2023 PGA Professional Championship Rewind: Shattuck Seizes Comeback Victory

Technically, Braden Shattuck was a 312-to-1 longshot to win the 2023 PGA Professional Championship since he was one of 312 PGA of America Golf Professionals competing in the championship at Santa Ana Pueblo and Twin Warriors Golf Clubs in New Mexico.

But because Shattuck was teeing it up in his first PGA Professional Championship and because he had never played the golf courses prior to a year ago, he was an even longer longshot to reside at the top of the scoreboard and pose with the Walter Hagen Cup, a $60,000 check and six PGA TOUR exemptions at the conclusion of the tournament.

But Shattuck, the PGA of America Director of Instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pennsylvania, defied the odds last May 3 with a steady 2-under-par 70 in the closing round to secure a one-shot victory against the finest PGA of America Golf Professionals in the land. The 28— year-old Player of the Year in the Philadelphia PGA Section struck a victory for the underdog at Twin Warriors with an impressive 72-hole aggregate of 9-under-par 279.

“I’m sure there weren’t a lot of people picking me to win when the week began,” reflects Shattuck. “When I made the putt on the last hole (a 12-footer to save par for a one-shot victory), I was beyond happy. It means the world to me.”

Shattuck was also among the longest of longshots to win the 2023 PGA Professional Championship because four years before he was involved in a harrowing automobile accident that threatened his life and his ability to ever play golf again. While competing in a mini-tour event in Florida, Shattuck’s car was struck broadside at an intersection when another driver ran a red light. Shattuck suffered two herniated disks and other back injuries in the crash and was unable to play golf for two years.

“I was not in a good place physically or mentally after that accident,” says Shattuck. “Everything I had worked for my whole life got taken away from me. I didn’t know if I was ever going to play again. “By early 2021, I healed up enough to play.”

In the end, it was Shattuck’s patience and brilliant short game in New Mexico that helped him complete his journey from longshot to PGA Professional Champion.  After birdying the par-5 12th and 16th holes at Twin Warriors in the final round, Shattuck came to the 18th tee nursing a one-shot lead.

But he pushed his approach on the 72nd hole far right of the green, short-siding himself to a tricky hole location. His pitch carried past the flagstick, leaving him with a 12-foot, par-saving putt for the championship while former PGA Professional Champion Michael Block and Matt Cahill looked on after sharing the clubhouse lead at 8-under.

Seizing the moment like a seasoned veteran, Shattuck buried the pressure-packed par putt, gave a Tiger-like fist pump, and began celebrating — his golf triumph and his life triumph.

“After the car accident, I didn’t know what my future was in golf,” recalls Shattuck. “But I love teaching the game and I still love playing. To walk away with the trophy and a spot in the PGA Championship (as a member of the Corebridge Financial Team) was amazing.”