Local PGA professionals garner national awards from PGA of America
The best PGA Professionals give more than golf lessons.
They give time, effort and advice not only to newcomers to the game, but those they have worked alongside for years.
The lucky ones get rewarded for their efforts. Recent examples are Jupiter residents Jack Druga and Morgan Jewell.
Druga was named winner of the 2023 PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award, which honors a PGA Professional who displays outstanding integrity, character and leadership through a commitment to mentoring the careers of PGA Professionals. Jewell was named this year’s PGA Private Merchandiser of the Year. Both are national awards given annually by the PGA of America.
For Druga, it was a full-circle moment. In 1983, Druga was working in the cart barn at PGA National when he was asked to help Strausbaugh and Jim Flick when they visited during a PGA Teaching Seminar.
“I had never met Bill until that day, and that night he invited me to have dinner with him, Jim and John Lindert (current PGA of America president) at Testa’s in Palm Beach,” Druga said. “I was 25 at the time. I couldn’t believe I was given this opportunity.”
Druga and Strausbaugh formed a fast, long-lasting friendship that provided Druga with the template on how to become a PGA Professional. He saw Strausbaugh’s leadership abilities and his penchant for helping his peers rise in the industry.
“Coach had an amazing ability to remember the names of everyone he met,” Druga said. “It was amazing how many PGA Professionals sought him out. To have my name on an award named after him is amazing.”
Druga got his first PGA Head Professional job in 1988 and enjoyed an outstanding career that included qualifying for the 1990 U.S. Open. He was the PGA Head Professional at Shinnecock Hills from 2007-2021, overseeing the 2018 U.S. Open, and is currently VP and PGA Ambassador for the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship Foundation.
Besides Strausbaugh, Druga also was provided mentorship by Lew Worsham and Bob Ford at Oakmont and Mike Reynolds at PGA National and Loxahatchee Club. Druga has spent most of his career passing on advice to younger PGA Professionals.
“You have to be honest, upfront and realistic with your staff on how to best reach their potential and career goals,” Druga said.
Jewell was honored for his work as the PGA Head Professional at the Floridian in Palm City. It’s not easy to win a national award when your course is open only eight months a year, but Jewell also works as the primary merchandiser for the PGA Tour’s Texas Children’s Houston Open (Floridian owner Jim Crane’s Houston Astros foundation runs the tournament).
“I won the South Florida Section award in 2018, but to win an award out of 30,000 (national PGA members), with me knowing how good they are, is humbling,” Jewell said.
Jewell came to South Florida after graduating from Methodist University to pursue a different career in golf: As a player. But after struggling on the Minor League Golf Tour, Jewell realized he might be better off working for a private club.
Jewell spent two years working for Druga at Shinnecock Hills, where he got an up-close look at why Druga won the Strausbaugh. What struck Jewell was how much energy Druga spent mentoring his staff.
“We would be in the middle of a club championship, and Jack would be helping someone about to have a job interview,” Jewell said. “A lot of us didn’t know how to do an interview, what to say, how to negotiate. Jack was extremely helpful.”
Under Druga’s guidance, Jewell was given a remarkable opportunity eight years ago when the 25-year-old was offered the Floridian’s head professional job by Crane. The Floridian is an elite private club with many national members owned by Crane, who Golf Digest once called the best CEO golfer in the country.
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“Morgan may have been young, but a lot of head professionals around here are becoming younger,” Crane said. “There was never any doubt Morgan could do the job.”
In another full-circle moment, Druga has become a member at Floridian where he’s the one helping mentor the younger professionals on the staff.
“He treats my assistants as if they were his own,” Jewell said.
Druga, Jewell helping effort to stage inaugural Rosie Pro-Am
Druga and Jewell have also spearheaded the effort to stage the inaugural Rosie Pro-Am on May 6 at the Floridian to raise money for college scholarships in Tim Rosaforte’s name for the First Tee Florida Gold Coast chapter. Rosaforte was a former Palm Beach Post golf writer (as well as Golf Channel’s insider) who died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2022. Organizers hope to raise more than $100,000 between the pro-am and a silent auction.
Jewell has a connection with the Rosaforte family: His former college roommate, Mason Colling, is married to Molly Rosaforte, Tim’s youngest daughter.
“I got to see a different side of Tim than what you saw on TV,” Jewell said. “I got to see how much he cared about his family.”
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Druga spent a lot of time with Rosaforte during the last two years of his life. Druga saw part of himself in Rosaforte.
“Before we hosted the U.S. Open, Tim would call and ask which guys on the staff had played with the top players when they visited,” Druga said. “He knew it would help these guys out.”
How to help the Rosie Pro-Am
How to help the Rosie Pro-Am: Donations can be made at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/childrens-golf-foundation-inc/the-rosie and silent-auction items can be bid on by going to www.RosieProAm.com. Among the top auction items are a threesome to Oakmont Country Club (and play alongside former head professional Bob Ford), as well as foursomes to Bear’s Club, Medalist, Floridian, Jupiter Hills, Lost Tree and Quail Valley; tickets to the U.S. Open, British Open and Presidents Cup; lessons with top instructors Todd Anderson, Jim McLean, Darrell Kestner and Bill Davis; a membership to the Dormie Network (which gives access to six nationally-ranked golf courses, a $30,000 value); signed jerseys by Bobby Orr and Greg Maddux, and a Rory McIlroy-autographed TaylorMade bag.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Local PGA professionals garner national awards from PGA of America
