LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Matt Dobbins just finished playing the front nine at Valhalla on Friday and walked to the 10th tee to play the course’s back nine for the first time in preparation for this week’s PGA Championship.
Once there, Dobbins, who was playing solo, ran into Will Zalatoris on the 10th tee.
“I just turned around,” Dobbins said to Zalatoris. “May I join you?”
“Yeah, we just hopped in here, so just say buzz and leave,” Zalatoris said with a smile.
And off they went — Dobbins, a 46-year-old club pro from the Meadowbrook Club in Jericho, Long Island, playing in his sixth PGA Championship, and Zalatoris, a 27-year-old rising star on the PGA Tour who lost on the PGA. He won against Justin Thomas in the playoffs two years ago.
Both men teed off and hit their respective drives to the left side of the fairway, with Zalatoris’ caddy intentionally walking to the longer of the two shots and realizing it was about 15 yards longer than Dobbins’ ball.
Of course, Dobbins had a little fun with Zalatoris about that.
“It never gets old,” Dobbins says.
The fact that 20 club pros compete in each PGA Championship (21 this year, as last year’s sensation Michael Brock automatically qualified based on last year’s performance) means that This is one of the charms that distinguishes Major from the other three. Although this is criticized in some quarters, it is a tradition that should never be changed.
The PGA Championship has a field of 156 players, with 136 players considered the best in the world qualifying. There are plenty of opportunities for that.
True, no club pro has ever won the PGA Championship, and club pros qualify as often as Tiger Woods does public tours of the yacht he named “Privacy.” It’s just that.
Still, it’s moments like the one Bullock produced at last year’s PGA, where he became a rock star with a 15th-place finish at Oak Hill that earned him an automatic exemption to this week’s field, that sets the PGA apart from other majors. It set it apart.
Each major has its own unique characteristics, with the Masters being held at the same iconic venue every year and inviting all past champions to compete if possible.
The US Open’s qualifying process is the most open of them all. And the British Open is a combination of the US Open and the Masters, with open qualifying and inviting past champions up to age 65 to play.
Critics of the PGA’s process want the club’s professional players to be eliminated completely or reduced to far fewer than 20 players.
I say leave it as is, considering the stories like Brock and the stories a guy like Dobbins might have to write with a golf club.
Dobbins, who plays right-handed but putsts left-handed, said his favorite thing in recent weeks has been “giving presents to little kids and hitting good shots in front of a big crowd.” Told.
“If I could be a part of any of these things, it would be to be a part of it, so it’s still on the list.” [of things to do],” He said. “I’m playing well, but I’m not getting any younger, I’m not getting any taller, and the courses are getting longer.
“I don’t know how many more times I’m going to play. At my age, I don’t know when my last game will be, so I have to try.” Make the most of your time and enjoy it while you’re here. ”
Dobbins’ wife, Laurie, and their two children, Caitlin, 12, and Michael, 9, arrived on a Tuesday night that week.
“This is going to be the first thing they remember. That’s why we brought them in,” Dobbins said. “They’ve come to see me do this before, but they were too young to remember. I’ve been at Meadowbrook for six years, but ever since Meadowbrook moved, I didn’t have the qualifications. [club pro] Qualifying for April.
“I wondered if I could go back. For years, I was here every year. People started recognizing me. Kevin Kisner looked at me and said, ‘You always come to this tournament. “Yes,” he said.
“But as the kids got older, it became harder to sneak out in the winter to spend time on my games. It’s like a bonus for me at the moment. It’s almost a hobby for me now. It’s like, there’s not much left to accomplish as a club pro other than perform well at one of these things.
Dobbins said he has played in five of those games so far and is getting more comfortable and acclimated to the environment.
“This is number six for me, so I know the pace of the week and the rhythm of everything that’s going to happen and what the buzz is going to be and how it increases as the week goes on. ” he said. He said. “There aren’t many surprises…except for things like when I was suddenly paired with Will Zalatoris.”
