PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – PGA Professional National Champion Matt Dobyns of Sea Cliff, N.Y., who completed a stunning June debut in the showcase event for PGA Professionals, will be one of several PGA Professionals featured in the CBS Sports special “The Road to the PGA Championship,” which debuts Sunday, July 29, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT. The program, featuring behind-the-scenes stories of some of the competitors in the Season’s Final Major, will be aired in four separate rebroadcasts, beginning Aug. 1, on Golf Channel.
Marking its seventh consecutive year and narrated by CBS Sports announcer Verne Lundquist, “The Road to the PGA Championship” also features the 45th PGA Professional National Championship conducted in June at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside, Calif. The Championship was the springboard to a 20-player delegation earning berths in the 94th PGA Championship, Aug. 6-12, at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C.
Dobyns, the 34-year-old PGA head professional at Fresh Meadow Country Club in Lake Success, N.Y., was the eighth player to capture the PGA Professional National Championship in his first appearance, June 27, winning by an eight-stroke margin and breaking a 41-year mark by legendary Sam Snead. Dobyns is the seventh Metropolitan PGA Section member to capture the National Championship and will make his first major championship appearance.
Joining Dobyns in the PGA Championship will be PGA Professionals who each share a compelling story reflecting their career and a quest for competing at The Ocean Course. They include:
Brian Cairns of Walled Lake, Mich., a 48-year-old PGA teaching professional at Fox Hills Learning Center in Plymouth, Mich., who makes his second straight PGA Championship appearance. Cairns has played a large role in the Detroit inner-city golf and life skills program, “Midnight Golf.”
Kelly Mitchum, 41, of Southern Pines, N.C., is a PGA assistant professional at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort, and earned his fourth PGA Championship trip after last competing in 2007.
Corey Prugh, 31, of Spokane, Wash., is a PGA assistant professional at Manito Golf & Country Club in Spokane, and earned his first PGA Championship appearance. Prugh’s younger brother, Alex, is a member of the web.com Tour; and father, Steve, is president of the Pacific Northwest PGA Section.
Jeff Coston, 56, a PGA teaching professional from Blaine, Wash., is the owner-operator of the Jeff Coston Golf Academy at Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine. He makes his fourth PGA Championship appearance, and returns to The Ocean Course after finishing as Low PGA Club Professional in the 2007 Senior PGA Championship.
The program also features: Rod Perry, 38, the PGA head professional at Crane Lakes Golf Course in Port Orange, Fla., whose facility is a showcase for accessible, affordable golf; the first father-son duo to compete in the same PGA Professional National Championship – PGA teaching professional Jack Seltzer, 61, of the Kendall Academy of Golf in Ypsilanti, Mich., and John Seltzer, 33, the PGA head professional of the Polo Fields Golf & Country Club in Ann Arbor, Mich.; 2011 National Champion David Hutsell, 41, the PGA director of instruction at the Elkridge Club in Baltimore; PGA teaching professional Craig Stevens, 51, of the Brookstone Golf & Country Club in Acworth, Ga., and Dennis Miller, 42, the PGA director of golf at Mill Creek Park Golf Course in Canfield, Ohio, who made national headlines by his playoff birdie in the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Tournament, earning a trip to The Olympic Club.
“The Road to the PGA Championship” – Golf Channel broadcast schedule (all times Eastern):
Wednesday, Aug. 1 GOLF 9:00 – 10:00 p.m.
12:00 – 1:00 a.m.
Monday, Aug. 6 GOLF 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
9:00 -10:00 p.m.
CBS and Golf Channel are broadcasting partners of The PGA of America. The PGA Championship is one of the most extensively broadcast golf events and will air live on CBS and TNT. The 94th PGA Championship will be broadcast worldwide to more than 453 million households reaching 203 countries and territories.
Golf Channel features an international reach of 120 million households, 83 million of which are in the United States.
The PGA Championship is one of four premier golf events conducted by The PGA of America. Others include the Ryder Cup, the Senior PGA Championship, and the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, which brings together the winners of golf’s four major championships.
Golf’s best professionals began competing for the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy in 1916. Past Champions span both the legendary and recent stars of the game: Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, and Keegan Bradley.
Limited tickets to the 94th PGA Championship remain for both practice and competition days. For more information, visit PGA2012.com.
The PGA Championship perennially features the most ranked players among any major championship and has brought together the most international competitors in any U.S. major. Golf’s best professionals have been competing for more than 90 years for the Championship’s coveted Wanamaker Trophy.
About The PGA of America
Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, The PGA enables its professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the multi-billion dollar golf industry. By creating and delivering world-class championships and innovative programs, The PGA of America elevates the public’s interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere. As The PGA nears its centennial, the PGA brand represents the very best in golf.
Contact:
Bob Denney
561/624-8582
bdenney@pgahq.com
Tara Olivo
732/469-5700
tara@mastrocomm.com
Covering the business of golf!
