Local Golf Pro To Play In The PGA
HUDSON, Wis. (WCCO) – The PGA Championship, golf's fourth and final major of the year, tees off Thursday at Valhalla in Kentucky.
And as David McCoy tells us, a local club pro from Woodbury will get the chance to play in it,Dave Tentis, of Troy Burne Golf Club in Hudson, Wis.
Dave Tentis never thought he'd be in the PGA Championship.
"Completely unexpected," Tentis said.
Not because of his age. Though at 52, he's the oldest club pro to make it.
And not because it's hard make it.
You have to finish in the top 20 at the National Club Pro Tournament out of 312. But there's thousands who don't even make that tournament. Like, Tentis. Originally anyway.
"It's quite a, quite an interesting thing," Tentis said.
So when Tentis says he never thought he'd be in the PGA Championship, that's not him being modest. It's just a fact.
"I didn't even qualify," Tentis said.
Didn't qualify for the qualifier, to be exact.
To get in that 312-man national tournament, Tentis had to finish top-8 last August in the Minnesota sectional qualifier.
He didn't.
"And I finished 9th in that qualifier," Tentis said.
But when one of the eight dropped out, Tentis got his shot.
Made some good shots. Made the top 20...
"And now I'm going to the PGA. So it was just like a shocker. I mean, I wasn't even qualified for the tournament to begin with. Then I get into it, through kind of a loophole you might say, and then I qualify, tied for 8th and I'm going to the PGA," Tentis said. "When he looked at me and said, 'You're going to Valhalla.' I mean, I was speechless. I mean, tears came to my eyes. I couldn't believe it. I'm like, 'Going where?' Seriously, it was like, a complete shock. I'm overjoyed. It's going to be a lot of fun."