Phillips in top 10 in PGA Professional Championship, Fleming, Chhim advance
AUSTIN, Texas (April 18, 2022) 一 Tracy Phillips of Broken Arrow remained in the top 10 after an even-par round of 71 on the tough Fazio Foothills Course at Omni Barton Creek Resort in the 2022 PGA Professional Championship Monday.
Phillips is tied for 10th at 4-under, four shots behind leader Jesse Mueller, who posted a 4-under 67, good for a one-shot lead over Austin Hurt and Dylan Newman.
Cameron Chhim, an assistant pro at Southern Hills Country Club, and Tim Fleming, director of golf at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, both made the cut as the field was trimmed to 90 and ties, but have work to do to make the top 70 after the third round. Chhim shot a second-round 73 and was at 1-over while Fleming had a second-round 73 and was at 2-over. The projected cut to make the top 70 is 1 over.
Not making the cut from the South Central Section were Trent Rommann of Crestview Country Club (70-75), Brent Williamson of the Canyons at Blackjack Ridge (72-74) and Shannon Friday of Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club (74-78).
The low 20 scorers earn berths in the 2022 PGA Championship, May 16-22, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The third round of the 2022 PGA Professional Championship will be broadcast live on Golf Channel on Tuesday, April 19 from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. EDT.
The packed leaderboard features 15 players within four shots of Mueller’s two-day total of 133.
Mueller is making his second foray in the PGA Professional Championship (he finished T-29 last year at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida), but he has a reservoir of playing experience gained on the Korn Ferry and Gateway (17 career wins) tours. He also won the Hawaii State Open in 2009 and, more recently, twice (2017, ‘20) claimed the Southwest PGA Section’s Professional Championship.
Mueller seized the lead for the first time just as lunchtime approached, when he birdied the par-5 fifth hole on the par-71 Fazio Foothills, his 14th hole of the day. That birdie was his sixth of the day, one more than he tallied the day before when he had an opening 66. It also separated him from the other players, as many as four, who’d shared the lead at 7-under.
One of the five women in the field, Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth (68-74, 142), made the cut and advanced to the third round. A Golf Instructor at Eagle Harbor Golf Club in Fleming Island, Florida, Connelly-Eiswerth parred her final two holes on the Fazio Foothills Course Monday to make the 36-hole cut at 142.
A total of 103 PGA Professionals made the first cut Monday night. The field will be trimmed to the low 70 scorers and ties after Tuesday’s third round, which like the final round will be on Fazio Foothills.