Gene Fieger comes home for PGA Professional National Championship

Gene Fieger, one of the top players in the Philadelphia Section PGA for the better part of two decades, left his home area of Delaware County in 1999 to become involved with a new golf club in Naples, Fla. Sixteen years later, while he misses the region's celebrated golf courses, he is happy where he is.

"Naples is a great place," Fieger, a former Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro, said Friday. "Don't feel sorry for me."

Fieger, who turns 55 next week, is in town for the 48th annual PGA Professional National Championship, which begins Sunday at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. This will be his 18th appearance in the event, in which he finished second in 1991.

Life has been good to Fieger since he left Overbrook in 1998 to work at the Hideout Golf Club, a project begun by brothers Moe and Larry Kent, both Overbrook members, and basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird that opened in January 2000. He was director of golf until recently, when he became club manager.

"I had so many memories here," Fieger said. "Working at Overbrook, it's a special place. It's just missing the summers. I always spent my winters in Florida so I had the best of both worlds when I was at Overbrook. I made a lot of good friends. The golf courses obviously are more historic up here."

He still shows the form he exhibited for years throughout the Philadelphia area. He won section player of the year honors five times, and also captured six DeBaufre Awards for low stroke average during the season, and two Philadelphia PGA championships.

He also earned three Pennsylvania Open titles, and almost won two more.

"In (1983), I lost to Jay Sigel in a playoff at the Philadelphia Cricket Club," he said. "Two years later, I lost to Donny DeAngelis at Philadelphia Country Club. My Dad reminded me that as I walked off there, I told him, 'I'm going to win three of these before this is over.'

"That's what I did. The first Pennsylvania Open I won [1988 at Laurel Valley] . . . I thought I deserved to win the two I lost. I won the one I shouldn't have won."

Fieger said his six brothers and sisters still live in the Philadelphia area. He usually comes north once a year to visit and play in a pro-member tournament at Cedarbrook Country Club in Blue Bell.

Fieger, who has competed in four PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens during his career, has been successful as a senior. He won the 2013 Senior PGA Professional National Championship.

Fieger had cut back on his play after his son, Brad, made the baseball team at the University of Miami. Brad Fieger started more than 220 games at first and third base for the Hurricanes from 2011 through 2014.

"I stopped being really full-time into the golf for his baseball run," Fieger said. "I didn't play the club pro [championship] because of his baseball and just lack of interest. It's good now."

Fieger is excited about playing in the PNC, with a field of 312 players, at the two courses of the Cricket Club - the newer Militia Hill layout and the recently restored Wissahickon course, which he said "has always been one of my favorites in this area.

"Everybody talks about Merion," he added, "but in my mind Philly Cricket is up there with any of them."