Billy Stewart cans two late birdies to win Philadelphia PGA Championship
The teaching pro from the ACE Club made his only two birdies of the final round on the 17th and 18th holes and defeated two-time champion Stu Ingraham by one stroke.
The birdies weren't coming as easily Friday for Billy Stewart as they had the day before. In fact, they weren't coming at all as he dueled Stu Ingraham on the final nine holes of the 97th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Concord Country Club.
Stewart went without a birdie for the first 16 holes but stayed patient. The patience paid off at the par-4 17th, where he drained a 30-foot birdie putt to take the lead for good, and a 2-putt birdie at the par-5 18th enabled the teaching pro from the ACE Club to hold off Ingraham and gain a 1-stroke victory.
Stewart, who earned the $8,000 first prize from the $70,000 purse, fired a 1-under-par 70 for a 54-hole score of 7-under 205. He started the day with a 3-stroke cushion after a 67 on Thursday that included six birdies.
He admitted he was frustrated at the lack of birdies through his first 16 holes Friday, but he stayed patient.
"It's just the way the game goes," Stewart said. "It goes in waves. It can be confusing at times. I'm a golf instructor myself, and a lot of students talk to me about stuff like this. You've got to respect the game of golf. Sometimes it goes your way. Sometimes it doesn't. The only thing you can control is continue to move forward and do your best."
Ingraham, teaching pro at M-Golf and a two-time section champion, kept the heat on Stewart and actually took a 1-stroke lead after a birdie at the par-4 12th, his fourth of the day to that point. But he bogeyed No. 16 to fall back into a tie with Stewart at 5-under.
Stewart took the lead for good with his birdie at 17, and the two players each 2-putted the par-5 18th for a closing birdie. Ingraham's 68 was good for second place at 206.
It was Stewart's second big victory of the season. He won the Philadelphia Open in July at St. Davids.
"It was a fantastic year for me," Stewart said. "At the beginning of the year, I kind of highlight some tournaments, and those were two of them. So I'm thrilled to be able to win both of them."
Brian Hollins of Links carded the day's best round, 66, and took third place at 209, one stroke ahead of Merion's Mark Sheftic, who had a 70.
The top 12 finishers qualified for the 2019 PGA Professional Championship in Bluffton, S.C.