Chad Pfeifer claims third USDGA Championship men's title, Ryanne Jackson gets first women's crown

PORT ST. LUCIE — It came down to the wire — repeatedly — in the sixth USDGA Championship on Wednesday at PGA Golf Club.

Chad Pfeifer and Ryanne Jackson each made short putts on the 18^th hole to win their divisions by a shot, Pfeifer winning the men’s title for the third time and Jackson claiming her first women’s title. Ken Green and Eli Villanueva had to go to a playoff to decide the Senior title, with Green prevailing in two extra holes.

Yes, the USDGA Championship was really good until the last putt dropped.

Pfeifer defended his title and won for the third time in the past four years. The 45-year-old Idaho resident led the 54-hole tournament for only two holes — but they were the last two holes.

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Pfeifer birdied the par-5 17th to grab the lead and then parred the 18th for a 1-under 70 to win by a shot over Albert Bowker at 4-over 217.

“I knew the birdie at 17 was huge, but I didn’t know how important it was until I looked at the leaderboard on the 18^th tee,” said Pfeifer, who lost part of his left leg while serving in the Army in Iraq in 2007. “I hit a good drive at 17, and that allowed me to play aggressively.”

Pfeifer reached the par-5 in two shots and two-putted from 40 feet for the birdie. He hit an errant drive at the 18^th, but made a nice recovery from the trees with a 7-iron from 167 yards to the edge of the green. He lagged to 4 feet and made the winning putt.

“That last putt was a little longer than I wanted, and it broke left to right, so it wasn’t an easy one,” Pfeifer said. “But I was able to make it.

“It always feels great to win any tournament, much less this one. This is a major in adaptive golf. Jason Faircloth and John Bell and the USDGA do a great job of running this championship.”

Bowker didn’t leave with a trophy, but he felt like a winner after shooting a 1-over 72 to finish one back at 5-over 218. After a difficult start — he was 3-over after three holes — Bowker made three birdies in the eight holes and was 2-under the rest of the round.

It was his best finish in adaptive golf (he was third in the Short Stature division in last year’s U.S. Adaptive Open).

“I was a little nervous playing in the final group for the first time,” said Bowker, from Santa Barbara, California. “But once the nerves went away, I was in my own environment. I started playing some solid golf; to shoot 73-73-72 is absolutely unreal.”

Chris Biggins, the 36-hole leader, shot 76 and was third at 7-over 220. Green (76), a five-time PGA Tour winner, tied for fourth with Villanueva (70).

Jackson started the day one shot behind defending champion Bailey Bish, but fired a 2-over 73 to finish a stroke ahead of Bailey (75). Jackson rebounded from a double bogey at the par-3 12th to birdie the 13th. They were tied until Bailey bogeyed the par-3 16th.

“I finally made some putts today,” said Jackson, who has muscular dystrophy. “It all came down to putting. Bailey missed a couple putts she usually makes.”

The victory enabled the Seminole native to hold the top two trophies in women’s adaptive golf. Jackson won last year’s U.S. Adaptive Open, which is run by the USGA.

“It means a lot to me,” said Jackson, whose caddie was former college teammate Emily Valentine, a program director at the First Tee Florida Gold Coast. “It definitely motivates me to go out and start practicing to get ready for July.”

Bish said before the round she wasn’t worried about winning; she just wanted to focus on every shot.

“I’m happy with the way I played,” Bish said. “It was a great week.”

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Green appeared to have the Senior Division title wrapped up — until the West Palm Beach resident made a triple bogey on the final hole to force the playoff with Villanueva. Green looked to be the winner on the first playoff hole until Villanueva made a 50-foot par putt. Green won with a par on the second hole.

“A win is a win. It still feels good,” said Green, whose last victory on the PGA Tour came in 1989. “I wasn’t thinking about the triple during the playoff; I wanted revenge on that hole. I know I’m never going to be the player I once was, but I never gave up.”

Other division champions

Here are the other division champions. They received plaques from the U.S. Disabled Golf Association.

Men’s G1 (impairment affecting one leg): Chad Pfeifer

Men’s G2 (impairment in lower leg, less impactful than G1: Ken Green

Men’s G3 (impairment in both legs): Evan Mathias

Men’s G4 (impairment affecting one arm): Vince Biser

Men’s G5 (impairment affecting one arm in use of the swing): Eli Villanueva

Men’s G6 (impairment in both arms): Andreas Brandenberger

Men’s G8 (neurological impairments): Chris Biggins

Men’s G9 (seated golfers): Mariano Tubio

Men’s G10 (near to normal trunk control): Larry Celano

Men’s G12 (higher visual acuity): Orlando Ramirez

Men’s G13 (severe visual impairment): Willy Ray Pease

Men’s G14 (short stature): Albert Bowker

Men’s G15 (intellectual disabilities): Wellman Conover

Women’s G1 (impairment affecting one leg): Kelsey Koch

Women’s G2 (impairment in lower leg, less impactful than G1: Jamie Allen

Women’s G4 (impairment affecting one arm): Kellie Valentine

Women’s G5 (impairment affecting one arm in use of the swing): Sophia Howard

Women’s G8 (neurological impairments): Ryanne Jackson

Women’s G12 (higher visual acuity): Amanda Cunha

Women’s G15 (intellectual disabilities): Natasha Stasiuk

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Chad Pfeifer, Ryanne Jackson, Ken Green among USDGA Championship winners