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Jupiter, FL - Mark Mielke, PGA, fires consecutive under-par rounds to narrowly win the South Florida Senior PGA Professional Championship, played August 19-20 at The Bear’s Club.
In addition to being crowned the 2025 Senior Section Champion, Mielke, a Teaching Professional at High Ridge Country Club, and the other nine top-finishers advanced to the Senior PGA Professional Championship, which will be held October 23-26 at PGA Golf Club.
Mielke opened the 2025 Championship with a birdie en route to a 2-under 70, putting him in a share for the lead with Tim Turpen, PGA, and on pace to meet his pre-event goal.
“The golf course is so tough, which is kind of a benefit to me, I usually tend to hit a lot of fairways and greens,” Mielke explained. “My goal was to shoot 5-under.”
Going into the final round, Mielke stuck to his goal, not allowing the scoreboard to dictate how he plays. He rode his opening round momentum to another 2-under 70, one shy of his goal but enough to claim the victory by one over Alan Morin, PGA, and Justin Hicks, PGA.
While Mielke completed the wire-to-wire victory, it did come with having to dodge a few bullets, first, coming from Hicks as he was playing in the group ahead and hit the par-5, 18th green in two, setting himself up with a 45-foot eagle putt. Hicks would go on to three-putt and finish at 3-under total. The second bullet dodged came from his fellow playing partner, Morin, who was greenside on the 18th in two. Morin could not get up and down, ultimately finishing at 3-under total. Over the 36-hole Championship, Mielke managed only three bogeys to go along with seven birdies.
“I hit it well off the tee, hit a lot of greens and didn't get in any trouble," Mielke said. “The only bogey I made today was a three putt.”
A member of the SFPGA and avid section player since 2016, Mielke has earned several team and individual wins, but this marks his first Senior Section individual Major victory. Mielke and Mark Brown recently won the Senior Pro-Pro for their third consecutive year.
“It's nice in the team events when you have competition and get to feel the nerves a little bit so when you do get in on your own, it is not as devastating and it definitely helps,” Mielke shared when expressing his nerves down the stretch.Joining Mielke in the National Senior PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club, October 23-26 will be: Scott Newhouse, Mark Brown, Jared Isaacs, Roger Kennedy Jr., Paul Scaletta, Jerry Tucker, Michael Kostelnik, Tim Turpen and Brett Melton. Exempt players: Tim Cantwell, Gene Figer, Mike San Filippo, Justin Hicks, Roger Kennedy Sr., Alan Morin, Wes Smith and Peter Oakley.
For the first time, the Bear’s Club hosted the South Florida Senior PGA Professional Championship, which was supported by Golf Channel, PGA TOUR, PXG and Stitch.
The Bear’s Club is led by PGA Director of Golf and SFPGA Section President, Eric Veilleux, and PGA Assistant Professional, Michael Kartrude and Associate Assistant Professional Philip Manceri.
Palm Beach Gardens, FL - Ty Patterson played the final two holes at 3-under to win the Bushnell Stroke Play Championship, played August 4-5 at Old Palm Golf Club and BallenIsles Country Club. Alan Morin, PGA, claims the Senior Division title with a 7-under performance.
The South Florida PGA Bushnell Stroke Play Championship is the third of four SFPGA Majors to be played throughout the 2025 season. In addition to the major, the 36-hole event also served as a qualifier for the 2026 Corales Puntacana Championship on the PGA TOUR, in which Evan Bowser earned the spot as the low Class-A Professional.
After a 6-under 66 in the opening round at BallenIsles North Course, which included only 25 putts, Patterson, an Associate Assistant Professional at the Golf Club of the Everglades, trailed by one. With his final round at Old Palm, Patterson opened with a bogey before finishing his first nine holes at 2-over.
With Evan Bowser, PGA of LaPlaya Golf Club, holding a two-shot lead on the back nine, Patterson checked the leaderboard and knew he needed to make a charge.
“I looked at it (leaderboard) on 15 and that's when I knew I needed to make some birdies," Patterson said. “I looked at it on 17, and Evan was 8-under, so I was two back.”
Patterson proceeded to make an eagle on the par-5 17th and a birdie on the par-4 18th to claim the outright title by one in only his third SFPGA Major since joining the Section in 2024.
“I'm still taking it in and processing," Patterson said following the win. “I'm going to play in every tournament now.”
While finishing runner-up to Patterson by one, Bowser, a PGA Assistant Professional at LaPlaya Golf Club, secured low Class-A Professional honors, earning him entry into the Corales Puntacana Championship on the PGA TOUR.
“It is super exciting,” exclaimed Bowser, who was unsure he would even be able to play in the event. “I was flying back from a trip in Michigan, and my flight got cancelled, so I didn’t get here until 2:30 AM Monday.”
Bowser is no stranger to competing at the highest level, as he competed in the 2024 PGA Championship with his sister on the bag and family cheering him on, and looks to have the same support at the 2026 Corales.
“I am sure she will be there for me, and it should be a family affair for sure, it will be a lot of fun,” Bowser said as he just returned from a family trip in his hometown in Michigan.
In the Senior Division, Alan Morin, PGA Assistant Professional at The Club at Ibis, managed a two-day total of 7-under to win the Senior title by one over Justin Hicks, PGA, Paul Scaletta, PGA, and Brett Melton, PGA.
Over the 36-hole event, Morin managed two clean scorecards, as the only player in the field to go bogey-free.
Morin added his second win of the year after winning the South Florida Senior Open in May.
The 2025 Bushnell Stroke Play Championship, supported by DR Golf Sales, Melin, Oakley, and Nexbelt, was hosted at Old Palm Golf Club and BallenIsles Country Club.
Old Palm is led by PGA Director of Golf, Ryan Flinn, and PGA Assistant Professional, Joey Medora, while BallenIsles is led by PGA Director of Golf Jeff Fitzherbert, PGA Head Professional Chris Hayes, and five PGA Assistant Professionals.
