Area tournaments put local PGA teaching pros in spotlight

Jimmy Walker won the PGA Championship last weekend at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey. He edged bona fide PGA Tour superstar Jason Day by one shot.

Of the two, Walker most resembles your average PGA of America professional: He goes about his business in an unassuming manner and simply gets the job done. The PGA Championship was Walker’s first major title and his sixth PGA Tour victory.

Most golfers only see their local PGA of America professional in the clubhouse or on the lesson tee, but these pros do more than grow the game and serve the public. Many are good-to-great golfers and play in a season-long schedule of tournaments at area courses.

The annual Southwest Section, Southern Nevada Chapter, PGA of America Chapter Championship concluded Tuesday at Boulder Creek Golf Club. This is a major tournament for the local pros even if it didn’t come with all of the hoopla surrounding the PGA Championship.

Troy Helseth from Anthem Country Club finished 7 under for the two rounds to win the title. Helseth also won the Chapter Match Play Championship this season.

Fellow Anthem pro Travis Long shot 4 under in the final round and finished second at 2 under. Defending champion and Las Vegas Country Club pro Jason Edmiston finished third at 1 under.

Siena director of instruction Kim Dolan, who won the Senior Chapter Championship this year, finished even and tied for fourth with SouthShore pro Tom Sweeney and Brad Church from Wynn Golf and Country Club.

LOCAL WINS LONG DRIVE

Mike Dobbyn, former world long drive champion and Las Vegas resident, is back in the winner’s circle. On Saturday, he won the Rockwell Blast in Utah with a drive of 420 yards. Dobbyn captured the world title in 2007, and the Rockwell win qualified him for this year’s World Long Drive Championship in October at WinStar Resort in Oklahoma.

The recent victory was Dobbyn’s first in four years.

“Finally is all I can say,” Dobbyn said. “After all of the time in the gym and on the range, to win an event as big as this one, it makes all of the hours of work worthwhile. We all work so hard for what we love to do, and sometimes it takes awhile to see the fruits of your labor.

”My swing doesn’t feel perfect right now because I am still working on a few things, but it does feel good. Having my own Flightscope launch monitor to work with on the range has helped me improve immensely in a short period of time.”

TEE IT UP FOR JUNIORS

Two-player teams are still being accepted for the annual Southern Nevada Junior Golf Marathon on Aug. 22 at TPC Summerlin. Proceeds benefit junior golf programming in Southern Nevada. Call 702-458-4653 to sign up.

The event gives golfers a chance to play the official host course of the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. If you can’t play, individual pledges are being accepted at: https://99pledges.com/fund/SNJG.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

The official player’s card for Siena and Arroyo golf courses is on sale. Clark County residents who sign up this month will receive an additional five free rounds of golf. The card offers special pricing and deals throughout this year and 2017.

STARS ON, OFF COURSE

Jimmy Walker and his wife, Erin, flew to Las Vegas on a private jet supplied by some of his sponsors, the Bellagio and MGM Resorts, to celebrate winning the PGA Championship. Among the people they celebrated with was Las Vegas resident Butch Harmon, Walker’s swing coach.

A celebratory message for Walker appeared on the huge billboard near T-Mobile Arena.

The golf notebook runs on Thursdays. Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt is a two-time author who has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com or @LVGolfInsider.