2012 Middle Atlantic PGA Professional Championship
presented by Club Car, Mercedes-Benz & OMEGA
FACT SHEET
August 13-15, 2012
at Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg, Virginia
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Top PGA Professionals from the Middle Atlantic Compete for National Spotlight
Kingsmill Resort’s Woods and River courses in Williamsburg, Va., will host the Middle Atlantic PGA’s premier event of the season, the Middle Atlantic PGA (MAPGA) Professional Championship on August 13-15, 2012. This year marks the 87th anniversary of the event.
From a field of 165 players, eleven plus three exept players will advance to compete in the 2013 PGA Professional National Championship (PNC) presented by Club Car, Mercedes-Benz and OMEGA which will be held at Sun River Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
Spectators are welcome and encouraged to attend. Admission is FREE OF CHARGE.
Along with fellow National PGA sponsors Mercedes-Benz and OMEGA, Club Car, who is also a Platinum Level Sponsor of the MAPGA, contributes to the success of the MAPGA Professional Championship and has been a sponsor of the MAPGA for nearly two decades.
ABOUT KINGSMILL RESORT: Kingsmill Resort is a AAA Four-Diamond property and a member of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide – a global association of the world’s finest independent luxury hotels. A bustling Virginia plantation from 1619 though the 1800s, the land now known as Kingsmill retains its Colonial American heritage with grand accommodations, true Southern hospitality and stately service.
PREVIOUS CHAMPIONSHIPS HOSTED BY KINGSMILL RESORT: An iconic venue for the LPGA and PGA Tours, Kingsmill has a long history as a premier Championship facility. In addition to hosting the Middle Atlantic PGA Section Professional Championship in 1990 & 1991, Kingsmill is also noted for hosting the following LPGA & PGA Tour events:
· LPGA Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill (2003-2009)
· LPGA Kingsmill Championship (returns for 2012)
· PGA Tour Michelob Championship (1968-2002; formerly the Kaiser International Open Invitational and the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic)
Online Results & Updates
ON THE WEB:You can catch updates and additional information on the MAPGA Professional Championship by visiting MAPGA.com and clicking on MAPGA PC in the left sidebar. Tournament updates and photos will also be posted to our Facebook (MAPGA) and Twitter (@M_A_P_G_A) accounts. On Twitter use the hashtag #12MAPGAPC to see all related posts.
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Tournament Details
FORMAT: The MAPGA Professional Championship is a 54-hole, stroke play event with a field of 165 PGA Professionals, including the defending champion, David Hutsell, PGA Director of Instruction at the Elkridge Club (Baltimore, Md.). The field will be cut to the low 40% and ties following the completion of 36-holes.
To be eligible for the MAPGA Professional Championship a player must be a Middle Atlantic Section PGA Member in good standing as of tournament entry deadline and the date of the tournament.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 13-14: Rounds 1 & 2 - Starting times on both courses from 7:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
Wednesday, August 15: Final Round on River Course - Starting times off Nos. 1 and 10 tees (8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.), with the field comprised of the low 40% and ties making the Tuesday cut.
THE WINNER RECEIVES: The winner of the 2012 Middle Atlantic PGA Professional Championship has his/her name engraved on the Tom Utterback Trophy and receives a keepsake plaque from the PGA of America as well as a check for over $10,000.
TOM UTTERBACK’S LEGACY: A Richmond, Virginia businessman, Tom Utterback is synonymous with PGA golf in the Mid-Atlantic region. In 1945, following the return of troops from World War II, Utterback witnessed excitement from the locals as the Richmond Open (a PGA sanctioned event) came to Hermitage Country Club (now Belmont). PGA Legends like Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were regulars in this event.
The enthusiasm generated with the Richmond Open motivated Utterback. He joined together with two Hermitage CC members – Chick Wilkinson and Walter Hagen Jr. (son of five-time PGA Champ) – to form a committee that would entice the PGA to bring their most coveted event, the PGA Championship, to Hermitage. After a slight battle with bidders from St. Louis, Utterback finally made the persuasive bid and in 1949, Hermitage hosted the 31st PGA Championship. The champion that year was fan-favorite Sam Snead who defeated Johnny Palmer 3 & 2 (PGA Championship became a stroke play event in 1958).
EXEMPTIONS: There are no exemptions for the MAPGA Professional Championship. However, MAPGA Players who are past PGA Professional National Champions receive special exemptions to play for a certain number of years in future PGA Professional National Championships. MAPGA Professionals in the field who currently qualify for this exemption are Wayne DeFrancesco, PGA (Columbia, Md.) of Woodmont Country Club – 2001 PNC Champion; Chip Sullivan, PGA (Troutville, Va.) of Hanging Rock Golf Club – 2007 PNC Champion; and David Hutsell (Lutherville Timonium, Md.) of The Elkridge Club – 2011 PNC Champion
Hutsell to Defend
THE DEFENDING CHAMPION: David Hutsell, PGA Director of Instruction at The Elkridge Club defended his title in 2011 and joined the ranks of fellow MAPGA Professionals who have won back-to-back Section Championship titles. Along with Hutsell, these MAPGA Professionals have also defended their titles: Rick Schuller (’03-’04; ’08-’09), Wayne DeFrancesco (’00-’01), Fred Funk (’87-’89), Richard Sleichter (’62-’63), Charles Bassler (’52-’53; ’59-’60); Lew Worsham (’46-’47); Leo Walper (’37-’38); and Leo Diegel (’25-’27) .
Hutsell’s hot start early in the final round from last year, with birdies on four straight holes (3-6), soon dwindled as he gave five shots back on the final 12 holes, including a double-bogey on #18. “I put myself in some tough spots on the final holes, but thankfully I played well enough up until then to allow myself some breathing room. John (O’Leary) kept the pressure on me and forced me to stay aggressive.”
After knocking in his final putt on #18 at Trump National Golf Club (Washington, DC), Hutsell finished the tournament at 8-under par, three strokes better than second place finisher John O’Leary, PGA Director of Instruction (Reston, Va.) at Hidden Creek Country Club. This victory capped an eventful three months for Hutsell in 2011; having won the PGA Professional National Championship in June and the Maryland Open in July, Hutsell also appeared in The PGA Championship in early August.
EYE-OPENING EXPERIENCE: Earlier this year, Hutsell utilized several PGA Tour exemptions and ventured south to Mexico and Puerto Rico where he played in the Mayakoba Golf Classic and the Puerto Rico Open, respectively. He then traveled to Asia in May to play in the 80th Japan PGA Nissin Cup Noodles Cup before defending his title at the 2012 PGA PNC which was held at Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, Ca. on June 24-27. Leading up to this year’s Section Professional Championship, Hutsell played in The Greenbrier Classic in early July and most recently in the Reno-Tahoe Open.
Hutsell’s professional tournament experiences, this year, have exposed him to the real life “on Tour.” “Playing in these events has really exposed my weaknesses both physically and mentally,” he explains, “To do well on the PGA Tour you need to have discipline and minimize your mistakes.” With dreams of playing on the Tour, Hutsell has a better understanding of what he needs to do to get there some day.
PREPARING TO DEFEND: As the PGA Director of Instruction at the Elkridge Club, Hutsell dedicates six days and about 48-60 hours per week to teaching the Elkridge membership. This schedule along with being a husband and a dad leaves little room for quality practice. “I have some time in between lessons to practice, but most of my practice is interrupted,” says Hutsell.
Playing the River Course at Kingsmill is a new experience for Hutsell as he has never played a tournament on that course. On the other hand, the Woods Course at Kingsmill was host to the 2006 MAPGA Assistant Championship where Hutsell competed and finished tied for sixth. “My game is not that far off at this point in the season,” comments Hutsell, “I just really need to focus on my putting and short game to put it all together.”
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Champions in the Field
IN GOOD COMPANY: Woodmont Country Club’s PGA Director of Instruction Wayne DeFrancesco won the MAPGA Section Professional Championship on three occasions – 2000, 2001 & 2007. His back-to-back wins in 2000 & 2001 started with a wire-to-wire win in 2000 at Hillendale Country Club where he edged out a 1-stroke victory over Dirk Schultz, PGA of Beaver Creek Country Club (Hagerstown, Md.).
This win earned DeFrancesco a spot in the 2001 PGA Club Professional Championship which was held at Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon. With a course record score of 65 during Thursday’s round, DeFrancesco went on to take another wire-to-wire victory and earn a spot into the 2001 PGA Championship which was held at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Following his spectacular win in Sunriver, DeFrancesco defended his Section Championship title at the Golden Horseshoe Resort with a 2-shot victory over rising competitor Rick Schuller, PGA (Chester, Va.).
DeFrancesco’s third Section Championship win came in 2007, just days before his 50th birthday. Returning to Golden Horseshoe Resort (Williamsburg, Va.), DeFrancesco was hot out of the gates shooting the low first round score of 66. With his history of wire-to-wire wins, DeFrancesco did not disappoint and claimed victory once again; just beating out fellow PGA Professional John O’Leary (Reston, Va.) by one shot.
Also with three Section Professional Championship wins is PGA professional Chip Sullivan the Director of Golf at Hanging Rock Golf Club in Salem, Virginia - 1996, 2002 and 2006. His largest margin of victory came in 2006 when he shot a final round score of 66 at Congressional Country Club to take a four stroke victory over fellow PGA Professional Brendon Post (Lincoln University, Pa.) of ClubGolf.
One of Sullivan’s more exciting wins, however, came in 1996. After 52 holes of play at Golden Horseshoe Resort, Sullivan was co-leader with Glen Miller, PGA. On the 17th hole, a 210 yard par 3, Sullivan used his 4-iron from the tee, aimed at the flag and hit a one-hopper right into the hole. This hole-in-one gave Sullivan the two stroke lead that he needed to win the 1996 Section Championship. Following this win, Sullivan went on to PGA Tour Qualifying School in the winter of 1996 and was the only PGA Club Professional to qualify that year. Over the five qualifying rounds, Sullivan shot 7-under par which placed him in a tie for 3rd place and earned him PGA Tour status for the 1997 season.
MOST DECORATED: Chester, Virginia’s Rick Schuller, PGA Director of Instruction at Swaders Sports Park in Prince George, Virginia holds the most Section Professional Championship titles out of this year’s field with four victories – 2003, 2004, 2008 & 2009. In the event’s history, Schuller ranks second behind legendary PGA Professional and MAPGA Hall of Famer Charles Bassler who holds five Section Professional Championship titles – 1952, 1953, 1957, 1959 & 1960.
A fierce competitor, Schuller’s first win in 2003 was the icing on the cake after winning several MAPGA events leading up to that point and also finishing in 43rd place at the 83rd PGA Championship. In both his 2003 and 2004 victories, Schuller finished just ahead of then two-time Section PC winner Chip Sullivan.
After a tie for 13th in 2005, a 3rd place finish in 2006 and an unfortunate disqualification in 2007, Schuller was ready to take the reigns once again. Returning to the Golden Horseshoe Resort where Schuller claimed his second Section Championship victory, he posted a spectacular first round score of 65 which placed him in the top five after day one. Then with back-to-back scores of 67 in rounds two and three, Schuller claimed victory for the third time with one of the lowest three round totals (199) in Section Championship history.
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