Southern Chapter PGA

We had a great start to the 2026 Southwest PGA Junior Prep Tour season here in Southern Arizona! ⛳️

A huge thank you to Oro Valley Country Club for hosting our first event of the summer and for providing such an incredible experience for our junior golfers and families. We are so grateful for your hospitality and support of junior golf in Southern Arizona.

Special thank you to our amazing volunteers, Chris Hubbard, PGA, and Tom MacKinney, for donating their time and helping make today’s event run smoothly. Your support means so much to our juniors, their families, and our Chapter.

Congratulations to all of our players who competed today! We loved seeing the sportsmanship, effort, and positive attitudes out on the golf course. The future of golf in Southern Arizona is bright.

We still have 4 more Southwest PGA Junior Prep Tour events remaining in Southern Arizona this summer, and we would love to have more juniors join us!

Upcoming Events:
• June 10 – Rolling Hills Golf Course
• June 17 – Dorado Country Club
• June 24 – El Conquistador Golf Club
• July 1 – The Views Golf Club

If you have any questions or would like help getting registered, please reach out anytime.

Hannah Kolesar
Southwest PGA Director of Junior Golf Operations
[email protected]

Cesar Balgañon II, PGA
Director, Southern Arizona Chapter PGA
[email protected]

It was a great day hosting the Southern Arizona Chapter PGA Annual Meeting & Pro-Pro Championship at Quail Creek Country Club.

Thank you to all of our PGA Members and Associates who joined us for the meeting, supported our Chapter, and stayed for a great afternoon of golf and camaraderie. A huge thank you as well to our Southwest Section leadership for making the trip to Green Valley to provide Chapter updates, educational presentations, and continued support for our Southern Arizona PGA Professionals.

We would also like to congratulate our three newly elected Southern Arizona Chapter Board Members:

Justin Bubser, PGA
Thomas Felling, PGA
Scott Wilson, PGA

Thank you all for your dedication to our Chapter. We are excited for your leadership and look forward to the great work ahead.

A special thank you to our event partners for their support:

Airshare
Ryan Negrete with Barrett Financial Group
Phoenix Beer Co.

Airshare also sponsored a $500 Closest to the Pin contest during the Pro-Pro Championship. Congratulations to Wyatt Eason from Ventana Canyon Club & Lodge on winning the contest!

We had an exciting leaderboard for our first Major Championship of the season, ending with a 3-way tie for First Place. Congratulations to the following teams, each shooting 63:

Rhi Jedlowski & JD Lindberg
Kristie Fowler & Jim Sobb
Jay Dolney & Michael Mapother

Thank you again to Quail Creek Country Club, Josh Wilks, PGA, Nano Vasquez, and the entire team for hosting us and helping make the day such a success.

PGA HOPE programs are making an incredible impact all across the country, and Southern Arizona has been especially active lately.

This morning, The Club at Starr Pass hosted another awesome PGA HOPE session led by Director of Golf, Thomas Felling alongside Katelyn Hutchison, Director of Player Development at The Views Golf Club and PGA HOPE Southwest Section Ambassador, Colleen McBratney.

It was great seeing Veterans, active duty servicemen and women, and family members connecting through the game of golf right away. With many participants in this class speaking Spanish, Katelyn’s ability to teach fluently in Spanish helped create such a welcoming and fun environment for everyone involved!

A huge thank you to the Southwest PGA Foundation for continuing to support these programs and helping grow camaraderie, connection, and community through golf. ⛳️ 🇺🇸

SouthwestPGAFoundation

A PGA Associate Workshop at Ventana Canyon Club was held this week and we can’t think of a better way to support our PGA Professionals as they work on their PGA Professional Golf Management assignments.

Huge thank you to Nick Latta, Director of Golf at Ventana Canton and Daulton Altamirano, Director of Golf at La Paloma Country Club for hosting the workshop.

Nick and Daulton even took extra time to work with Associates on lessons tied directly into their PGA PGM book work, helping create a hands on learning environment that was both educational and collaborative.

We appreciate both of them sharing their knowledge and continuing to invest in the future of PGA Professionals here in Southern Arizona.

Thank you to everyone who attended and continues to support the growth of our Chapter!

Congratulations to our Southern Arizona Chapter PGA Pro Series #2 Champions at Omni Tucson National.

In the Pro Series division, Reese Nilsen and Josh Elder battled it out through afternoon winds and finished tied for first place at even par on the Catalina course, which played as a par 72 in today’s set up.

In the Senior Series division, Rich Elias fired a great round of 3 under par 69 to take home first place.

A big thank you to our host professional, Dillon Molinar, PGA, and the team at Omni Tucson National for their hospitality and continued support of our Southern Arizona Chapter events.

We appreciate everyone who came out and are looking forward to our Pro-Pro event following the Southern Arizona Chapter PGA Annual Meeting on May 28th at Quail Creek Country Club.

A huge thank you to the Arizona Golf Association and Logan Rasmussen, AGA Head of Rules & Competitions, for leading a great Rules Seminar for our Southern Arizona Chapter PGA Professionals today.

We also want to sincerely thank the Tucson Golf Program for hosting us at the Randolph Golf Complex as 12 PGA Professionals gathered to continue sharpening their knowledge of the Rules of Golf. These educational opportunities help our professionals continue preparing to implement rules knowledge into member events, junior golf tournaments, PGA Jr. League programming, and Chapter events throughout Southern Arizona.

We highly recommend checking out the Rules 101 modules and quizzes available through the United States Golf Association website for anyone looking to refresh their understanding of the Rules of Golf and continue growing as a player or golf professional.

Thank you again to the Arizona Golf Association for making the trip down to Tucson and continuing to support golf education and development across our region.

We are excited to bring everyone together to celebrate at our PGA Jr. League Party!

This event is all about our juniors, their families, and the PGA Professionals who are making a lasting impact through the game of golf. We are looking forward to a fun morning at the Randolph Golf Complex with golf games, connection, and celebration of everything PGA Jr. League represents. 🏌️🏌️‍♀️

A special thank you to the Southwest Section PGA Foundation for making this event possible and continuing to invest in the future of the game.

“The Southwest PGA Foundation is incredibly proud to support the PGA Jr. League Party and stand alongside our PGA professionals, juniors, and their families. This partnership represents a shared commitment to a meaningful cause and highlights the power of community within the game we love. It is a true honor for the Foundation and our donors to be part of an event that inspires, uplifts, and drives positive change.”

Michael Haywood, PGA
CEO, Southwest PGA Foundation

The PGA Junior League spring season is in full bloom here in Southern Arizona! ⛳️

We’re seeing matches happening all across Tucson, Oro Valley, and Green Valley, and it’s been awesome to watch these teams get out there, compete, and have fun with the game.

PGA Junior League is one of the best ways for youth to get introduced to golf in a team environment, build confidence, and create lifelong friendships.

If you have a junior who might be interested, connect with your local PGA Professional to learn more about getting involved!