Kirk Satterfield of Manhasset, N.Y., fired a 6-under-par 66 in Sunday’s final round to capture the TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club. Satterfield entered the round eight strokes back in a tie for seventh at 4-under 212 before leapfrogging the competition, winning by one stroke over V.J. Trolio of West Point, Mississippi. V.J., it seems, could not play like Vijay.
“I knew that I needed to play well and I felt that if I put some pressure on the field early, then I had a chance to make a move,” said Satterfield, assistant pro at Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, NY. “I am happy with my round, especially since I played a bogey-free final round.”
V.J. Trolio entered the round with a comfortable three-stroke lead at 12-under 204. “I struggled throughout the entire round, particularly on the front nine,” said Trolio. “On hole five, I hit the ball over the back of the green and was not able to get it up and down.” On the back nine, Trolio held a one-stroke lead before letting it slip away with a triple-bogey on seventeen. He carded a 3-over 75.
Satterfield becomes the second member of the Deepdale Golf Club staff to win this tournament. Darrell Kestner won the tourney in 1982 and ’87 (and hte PGA Club Professional Championship in 1996). “Darrell told me before I came to PGA Golf Club to play my own game,” said Satterfield. “I played very well today and I can’t believe that I won.”
Satterfield wins $9,000 of the $100,000 purse and earns an invite to the 2005 Australian PGA National Futures Championship.
The 120-man field for the 28th edition of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship consisted of the Assistant Champion from each of the 41 PGA Sections, section qualifiers, defending champion Kyle Flinton of Edmond, Okla., and a representative from the PGA of Australia, the PGA of Great Britain, the Canadian PGA and the PGA of New Zealand.