Trio Of Former Bulldog Golfers Advance To 2021 PGA Professional National Championship

Big Rapids, Mich. - A trio of former Ferris State University men's golf standouts have qualified for the 2021 PGA Professional National Championship to be held next April after their respective performances last week in the Michigan PGA Professional Championship held at the Flint Golf Club.

Former Bulldog golfers Scott Hebert of the Traverse City Golf and Country Club along with Gary Lewandowski of the Tullymore Golf Club are listed among the 12 golfers who advanced from the tournament to next year's national championships along with Bulldog alum Ben Cook, who emerged as the individual champion while setting a tournament scoring record.

Cook won the event with a record-setting score of 20-under for the tournament to claim the top prize. Meanwhile, Hebert tied for fifth overall with a 208 figure (-8) while Lewandowski carded a 213 total (-3), which was good for a share of ninth place.

The three former Bulldog men's golfers were part of a strong Ferris State contingent in the field as several FSU Professional Golf Management alums also advanced to the national championships, including Adam Schumacher (2013), Cody Haughton (2014) and Tim Pearce (2017).

The 12 golfers who will play in the PGA Professional National Championship next April are: Ben Cook of Yankee Springs Golf Course in Wayland, John Seltzer of Seltzer Golf School in Grand Rapids, Adam Schumacher of Point O'Woods Golf & Country Club in Benton Harbor, Jeff Roth of Boyne Golf Academy in Harbor Springs, Scott Hebert of Traverse City Golf & Country Club, Josh Fryer of Franklin Hills Country Club, Chad Kurmel of Spartan Golf Academy in East Lansing, Tim Pearce of Birmingham Country Club, Cody Haughton of Red Run in Royal Oak, Gary Lewandowski of Tullymore Golf Resort, Scott Brotebeck of Flint Golf Club, and Kyle Martin of Lochmoor in Grosse Pointe Woods.

All but Cook, Hebert and Roth, who were already qualified, earned their spots in last week's Michigan PGA Professional Championship at Flint Golf Club. The full leaderboard can be found at michiganpga.com.

Cook, a teaching pro from Yankee Springs in Wayland, shot a seven-under par 65 in the final round of the 99th annual event to finish with a record 54-hole score of 20-under 196. It gave him an eight-shot victory over runner-up John Seltzer. Cook, 26, started the final round with a five-shot lead over defending champion Jeff Roth. He broke the record held by Roth and seven-time champion and fellow Ferris State alum Scott Hebert.

The low nine scorers at the end of the tournament – not including Cook, Roth and Hebert who are already qualified – earned spots in the 2021 PGA Professional National Championship next April. The low 20 finishers from the national championship then move on to play with the best players in the world at next year's PGA Championship next May.

Two years ago Cook won the tournament and first-place money at the Michigan PGA Professional Championship, but under Michigan PGA Section rules had not been working in the section long enough to be declared its champion.

In addition to the 12 qualifiers who advanced at this year's Michigan PGA Professional Championship, the top 20 also consisted of Bulldog golf alum Seth Terpstra (T14th) and current Ferris State head golf coach Kyle Wittenbach, also an alum, who finished 17th. Former Bulldog Ryan Bayer tied for 19th in the field.