AUSTIN, Texas — Jesse Mueller’s idea of the perfect anniversary gift was heavy, time-consuming and required a little elbow grease. And his wife, also named Jessie albeit with a different spelling, wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Just a few days after celebrating his 12th wedding anniversary, the Arizona State University product and golf director at the Grand Canyon University course enjoyed a perfect Wednesday stroll around the grounds at picturesque Barton Creek Resort and Spa. He did so with his wife hauling his clubs around in the fill-in role of caddie, something she did for four days because her husband needed a helping hand.
And Mueller, who held a five-shot advantage heading into the final round of the PGA Professional Championship, did nothing to compromise his comfortable lead during Wednesday’s final round, finishing with a ho-hum 74 to earn take the title and one of 20 berths into the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, next month.
Mueller’s story is familiar — after a stellar high school at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Arizona, and a college career at ASU, he kept grinding through a few years on minor circuits and mini-tours, with a dozen-and-a-half starts on the Web.com Tour sprinkled in.
He said his appreciation for the game has never wavered, but the weight that’s been lifted by his jump into course management has allowed him to enjoy the game a bit more.
“Some of the pressure’s off. It’s not my livelihood to play, so it’s more of a bonus,” he said. “I’m still working on it, practicing, but I might be a better player now than I was when I was playing full-time.”
Mueller — who became the first Southwest Section champ in the tournament’s history, dating back to 1968 — used an impeccable short game to build a big advantage, and while his chipping wasn’t as flawless in Wednesday’s final round as it had been earlier in the week, he managed to pull a few more key shots out of the bag.
PGA…
Source : yahoo
