The PGA of America announced on Monday that it has cancelled the PGA Professional Championship, rescheduled for July 19-22 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. Originally, it was to have been played April 26-29, though it was postponed on March 16.

“Despite a deep desire to stage our signature Member Championship on behalf of its talented field, it became apparent after consultation with local health authorities in Austin last week that this could not be done responsibly,” the PGA wrote on its website.

“With the health and well-being of our PGA Members, volunteers, rules officials and staff serving as our guiding principles throughout this effort, recent COVID-19 surges in the area and various travel restrictions made our collective pursuit prohibitive.”

The top 20 finishers in the PGA Professional Championship ordinarily earn a start in the PGA Championship, now rescheduled for Aug. 6-9 at the TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. With no club pro championship, instead, the top 20 from the 2019 PGA Player of the Year list will be eligible.

Alex Beach, assistant pro at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., was the defending champion.

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15,000 golf balls, all alphabetised and coloured: You need to see this impressively organised golf-ball collection

By Stephen Hennessey
Perhaps it’s unusual to say that a member’s house is a required stop when playing a golf course. Visitors to Belfair Golf Club, the 36-hole golf community in Bluffton, S.C., which hosts next week’s PGA Professional Championship, can attest to Doug Coupe’s collection of 15,000 assorted golf balls as being one of golf’s most impressive displays.

Meticulously alphabetised, sorted by colour and separated by category, Coupe’s collection includes prized autographs from players like Arnold Palmer and Gary Player and logoed entries from golf clubs around the world.

“Anybody who sees it can’t believe there’s this mad man who has spent the last 20-plus years collecting these nuggets of golf artefacts. But that’s me,” says the 75-year-old Coupe.

It started when Coupe and his wife, Vivian, lived at the Quechee Club in Vermont, and Doug found himself wandering around the meandering Ottauquechee River, where he became fascinated with the various logoed golf balls he came across. He decided to display them in his Vermont townhouse, but when he moved down to South Carolina and built a second house in the Belfair community, was when this golf ball collection really took form.

Any golfer could appreciate the construction requirements Coupe set for his golf-ball collection in his new home.

“I’m looking for museum-quality here,” Coupe told his builders.

As the thousands of tiny shelves were being custom built in his attic, Coupe hand-drilled little depressions to allow for the golf balls to rest perfectly on each beam. The result is definitely museum-quality—and must be seen to be fully appreciated.

Luis Barrero

Luis Barrero

Luis Barrero

Builders surprised Coupe with a mini putting green, too, which his grandchildren particularly enjoy. A tube spits out holed putts, rolling the ball back to the front of the green, a la a mini-golf hole. All putts break slightly toward a little pond in Coupe’s backyard, he says, adding to the experience of visiting Coupe’s home.

Luis Barrero

Often, visitors will bring Coupe a golf ball that he might not possess. With impressive memory, Coupe can usually tell right away whether or not it’s one he owns. Then he checks his extensive display, organized by categories such as golf courses he has played (about 490), other courses displayed alphabetically, college teams, NFL teams and even items in the supermarket (Heinz ketchup, Chiquita bananas, etc.). If it’s a new ball, it’s added to the collection—and the tally grows.

“It’s my ongoing Easter egg hunt,” says Coupe, a retired sales executive and high school guidance counsellor. “You’re out there looking for the golden egg, and you’re looking for the logo that might complete my collection.”

As word has gotten around about Coupe, the collection has grown more rapidly. In just a year, he has found more than 2,000 new balls. Players at this week’s PGA Professional Championship will be encouraged by Belfair to check out Coupe’s collection. And many of the 312 players and their caddies and family will take him up on it.

Coupe’s favourite ball? He tells people it’s his Bushwood Country Club ball—and he has an accompanying flag as a nod to “Caddyshack.”

“Everybody loves ‘Caddyshack,’ “ Coupe says. “All in all, this is meant to be fun. And it’s a fun way for me to spend my time.”

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Michael Block, head pro Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, Ca., wasn’t even supposed to be in the field at the PGA Professional Championship. The club pro qualified for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock, carding rounds of 85 and 78 to miss the cut. This allowed him to make it back to his home state to compete in the PGA Pro event, which he won in 2014.

After opening with a 76 on Sunday, Block needed at least a round of 73 or better to make the first 36-hole cut on Monday. At two over through 14 holes, his chances got very slim when his tee shot at the 15th went under a tree. Had they not been able to identify it, he would have had to return the tee, but his 13-year-old son Dylan saved the day by bravely reaching into a burrowing hole made by an animal, which gave his dad free relief. Block capitalized on the huge break:

What just happened? Free relief for a burrowing animal hole, a courageous son and a miraculous birdie is what just happened. #PGAProChamp pic.twitter.com/rm5yWXOStj

— PGA of America (@PGA) June 19, 2018

That birdie got Block back to one over, and he added one more at the 18th to turn in a round of even par 72, putting him at four over for the tournament and one shot inside the cut line. As of now, the secondary cut after 54 holes is projected at five over, which could obviously change, but still, Dylan may have saved his dad’s entire week with his bravery.

“I went over to the tree and I looked inside it and my arm went all the way down to here,” said Dylan, pointing to his left shoulder. “I could barely reach it, I had to shine my phone light (to see it.)”

Even more impressive is the fact that it’s the first time Dylan has caddied for his father. Kid looks like a young Bones out there.

“I’ll tell you what, there’s no way I would have seen it and no way I could have gotten it,” said Michael. “That was huge, I would not be making the cut right now if that didn’t happen.

“All of a sudden, I felt like I was playing with house money to tell you the truth, and I finally got a putt to roll in this week. He (Dylan) did a great job, I couldn’t tell you how proud I am of him.”

Pretty cool moment for father and son. Let’s hope dad doubled his allowance this week.

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