First player from the Rocky Mountain PGA Section to win Walter Hagen Cup

FRISCO, Texas (May 1, 2024) ー Ben Polland thinks about the PGA Professional Championship year-round.

The 2024 edition is one he won’t soon forget.

The PGA Director of Golf at Shooting Star of Jackson Hole in Teton Village, Wyoming, shot a 4-over-par 76 on a windy Wednesday to finish at 2-under-par 286 and win the 2024 PGA Professional Championship at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco by three shots.

Polland, the only player to finish the four rounds under par, is the first player from the Rocky Mountain PGA Section to win the PGA Professional Championship.

“It feels amazing,” said Polland. “This Championship is one I think about every year. Winning any golf tournament is really hard, but I always come in with a mindsight of trying to win. I’m just really happy to get it done.”

Andy Svoboda (final-round 2-over-par 74) and Jared Jones (4-over-par 76) finished T-2 at 1-over-par 289. John Somers (2-over-par 73) and Jesse Mueller (1-over-par 73) tied for fourth at 2-over 290.

The low 20 scorers earned a position on the 2024 Corebridge Financial Team, and with it an exemption into the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, May 13-19.

Polland started Wednesday’s final round at 6-under with a three-shot lead over Wyatt Worthington II (Las Vegas, Nevada) and Jones.

He navigated a challenging front nine that included a bogey at the par-3, 148-yard 4th and double bogey at the par-4, 466-yard 5th. After a birdie at the par-4, 339-yard 7th, he made the turn at 4-under for the Championship and led by two.

Back-to-back bogeys on the par-4, 413-yard 11th and par-4, 445-yard 12th kept the leaderboard tight. Polland called his crucial birdie at the par-5, 528-yard 14th “mentally huge” as he extended his lead to three.

“I was upset about where I was,” he recalled.“I hit a good layup, had a good number and hit a good putt. I felt really good with the putter all week.”

Polland closed with back-to-back pars on holes 15-16 and a bogey at the par-3 17th before a tap-in par on 18 guaranteed his first Walter Hagen Cup and a berth in the 106th PGA Championship.

“Everyone that knows me knows that’s what I want to do,” said Polland. “I kind of put aside playing golf and I’m very happy with my job at Shooting Star. This week and then hopefully after playing well at the PGA Championship are the two weeks where I can scratch that competitive edge.”

Polland is the latest PGA Professional Champion with connections to Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, New York, where he worked closely with past champions Darrell Kestner (1996) and Matt Dobyns (2012, 2015) as an intern and an assistant.

"It's a dream come true,” said Kestner. “His hard work and dedication pulled him through this. I have that Walter Hagen Cup sitting in the golf shop and all my assistants see it every day when they're in the shop. I think they always look at it and know that it's a highlight of a club pro. Matt has his and now Ben has his to put in his shop and inspire his assistant pros.”

Svoboda, the PGA Head Golf Professional at Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook, Illinois, started his final round by going 2-under through four holes.

“I hung in there and started off pretty good,” said Svoboda. “I was two under through four and thought maybe I could make a run at this, but I bogeyed eight and nine and shot even on the front. I made great pars at 10, 11 and 12, bogeyed 13 and then made a bunch of pars coming in.”

Jones, the PGA Director of Instruction at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, collected 14 pars, including five in a row on holes 5-9 en route to matching his highest finish in the PGA Professional Championship.

“It truly was a tough test of championship golf,” said Jones. “There was not really an easy shot around there with the wind wreaking havoc on every shot. You really had to stay focused and couldn't let up for one shot.”

EIGHT PLAYERS EARN SPOTS ON U.S. PGA CUP TEAM

Eight PGA of America Golf Professionals punched their ticket to the 2024 PGA Cup following the conclusion of the PGA Professional Championship.

Michael Block (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Matt Cahill (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Jared Jones (Houston, Texas), Jesse Mueller (Phoenix, Ariz.), Ben Polland (Jackson Hole, Wyo.), Braden Shattuck (Aston, Pa.), John Somers (Trinity, Fla.) and Andy Svoboda (Oak Brook, Ill.) will compete for the U.S. in the 31st PGA Cup.

The PGA Cup, a biennial contest between the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland and America, will be contested September 9-15, 2024, at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon.

The ninth and 10th positions on the team will be determined by the next two players with the highest point totals on the PGA Cup points list at the conclusion of the 2024 PGA Championship.

The PGA Cup was first played in 1973 and is seen as the pinnacle for any PGA Professional as the U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland compete in a Ryder Cup format for The Llandudno International Trophy.

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Media Contacts

Greg Dillard, PGA of America, 561-308-8013, gdillard@pgahq.com

Alan Cox, PGA of America, 972-214-8274, acox@pgahq.com