FRANK ESPOSITO JR. 2017 SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPION Desert Mountain | Scottsdale, Arizona

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30TH SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

presented by Golf Advisor

October 25 – 28, 2018PGA Golf Club

Port St. Lucie, Florida

PGA MEDIA GUIDE 2018 | 1

30TH SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

OCTOBER 25 - 28, 2018 PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, FloridaDefending Champion: Frank Esposito Jr., Old Bridge, New Jersey

presented by Golf Advisor

Purse and Honors A purse of $300,000 will be distributed to the field of 264 competitors. The 2018 Senior PGA Profes-sional Champion will receive $21,500.

Exemptions The top 35 finishers will earn a berth in the 2019 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.

The top eight finishers, including ties, will be exempted into the 2019 Senior PGA Professional Championship.

Method of Play Stroke play, 18 holes daily. Following the first 36 holes of play, the field will be reduced to the 70 players having the lowest scores and those tied for 70th place. These players will then compete in the final two rounds. In the event of a tie for first place upon completion of 72 holes, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff.

Rules and Regulations The Rules of Golf, which govern play, are determined by the United States Golf Association and applied by the PGA of America Rules Committee. PGA Professionals at least 50 years of age, as of the Championship, may attempt to qualify through one of the 41 PGA Sections.

Championship History What began as an idea in early 1989 became reality in December of the same year when 144 players teed off in the inaugural Senior PGA Professional Championship at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The Championship was built from the same mold as the “regular” PGA Professional Championship. Since 2000, the low 35 scorers receive an automatic invitation to compete in the following year’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

Newly-titled in 2016, the Senior PGA Professional Championship is one of the Association’s more popular national member events. Since its debut, the participants have included several players who have gone on to outstanding Tour careers, including Jim Albus (runner-up in 1990) and Tom Wargo (runner-up in 1992).

From 1993 to 2000, the Senior PGA Professional Championship was played at Ibis Golf & Country Club’s Legend Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2001, the Championship shifted north to PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

FACTS & FORMAT

Also in 2001, the PGA Board of Directors approved an expanded national field of 264 competitors who compete on two courses at PGA Golf Club.

THE LEO FRASER TROPHY

The Senior PGA Professional Champion will have his name inscribed on the Leo Fraser Trophy, named in honor of the 16th president of the PGA of America, a member of the Philadelphia PGA Section, who served as PGA President from 1969-70.

Fraser, who died in 1986, three years before the Championship debuted, was one of the most energetic leaders in the Association. A licensed pilot, Fraser traveled nationwide to meet PGA Professionals in an effort to advance many pro-grams to benefit his fellow members.

The crystal spire trophy named in his honor measures 16 inches high and weighs 5 pounds.

PGA MEDIA GUIDE 2018 | 2SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

YEAR CHAMPION SCORE RUNNER-UP (S) SITE Inaugural 1989 Stan Thirsk# 286 Bob Reith PGA National Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

2nd 1990 Tom Joyce 278 Jim Albus BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

3rd 1991 Tom Joyce 281 Mike Joyce BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

4th 1992 Roger Kennedy 278 Tom Wargo BallenIsles Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

5th 1993 Bob Carson 277 Tom Joyce Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

6th 1994 Roger Kennedy 283 Bill Garrett Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

7th 1995 Bob Irving* 209 Randy Glover Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

8th 1996 John Brott 279 Tom Joyce Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

9th 1997 Ed Everett# 283 Joe Huber, Billy King Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

10th 1998 Wes Smith 284 Tommy Price Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

11th 1999 Pete Oakley 283 Bob Hauer, Ed Sabo Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

12th 2000 Ed Sabo 275 Pete Oakley Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, Fla.

13th 2001 Ed Sabo 275 John Traub, Jay Overton PGA Golf Club (South Course) Port St. Lucie, Fla.

14th 2002 Mike San Filippo# 280 Bob Ralston PGA Golf Club (North & South Courses) Port St. Lucie, Fla.

15th 2003 Jeff Thomsen# 282 Jon Fiedler PGA Golf Club (North & South Courses) Port St. Lucie, Fla.

16th 2004 Jim White 274 Bob Ford PGA Golf Club (North & South Courses) Port St. Lucie, Fla.

17th 2005 Mike San Filippo*** 280 Darrell Kestner PGA Golf Club (South and Dye Courses) Port St. Lucie, Fla.

18th 2006 Jeff Coston#** 271 Chris Starkjohann, John Mazza PGA Golf Club (Ryder & Wanamaker Courses) Port St. Lucie, Fla.

19th 2007 Bill Loeffler 276 David Lundstrom PGA Golf Club (Ryder & Wanamaker Courses) Port St. Lucie, Fla.

20th 2008 Kirk Hanefeld 278 Jon Fiedler Toscana Country Club & Andalusia Country Club

Indian Wells and La Quinta, Calif.

21st 2009 Bill Britton 270 Perry Arthur PGA Golf Club (Wanamaker and Dye Courses)

22nd 2010 Robert Thompson 280 James Blair, Toscana Country Club & Rancho La Quinta Country Club

Mark Faulkner Indian Wells and La Quinta, Calif.

23rd 2011 Kirk Hanefeld 282 Ken Martin Creighton Farms, Aldie, Va. & River Creek Club, Leesburg, Va.

24th 2012 Jim Woodward 287 Mike Miles Creighton Farms, Aldie, Va. & River Creek Club, Leesburg, Va.

25th 2013 Gene Fieger 275 Don Berry PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

26th 2014 Frank Esposito Jr. 272 Steve Schneiter, Rick Schuller, PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Fla. James Maso

27th 2015 John DalCorobbo 277 Jim Carter Bayonet Black Horse, Seaside, Calif.

28th 2016 Steve Schneiter 275 Rick Schuller PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, Fla.

29th 2017 Frank Esposito Jr. 276 Jim Schuman Desert Mountain, Scottsdale, Ariz.

CHAMPIONS THROUGH THE YEARS

2018 CHAMPIONSHIP HOST SITE PGA Golf Club – Port St. Lucie, Florida

The world’s first Audubon Sustainable Golf Facility, PGA Golf Club serves as the winter home to PGA Professionals, with 54 holes of Championship golf by architects Tom Fazio and Pete Dye. There also is a six-hole Short Course designed for families and beginners. The facility renovated its Tom Fazio courses in 2006, renaming the North and South Courses as the Ryder and Wanamaker Courses, respectively. The Dye Course completed a restoration project by its namesake in 2007.Extensive advancements to the entire facility have also been made in recent years. In October 2015, a contemporary 20,000-square-foot clubhouse, designed by Tom Hoch, was opened. The new clubhouse features elements of style throughout the building to reflect the PGA of America’s rich history. As a result, the PGA has relocated significant artifacts that trace its first 100 years to the new “PGA Gallery” area of the PGA Golf Club Clubhouse. Among the new clubhouse

features: The Taplow Pub; Captain’s Room; the Nineteen-Sixteen Bar & Grille; President’s Board Room; Wanamaker Pavilion and expanded locker rooms.

The Wanamaker Course

Designed by Tom Fazio and opened for play in 1996, the Wanamaker Course is the first golf course named in honor of department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker, whose vision in 1916 to organize a national association of golf professionals inspired the birth of the PGA of America. A classic Florida layout, the Wanamaker Course is set against a backdrop of wetlands, palm trees and palmettos, and is considered one of Florida’s most beautiful courses. Among recent upgrades, the Wanamaker Course now features a hybrid Bermuda, with some common Bermuda genes; bunker faces are filled with Empire zoysia, which has outstanding density; and the bridges at the Nos. 3 and 16 tees were rebuilt.

#Won sudden-death playoff *Rain-shortened to 54 holes **72-hole record ***Won on second playoff hole## Rescheduled from Oct. 2013

PGA MEDIA GUIDE 2018 | 3

When you arrive at Desert Mountain, you know you’re in for a

real test. Jack Nicklaus designed these courses framed by the Sonoran Desert and he left more than a few Golden Bear footprints. Frank Esposito Jr. understood all that and left an imprint of his own Sunday to collect his second national title in four years. The 54-year-old PGA Teaching Professional at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, New Jersey, posted a 4-under-par 68, capped by chipping in for eagle from in front of the 18th green, to win the 29th Senior PGA Professional Championship presented by Mercedes-Benz.

“When you first get here, you see the desert and it’s not marked ‘hazard,’ ” said Esposito, who hoisted the Leo Fraser Trophy for the second time since 2014. “So, you got to go in the bushes and hit it. Thank God, I didn’t go into any bushes and kept it in play. These are courses that make you think. Maybe it takes your mind off something else. It gets your brain into what you want to do.” Esposito finished with a 72-hole total of 12-under-par 276, good for a five-stroke triumph and became the sixth player in event history to win multiple titles. How good was Esposito’s focus? Just go back 24 hours when he turned on his cell phone after clinging to a one-stroke lead after 54 holes. One of his phone messages was from his biggest fan – his father, Frank Esposito Sr.

“My father congratulated me for the win,” said Esposito. “I called back to tell him, ‘It’s not over yet.’ What are you trying to do, jinx me?’ “My dad is a nervous Nellie, and such a big fan. He introduced me to the game and is my inspiration. I did it for him today and I texted him as soon as I finished. I had the nerves going from the first tee to the 18th tee and knowing all the shots you had to hit. But I also had a calming feeling knowing he was on my side. It’s pretty neat.” Esposito finished 8-under-par on the par-5s for the week. He never relinquished the lead from the 18th hole on Saturday, and ensured that he was not about to wilt thanks to a pair of par saves on the par-5 fourth hole, and blasted out of a bunker in front of No. 9 to within six inches.

“You don’t want to do anything crazy when you’re around the lead,” said Esposito. “You want to be as stress free as possible.” Esposito surprised himself by his ability to “dial in front yardages” in the higher elevation. “I was just trying to be patient,” he said, “and this is the

kind of course where you have to be patient.” He left no doubt that he would power his way to the finish by making a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 11; then hit 7-iron to the fringe on the 504-yard No. 12 hole and chipped to five feet and made that birdie putt. His lone bogey came at No. 16, when he mishit an approach over the green from an awkward angle. The first time he knew where he stood on the scoreboard was when a PGA Rules official alerted him on the 18th fairway. “I found out I was up by four,” said Esposito. “From there, I hit 6-iron from 211 yards as close to the front edge of the green as I could. That chip in for eagle was just a bonus. I was just trying to hit it up close.”

2017 Champion: Frank Esposito Jr., Old Bridge, N.J.

Site: Scottsdale, ArizonaDate: Sept. 28 - Oct. 1, 2017Par: 72 Yardage: 6,791Course: Desert Mountain (Cochise & Geronimo)Purse: $300,000 Field: 264 Cut at 223  71 players advanced

PGA MEDIA GUIDE 2018 | 4SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

#Won hole-by-hole playoff **72-hole record***Won on second playoff hole

Championship Summary

PLACE Player SCORE WINNINGS

1 ESPOSITO, Frank 68-71-69-68--276 $21,500.00

2 SCHUMAN, Jim 68-72-71-70--281 $17,000.00

3 SMITH, Stuart 76-71-67-68--282 $13,700.00

T4 SMALL, Mike 65-79-72-68--284 $9,500.00

T4 MIELKE, Mark 69-74-69-72--284 $9,500.00

T4 SCHNEITER, Steve 68-67-76-73--284 $9,500.00

T7 STARKJOHANN, Chris 71-68-70-75--284 $9,500.00

T7 LANCASTER, Neal 71-74-69-71--285 $6,033.33

T9 STAUFFER, Kirk 72-71-70-72--285 $6,033.33

T9 CHAPMAN, Walt 71-69-71-74--285 $6,033.33

T9 LARDON, Brad 73-72-72-69--286 $4,868.75

T12 ESTES, Jim 75-71-69-71--286 $4,868.75

T12 KAUFMAN, Chris 76-72-73-65--286 $4,868.75

T12 TUCKER, Mark 70-72-71-73--286 $4,868.75

T15 HAYASHI, Kevin 73-74-70-70--287 $3,958.33

T15 BOROS, Joe 73-68-73-73--287 $3,958.33

T15 WILKIN, Rob 74-68-71-74--287 $3,958.33

T18 SCHULTZ, Dirk 70-76-71-71--288 $3,391.66

T18 GENOVESE, Mike 72-74-70-72--288 $3,391.66

T18 BROWN, Mark 72-72-72-72--288 $3,391.66

T18 MORTON, Rick 69-71-78-71--289 $2,940.00

T18 EMPEY, Jim 77-72-68-72--289 $2,940.00

T18 KESTNER, Darrell 71-72-73-73--289 $2,940.00

T18 TOUMA, Ricky 68-74-74-73--289 $2,940.00

T25 O'TOOLE, Mike 68-68-77-76--289 $2,940.00

T25 FLEMING, Tim 74-69-75-72--290 $2,447.50

T25 ULRIC , Gus 78-71-70-71--290 $2,447.50

T28 SEDORCEK, Rob 72-72-73-73--290 $2,447.50

T28 DALEY, Joe 69-71-76-74--290 $2,447.50

T28 NIEPORTE, John 70-73-72-75--290 $2,447.50

T28 SKINNER, Sonny 73-71-71-75--290 $2,447.50

T28 CAIRNS, Brian 74-74-70-73--291 $2,110.00

T33 VUCINICH, Roy 76-72-70-73--291 $2,110.00

T33 FIEGE , Gene 74-71-73-73--291 $2,110.00

T33 THOMPSON, Robert 73-74-73-71--291 $2,110.00

T33 STEVENS, Craig 70-76-75-70--291 $2,110.00

T33 RANDOLPH, Sam 69-71-70-81--291 $2,110.00

T33 COSTON, Jeff 73-71-74-74--292 $1,835.00

T39 JOHNSON, Chris 69-74-74-75--292 $1,835.00

T39 FIEDLER, Jon 73-74-73-72--292 $1,835.00

T39 MASON, James 74-70-76-72--292 $1,835.00

T39 KELLY, Shawn 74-71-76-71--292 $1,835.00

T39 MELSON, Jared 72-73-73-75--293 $1,560.00

T44 THOMAS, Craig 71-75-72-75--293 $1,560.00

T44 HANEFELD, Kirk 70-72-75-76--293 $1,560.00

PLACE Player SCORE WINNINGS

T44 ROHRBAUGH, Doug 72-73-74-74--293 $1,560.00

T47 BLACK, Ronnie 70-70-79-74--293 $1,560.00

T47 ROTH, Jeff 73-74-69-77--293 $1,560.00

T47 COLE, Rick 73-70-75-76--294 $1,295.00

T47 HEARN, Tom 74-72-72-76--294 $1,295.00

T47 SMITH, Bruce 72-75-72-75--294 $1,295.00

T47 SCHUESSLER, ea 68-80-72-74--294 $1,295.00

T47 PILLAR, John 77-71-73-73--294 $1,295.00

T54 HOUTTEMAN, Lee 68-80-74-72--294 $1,295.00

T54 BOLLING, Charlie 74-70-75-76--295 $1,180.00

T56 LUNDSTROM, David 72-72-72-79--295 $1,180.00

T56 INGRAHAM, Stu 70-76-74-75--295 $1,180.00

T56 HARVEY, Bill 77-72-72-74--295 $1,180.00

T56 WITTIG, Randy 70-75-76-74--295 $1,180.00

T56 DOLCI, Denny 75-71-75-74--295 $1,180.00

T56 OLSEN, Dan 78-71-73-73--295 $1,180.00

T62 FOGT, Brian 68-71-69-68--277 $1,120.00

T62 MEACHAM, Mark 68-72-71-70--282 $1,120.00

T62 HEINTZELMAN, Webb 76-71-67-68--283 $1,095.00

T62 ARNETT, Ricky 65-79-72-68--285 $1,095.00

T62 MCAULIFFE, Frank 69-74-69-72--285 $1,095.00

T62 GRIFFIN, Talbert 68-67-76-73--285 $1,070.00

68 MURRAY, Brent 71-68-70-75--285 $1,070.00

T69 DIETSCHE, Paul 71-74-69-71--286 $1,050.00

T69 LOEFFLER, Bill 75-73-73-78--299 $1,050.00

T71 MILAM, Tony 78-71-72-83--304 $1,030.00

T71 BAUMAN, Doug 72-71-79-82--304 $1,030.00

T71 Gregory Casagranda 75-68-76-77—296 $1,025.00

74 Jeff Seavey 71-70-81-76—298 $1,005.00

75 Mike Kullberg 73-70-87-73—303 $995.00

PGA MEDIA GUIDE 2018 | 5

Steve Schneiter had something come over him, he said, which

carried him to a piece of PGA of America history at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.Facing a must-make 15-foot left-to-right downhill par putt on the 18th green, Schneiter surveyed his task, stepped up and rolled the ball home. The final-hole dramatics lifted the Assistant PGA Professional at Schneiter’s Pebblebrook in Sandy, Utah, to a final-round 3-under 69 and 13-under 275 total. It was enough for a one-stroke triumph over Rick Schuller of Chester, Virginia, in the 28th Senior PGA Professional Championship presented by Golf Advisor and Mercedes-Benz USA.Schneiter, the only player to complete the week with four sub-70 rounds, earned $21,500 from a $300,000 purse. With his victory, he became the first PGA Member to claim both a PGA Professional Championship (1995) and a Senior PGA Professional Championship.

After beginning the day trailing Gene Fieger’s lead by three strokes, Schneiter erased the margin in a matter of three holes with a birdie-eagle-birdie start. He holed out for eagle from 115 yards on the 423-yard, par-4 second hole with a sand wedge, but cooled off with a bogey at the fifth and seventh holes, the latter when his tee shot drew mud covering half the ball.Schneiter separated himself from his challengers with birdies at the 11th and 15th, but a bogey on 16 cut his lead to a stroke, which he carried to the 18th.After hitting the fairway on the closing hole, Schneiter pushed his approach from 163 yards. His ball came to rest just below the right portion of the green and on the hazard line. Schneiter

chipped up to 15 feet above the hole. “I stopped for a moment, and felt something come over me. I just stroked it. When I hit it, and I saw it going, I thought, ‘that’s in the hole,’” said Schneiter, whose eyes filled with tears at the award ceremony as he both described his final putt and mentioned his late father and grandfather, both PGA Professionals.

“This one’s for you both,” he said looking skyward.

LOWEST 36 HOLES134 Reed Hughes, Senatobia, Miss., 2006

LOWEST 54 HOLES201 Jeff Coston, Blaine, Wash., 2006

HIGHEST FINAL-ROUND SCORE BY WINNER75 Kirk Hanefeld, Acton, Mass., 2011

HIGHEST 72 – HOLE SCORE BY WINNER287 Jim Woodward, Oklahoma City, Okla., 2012

GREATEST MARGIN OF VICTORY10 Ed Sabo, Tequesta, Fla., 2000

MOST VICTORIES2 Frank Esposito, Old Bridge, N.J., 2014, 2017 Mike San Filippo, Hobe Sound, Fla., 2002, 2005 Ed Sabo, Tequesta, Fla., 2000, 2001 Roger Kennedy, Pompano Beach, Fla., 1992, 1994 Tom Joyce, Huntington, N.Y., 1990, 1991 Kirk Hanefeld, Acton, Mass., 2008, 2011

SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

LOWEST FIRST-ROUND SCORE 64 Roy Vucinich, Moon Township, Pa., 2008 Bob Ford, Oakmont, Pa., 2007 Frank Esposito, Old Bridge, N.J., 2014

LOWEST SECOND-ROUND SCORE65 Chip Johnson, Hingham, Mass., 2013 Jim Woodward, Oklahoma City, Okla., 2007 Jeff Coston, Blaine, Wash., 2006 Mike Lawrence, Easley, S.C., 2006 John Mazza, Beaver Falls, Pa., 2006 Ed Sabo, Tequesta, Fla., 2001

LOWEST THIRD-ROUND SCORE 65 Jeff Coston, Blaine, Wash., 2006 Buddy Harston, Lexington, Ky., 2005

LOWEST FOURTH-ROUND SCORE65 Chris Kaufman, Coral Springs, Fla., 2017 Tom Herzan, La Crosse, Wis., 2007 Rick Karbowski, Worcester, Mass., 2005

LOWEST 72 – HOLE SCORE BY WINNER270 Bill Britton, Rumson, N.J., 2009 271 Jeff Coston, Blaine, Wash., 2006

SENIOR PGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS

2016 Champion: Steve Schneiter, Sandy, Utah

Site: Port St. Lucie, FloridaDate: Nov. 17-20, 2016Par: 72 Yardage: 6,612Course: PGA Golf ClubPurse: $300,000 Field: 264 Cut at 143  75 players advanced