The WNYPGA Professional Championship at Clifton Springs Country Club July 14-15th brought together the best WNYPGA Professionals to compete for top honors. The players arrived Sunday to a perfectly manicured layout and were quickly faced with hot, humid weather that provided difficult scoring conditions. Managing the challenge the best on day one was Tyler Smith from Oak Hill Country Club as his one-under 70 led the way with seven players following closely behind. However, it was the consistent play of Nick Palladino, PGA from Crag Burn Golf Club that would earn him the victory.

His day one even-par 71 followed by his one-under 70 on day two pushed him to the top by two strokes over Jon Hoecker, PGA, Kirk Stauffer, PGA, and J.A. Sutherland, PGA who faced a playoff to determine the last qualifying spots. After a one-hole tiebreaker, Stauffer and Hoecker played their way into joining Palladino as the WNYPGA qualifiers for the 57th PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, FL.

“I tried my best to play smart and miss in places that gave me chances to make saves. Having no doubles and two eagles really helped my score. Both eagles were set up by hybrid shots. One from 266 yards to 5 feet; the other from 250 to 20 yards, and I knocked it in from the fairway. Having played with great competitors pushed me day one to stay in it after a rough start of 3 over through 7. The energy and focus of my fellow professionals helped me continue to push myself and grind through the ups and downs of a WNYPGA major championship event,” Palladino stated.