PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Kyle Flinton of Edmond, Okla., made history on Sunday by becoming the first three-time winner of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club.
With a Championship total of 6-under-par 282 (69-68-70-75), Flinton was the only player in the field who finished the national championship with an under-par score.
Flinton took the lead after Sunday morning's third round with a 2-under-par 70 and entered the final round Sunday afternoon nine strokes ahead of Jeff Martin of Warwick, R.I., who finished the Championship in a tie for fifth place with Tom Harding of South Lyon, Mich. The wind was gusting all day long up to 30 mph, playing havoc on the field and creating challenges for the leader, who then recorded bogeys on holes Nos. 1, 2, 8, 9, and 13. He finished his round on a positive note with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
Flinton returned to PGA Golf Club this year and was determined to improve on last year's finish.
"There was a fire lit under me after I missed the cut last year," said Flinton, an apprentice at Quail Creek Golf & Country Club in Oklahoma City, Okla. "I set my goals too low last year and was concerned with making the cut, so I lost my focus and I wasn't prepared to come in here and defend my title."
Jaysen Hansen of Toledo, Ohio, and James Herman of Port St. Lucie, Fla., both competing in their first TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship, finished in a tie for second place, eight strokes behind Flinton with a Championship total of 2-over-par 290.
"My goal this week was to get in the top 10, and I am ecstatic to finish in a tie for second place," said Hansen, a 26-year-old PGA Assistant Professional at Toledo Country Club in Ohio. "It was very breezy today and I couldn't ask for anything more this week with the way that I finished."
Flinton, who captured the 2001 and 2003 TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championships, previously shared the record of most victories with Jim Schuman of Janesville, Wis. (1996, '97), and Darrell Kestner of East Norwich, N.Y. (1982, '87).
"I played flawless in this morning's third round and started getting tired in the afternoon during the second 18-holes by making bad swings, driving it out of the fairway and missing greens," said Flinton. My mantra all week was to let my clubs do the talking and I am very happy to be the first to win the championship three times."
Colin Amaral, a PGA Assistant Professional at Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield, Conn., fired an impressive 2-under-par 70 in the final round to move up from a tie for 14th place to finish alone in fourth place with a final score of 3-over-par 291.
Defending Champion Kirk Satterfield of Manhasset, N.Y., began the final 18-holes in a tie for third place, but entered the clubhouse with a 4-over-par 76 to finish in a tie for seventh place with a four-round score of 5-over-par 293.
With the win, Flinton takes home a $9,000 check out of the $100,000 purse and is invited to participate in the 2006 Australian PGA National Futures Championship.
The 19th annual TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship consisted of 41 PGA Section assistant champions, section qualifiers, the defending champion Kirk Satterfield, and assistant/apprentice champions from Australia, Canada and Great Britain.
The PGA of America, founded in 1916, is a not-for profit organization comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.
