T
he drama Preston Cole produced at the 2023 National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, last November was the golf equivalent to a walk-off home run to close a World Series victory.
Cole, PGA, Assistant Professional at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, knew he had to do something special to pull away from a trio of challengers a year ago on the 72nd hole of PGA Golf Club’s storied Wanamaker Course if he wanted to clinch the crystal trophy and earn the $12,500 winner’s check awarded to the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Champion.
What the 30-year-old Cole did was beyond dramatic. Facing a second shot from 124 yards on the finishing par-4 hole, Cole sent a laser directly toward the flagstick. The crisp approach hit just short of the hole and bounded into the bottom of the cup for an eagle-2 that elevated Cole past playing partners Mike Ballo and Zac Oakley for a closing round of 68 (the low round of the day) and a three-stroke victory.
“It was a fairly stock wedge approach in there on the last hole, and I hit it good,” recalls Cole, whose 13-under-par 275 aggregate left him three clear of the Metropolitan Section’s Ballo, with whom Cole was tied entering the final 18 holes of the 2023 Assistant PGA Professional Championship.
“I couldn’t see it go in from where I was, but then everyone started cheering and celebrating and I knew it was in,” recalls Cole. “There was a sense of relief when it went in and I knew it was over. What a way to win.”
Cole’s walk-off HR/eagle not only gave him the national Assistant PGA Professional title, but earned him a berth in the 2024 PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch in Frisco, Texas. He used that ticket to earn a trip to compete in his first PGA Championship (at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville) by finishing in a tie for eighth at the PGA Professional Championship.
“Winning the Assistant Championship opened the door to a lot of other opportunities and paved the way for a great 2024 season,” explains Cole, who will defend his title in the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf and Asics on Nov. 14-17 at PGA Golf Club.
As the defending champion, Cole will be one of the favorites among the 132-player field for the Championship in the four-day, 72-hole stroke-play event. As per tradition, the field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties after two rounds, with the winner again earning a spot in the 2025 PGA Professional Championship.
Cole will be hard-pressed to match the drama he produced while winning the 2023 Assistant PGA Professional Championship, but the former all-conference and academic All-American from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, has been a fine player ever since his college days.
Cole was a sophomore at Furman when the university voted to discontinue the tradition-rich men’s golf program for budgetary purposes. The attempt united Furman alumni and former players such as Brad Faxon with current Furman golfers to raise funds, endow scholarships and save the program.
“Many of us on the golf team were trying to decide if we needed to transfer to find a place to keep playing, or whether we should stick around,” recalls Cole. “Things were happening fast, but I’m glad I stayed and I’m happy the program is doing well to this day.”
After college, Cole moved to Charlotte and began playing professionally on PGA Tour Latino- america while also trying his luck on mini-tours and PGA TOUR Monday qualifiers. When COVID-19 unfolded, he needed a reliable job, sans the travel. He had been helping Quail Hollow Club Head Professional Scott Davenport, PGA, occasionally, and when a job came open there, Cole was hired.
“Scott (Davenport) has been a great mentor and helped me transition from playing the game to becoming a golf professional,” says Cole. “Working at Quail Hollow Club is an ideal situation for me.”
—Roger Graves