PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida – Preston Cole has positive memories from PGA Golf Club, especially at the Assistant PGA Professional Championship.
Nothing can top the moment two years ago when he eagled the difficult 18th hole on the Wanamaker Course, holing a 124-yard wedge shot for a walk-off victory over Mike Ballo. Cole came close to winning again last year, finishing tied for second place, three shots behind champion Domenico Geminiani.
“Big finishes in a big event help tremendously,” said Cole, a 31-year-old Assistant PGA Professional at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. “Anytime you can add some confidence is good.”
Cole will be looking to notch his second win when the Assistant PGA Professional Championship starts Thursday at PGA Golf Club. He headlines a 132-player field that will compete in one of the PGA of America’s top member events.
“This is a tournament you’re looking to qualify for every year,” said Cole, whose walk-off win in 2023 kicked off a stretch where he qualified for his lone PGA Championship in 2024.
The field will notice two changes this year: For the first time, the Assistant PGA Professional Championship will be played on the Dye Course instead of the Wanamaker. The Dye, designed by Hall of Fame architect Pete Dye, is the only championship course on the property not designed by another Hall of Famer, Tom Fazio. The par-72 course, filled with Dye’s signature pot bunkers and quirky sightlines, will play 7,193 yards for men, 6,097 for women.
“It’s definitely a change,” Cole said of the Dye. “I have played a few rounds on it, and it’s another great test of golf. It’s very challenging in its own way. It’s still a great place to hold a championship.”
The other difference is the absence of defending champion Geminiani, who also won in 2022. Geminiani had advanced to the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-school – just like he did in 2023, when Cole won – and won’t be at PGA Golf Club this week.
“He’s a great competitor and has had some success,” Cole said of Geminiani. “But there are 130-plus other guys here who, on any given week, can be the best in their Section. One guy doesn’t make a difference.”
Just like any golfer, Cole also has a negative memory of PGA Golf Club. At this spring’s PGA Professional Championship, Cole was inside the top 20 coming down the stretch, on the verge of qualifying for the PGA Championship at his home course, no less. But he made two late bogeys and missed the playoff by a shot.
“Missing by one was hurtful and made for a good motivator for the rest of the year,” Cole said. He won the Assistant PPC in the Carolinas Section and was second in the Section championship.
The 72-hole event runs Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 13-16. The champion earns a spot in next year’s PGA Professional Championship, if eligible, and the top four advance to next year’s Assistant PGA Professional Championship. There is a 36-hole cut to the low 70 scores and ties.
The Assistant PGA Professional Championship is supported by Golf Channel and Srixon/Cleveland Golf.
For more about the Assistant PGA Professional Championship, visit here