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McClellan relishes PGA bid
Published: August 16, 2010
By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor
SHEBOYGAN, Wisc. — Call it a lesson learned. Rob McClellan only hopes he gets the chance to use it.
The Butler Country Club pro returned home Sunday night after missing the cut Friday in a bizarre PGA Championship experience.
"Regardless of what happened, I hold no hard feelings toward anybody," McClellan said after a rough second round Friday cost him a chance of making the cut.
"This was an experience I'll never forget. Having the opportunity to go out and hit around with the best golfers in the world? I'll treasure that."
Only one of the 20 club pros in the 156-golfer field — Rob Labritz of Bedford Hills, N.Y. — made the cut and played the entire tournament.
For a good while, it appeared McClellan would join him.
"I was even-par with four holes to go (in the first round) and was feeling great," he said. "Then I bogeyed three holes in a row.
"To go 3-over after the kind of start I had was pretty disappointing Still, I figured 1-over-par would get me to the third round. I had to shoot a 70 (in round two)."
That opportunity never came.
Because of lengthy fog days Thursday and Friday at Whistling Straits, McClellan only had a 15-minute break between finishing his final 11 holes of the opening round Friday and starting his second round the same day.
"My tee time was 1:22," he said. "I grabbed something to eat and drink, found my brother (also his caddy) and headed to the tee.
"I glanced at my cell phone as we left the clubhouse and it was 1:17. I thought I was good."
He wasn't.
When McClellan arrived at the tee, a tournament official informed him he was 38 seconds late, resulting in a two-stroke penalty.
"There's a clock there and he explained that once it hit 1:22 and I hadn't teed off, I was officially late," McClellan said.
"I was shocked. I was embarrassed. It was a stupid thing on my part. I let it get to me mentally."
McClellan double-bogeyed No. 1 to suddenly balloon to 7-over-par for the tournament. He bogeyed No. 3, 6 and 8 on the front nine as well.
At that point, it was time to enjoy the moment.
"That's what my brother (Rich) told me," McClellan said. "He looked at me before we started the back nine and said 'Let's just enjoy this.' And we did."
McClellan regained his form, shooting 1-over-par on the back nine. He finished the tournament 12-over, connecting for four birdies, 19 pars and 12 bogeys.
Fellow club pro Mark Sheftic, of Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, was among the other 18 club pros to miss the cut.
"I'm not going to dwell on the scores that I shot. What I'm going to dwell on is the experience that I gained and that was nice," Sheftic said.
"There was 20 club pros that work very hard doing our job and we don't get to play a lot of golf ... So we have to keep things in perspective."
Rich Steinmetz, club pro at Spring Ford Country Club in Royersford, echoed those sentiments. He played in his second PGA Championship.
"It's great to be here. It's a fun event to be invited to and play in," Steinmetz said.
McClellan had approximately 15 Butler Country Club members follow him around Whistling Straits for two days.
"Yeah, it was cool," he said. "I'd hit a good shot and someome would yell 'Go, Butler!" or Yeah, Rob!' Guys I were playing with kept commenting about it.
"People were rooting for them, too, but not by name. They knew those guys were from my hometown."
McClellan only hopes to give BCC members another chance to follow him around in this event.
"Hey, I'm only 30 and I have an exemption for next year's National Club Pro," he said. "If I finish in the top 20 again, I'm back here again. I hope I get to play in 10 more of these.
"Only next time, I'll get to the tee with a few minures to spare."
In the meantime, it's back to work. McClellan was scheduled to tee off at 9 a.m. today to begin section championship play at Edgewood Country Club.
"No rest for the weary," he said. "But I love it."
Showing support
Butler Country Club backing McClellan as local pro heads for PGA Championship
Published: August 9, 2010
By John Enrietto
Eagle Sports Editor
PENN TWP — Rob McClellan is representing Butler Country Club at this week's PGA Championship.
And Butler Country Club is representing Rob McClellan.
BCC president Bob Kadyk and board members presented McClellan — BCC's club pro for the past two years — with a check for $11,000 Saturday to cover this week's expenses for he and his family.
The PGA Championship is being played at Whistling Strait in Kohler, Wisc.
"We had 116 club members contribute toward this and the country club decided to pick up the rest of the funding," Kadyk said. "We had this planned for the past month.
"This is as exciting for our club as it is for Rob. To have our club pro competing in the PGA Championship ... We're all extremely proud of him."
McClellan is the first BCC club pro to compete in the PGA Championship.
Butler Country Club has 584 members. Approximately 20 percent of the membership contributed to McClellan's venture.
McClellan, 30, his wife, son and daughter flew to Wisconsin Sunday. They are renting a house there for the week. A bus carrying approximately 40 BCC members will arrive at Whistling Strait for the tournament.
"The support I'm getting is phenomenal," McClellan said. "Covering my expenses like this, allowing me to take a week off in the middle of summer so I can go play is more than I had the right to expect."
One club member used his private plane to fly McClellan to Whistling Strait for a couple of practice rounds recently.
"I was up there Wednesday and was the only person on the course for 36 holes," McClellan said. "I got to check things out, see all the grandstands they have put up.
"It was a nice, quiet day on the course. I know it's going to be a radically different atmosphere up there next week."
McClellan has played in Nationwide and Hooters Tour events. He was asked if he's ever played in an event that will approach the atmosphere of a PGA Championship.
"Not even close," he responded. "I've never played in a PGA Tour event before and my first one is a major? The nerves are gonna be there."
The 156-player PGA Championship field will include 98 of the top 100 golfers in the world. It is considered the toughest playing field among professional golf's majors.
BCC general manager Michele Ruth said McClellan's PGA Championship berth is the most exciting thing to happen to the club since Jim Simons' achievements in the pro ranks.
"This has created an incredibly positive attitude and outlook to our entire club," she said. "We're thrilled for him."
McClellan qualified for the PGA Championship by tying for 15th at the National Club Pro Championship held in French Lick, Ind., in June. There were 312 players in that event with the top 20 qualifying for the PGA Championship.
McClellan was one of six players tying for 15th, so no playoff was required. He was in 44th place entering the final round of the four-day event and shot a 69 to get in.
"I thought I'd need to shoot a 67 to make it," McClellan said. "I was even-par after getting a double bogey on #9, then I birdied 10 and 11.
"I missed an eagle putt on #18, but stood 24th after my round with a lot of people still on the course playing. I liked my chances at that point."
As for his chances this weekend?
"It'd be a major accomplishment just making the cut on Friday," McClellan said. "If I can play all four rounds, I'll be happy.
"This is huge competition. It's a reward for playing well in the National Club Pro. It's an opportunity of a lifetime as well."
McClellan ready to tee up for PGA Championship
Published: August 12, 2010
By Mike Kilroy
Eagle Staff Writer
SHEBOYGAN, Wisc. — Five of the last six major professional golf championships have been won by virtual unknowns.
Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open this year. Louis Oosethuizen claimed the British Open a month ago. Yang Yong-eun won the PGA Championship last season.
Butler Country Club pro Rob McClellan is about as unknown as they come.
Golf fans are more likely to know what psoriatic arthritis is — the ailment Phil Mickelson revealed he had this week — than who Rob McClellan is.
Vegas odds makers don't even have McClellan on their betting boards for the 92nd PGA Championship, which begins today at Whisting Straits.
But as he tees off at 2:15 p.m. Central time, McClellan will have as good a chance as anyone in a wide-open field.
Even if he is shooting for more modest goals.
"I've always said my goal has been to make the cut," McClellan said.
Making it through the first two rounds and into the weekend would be a major coup for McClellan.
It would also pad his wallet nicely.
Last year, the last place finisher at the PGA Championship earned $14,000.
Yong-eun earned $1.35 million for winning the event last year.
McClellan said he is as prepared as he can be for this first round.
He's played seven practice rounds on the course since he arrived Sunday. Most of those rounds were played in front of a lot of people, he said.
Still, it won't be as pressure-packed as it will be today.
"There were a lot of people around (Wednesday), but I'm sure there will be more (today)," McClellan said. "I'm hitting the ball well. It's just the nerves, I think, I'm going to have to deal with."
McClellan played another practice round with Ben Curtis on Wednesday and spent some time on the putting green with Pittsburgh native Jim Fuyrk.
The conversation was nothing about golf, however.
"We talked about the Steelers," McClellan said. "Being from Pittsburgh, he's a big Steelers' fan."
McClellan said he and his brother and caddy, Rich, will sit down and briefly go over how to approach the round.
Once McClellan is out on the course, though, Rich's role will be all about support.
"The biggest thing he can do is keep me calm," McClellan said. "And have a good time."
McClellan will have plenty of support from other sources.
His wife, children and in-laws have arrived. About "a half-dozen to a dozen" Butler Country Club members have also made the trip to Wisconsin, McClellan said.
He has also received numerous text messages from friends and club members.
"The support by the club members has been terrific," McClellan said. "They're letting me take a week off."
Let's do it again
BCC swimming team defends league title
Published: July 23, 2010
By Sam Tallarico
Eagle Staff Writer
PENN TWP — Which is the more difficult task: winning your first title after 25 years or trying to defend it?
As it turned out, it didn't matter for the Butler Country Club swim team, which captured its second consecutive Western Pennsylvania Country Club Swimming Association championship recently at Edgewood Country Club.
The team lost only one swimmer from last year's squad, Courtney Shields, but she returned to coach the squad as she did in 2009.
"Last year, I was surprised we won it," said Shields, 19, a Mars High graduate who swims at Xavier University. "This year, everyone wondered if we could win it again.
"That was our goal at the start of the year," she added.
"What happened last year was we had a solid team," said coach Adam Keelan, who coaches the 8-and-under members of the squad. "We pushed and practiced and got great results.
"This year, we had 30 8-and-under and 80 total kids on the roster. We beat each team by 20 or more points and then went on to the regional and then the championship.
"We did even better in meets this year. We went in very confident. It didn't surprise me because we had high expectations," Keelan added.
Butler Country Club turned in three first-place performances en route to the title.
Anne Marie Bilott was the lone individual winner in the 15-to-17 girls 50-meter freestyle.
The 8-and-under girls 100-meter relay team of Aryanna Napora, Elle Santora, Amelia Walls and Heather Wittmer, and the 12-and-under girls 200 medley relay squad of Megan Gottschalk, Camryn Forbes, Morgan Keelan and Lydia Walls also earned gold.
"It was tougher this year," said Bilott, who will be a senior at Shady Side Academy. "Teams were really after us, especially at finals. We weren't sure if we would be able to win."
Bilott placed second in her respective race last year, which was her first season competing in the 50 freestyle.
"This year, I was really pleased with my performance," Bilott noted.
Lydia Walls agreed about trying to defend the title.
"I think it was a little bit tougher. ... We tried to stay positive. We got in the game and just tried to remember what we had to do," Walls said.
Last year's team went 6-1 on its way to the regionals, then the championship finals. This year's team was 9-0.
After advancing from the regionals, the swimmers competed in the morning and the top six advanced to the finals that afternoon.
"You can get one or two points from finishing sixth," said Keelan. "We had a lot of kids we were not expecting to make the finals. No matter where they placed, you got points.
"You place third and you can get 10 points for that. ... Even when they announced the final score, we were so much higher than I thought. It wasn't even close," Keelan added.
Shields acknowledged the extra effort by swimmers who attend the South Butler School District, which remained in school into the third week of June.
"They sometimes had to swim at night on school nights," Shields noted.
With the team expected to lose only three swimmers next year, the BCC could make another run at the title.
The team definitely has experience in the championships and has placed its program among the region's best.
"It makes you feel proud of the country club," said Lydia Walls, "and that we're a strong country club."
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