(Final round of three)

HAAS WINS CPGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WIRE-TO-WIRE

(Durham, NC) – Jerry Haas, PGA, the Men’s Golf Coach at Wake Forest University, won the 2014 Carolinas PGA Professional Championship held at Duke University Golf Club in Durham, NC.

After rounds of 67-72=139 (-5), Haas entered the final round with a two-stroke lead over three others.  He may have felt some pressure on the first few holes by making three straight bogeys.  However, Haas righted the ship reeling off three birdies out of the next four holes.  He played level par for the rest of his round to finish the championship with a 37-35=72 (E) to total 211 (-5).

Finishing two strokes back were Charles Frost, PGA Head Professional at the River Course at Kiawah Island Club, who had rounds of 71-70-72=213 (-3) and Chris Haarlow, PGA Director/Instructor at Precision Golf School, who finished at 75-72-66=213 (-3).  Haarlow, at one point came from behind to share a piece of the lead on the back nine at -5.  However, an unfortunate double-bogey on the par-4 18th hole, his ninth hole of the day, cost him a shot at the championship.

In July, Haas won the 2014 CPGA Senior Professional Championship Presented by Mercedes Benz and Leland Tourism Development Authority.  This marks the first time that the Senior Championship and Section Championship were won by the same person in the same season.

By winning the 2014 CPGA Professional Championship, Haas receives the $10,000 first prize check, an exemption into either the PGA Tour's 2015 Wells Fargo Championship or Wyndham Championship, and one of eleven qualifying spots that were up for grabs for the 2015 PGA Professional National Championship (PNC) taking place June 28 through July 1 at Philadelphia Cricket Club.  That event will feature 312 of the best playing PGA Professionals from across the United States.  From there, the top 20 PGA Professionals will advance to compete in the 2015 PGA Championship, one of the four majors of professional golf.

The following competitors also qualified for the PGA PNC:
     - Chris Haarlow – PGA Director/Instructor at Precision Golf School
     - Charles Frost – PGA Head Professional at the River Course at Kiawah Island Club
     - Greg Boyette – PGA Head Professional at Bulls Bay Golf Club
     - Rick Lewallen – PGA Life Member
     - Blair Smith – PGA Director of Instruction at Emerald Lake Golf Club
     - John Thompson – PGA Director of Instruction at Carolina Lakes Golf Club
     - Mitch Adams – PGA General Manager at Densons Creek Golf Course
     - Adam McLaughlin – PGA Head Professional at Alamance Country Club
     - Dale Ketola – PGA Director of Instruction at Potential Golf
     - Kris Cappuzzo – PGA Head Professional at Raintree Country Club

The CPGA Professional Championship is a 54-hole stroke play event.    46 competitors who scored 151 (+7) or better survived the 36-hole cut.  This is the final Bob Boyd CPGA Player of the Year event for 2014.  Through his solid play this year, Rick Lewallen, PGA, earned that honor for a second time.  After Haas decides which PGA Tour exemption he wants in 2015, Lewallen will receive the other.

The CPGA sincerely thanks Duke University GC PGA Director of Golf Ed Ibarguen, his staff, and the club's membership for their incredible hospitality.  The course is in great shape, and it provided a stiff challenge for the field.

This event would not be possible without the support of the Presenting Sponsors for each of the 41 PGA of America Sections' Professional Championships.

Club Car - http://www.clubcar.com
Mercedes-Benz USA- www.MBUSA.com
Omega- www.OmegaWatches.com

The CPGA expresses its gratitude to the following supporting sponsors.

Titleist / FootJoy - www.Acushnet.com
Nike Golf- www.Nike.com/NikeGolf
TaylorMade / adidas / Ashworth- www.TaylorMadeGolf.com

In addition, we thank three local sponsors for their involvement.

The PGA Tour has supported the PGA Member events such as the CPGA Professional Championship for a number of years.  www.PGATour.com

On Hole #4, Global Golf Sales operated its season-long Par-3 Challenge, a $1,000 hole-in-one contest, a closest to the pin contest, and a skins contest.  www.GlobalGolfSales.com

On Hole #18, Evolve Golf operated its season-long Total Driving Challenge where competitors drives were measured for distance and accuracy.  www.EvolveGolf.com

About Duke University Golf Club
This wonderful University golf course recently went through a complete redesign of the tee and green complexes. Rees Jones, now a master architect in his own right, was the only choice for this redesign. Rees had completed renovations for several U.S. Open venues such as Brookline, Hazeltine, Baltusrol, and Congressional. In modern golf course architecture, Rees has set a new standard for clarity and playability in design. He terms it ‘definition in design’ with the holes clearly indicating how a golfer should play them. The natural beauty of the land was integral in his design work and his vision unified by directional bunkering, visible hazards, and accessible target greens. What a perfect fit for the Duke University Golf Club!

It would be difficult to describe the loving care that Rees Jones puts into the design of each and every golf course feature. He is a demanding perfectionist who insists that future playability of his work be held at a premium. Throughout the redesign, Rees scrutinized every shot possibility, observed and considered every angle so as to insure that each nuance of the golf course would be subtle, yet perfectly placed.

Duke University Golf Club exists for you to play, enjoy and savor the vision of Jones and Jones. It is a work of art that is a singular masterpiece and one that will leave you with the distinct impression that, indeed, in Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s words, “…the golf holes were on the ground, just lying there, waiting to be grassed over.”

www.golf.duke.edu


About the Carolinas PGA Section
Established in 1923, and recognized by The PGA of America in 1940, the Carolinas PGA Section of the Professional Golfers’ Association has grown to be the largest of the PGA’s forty-one sections with almost 2,000 professional members. The Carolinas PGA Section embraces North and South Carolina as well as a small portion of southern Virginia, representing more than 800 golf facilities. The Carolinas PGA is dedicated to nurturing and improving the quality of the game for the thousands of golfers using its member facilities. PGA professionals are responsible for conducting a variety of golf-related functions which include human resource management, golf shop merchandising, golf instruction, tournament operations, junior golf programs, growth of the game initiatives, golf club repair, administering the rules, public relations and much more.

www.Carolinas.PGA.com