Palmerton coach Knoll repeats as champion at Philadelphia PGA
Alex Knoll had not played a round in the 10 days leading up to last Sunday morning’s 18 holes with his father, Bruce, at Berkleigh Golf Club.
It was a relaxing, enjoyable round for the 35-year-old Palmerton teacher and coach.
It also was an enlightening one. “I found a little something that carried over to this week with the driver,” Knoll said.
Knoll’s driver, the best club in his bag, has been indifferent this summer. It was fantastic the last three days of the event, and allowed the Glen Brook Golf Club teaching pro to win the 99th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship by three shots.
The Jim Thorpe resident fired rounds of 65-69-70 at Bent Creek Country Club and the Country Club of York to finish at 10-under-par for the tournament and repeat as champion.
Knoll joined fellow Liberty graduate Miguel Biamon as the only Lehigh Valley natives to win two Philadelphia PGA Championship titles. He’s one of five Lehigh Valley natives to win the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at least once (Robert Schoerner in 1964; Biamon in 1988, ‘91; Jim Booros in 1990; Dave Roberts in 2002)
The victory also secures Knoll’s spot in the 2021 PGA Professional Championships next April at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The top 20 there qualify for the 2021 PGAChampionship, which is at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
Knoll qualified for the PGA Professional Championships for the eighth time, including the last six in a row. He made his PGA Tour debut this summer when he played at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
“How I talked about San Francisco,” Knoll said, “these courses [this week] were extremely demanding off the tee. I drove it very well, which was a huge key to my success.”
Knoll, who earned $9,500 for his victory, had two eagles and four birdies in his 6-under-par 65 opening round Monday at Bent Creek. He followed that up with five birdies as part of his 3-under 69 Tuesday at the Country Club of York.
He never gave up the lead during Wednesday’s final round at Bent Creek, thanks to a lesson learned at the PGA Championship.
“I used a lot of that experience [Wednesday] because there was a lot of pressure on [Wednesday’s] round,” Knoll said. “Whenyou feel pressure as a golfer, your lower body shuts down, and you swing with your arms and are very inconsistent.
“I made sure that I kept my lower body active. Other than one bad drive on 10, I hit great tee shots.”
Knoll offset bogeys on Nos. 9, 13 and 16 with birdies on 6, 8, 11 and 17. He was up three shots after nine holes on his playing partner, Tom Cooper of Pine Valley Golf Club.
“I checked the leaderboard after nine,” Knoll added. “I knew he was second, so I figured that if I stayed ahead of him, I’d be in good shape.”
Knoll played Bent Creek only once before, five years ago, and Country Club of York twice previously, so he relied more on online research than previous experience.
His approach to Wednesday’s round changed from the first 36 holes, only with a more conservative putting approach on the sloped greens. He focused on lagging long putts instead of trying to make them and bringing 3-putts into the conversation.
“The greens were very fast,” he said. “If you had an above-the-hole or sidehill putt, it was tough. I had great speed throughout the week.
“I had not been playing great this year. It was nice to put together three solid rounds.”
Knoll’s win moves him into the top handful on the section’s points list and puts him on the short list of those battling for player of the year honors with two tournaments left.