Chris Shircliff, PGA head professional from The Standard Club won the Georgia PGA Professional Championship. Shircliff will lead five Georgia Section PGA Professionals to compete in the 54th PGA Professional Championship in the spring of 2021.
Shircliff turned in a winning total of 1-under par 143 at the difficult The River Club and won by one shot over Anthony Cordes, an assistant professional at Cherokee Town & Country Club and PGA Life Member Sonny Skinner.
This marks the first Georgia Section victory for Shircliff, for his efforts he earned the first-place check of $3,400. Finishing in a tie for fourth place at 1-over par 145 was PGA head professional Chris Cartwright of West Pines Golf Club and assistant PGA professional Jake Keen of Maple Ridge Golf Course. Cartwright was able to survive a one-hole playoff on hole 17 for the fourth and final spot in the PGA Professional Championship. Joining the four qualifiers at the National Championship will be J.P. Griffin after claiming his spot via victory in early September at the Georgia PGA Championship at Sea Island Golf Club.
With his second-place finish, Cordes was able to move past Griffin to earn his first OMEGA Georgia PGA Player of the Year Award and claim the Billy Weir Trophy.
The Championship brings together a field of 312 contestants representing the PGA of America’s 41 nationwide Sections. The PGA Professional Championship, carrying a $550,000 total purse this year, is broadcast (all four rounds) by Golf Channel. Following 36 holes of play, the field will be trimmed to the low 90 scorers and ties, and following 54 holes of play, the field will be trimmed to the low 70 scorers and ties.
The low 20 scorers in 2021 will earn berths into the 104th PGA Championship in May, at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.