Mabee and Berliner Qualify for NENYPGA Professional Championship

CLIFTON PARK — The Northeastern New York PGA members only needed $240 for the entry fee and a dream of playing in a major golf championship.

Last year, Chris Sanger of Woodstock proved that dreams can come true when he advanced out of the local section and made it to this year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester. Now, two, and possibly three, other members will pursue a similar path next spring.

Eric Mabee, the head pro at Pittsfield (Mass.), and Scott Berliner, the teaching pro at Glens Falls, secured the two berths on Tuesday at Eagle Crest in the NENYPGA Professional Championship, which serves as a qualifier for the 2024 PGA Professional Championship. The National Club Pro, as it is known in golf circles, will take place in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, from April 28 to May 1.

The top 20 players out of 312 participants in Frisco will earn berths into the 2024 PGA Championship.

Mabee sank a birdie putt on the final hole to beat Berliner, a six-time champion, and win the first-place prize of $2,665. He finished 36 holes at Eagle Crest with a score of 141, 3 under par.

“Winning is great,” Mabee said, “but my main goal is to make it to Dallas.”

Since Sanger finished in the top 20 of the 2023 National Club Pro, he did not need to qualify and instead chose to play in the 108th Metropolitan Open in Paramus, N.J. As a result, the NENYPGA now has three representatives, with a good chance of a fourth. Kyle Kressler, the head pro and owner at Cedar View in Massena, finished third and holds the first alternate position.

“We usually end up on top of the alternate list, so I’m not too worried about that,” Kressler said. “We always know that the top three usually get in. This is the most fun I’ve had in at least 10 years, playing with a group like that, at that caliber. As someone who mows grass for a living, being able to stick with them…I’m just happy to be out here at this point.”

Berliner, who shot a 6-under 66 in Monday’s first round, entered Tuesday with a two-stroke lead, but lost it with a triple bogey on the par-3 sixth. Mabee took control with birdies on 8 and 9. However, he stumbled a bit towards the end, double-bogeying the par-3 17th and tying with Berliner.

“Throughout the day, I didn’t know where I stood,” Mabee said. “I asked Scott on the 18th, after we both hit our drives, ‘Where are we, anyway?’ He said, ‘I think we’re even, and we’re two clear of Kyle.’ I probably should have asked him on the 15th because that was enough for me.”

Both Mabee and Berliner have been to the national tournament multiple times. It will be Kressler’s third time qualifying, and he got a close-up view of Sanger’s journey last May in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

“Justin Hurley and I followed Chris around the final round last year,” Kressler said. “Both of us missed the cut, and we watched every shot he hit that final round. To watch him hold it together, and know that we can hang with Chris out here, gives us little guys hope that we can compete with some of these bigger guys who play for a living.”

Pete Dougherty is a freelance writer. He can be reached at [email protected].

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