Mike Northern of Colorado Springs posted one of the best finishes ever by a Colorado PGA member in the national Senior PGA Professional Championship by tying for fourth Sunday and qualifying for the 2017 Senior PGA Championship.
Northern (pictured), the reigning Colorado Senior PGA Professional Champ, placed in the top five out of 264 players despite closing with a double bogey on Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The 54-year-old shot a 1-over-par 73 in the final round to record a 9-under 279 total. That left him four strokes behind champion Steve Schneiter of Sandy, Utah, who has played in many Colorado Opens over the years.
Schneiter sank a 15-foot par putt on the final hole for the victory, which makes him the first person to win both the PGA Professional Championship (1995) the Senior PGA Professional Championship. Schneiter, who holed out for eagle from 115 yards on the second hole Sunday, won $21,500.
Northern, the runner-up in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship in September, was trying to become the second Coloradan to win the national Senior PGA Professional Championship as Bill Loeffler captured the title in 2007.
Northern made two birdies, a bogey and the final-hole double bogey on Sunday.
Jeff Hanson of Edwards came ever so close to joining Northern as a 2017 Senior PGA Championship qualifier. With the top 35 finishers and ties earning spots in the Senior PGA, Hanson placed 39th, one shot shy of what was necessary to qualify. What was even more agonizing was that Hanson triple bogeyed his final hole on Sunday.
Hanson closed with a 5-over-par 77 on Sunday after three straight sub-par rounds. He posted an even-par 288 total when 287 was needed to qualify.
Here are the scores of all the Colorado PGA members who competed in the Senior PGA Professional Championship:
4. Mike Northern of Colorado Springs 69-71-66-73–279
39. Jeff Hanson of Edwards 69-71-71-77–288
Missed 36-Hole Cut
109. Paul Lobato of Englewood 75-71–146
126. Mike Zaremba of Pueblo West 76-71–147
176. Dale Smigelsky of Fort Collins 74-76–150
192. Vance Pollock of Westminster 74-77–151
210. Don Hurter of Castle Rock 74-78–152
261. Steve Crane of Lakewood 79-87–166
