The first week of January 2022 Bill was scheduled to compete in two tournaments of the PGA Winter Championship Series at PGA Village in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. These are some of our favorite tournaments of the year because the weather in Nashville, Tennessee is at its worst about the time these start.
We started off with the Quarter Century Championship which is for club pros across the country who have been in the business 25+ years. It’s a good competitive set.
Bill started off strong on the first day of this two-day tournament. He was -1 at the turn and then turned it on to go -5 on the back including an Eagle on 16. His only bogey of the day came on 17 and he finished strong with a birdie on the almost impossible 18th hole. Final score for the day, 66. Not bad.
We started the second day in the last group, 2 back from the leader, Mark Anderson. We've played with him in the past and he's a good competitor. Bill was -3 at the turn and Mark was -2, so we had gained one stroke toward the lead. Both players parred holes 10-15 so we were going Into the last 3 holes still one down from Mark...
On 16, the par 5 which Bill had eagled the day before, he hit his second shot to the green but it rolled off the back Into a collection area. The flag was up front, down grain, at the bottom of a slope. Bill's pitch rolled 12 feet past the hole. He made the putt for birdie.
Mark's experience on that hole was tougher but he parred the hole even after putting his tee shot in the water. Impressive, but not enough. He and Bill were now tied.
The 17th hole (a par 3) has not been one of Bill's favorites in the past, but he knew the door was open. His tee shot left him an 8-foot uphill putt which he drained for birdie. Mark parred so we were 1 up!
Then came the almost-impossible 18th hole. Bill hit a high cut and put the ball way down the fairway just 10 feet from the water, which Is way too close for my comfort.
Bill had 114 yards to the hole over water - which he handled with a 50-degree gap wedge, putting his ball 5 feet from the hole.
Mark's shot to the green left him with a 30-foot downhill putt - and the door opened wider.
Mark 3-putted.
Bill 1-putted.
Bill Breen wins the PGA Quarter Century Championship with this beauty of a putt.
If you've been following, you might be able to do the math - Bill Breen came from 2 strokes behind at the beginning of the round, to winning by 3 ON THE LAST THREE HOLES!
This might be a career record. Two rounds, 66/66, 132 for the tournament.
That's a great way to start the new year. Thanks for following.
(And thank you Michael Breen for getting the video of Bill Breen's last putt.)
Oh…What happened to the second tournament, you might ask? Well, promptly after celebrating this win with Michael, we went back to the hotel and got COVID. So we had to withdraw and just lay around for a few days. We’re all good now and ready for the next one.
Stay tuned…