SEASIDE, Calif. (AP) Ryan Vermeer won the PGA Professional Championship on Wednesday, overcoming front-nine problems to top the 20 qualifiers for the PGA Championship.

The 40-year-old Vermeer, the director of instruction at Happy Hollow Club in Omaha, Nebraska, closed with a 1-over 73 on the Bayonet Course for a two-stroke victory over Sean McCarty and Bob Sowards.

The PGA Championship is in August at Bellerive in St. Louis.

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Three strokes ahead entering the day, Vermeer played the front in 4 over with a double-bogey on the par-4 second and bogeys on the par-4 seventh and par-4 eighth. He rebounded with birdies on the par-5 10th and par-4 11th and also birdied the par-5 18th.

Vermeer finished at 5-under 283. The former University of Kansas player earned $55,000. He won the 2017 Mizuno Pro/Assistant Championship and finished ninth last year in the PGA Professional to qualify for PGA at Quail Hollow.

McCarty had a 68, and Sowards shot 69. Sowards won the ..

A British teen who drunkenly drove a golf cart to a McDonald's drive-through last month met the swift hand of justice earlier this week. Jamie Elliot, 18, won't be allowed to drive vehicles of any kind for one year. We're guessing he's not loving that.
As part of his punishment, Elliot will also have to pay 235 pounds (about $309) in penalties and court fees. Just think of all the Big Macs that could have bought. . .
RELATED: Fans steal golf cart from PGA Tour event and drive it to bar
Elliot took the golf cart from Catterick Golf Club, which is over a mile away from the McDonald's. Fortunately for Elliot, his admission to one count of driving while unfit through drink didn't include any charges for, um, borrowing the “buggy.”
North Yorkshire police apprehended Elliot driving the golf cart in the wee hours of May 29. He blew a reading of 47 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 milliliters of breath on his breathalyzer, well over the UK's legal limit of..

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) Some of the biggest names in golf missed the cut at last week’s U.S. Open. They’re spending this week in Connecticut looking to fix whatever might be wrong with their game before next month’s British Open.

Jordan Spieth, the defending champion at both this week’s Travelers Championship and next month’s Open Championship, will try to avoid missing the weekend for the third straight tournament.

”In order for (my game) to be ready, major championship ready for the Open Championship, I think being in contention this week would be a big key,” he said. ”It’s tough to go win a major championship if you’re not at least coming off of top 10 finishes in tournaments where you had a chance to win.”

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A year ago, a previously struggling Spieth shot a 7-under 63 in his first-ever round at TPC River Highlands and went wire to wire, winning the tournament in a playoff. That started a memorable summer that included his first Claret Jug.

He’s looking t..

Andrea Gaston had won three NCAA team titles at USC and reached the top five 13 straight years, but after 22 seasons she's leaving to coach at Texas A&M

NEW YORK (AP) Phil Mickelson has apologized four days after intentionally violating golf rules by hitting a moving ball on the green at the U.S. Open, saying his frustration got the best of him.

The apology came Wednesday in a statement released by his representatives.

”I know this should’ve come sooner, but it’s taken me a few days to calm down,” Mickelson said. ”My anger and frustration got the best of me last weekend. I’m embarrassed and disappointed by my actions. It was clearly not my finest moment and I’m sorry.”

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Mickelson was struggling in the third round when he reached the 13th green.

His bogey putt from above the hole ran by the cup and was headed down a slope when he trotted over and swatted it back toward the hole with the ball still in motion. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty, scored a 10 on the hole and wound up shooting 81.

Later, after acknowledging he was using Rule 14-5 to his advantage, Mickelson called USGA officials for clarifi..

Despite being in great position entering the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open, Justin Rose didn't win, place, or show. Three days later, his wife's racehorse named in the golfer's honor had a similar disappointing finish.
THE GRIND: DJ and Paulina sure moved on quickly after the U.S. Open
Master Merion — Get it?! How good is that?! — came in 12th place at Wednesday's Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot, two spots lower than Rose at Shinnecock Hills. Thanks to Golf Digest contributer/equestrian enthusiast Luke Kerr-Dineen for catching this interesting storyline while watching coverage of this English event:
https://twitter.com/LukeKerrDineen/status/1009429205388546048
Rose, of course, won his lone major title (so far) at the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. His wife, Kate, is listed as a co-owner on the horse's bio, and according to Justin, “Believe it or not, [the horse's name] had nothing to do with me.” Sorry, Justin. We don't believe you.
Despite the Roses not get..

Jonathan Daniel(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)We understand the optics of a golf-based website calling out the athletic merits of another sport. That said, this news item from Chicago ain't helping the “Baseball players ARE athletes” proponents of America's pastime.
Cubs closer Brandon Morrow missed both parts of a Tuesday doubleheader, and not due to rest or a sore arm. No, the Windy City hurler was sidelined with back spasms brought on by…putting his pants on.
“Just undressing at my house,” Morrow told the Athletic. “Taking my pants off yesterday morning after we got back in at like 3 a.m. Just in the closet, got my right leg off. Left one, just felt like a spasm in my back.
“It’s frustrating any time you can’t get out there, and especially when you can’t go because it’s something like taking your pants off.”
Hey, Brandon Morrow might be a millionaire baseball player, but he puts his pants on just like you, one leg at a time.
Athlete, though, is another question. ..

Hall of Fame golfer Hubert Green, who won a U.S. Open playing portions of the final round despite a threat against his life, has died. He was 71.

Green won the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship in a career that included 19 PGA Tour victories and four on the seniors circuit. The PGA Tour announced that Green died Tuesday after battling throat cancer.

Green held a one-stroke lead at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he completed the 14th hole of the final round of the U.S. Open. He then was notified by tournament officials they had received a threat saying he would be shot when he reached the 15th green.

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Given the choice to clear the course of fans or return the following day, Green played on and captured his first major by one stroke, even making birdie at the 16th hole.

He outlasted Lee Trevino on the back side of the final round of the 1985 PGA Championship at Cherry Hills in Denver.

Green was a member of three U.S. Ryder Cup teams an..

Fantasy golf picks: What will Brooks Koepka do for an encore?

Hubert Green, a two-time major winner and World Golf Hall of Famer, passed away on Tuesday night, succumbing to throat cancer.