Category - Member Events
Alan Morin Clinches Two-Shot Victory at 2024 Senior PGA Professional Championship
By Greg Dillard
Published on
Alan Morin had come close several times before in the Senior PGA Professional Championship, but he never quite finished at the top of the leaderboard — until this Sunday.
Morin (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) registered an impressive 6-under-par 65 on Sunriver Resort’s Meadows course Sunday to finish the week at 14-under-par 271 and win by two. His 65 matched the record for the lowest fourth round score in Championship history.
The win marks Morin’s first time hoisting the Leo Fraser Trophy and follows his recent string of notable finishes in the Senior PGA Professional Championship including T-3 (2022), T-4 (2021) and T-8 (2020). The PGA Assistant Professional at The Club at Ibis also won the 2024 South Florida Senior PGA Professional Championship in August.
“To finally be able to put everything together and not make too many mistakes, it’s quite a sense of accomplishment just from playing golf for many years, being in this business and being able to compete against a lot of really good players,” said Morin.
Robert Russell (Stilwell, Kansas) finished second at 12-under-par 273. Jeff Gove (Sandpoint, Idaho) and Tracy Phillips (Tulsa, Okla.) tied for third at 11-under-par 274. Third-round leader Steve Holmes (Simi Valley, Calif.) finished fifth at 10-under-par 275.
Morin entered Sunday’s final round in third, three shots off the lead. He tallied his first of four front-nine birdies at the par-5 2nd then three in a row on holes 4-6.
The South Florida PGA Member made the turn at 4-under-par 31, and added birdies at the par-4 11th and 12th holes. After another birdie at the par-4 15th, Morin posted the lone blemish on his scoreboard, a double-bogey at the par-3 16th.
He rebounded nicely with his eighth and final birdie at the par-5 17th to extend his lead to two. Morin parred the par-4 18th to finish with the low round of the day at 65 and secure the win.
"It’s a wonderful opportunity to play in that Major. I can’t wait."
Alan Morin, PGA
“I was playing steady,” said Morin. “I was playing really well. I hit a lot of greens.”
Russell, the PGA Head Golf Professional at Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate, started T-4 on Sunday, before shooting a solid 5-under-par 66 to finish runner-up. The Midwest PGA Member went 4-under on the front nine by birdieing three of his first four holes. Back-to-back birdies on holes 8-9 followed his lone bogey on the front at the par-4 7th. Russell collected birdies at the par-4 11th and par-3 16th as well as a bogey on the par-4 14th to finish 1-under-par 35 on the back-nine.
“It was fantastic, what a great place and great venue,” said Russell. “I made the best of the opportunity. I drove it fairly well for the most part. I putted well and hit a lot of greens over the four days.”
Gove, a Pacific Northwest PGA Life Member, shot 5-under-par 66 on Sunday. Phillips, the PGA Director of Instruction at Cedar Ridge Country Club, registered 1-under-par 70. Holmes, a PGA Teaching Professional at Rustic Canyon Golf Course, posted 1-over-par 72.
Morin headlines the Corebridge Financial Team of PGA of America Golf Professionals who will compete in the 2025 Senior PGA Championship on the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, May 19-25. Since turning 50, Morin has qualified for five consecutive Senior PGA Championships.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to play in that Major,” said Morin. “To have Corebridge behind us, sponsoring us so nicely like that, it's pretty exciting. I can’t wait. I’ve never played Congressional. I watched it for so many years on TV now I get to play it.”
The complete roster of 36 PGA of America Golf Professionals who earned a place on the Corebridge Financial Team for the 2025 Senior PGA Championship is below in the order they finished. Additionally, Jason Caron (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) earned a spot on the Corebridge Financial Team due to his T-4 finish in the 2024 Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores.
- Alan Morin (Royal Palm Beach, Fla., The Club at Ibis, South Florida Section)
- Robert Russell (Stilwell, Kansas, Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate, Midwest Section)
- Jeff Gove (Sandpoint, Idaho, PGA Life Member, Pacific Northwest Section)
- Tracy Phillips (Tulsa, Okla., Cedar Ridge Country Club, South Central Section)
- Steve Holmes (Simi Valley, Calif., Rustic Canyon Golf Course, Southern California Section)
- Eric Bogar (Houston, Texas, Golfcrest Country Club, Southern Texas Section)
- Scott Hunter (Hilton Head Island, S.C., Wexford Golf Club, Carolinas Section)
- Tom Walters (Cincinnati, Ohio, Summit Hills Country Club, Kentucky Section)
- Jeffrey Schmid (Iowa City, Iowa, Brown Deer Golf Club, Iowa Section)
- Ryan Malby (Kalispell, Mont., PGA Life Member, Pacific Northwest Section)
- Bob Sowards (Dublin, Ohio, Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club, Southern Ohio Section)
- Sean McCarty (Solon, Iowa, Brown Deer Golf Club, Iowa Section)
- Mick Smith (Summit, Wis., Mick Smith Golf, Wisconsin Section)
- Todd Sapere (Cobbtown, Ga., Ohoopee Match Club, Georgia Section)
- Omar Uresti (Austin, Texas, PGA Life Member, Southern Texas Section)
- Greg Bisconti (South Salem, N.Y., The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club, Metropolitan Section)
- David Hutsell (Lutherville, Md., Baltimore Country Club, Middle Atlantic Section)
- Dick Mast (Forest, Va., PGA Life Member, Middle Atlantic Section)
- Rod Perry (Port Orange, Fla., Crane Lakes Golf & Country Club, North Florida Section)
- Steve Schneiter (Sandy, Utah, Schneiter’s Pebblebrook, Utah Section)
- Judd Gibb (Fort Dodge, Iowa, Hanson’s Custom Golf, Iowa Section)
- Tim Cantwell (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., PGA National Golf Club, South Florida Section)
- Mike Stone (Perrysburg, Ohio, Belmont Country Club, Northern Ohio Section)
- Frank Bensel (Jupiter, Fla., Century Country Club, Metropolitan Section)
- Dave Carr (Marysville, Calif., Teal Bend Golf Club, Northern California Section)
- Birk Nelson (Eugene, Ore., Orange Whip Golf & Fitness, Pacific Northwest Section)
- Paul Claxton (Claxton, Ga., Willow Lake Golf Club, Georgia Section)
- Mike Fergin (Santa Ana, Calif., Mesa Verde Country Club, Southern California Section)
- Jim Carter (Scottsdale, Ariz., PGA Life Member, Southwest Section)
- Brennan Little (Plano, Texas, PGA Tour, Northern Texas Section)
- Mitch Lowe (Portland, Ore., Glendoveer Golf Course, Pacific Northwest Section)
- Tim Fleming (Oklahoma City, Okla., Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, South Central Section)
- Michael Crowley (Fox Point, Wis., Morningstar Golfers Club, Wisconsin Section)
- Tim Weinhart (Canton, Ga., Heritage Golf Links, Georgia Section)
- Derek Stendahl (Maple Grove, Minn., Rush Creek Golf Club, Minnesota Section)
- Jason Caron (Oyster Bay, N.Y., Mill River Club, Metropolitan Section)
The top eight finishers — Morin, Russell, Gove, Phillips, Holmes, Bogar, Hunter and Walters — also automatically qualified for the 2025 Senior PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.