Rochester, N.Y. (May 17, 2023) – Beginning this Thursday, the Corebridge Financial PGA Team—which is comprised of 20 top-playing PGA Club Professionals—will compete against the strongest field in golf at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.
Designed by Donald Ross and recently restored by Andrew Green, Oak Hill will be hosting the PGA Championship for a fourth time.
Braden Shattuck, PGA, the 28-year-old Director of Instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, won the 2023 PGA Professional Championship at Twin Warriors and Santa Ana Golf Clubs in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, on May 3. He leads the contingent of 20 PGA Professionals who earned a position to compete in the second major championship of the season at Oak Hill.
Shattuck won the PGA Professional Championship on the one-year anniversary of being elected to PGA Membership. Now, he competes in his first major championship against the likes of John Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Defending PGA Champion Justin Thomas.
Corebridge Financial has broadened its partnership with the PGA of America to include the Title sponsorship of the PGA Professional Member teams formerly known as the Team of 20 (PGA Championship); Team of 35 (KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship); and Team of 9 (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship). Each will now be recognized as the Corebridge Financial PGA Team. The Team consists of talented PGA Professionals from across the country who earned a spot to compete in the PGA’s most prestigious Championships.
The PGA Members that comprise the Corebridge PGA Team advanced to the PGA Championship by finishing in the Top 20 at the PGA Professional PGA Championship, while competing among 312 players in the field. There are 28,000 PGA Professionals worldwide.
“The PGA of America is especially proud of the 20 PGA Professionals who have earned a spot in the PGA Championship and the Corebridge Financial PGA Team,” said PGA President John Lindert, PGA Director of Golf at The Country Club of Lansing in Lansing, Michigan. “They’re PGA Members who maintain a high-level of play while ensuring golfers everywhere have a place to play and access to the game we all love.”
In all, 12 of the 20 Members of the Corebridge PGA Team will be making their PGA Championship debuts.
Alex Beach, PGA, of Stillwater, Minnesota, the 2019 PGA Professional Championship winner, will be the most experienced of the 20 PGA Professionals at Oak Hill – making his fifth-straight PGA Championship appearance and sixth overall (2017, 2019-’22).
Michael Block, PGA, the PGA Head Professional of Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California, is making his fourth PGA Championship appearance and his first since 2018. The 46-year old has won nine Southern California PGA Section Player of the Year Awards (2013-’21).
Chris French, PGA, the PGA Head Professional at Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford, Illinois, is making his PGA Championship debut, after largely giving up the game for most of his 20s to pursue a career in the music industry. He’s just the second Rockford native in more than 40 years to play in a major championship.
Chris Sanger, PGA, of Red Hook, New York, is the PGA Head Professional at Woodstock Golf Club. Making his PGA Championship debut approximately 250 miles away at Oak Hill, Sanger is a two-time winner of the Northeastern New York PGA Section Match Play Championship (2019, ‘21); and a two-time winner of the Section’s Assistants Match Play Championship (2015, ‘17). He has also won the NENYPGA Assistants Championship in 2017.
2023 PGA Championship: Corebridge Financial PGA Team
Alex Beach, PGA – Stamford, Conn., Westchester Country Club, Metropolitan PGA Section
Michael Block, PGA – Mission Viejo, Calif., Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, Southern California PGA Section
Matt Cahill, PGA – West Palm Beach, Fla. Seminole Golf Club, South Florida PGA Section
Anthony Cordes, PGA – Johns Creek, Ga., Cherokee Town & Country Club, Georgia PGA Section
Jesse Droemer, PGA – Houston, Texas, Lakeside Country Club, Southern Texas PGA Section
Chris French, PGA – Rockford, Ill., Aldeen Golf Club, Illinois PGA Section
Russell Grove, PGA – Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, North Idaho College, Pacific Northwest PGA Section
Steve Holmes, PGA – Moorpark, Calif., Rustic Canyon Golf Course, Southern California PGA Section
Colin Inglis, PGA – Creswell, Ore., Shadow Hills Country Club, Pacific Northwest PGA Section
Ben Kern, PGA – Bloomfield, Ohio, Hickory Hills Golf Club, Southern Ohio PGA Section
J.J. Killeen, PGA – Lubbock, Texas, Red Feather Golf and Social Club, Northern Texas PGA Section
Greg Koch, PGA – Orlando, Fla., Ritz-Carlton Golf Club-Grande Lakes Orlando, North Florida PGA Section
Kenny Pigman, PGA – Ontario, Calif., Arrowhead Country Club, Southern California PGA Section
Gabe Reynolds, PGA – Dallas, Texas, Topgolf-Dallas, Northern Texas PGA Section
Chris Sanger, PGA – Red Hook, N.Y., Woodstock Golf Club, Northeastern New York PGA Section
Braden Shattuck, PGA – Glen Mills, Pa., Rolling Green Golf Club, Philadelphia PGA Section
Josh Speight, PGA – Locust Hill, Va., The Club at Viniterra, Middle Atlantic PGA Section
John Somers, PGA – New Port Richey, Fla., Southern Hills Plantation Club, North Florida PGA Section
Jeremy Wells, PGA – Estero, Fla., Cypress Lake Golf Club, South Florida PGA Section
Wyatt Worthington II, PGA – Reynoldsburg, Ohio, The Golf Depot At Central Park, Southern Ohio PGA Section
The 2023 PGA Championship, played Thursday-Sunday, May 18-21, will feature wire-to-wire, 72-hole coverage via CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN+ and Paramount+, while the PGAChampionship.com website, App and Social Media channels are also providing comprehensive coverage.
