From the PGA

PGA of America, CBS Sports Present “Golf Journeys: A Celebration of PGA Professionals” and the “2023 PGA Championship Preview Show” This Weekend

Published on
Derek Gutierrez, PGA, and staff will be featured in “Golf Journeys: A Celebration of PGA Professionals.”

Derek Gutierrez, PGA, and staff will be featured in “Golf Journeys: A Celebration of PGA Professionals.”

In partnership with the PGA of America, the CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network will air two special presentations this weekend, May 13 and 14. 

“Golf Journeys: A Celebration of PGA Professionals” will provide an uplifting look at the impact of PGA Professionals across the golf industry on Saturday, May 13, at 2 p.m. ET. 

Meanwhile, the “PGA Championship Preview Show” airs on Sunday, May 14, at 2 p.m. ET just before the world’s greatest players descend on Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, next week to compete for the Wanamaker Trophy. The stage is set for two-time PGA Champion Justin Thomas to defend his title against what is traditionally the strongest field in golf.
Justin Thomas poses with the Wanamaker Trophy (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Justin Thomas poses with the Wanamaker Trophy (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Golf Journeys, narrated by Kelly Tilghman, follows notable PGA Professionals who turned their passions into a profession. The show will also air in primetime on Monday, May 15, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network (CBSSN).

The hour-long show profiles both national-award-winning PGA Members and a new generation of PGA Professionals employed in various roles throughout the golf industry. Among those featured are Lindsay Hoskins, PGA and Yong Joo, PGA — two accomplished PGA Coaches at Topgolf facilities in Las Vegas and Washington D.C.-Loudon respectively. Both bring a passion to attract new players to the game. 

In addition, 2023 PGA Championship Host Professional Jason Ballard, PGA, is profiled as one of just two PGA Members to serve in his role as Head Professional in the last 50 years at famed Oak Hill Country Club.
Ballard (far left), pictured in 2019 with KitchenAid Senior PGA Champion Ken Tanigawa, will be a show feature.
Ballard (far left), pictured in 2019 with KitchenAid Senior PGA Champion Ken Tanigawa, will be a show feature.
Among the special guests are 2022 Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler, PGA; two-time U.S. Ryder Cup Team Member Tony Finau, PGA; 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup hero Justin Leonard, PGA and more.

The 2023 PGA Championship Preview Show, hosted by CBS Sports' Amanda Renner, takes a look back at how Thomas, a third-generation PGA Professional, captured his second Wanamaker Trophy in dramatic fashion last year at Southern Hills Country Club. It also presents a comprehensive preview of the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill, one of the most storied venues in golf that has undergone a historic restoration to better replicate what Donald Ross originally designed more than a century ago.
(Gary Kellner/PGA of America)
(Gary Kellner/PGA of America)
“Thanks to our partners at CBS Sports who have broadcast 33 consecutive PGA Championships, we’re proud to present two exciting TV specials that focus on the incredible impact PGA Members have made on coaching, managing and playing the game at the highest of levels,” said PGA President John Lindert, PGA Director of Golf at the Country Club of Lansing (Michigan). “These two special programs will set the stage for another thrilling PGA Championship at Oak Hill next week.”

Other PGA Professionals featured in "Golf Journeys" include:
  • Maulana Dotch, PGA, General Manager at Hermann Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas, who is the first female African-American PGA Member to serve as a GM. 
     
  • Jesse Mueller, PGA, General Manager of Grand Canyon University Golf Course in Phoenix and the 54th PGA Professional Champion, is showcased for how he balances his busy work/life schedule as one of the Association’s top players. Mueller competed in both the 2022 PGA Championship and U.S. Open. 
  • Randy Smith, PGA — Smith has taught the likes of Scheffler and Leonard during a career that has garnered a record 18 national PGA of America Awards and PGA Hall of Fame Membership. 
  • Andrew & Sara Stephens, PGA — Husband and wife who are golf facility Owner/Operators at the Stephens Golf Center in the Kentucky PGA Section. Together, they cover all of the roles of management, operations and coaching. 
  • Jericho & Johnlen Trianna, PGA — An inspiring story of a mother and son who both graduated from the PGA Golf Management University program at New Mexico State in 2016. They now coach at The Golf Club at Lansdowne in Virginia. 
  • Tele Wightman, PGA — Wightman, the PGA Director of Golf at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah, coached Team Utah to victory at the 2021 National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship and brought the team back to contend for the title again last year. 
Tele Wightman.
Tele Wightman.
  • Twin Warriors and Santa Ana Golf Clubs — Led by GM Derek Gutierrez, PGA, a member of the PGA of America Board of Directors, the facility serves a diverse and inclusive community, and hosted the 2023 PGA Professional Championship. 
     
  • The Park West Palm Beach Several PGA Professionals have brought “The Park” — a newly revitalized, all-inclusive urban golf park in West Palm Beach, Florida — to life through an unique public-private partnership.