NORTH STONINGTON, Conn. (November 19, 2018) – PGA of America District I Director Noel Gebauer sat among 135 Connecticut Section PGA members at the local organization’s action-packed Annual Fall Meeting at Lake of Isles Golf Club.

Gebauer, one of 14 members of the national PGA’s Board of Directors, had the honor of sitting next to and sharing featured speaker’s status with Suzy Whaley, who received a standing ovation when introduced for her first public appearance since being inducted as the first female president of the PGA of America on Nov. 9, in Palm Springs, Calif.

Gebauer represents the Connecticut, Northeast New York and New England PGA sections and attends six meetings annually, plus spends 30 days with the PGA’s Board of Directors. The general manager at the Town of Colonie Golf Club in Albany, N.Y., and other district directors have three-year terms with the mission of serving PGA members and growing the game.

“I’m a conduit between the national board and three sections,” Gebauer said. “I always want to be foremost in golf and all the facilities. I try to be as educated as can be and help with education that’s part of employment.”

Whaley, 51, was named the first female PGA officer (secretary) in 2014, and she and the Section will host the national annual meeting at the end of her two-term term on Oct. 25-30, 2020, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

Two days after her induction, Whaley was back at work as a PGA Director of Instruction at the Country Club at Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. After a week at Mirasol, she flew to Connecticut for the Connecticut Section PGA Professional Hall of Fame Induction and Champions Tribute dinner on Sunday night and headed back to Mirasol on Monday night.

“It has all been so surreal,” said Whaley, the mother of two daughters/golfers who is also PGA Director of Golf for Suzy Whaley Golf in Cromwell. “I missed coaching and teaching and was fortunate to get involved with Mirasol, which is one mile from PGA of America headquarters and three miles from our house.”

“I just feel so incredibly honored and fortunate to be president. The PGA offered me opportunities that I don’t think I can give back as much, but it’s a privilege to try.”

Fifteen Section members, family and friends attended Whaley’s induction, and witnessed the nomination speech by former Hartford Golf Club Golf Professional Gary Reynolds, a PGA Life Member who has received virtually every Section award and who also gave Whaley’s Secretary nomination speech 2014. Most of the Section members surprised Whaley when they dressed in the same uniforms and wore Tar Heel blue socks, the color of North Carolina, her alma mater.

“That was kind of cool,” Whaley said with a smile.

Whaley, who played on the LPGA Tour in 1990 and 1993, said she “held it together” during her acceptance speech until she talked about her mother and family. Her mom, Mary Ann, taught Suzy how to play starting when she was nine, and her daughters, Jenn and Kelly, are accomplished players. Jenn, 23, is a former captain of the Quinnipiac University women’s golf team and now plays “social golf” while working for Aetna Insurance. Kelly, 21, is a three-time winner of the Connecticut State Women’s Amateur who was ranked 20th in the country in her final year at the International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head, S.C., before heading off to mom’s alma mater on a full golf scholarship. This spring, Kelly had a school-record 73.24 stroke average that included shooting a record 12-under-par 204 to break her own UNC record for 54 holes in leading the Tar Heels to a five-stroke victory in the Briar’s Creek Invitational at The Golf Club in Briar’s Creek at Johns Island, S.C. She also shot every round in the 60s, a first for a Tar Heel. Then in June, Kelly shot her first bogey-free round, a women’s course-record, 5-under 65, at Keney Park Golf Course in Hartford, for a 36-hole total of 7-under 133 and a five-stroke victory over another amateur, Linda Wang.

Suzy met her husband Bill after earning her LPGA card in 1990. She was on a golf lesson at Inverrary Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Bill happened to have been a coach for one of Suzy’s closest friends. They have been the major influences and teachers for their two daughters, and Bill is now national director of golf for PGA Tour Facilities, which includes 21 locations. Locally, there’s TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, home of the Travelers Championship, and TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., the former home of a PGA Tour event.

I have a lot of pride and always wanted to be recognized for my body of work,” Whaley said of her decision to make PGA of America history. “I’m very appreciative for what everyone has done for me and support everyone in the room and my family.”

Whaley said she first thought about running for office in 2013, when her term as a member of the Section’s Board of Directors ended in 2013.

“A lot of people asked if I’d be interested,” Whaley recalled. “There were people who saw something in me, and Gary (Reynolds) was my campaign manager. I have a real passion that I hope to pass on because I can’t do it alone. I’m very appreciative for what everyone has done for me. … It has been an incredible journey since I became a member of the Section Board of Directors. I don’t underestimate the responsibilities and take everything very seriously.”

Becoming president of the largest sports organization in the world of more than 29,000 members capped decades of publicity for Whaley, starting with winning the 2002 Connecticut Section PGA Championship that made her the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event in 57 years, the Greater Hartford Open, now Travelers Championship. In 2014, Whaley became the first female to be elected a PGA of America officer in the 102-year history of the association. Now Whaley has joined former U.S. Golf Association president Judy Bell and former LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens as the only women to hold the top position in a golf association.

In a major coup for Hartford, the PGA of America announced Keney Park will host the Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships in 2019. The Girls Championship will be played July 9-12, while the Boys will tee it up July 30-August 2. Each event features 144 players in a four-round, 18-hole stroke-play format. The Connecticut Section PGA Foundation underwrote $75,000 for the event.

“It is a thrill for both Championships to be held in Connecticut for the first time,” Whaley said. “Both Championships continue to reach new heights each year. We are excited to partner with Keney Park, the Connecticut PGA Section, and the City of Hartford to showcase the game’s brightest junior players competing at the highest level.”

Keney Park opened in 1927 with a nine-hole course designed by Devereux Emmet; the Robert “Jack” Ross-designed back-nine opened four years later. In 2014, the Connecticut Section PGA signed an agreement to serve as consultants to help Hartford regain operational ownership of both Keney Park and Goodwin Park golf courses, while assisting with the oversight of a $5 million Keney Park course restoration to enhance the facility’s level of sustainability. Keney Park and Goodwin Park hosted the Hartford Women’s Open the first two years.

“This will be the maiden voyage for the Connecticut PGA Section with respect to hosting PGA of America championships, and we cannot be more excited to welcome the nation’s most talented girls and boys,” said Tom Hantke, who is in his 25th year as executive director of the Connecticut PGA Section. “We’re not only proud that we’ve been chosen to host these prestigious championships, but we’re equally appreciative to be able to showcase the restoration of Keney Park as part of the revitalization efforts ongoing in the City of Hartford. It has been one of the original and central purposes to re-establish a first-class golf experience to help lead the way to improving the quality of life.”

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said, “Next summer will be exciting as local spectators will have the opportunity to see some of golf’s brightest future stars play on the Keney Park Golf Course. We look forward to these young competitors and their families visiting our City. Golf has a long tradition in the city of Hartford, and these two premier events will add to our story.”

Keney Park is led by PGA Director of Golf Peter Seaman, who has been on the staff since July of 2015. The golf course was recently ranked by Golfweek as the No. 2 to play in Connecticut, as well as tied for first on Golf Inc.’s 2016 Public Renovation list.

Both Championships have been springboards for many of the PGA and LPGA Tours’ most accomplished players. Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Phil Mickelson competed on the Boys side, while past Girls Junior PGA winners include Inbee Park, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lexi Thompson.

Yealimi Noh won the 2018 Girls Junior PGA with a dominating, record-setting performance at Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, Ky. Akshay Bhatia became the first two-time winner following his victory in the 2018 Boys Junior PGA, which was secured with a greenside chip-in eagle on the 72nd hole at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Bhatia also won in 2017. This past September, both players teamed up on the triumphant United States Team in the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup at Disneyland Paris.

For more information about the championships, visit JuniorPGAChampionship.com and follow @JuniorPGAChamp on Twitter and Instagram. For more information on the PGA of America, visit PGAMediaCenter.com, follow @PGA on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Connecticut’s Keney Park Golf Course Selected to Host 2019 Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (November 19, 2018) – The PGA of America announced today that Keney Park Golf Course in Hartford, Connecticut, will host both the Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships in 2019. The Girls Junior PGA Championship will be contested July 9-12, while the Boys will tee it up July 30-August 2. Each event features 144 players in a four-round, 18-hole stroke play format.

“It is a thrill for both Championships to be held in Connecticut for the first time,” said Suzy Whaley, a longtime Connecticut resident who recently became the PGA of America’s first-ever woman President, a position she assumed at the PGA Annual Meeting on November 9 in Palm Springs, California. “Both Championships continue to reach new heights each year. We are excited to partner with Keney Park, the Connecticut PGA Section and the City of Hartford to showcase the game’s brightest junior players competing at the highest level.”

Keney Park opened in 1927 with a nine-hole course designed by Devereux Emmet; the Robert “Jack” Ross-designed back-nine opened four years later. In 2014, the Connecticut PGA Section signed an agreement to serve as consultants to help Hartford regain operational ownership of Keney Park and oversee a course restoration to enhance the facility’s level of sustainability.

“This will be the maiden voyage for the Connecticut PGA Section with respect to hosting PGA of America championships, and we cannot be more excited to welcome the nation’s most talented girls and boys,” said Thomas Hantke, Executive Director of the Connecticut PGA Section. “We’re not only proud that we’ve been chosen to host these prestigious championships, but we’re equally appreciative to be able to showcase the restoration of Keney Park as part of the revitalization efforts ongoing in the City of Hartford. It has been one of the original and central purposes to re-establish a first-class golf experience to help lead the way to improving the quality of life.”

“Next summer will be exciting as local spectators will have the opportunity to see some of golf’s brightest future stars play on the Keney Park Golf Course,” Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said. “We look forward to these young competitors and their families visiting our City. Golf has a long tradition in the city of Hartford, and these two premier events will add to our story.”

Keney Park is led by PGA Director of Golf Peter Seaman, who has been on the staff since July of 2015. The golf course was recently ranked by Golfweek as the No. 2 place to play in Connecticut, as well as tied for first on Golf Inc.’s 2016 Public Renovation list.

Both Championships have been springboards for many of the PGA and LPGA Tours’ most accomplished players. Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Phil Mickelson have competed on the Boys side, while the list of past Girls Junior PGA winners includes Major Champions Inbee Park, Ariya Jutanugarn and Lexi Thompson.

Yealimi Noh captured the 2018 Girls Junior PGA with a dominating, record-setting performance at Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, Kentucky, while Akshay Bhatia became the first two-time winner following his victory in the 2018 Boys Junior PGA, which was secured with a greenside chip-in eagle on the 72nd hole at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Bhatia also won in 2017. This past September, both players teamed up on the triumphant United States Team in the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup at Disneyland Paris.

For more information about the Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships, visit JuniorPGAChampionship.com and follow @JuniorPGAChamp on Twitter and Instagram.

For more information about the PGA of America, visit PGAMediaCenter.com, follow @PGA on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Media Contact:
Pat Kravitz, PGA of America, 561-624-8581, pkravitz@pgahq.com