RICH BERBERIAN Jr., PGA
PGA Cup: Debut
Birth Date: Sept. 9, 1987
Birthplace: Winchester, Massachusetts
Age: 30
Residence: Hooksett, New Hampshire
Turned Professional: 2009
PGA Classification: A-14
PGA Section: New England
PGA Membership: 2014
PGA Director of Instruction at Vesper Country Club in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts...Finished T-5 in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship . . . Captured the 2016 national championship at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, making 33-foot birdie putt on the 18th green. Captured the 2016 PGA Professional Player of the Year honor, and earned a berth on the 2017 U.S. PGA Cup Team. Is the second New England PGA Member to
win the national championship, and is the first since Bob Lend Zion in 1986. Won national Championship on the 69th birthday of his father, PGA Life Member Richard Berberian Sr., who competed in 1988, ’90 PGA Professional Championship and five (1997-2001) Senior PGA Professional Championships. . .Made the cut in the 2017 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (T-66); the Puerto Rico Open (71
st); and the Barbasol Championship (83
rd, MDF). Competed in the 2016 and ’17 PGA Championship; played in the 2015 U.S. Open. Introduced to the game of golf by his father, who has been his son’s coach throughout his career. Competed in the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur at Longmeadow Country Club (missed cut). In 2012, was an alternate for the U.S. Open. Won the 2012 Vermont Open and 2014 New England PGA Section Championship. Runner-up, 2014, ’15 PGA Match Play Championship. Is one of five PGA Professional Champions whose father was a PGA Professional.
Family: Wife, Morgan.
Interests: Movies, spending time with wife and family
JAMIE BROCE, PGA
PGA Cup: 2015
Birth Date: Feb. 7, 1977
Birthplace: Napoleon, Ohio
Age: 40
Residence: Indianapolis, Indiana
College: Ball State University
Turned Professional: 1999
PGA Classification: A-12
PGA Section: Indiana
PGA Membership: 2012
Named men’s golf coach in July at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. Served from 2012-17 as men’s golf coach at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. Tied for fifth in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship and will compete on the 2017 U.S. PGA Cup Team in September, moving into the roster after withdrawal of Mike Small due to coaching obligations. . .Competed on 2015 U.S. PGA Cup Team. . .Winner, 2016 Northern Ohio PGA Professional Championship...Runner-up in 2014 PGA Professional Championship, losing a two-hole playoff to Michael Block. Finished 3rd at 2012 Northern Ohio PGA Professional Championship...Competed in the 2014 PGA Championship...Former Nationwide Tour member, 2005-2007 and competed on the NGA Hooters Tour, 2000-04 and 2008...2002 and ‘03 Indiana Open Champion and multiple top 3 finishes...2014 Ohio Player of the Year. Winner, 2016 Northern Ohio PGA Championship. . Indiana PGA Assistant Player of the Year; two-time Indiana State Open Champion. Earned NCAA Third Team All-America honors in 1999. Two-time Academic All-American; two-year team captain at Ball State University. ..1998 Ben Hogan Award recipient as the nation’s top golf-scholar athlete. Co-founder of the Blair/Broce Junior Golf Academy in LaPorte, Indiana.
Family: Wife, Darci. Children: Peyton, Preston.
Interests: Basketball, family time
MARK BROWN, PGA
PGA Cup: 2000 (3-2-0)
Birth Date: Sept. 14, 1966
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
Age: 51 Ht.: 6’ 1” Wt.: 235
College: Eckerd College
PGA Section: Metropolitan
PGA Head Professional
Tam O’ Shanter Club in Brookville, New York
PGA Classification: A-1
Turned Professional: 1990
PGA Membership: 1994
PGA Head Professional at Tam O'Shanter Golf Club in Brookville, New York. Finished runner-up, 2000 PGA Professional Championship, losing a five-hole playoff to Tim Thelen at Oak Tree Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma. Tied for second in 2001 and in 2016. Member of the 2000 United States PGA Cup Team. Has competed in 17 PGA Professional Championships and five PGA Championships. 1999 Metropolitan PGA Player of the Year. Winner, 1999, 2002
New York State Open; 2010 Long Island Open; 2005, ‘10 Metropolitan PGA Champion; 1999, 2014 & 2016 Metropolitan Open; 1999 Eastern Regional PGA Championship; 2008 PGA Stroke Play Championship. Competed in seven Callaway Pebble Beach Invitationals, which feature a select field of PGA, Champions, Web.com and Canadian tour professionals. Has recorded 15 career holes-in-one, including one in the 2016 PGA Professional Championship.
Family: Wife, Debbie.
Interests: Fishing, watching my Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots
PAUL CLAXTON, PGA
PGA Cup: Debut
Birth Date: Feb. 9, 1968
Birthplace: Vidalia, Georgia
Age: 49
Residence: Claxton, Georgia
College: University of Georgia
Turned Professional: 1993
PGA Classification: LMA
PGA Section: Georgia
PGA Membership: 1995
PGA Life Member-Active, who also is a golf instructor and holds head professional duties at Hawk’s Point Golf Club in his hometown of Vidalia, Georgia…Member of the PGA Tour in 1997, 2002, 2005 and 2008…Finished T-3 in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship and earned a berth on the 2017 U.S. PGA Cup Team. . .Competed in at least one Web.com Tour event every year from 1994-2014, which included 42 Top-10 finishes and more than $1,802,291 career earnings (second all-time in Web.com earnings list)…Winner, 2001 Buy.com Louisiana Open (Web.com Tour)…Winner, 2007 Melwood Prince George's County Open (Web.com Tour)...Finished T-23 in the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst...Qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club and missed the cut. . . Previous experience at Quail Hollow Club includes competing and missing the cut in 2009 in the former Quail Hollow Championship. . .Was a two-time All-America selection at the University of Georgia. . .Played a full amateur schedule after graduating in 1991 and captured the 1991 Georgia State Amateur at Athens Country Club. . .Says it is just a coincidence that he lives in Claxton, Georgia, however, admits that his wife, Paula Parker Claxton, is from Claxton and declared, “That's where we were going to live." . .The family has no known relation to the founding name of the city.
Family: Wife, Paula. Children: Parker, Polly.
Interests: All Sports
MATT DOBYNS, PGA
PGA Cup: 2013, ’15 (2-4-3)
Birth Date: March 13, 1978
Birthplace: Austin, Texas
Age: 39
Residence: Glen Head, New York
College: University of Texas
Turned Professional: 2001
PGA Classification: A-1
PGA Section: Metropolitan
PGA Membership: 2009
PGA Head Professional at Fresh Meadow Country Club in Lake Success, N.Y. (site of the 1930 PGA Championship, 1932 U.S. Open)...Finished T-16 in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship. 2015 PGA Professional of the Year, becoming the 3rd member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to secure the national honor. Is one of 5 players to win multiple PGA Professional Championships (2015 at Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown, Pennsylvania; 2012 at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside, California)...joined 3-time winners Larry Gilbert (1981, 1982, 1991) and Mike Small (2005, 2009, 2010), as well as fellow 2-time champs Tim Thelen (2000, 2003) and Roger Watson (1974, 1975) on the short list of multiple winners...Posted startling victory at the 2015 Championship with rounds of 72-69-68-70...trailing by 2 shots, made a 3-footer for birdie on 18th to overtake Ben Polland, who suffered a disastrous double bogey on the same hole, to capture his 2nd PGA Professional Championship...Captured the 2012 PGA Professional Championship by 8 strokes, breaking Sam Snead’s 41-year old margin of victory record (5-stroke margin) set in 1971...posted rounds of 68-68- 69-70 to become the 7th Metropolitan PGA Professional member to win the national Championship (8th player to win the Walter Hagen Cup in a first attempt)...Member of the 2013 and 2015 United States PGA Cup Team...Participated in PGA Championships in 2015 (Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.) and 2012 (The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C.)...Winner, 2011 and 2013 Long Island Open...Made the 36-hole cut in the 2016 Shell Houston Open...Won the POLO Golf Met PGA Head Professional event at the Country Club of Darien...Plays right-handed, but putts from the left side (was missing too many putts right-handed)...Was the former assistant professional under 1996 PGA Professional Champion Darrell Kestner at Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, N.Y....Began playing golf at 2 years old and credits his father for introducing him to the sport.
Family: Wife, Laurie. Children: Kaitlyn, Michael.
Interests: Movies, spending time with family, college football
DAVE MCNABB, PGA
PGA Cup: Debut
Birth Date: May 19, 1966
Birthplace: Mt. Clemens, Michigan
Age: 51
Residence: Newark, Delaware
College: Macomb County Community College
Turned Professional: 1993
PGA Classification: A-1
PGA Section: Philadelphia
PGA Membership: 1996
PGA Head Professional at Applebrook Golf Club in Malvern, Pennsylvania. . .Finished runner-up in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship, losing a two-hole playoff to Omar Uresti at Crosswater Club in Sunriver, Oregon. Competed in the 2013, ’14, ’17 PGA Championship; 2017 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and 2017 U.S. Senior Open. Did not play competitive golf from a young age, including high school and college. In 1993, he left his hometown Mt. Clemens, Mich., and moved to Delaware, where he began his career in the golf profession. Winner, 2015 Philadelphia PGA Section Championship; 2016 Haverford Trust Champion; 2013 Callaway TPD Championship; 2005, ’12 Delaware State Open. He took the top spot in the 2012 Pro-Am for Wishes, 2010 TaylorMade-Adidas Classic. Philadelphia PGA Professional Champion in 1997, 2004, and 2005. Missed qualifying for the U.S. Open in 2005 by two shots. Named the 2013 Philadelphia PGA Golf Professional of the Year. Competed in 2013 and 2014 PGA Championships. Winner, 2017 PPGA Pinehurst Pro-Am. In 2016, he had 12 top-10 finishes, including six victories. Served from 2014-17 as Philadelphia PGA Director of Tournaments; nine-year member of the Philadelphia PGA Board of Directors.
Family: Wife, Melissa. Children: Trevor, Dalton. Interests: Family, friends, home improvement
ROD PERRY, PGA
Port Orange, Florida
PGA Cup: 2013 (1-2-1)
Birth Date: Oct. 17, 1973
Birthplace: York, Pennsylvania
Age: 43
Residence: Port Orange, Florida
College: Mississippi State
Turned Professional: 1996
PGA Classification: A-1
PGA Section: North Florida
PGA Membership: 1998
PGA Head Professional at Crane Lakes Golf and Country Club in Port Orange, Florida. Captured the 2013 PGA Professional Championship at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon, becoming the first left-hander and the first graduate of a PGA Golf Management University program (Mississippi State) to claim the title. Finished eighth in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship despite a closing 79. Notable finishes in the PGA Professional Championship include T-2 in 2012; and a T-4 in 2014 and 2016. Was the second North Florida PGA member to win the National Championship. Winner, 2012, '13 PGA Professional Player of the Year Award. Won twice (event No. 3 and No. 4) during 2016 PGA Tournament Series and was the leading money winner. Made the cut at the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill (finished 76th)...Also made the cut in the 2008 Ginn Sur Mer Championship and the 2009 Disney Children’s Miracle Network Classic. Winner, 2012 and ’13 national PGA Professional Player of the Year...Finished tied for second in the 2012 PGA Professional National Championship. Member of the 2013 U.S. PGA Cup Team, which battled to a 13-13 draw with Great Britain & Ireland in Hexham, England. Since 2003, has won 10 North Florida PGA Player of the Year awards. Winner, 2011 Florida Open; 2007, ‘15 PGA Stroke Play Championship. Six-time North Florida PGA Champion, and six-time North Florida PGA Match Play Champion. Low PGA Professional in the 2009 Florida Open...Winner, 10 Srixon PGA Tournament Series events. 2010 North Florida PGA East Central Chapter Teacher of the Year. Introduced to golf by his late maternal grandfather, Joe Morrison...Was a football place-kicker in high school before devoting his athletic career to golf. Is right-handed in everything, elected to play golf left-handed at age 11, His grandfather passed away in 1986, never witnessing the rapid climb that his grandson would make in golf...Perry attended the University of North Florida for is first two years of college and later transferred to Mississippi State University. Although he never played college golf he was extremely active in and graduated from the Professional Golf Management Program in 1996. Played on various "mini" tours throughout the southeast for the past 20 years and gives credit to those years of difficult competition to helping improve his game.
Family: Wife, Jaclyn. Children: Vanessa, Carson.
Interests: Boating, biking, any and all things that my children are into that day.
ADAM RAINAUD, PGA
PGA Cup: Debut
Birth Date: March 12, 1986
Birthplace: South Hadley, Massachusetts
Age: 31
Residence: Chester, Connecticut
College: University of Louisville
Turned Professional: 2008
PGA Classification: A-8
PGA Section: Connecticut
PGA Membership: 2014
PGA Assistant Professional at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. Tied for fifth in the 2017 PGA Professional Championship. Won back-to-back PGA Match Play Championships at PGA Golf Club in 2015 and '16; enroute to the '16 Match Play title, won 2nd-round match on 9th playoff hole. Winner, 2016 PGA Spring Stroke Play Title. Competed in the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Was 2014, ’15, ’16 Connecticut PGA Section Champion. 2016 Connecticut Open Champion. Six-time Connecticut PGA Assistants Champion and Player of the Year. Competed in PGA Tour's Travelers Championship in both 2014 and '16...from 2010-15, played in eight Section “majors” and has won all eight. Winner, Connecticut PGA Section PGA Professional Championship 2014, '15 and '16; Winner, 2014 Section Assistants Championship. Was 2007, ’08 NCAA All-American at University of Louisville.
Family: Wife, Maggie.
Interests: Classic cars, wine, gardening
JOSH SPEIGHT, PGA
PGA Cup: Debut
Birth Date: March 15, 1988
Birthplace: Gloucester, Virginia
Age: 29
Residence: Locust Hill, Virginia
College: Methodist University
Turned Professional: 2011
PGA Classification: A-8
PGA Membership: 2011
PGA Assistant Professional at Indian Creek Yacht & Country Club in Kilmarnock, Virginia. Finished tied for fourth in 2016 PGA Professional Championship, his debut in the Championship. Posted a personal-best competitive 18-hole round of 65, which shared the lowest Championship round of the week. Made PGA Championship debut in 2016 at Baltusrol Golf Club. Finished 3rd, 2012 Middle Atlantic PGA Professional Championship. Member of 2010 Methodist University NCAA Division III national champion team. Earned second-team All-America honors in 2010. Was USA South's Rookie of the Year in 2007 and a second-team All-American in 2010.
Family: Wife, Sydney. Dogs: Mulligan, Birdie.
Interests: Hunting, fishing, shooting
OMAR URESTI, PGA
PGA Cup: 2015 (3-0-1)
Birth Date: Aug. 3, 1968
Birthplace: Austin, Texas
Age: 49
Residence: Austin, Texas
College: University of Texas
Turned Professional: 1991
PGA Classification: LMA
PGA Section: Southern Texas
PGA Membership: 1993
PGA Life Member-Active. Captured the 2017 PGA Professional Championship by defeating Dave McNabb in a two-hole playoff at Crosswater Club in Sunriver, Oregon. Became the second Southern Texas PGA Member to win the title, following Tim Thelen (2000, '03). Was the Low PGA Club Professional in the 99
th PGA Championship, finishing 73
rd in August at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tied for second in the 2016 PGA Professional Championship; and finished T-5th in his Championship debut in 2015 at Philadelphia Cricket Club, which qualified him for his first appearance in the PGA Championship. Was the United States’ top performer in the 2015 PGA Cup, going 3-0-1 against Great Britain & Ireland. 2014 winner of the South Texas PGA Section Tradition Championship...Winner, 2015 Southern
Texas PGA Section Championship; 2014 South Texas PGA Section Pro-Pro Match Play Championship...Competed in the 1995, ‘96, ‘98, ‘99, ‘04, ‘05 U.S. Opens...Played on the PGA Tour between 1995-2000 and again from 2004 to 2010...Played a total of 356 events on the PGA Tour, making 176 cuts and finishing in the top-10 on 14 occasions...Best Tour finish was T-3rd in the 1997 Bay Hill Invitational and 2006 Byron Nelson Classic...Earned $3.8 million playing those years...Also played on the Web.Com Tour off and on between 1993 and 2012...Played in 205 Web.com events and made the cut 128 times...Had 24 top-10 finishes and won twice, including the 1994 Shreveport Open (9 consecutive birdies) and the 2007 Livermore Valley Open. Earned a total of $855,586 on the Web.Com Tour. Has 4 professional wins: 2 on Web.com tour, one on the Canadian Tour, one on the Sunshine Tour...Was an All-American selection in 1989 and 1990 at the University of Texas.
Family: Children: Omar Jr., Isabelle.
Interests: Family, movies, billiards, table tennis, fishing
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