Austin Hurt – the head golf professional at Wing Point Golf & Country Club in Bainbridge Island, Washington – shot 8-under 64 on the Bandon Dunes course to take the opening-round lead Sunday in the PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon. Hurt has played at Bandon Dunes numerous times and was able to put his experience at the popular resort to good use on the golf holes that stretch along cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Bandon Dunes, the original course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, will be used for three of the four rounds of the PGA Professional Championship on April 26-29 in Oregon.
“I’ve played here many times,” said Hurt, the 2023 and 2025 Pacific Northwest PGA Professional Champion. “I’d say the experience today helped me tremendously. You can miss in certain spots and get away with certain shots, but, yeah, we’ve been coming here for a while. It’s an easy jaunt, about seven hours from Seattle. It’s kind of heaven on earth down here for sure.”
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The 312 PGA of American pros in the tournament are splitting the first two of the tournament’s four rounds on Bandon Dunes, the first course to open at the resort in 1999, and Pacific Dunes, which opened in 2001. After the cut is made Monday night, the final two rounds of the tournament will be on Bandon Dunes only.
Jeff Kellen of Glenview, Illinois, shot 7-under 65 on Bandon Dunes to take second place after Sunday’s opening round. Erik Matthewson of Las Vegas was in third after a 6-under 65 on Pacific Dunes. Allie Knight of Knoxville, Tennessee, shot 67 on Bandon Dunes and was in fourth place, and 2023 PPC champion Braden Shattuck of Aston, Pennsylvania, was in fifth place after a 67 on Pacific Dunes.
Hurt hit the championship’s opening tee shot in Sunday’s morning wave, and after a birdie on No. 3 of Bandon Dunes and a bogey on No. 5, he lit up the scoreboard in playing Nos. 7-10 at 5 under par. That run included birdies on the par-4 seventh and eighth holes, an eagle on the par-5 ninth, then a birdie on the par-4 10th. He closed with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.
“I did a really good job staying within myself today,” Hurt said. “I didn’t try to get ahead of myself. I didn’t try to jump holes ahead or think about holes behind. I really tried to stay present in the moment, and that’s something that has been challenging for me in the past, but that was really something that I tried to focus on heavily today.”
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Defending champion Tyler Collet of Vero Beach, Florida, was tied for 25th after a 1-under 70 on Pacific Dunes. He was tied with 2014 PPC champion Michael Block of Mission Viejo, California, who gained attention after finishing in the top 15 at the 2023 PGA Championship and who opened in 1-under 71 on Bandon Dunes.
How to watch the PGA Professional Championship
Golf Channel will have daily coverage of the PPC. Times are as follows:
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Monday: 7-10 p.m. Eastern
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Tuesday: 7-10 p.m. Eastern
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Wednesday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
How do players qualify for the PGA Championship?
The top 20 players in the PGA Professional Championship qualify for the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 14-17 in Newton Square, Pennsylvania.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Washington golf pro leads after Day 1 of PGA Professional Championship
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