BANDON, Ore. — Jesse Droemer survived a late bogey by finishing with three pars at windy Bandon Dunes to close with a 2-under 70 and win the PGA Professional Championship by one shot Wednesday, one of 20 club pros who earned a spot in the PGA Championship.
Droemer, a teaching pro at Riverbend Country Club in the Houston area, was among six pros who qualified for the PGA Championship for the second year in a row.
The PGA Championship is May 14-17 at Aronimink outside Philadelphia.
Ben Kern, the general manager at Hickory Hills Golf Club in central Ohio, made a pair of birdies on the back nine and tied for the lead when Droemer in the group ahead took bogey on the par-3 15th.
Kern, however, went long of the 17th and failed to get up-and-down to fall one behind. He chose to lay up on the par-5 closing hole and missed a 12-foot birdie putt.
Droemer finished at 4-under 283 to win the Walter Hagen Cup.
“I always say it’s such a blessing to test your game against the best in the world,” Droemer said. “To represent thousands of PGA professionals on that stage is a dream come true.”
The best finish belonged to Chris Gabriele, the head pro at Old Westbury Golf and Country Club in New York. He was at 3-over par, one shot out of what appeared to be a playoff for the final PGA spots, when he hit his approach to 3 feet for eagle on the final hole to secure a top-20 finish.
There was no playoff because of the back-nine collapse by Charlie Beljan, the former PGA Tour player who won at Disney in 2012 for his lone title. Beljan shot 40 on the back nine and closed with a 78, missing out by one shot.
Droemer, Michael Kartrude, Tyler Collet, Michael Block, Ryan Lenahan and Timothy Wiseman are returning to the PGA Championship for the second straight year. Block is playing for the fifth straight time, one of those years when he qualified by finishing in the top 15 at Oak Hill in 2023.
Lenahan said he watched a video of his son saying last year after the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, “I want to come back.”
He was on the bubble when he came to the 18th, part of the large group at 2 over that seemed destined for a playoff, when he made a 20-foot birdie putt to lock up his spot at Aronimink.
“I knew exactly where I stood. It was pretty stressful,” said Lenahan, the director of instruction at Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Michigan. ”I just wanted to give myself a chance. It was magical. I don’t know how else to say it.”
PGA Professionals who qualified for 2026 PGA
- Jesse Droemer (Houston, Texas) - Riverbend Country Club, Southern Texas Section
- Ben Kern (South Bloomfield, Ohio) - Hickory Hills Golf Club, Southern Ohio
- Michael Kartrude (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) - The Bear’s Club, South Florida Section
- Tyler Collet (Vero Beach, Fla.) - John’s Island Club, South Florida Section
- Zach Haynes (Bowling Green, Ky.) - The Club at Olde Stone, Kentucky Section
- Garrett Sapp (Cypress, Calif.) - San Gabriel Country Club, Southern California Section
- Austin Hurt (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) - Wing Point Golf & Country Club - Pacific Northwest Section
- Braden Shattuck (Aston, Pa.) - Rolling Green Golf Club, Philadelphia Section
- Mark Geddes (Coronado, Calif.) - Coronado Golf Course, Southern California Section
- Ben Polland (Wilson, Wyo.) - Shooting Star of Jackson Hole, Rocky Mountain Section
- Michael Block (Mission Viejo, Calif.) - Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, Southern California Section
- Bryce Fisher (Oregon City, Ore.) - Arrowhead Golf Club, Pacific Northwest Section
- Ryan Lenahan (New Hudson, Mich.) - Walnut Creek Country Club, Michigan Section
- Jared Jones (Dublin, Ohio) - Scioto Country Club, Southern Ohio Section
- Francisco Bide (Duluth, Ga.) - Capital City Club, Georgia Section
- Chris Gabriele (Halesite, N.Y.) - Old Westbury Golf & Country Club, Metropolitan Section
- Derek Berg (Duvall, Wash.) - PNW Golf Academy, Pacific Northwest Section
- Ryan Vermeer (Elkhorn, Neb.) - Happy Hollow Club, Nebraska Section