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Major Accomplishment

Brandon Bingaman, a former longtime resident of Montrose/Grand Junction, qualifies for PGA Championship for second time; he places 5th out of 312 players at PGA Professional tourney

By Gary Baines – 4/30/2025

Brandon Bingaman has been through this before, but that doesn’t make it easy.

However, the 34-year-old who was a fixture on the Colorado Western Slope for much of his life certainly made a big accomplishment appear relatively routine on Wednesday.

Bingaman, a product of Fruita Monument High School and Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, qualified for the PGA Championship for the second time in four years through his performance at the national PGA Professional Championship, more conventionally known as the club professional championship.

Bingaman came into the final round of the PPC in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in eighth place. And, needing a top-20 finish to advance to the second major championship of the year, he stayed well inside the line on Wednesday and finished tied for fifth out of an original field of 312 players.

So the former Montrose resident will be teeing it up with the big boys on the PGA Tour (and LIV) at the PGA Championship, which will be played May 15-18 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.

At the national PPC, Bingaman finished at 3 under par — three strokes clear of a playoff for the final PGA Championship spot — after rounds of 66-72-73-73 at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker (last three rounds) and Ryder (first round) courses. For the tournament, he posted an eagle, 16 birdies and 15 bogeys. Bingaman finished 12 strokes behind champion Tyler Collet of Vero Beach, Fla., who won the title by a record 10 strokes.

Bingaman, now a PGA assistant professional at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas, previously competed in the PGA Championship in 2022, when he missed the 36-hole cut. With the PGA of America operating the PGA Championship, the organization reserves 20 spots in the event for PGA of America members.

Bingaman won the 2017 Colorado Assistant PGA Professional Championship and was in a playoff for the title — but lost — at the 2018 Sinclair Rocky Mountain Open in Grand Junction. In that event, he eagled the final hole of regulation to close with an 11-under-par 60 at Tiara Radio Golf Course.

Another former Coloradan also nearly qualified for the PGA Championship field, but lost in a four- man playoff for the final spot on Wednesday evening. Andy Svoboda, a 45-year-old who lived in Golden in 2011-12, tied for 20th in regulation at even par (73-69-71-74). Svoboda, who drained a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole to land a playoff spot, bogeyed the first extra hole when he missed a 15-foot par putt after having to pitch out to the fairway for his second shot on the par-4.

Svoboda played 82 events on the PGA Tour (mostly from 2013-15), making 33 cuts, with a best finish of second place at the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He’s played in seven major championships — six U.S. Opens and last year’s PGA Championship. His lone made cut in a major is a 71st place at the 2008 U.S. Open. Svoboda won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Here are the results for players with significant Colorado ties at the national PGA Professional Championship in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Earns PGA Championship Berth

5. Former Coloradan Brandon Bingaman 66-72-73-73–284

Loses in Playoff for Final PGA Championship Spot

20. Former Golden resident Andy Svoboda 73-69-71-74–287

Missed 54-Hole Cut

78. Former Colorado School of Mines golfer Marty Jertson 69-75-77—221

97. Micah Rudosky, Cortez 77-68-80—225

Missed 36-Hole Cut

Tristin Goodwin, Cherry Hills CC 79-70–149

Joe Carlton, Golden 76-77–153

Jordan Gibbs, Golden 74-79—153

Kirk Trowbridge, Castle Rock 77-76–153

Ben Lanting, Highlands Ranch 75-79—154

Mike Weingartner, Littleton 79-79–158

Geoff Keffer, Lakewood 71-87–158

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.


About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com