May 2026 Message from Our President

A Message from the President

Pennsylvania Golf Association – May Update

Greetings Pennsylvania Golfers!

Now that we have emerged from a particularly hard winter, the grass is growing and our competitive season is underway. We are ready to move into a very busy and exciting summer. What a year for golf it will be in our commonwealth as we celebrate the country’s 250^th anniversary!

Starting with our season-opening 85th George Dressler Memorial at the Outdoor Country Club late last month we crowned three very worthy champions and familiar names from outstanding fields in the championship, senior and super-senior divisions. Congratulations to Brock Kovach, Rick Stimmel and Greg Osborne for their victories. The just-completed Senior Open at The Club at Nevillewood displayed more outstanding golf and saw professional Kevin Kraft become the first repeat champion in the event in another exciting finish to win that state championship.

The highest level of the professional game is also underway this week as the 108^th PGA Championship takes place at one of Philadelphia’s finest venues, Aronimink Golf Club, in Newtown Square. I hope you got a chance to read the story this week on our web site highlighting my fellow Bucknellian Chris Tanabe’s triumph in the 2019 Pennsylvania Amateur Championship Aronimink and his journey since that win.

As is the case each season, June, July and August will be packed with great state events beginning the first two days of next month with the Four-Ball competition for the men and women at Moselem Springs Golf Club near Reading. Six sites throughout the state will host qualifying events for this year’s Pa. Amateur to finalize the field at one of the world’s top courses, historic Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh in July.

Our state Amateur Champion will be adding his name to a long list of impressive former champions. He will also earn an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship hosted in August by another of Pennsylvania’s, and the world’s, best-known and ranked layouts, Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, just northwest of Philadelphia, as well as an exemption into the 2027 Sunnehanna Amateur. What an incredible couple of weeks that will be for golf in Pennsylvania!

June closes with the junior boys’ and junior girls’ championships. Those 54-hole competitions are at Hershey Country Club (East Course) and Lebanon Country Club, respectively, where the boys champion will earn an exemption into both the U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley as well the 2027 Sunnehanna Amateur. The girls champion will be exempted into the U.S. Junior Girls Championship at the Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. I want to give a special shout out to Hershey and Lebanon for being such great and long-time hosts to our junior championships.

The Country Club of Scranton in July is the scene for the R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship, and several more qualifiers will be conducted across the state that month to earn a spot in the 110^th Pennsylvania Open at Laurel Valley in mid-August. The 90^th Women’s Amateur will be held July 20-22 at Gulph Mills Golf Club and that champion earns an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur held this year at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tennessee. We’ll determine our women’s Mid-Amateur, Senior and Super-Senior state champions at Gulph Mills.  That’s a lot of championship golf and it’s only about half of our season!

I also would like to call your attention to some other great feature articles on our web site about some long-time competitors in PAGA events by Henry O’Brien and by Pete Kowalski about the tremendous efforts of some of our state’s golf course superintendents.

Finally, on behalf of our Executive Committee, I had the honor of presenting a resolution and plaque to former PAGA Executive Director Mark Peterson thanking him for his 23 years of service to the association. Mark and his wife Sonia were feted at an Executive Committee dinner in April attended by several past presidents of the association.  Mark accomplished great things for the game and the Pennsylvania Golf Association during his tenure. We are forever grateful. 

It has already been a great start to a huge year for golf in our state and it keeps getting better.

Yours in Golf,

Jeff Ranck

President, Pennsylvania Golf Association