family join together for dinner & drinks at Acme Oyster House just steps off of Bourbon Street. History states that whichever team can keep the other in the French Quarter longer usually fares better on Day 2, with an early wake-up call set for the final day of the competition.
Day 2 consists of singles matches with all 28 players facing off in 14 separate matches. The wind proved to be a force again, along with cold conditions on the famed Seth Raynor track. Nevertheless, some tremendous golf was played with tight matches throughout and even a Ace on the Par 3 17th “Short” from Team Louisiana's Grayson Glorioso, who went on to win his match 5&3. Some early red indicated a Team Louisiana charge, but Team Mississippi held strong, winning 3 of the last 4 matches to secure their 33-30 hard-fought victory over Team Louisiana and retaining the cup for 2026.
The Gulf States PGA must thank everyone involved in this annual event, starting with the Mackel Family, Chip Sullivan, PGA at Bayou Oaks, Nic Ishee, PGA at Metaire CC, Jeff Morici with Johnnie O & Branded Bills, Eddie Welch with Titleist, and James Fuselier with FootJoy.
We look forward to seeing you at our next event, the GSPGA Stroke Play Series at Laurel CC on March 2nd & the GSPGA Teaching & Coaching Summit at Beau Chene CC on March 16th.
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