Little River golf pro earns berth in national championship with Carolinas PGA win

Jim Fellner has been retired from his job as a club professional for six years, and his golf has been largely limited to a Saturday traveling group as he has cared for his wife through numerous orthopedic surgeries on her back, hip and shoulder.

Fellner reemerged on the Carolinas PGA Section’s competitive circuit in a big way this week, at the age of 65, no less.

The lifetime PGA of America member from Little River won the CPGA Senior Championship on Tuesday by a stroke, holing a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole at Mimosa Hills Golf & Country Club in Morganton, N.C., to secure the win.

“This is a spectacular win for me to say the least,” Fellner said. “The key to my victory is I think I missed two putts inside 10 feet the whole two days.”

The win qualifies Fellner for the 30th Senior PGA Professional Championship from Oct. 25-28 at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., which has a field of 264 competitors and a purse of $300,000, including $21,500 to the winner. Fellner earned $1,750 for his win Tuesday.

He shot rounds of 67 and 69 for an 8-under 136 that was one stroke better than Rick Morton, Neal Lancaster and Mike Lawrence. The field of players age 50 and older was stout and in many cases younger, considering Lancaster, 55, has made 315 cuts on the PGA Tour with a win and 80 top-25 finishes.

Fellner said adhering to a gym regimen over the past year that consists of three or four workouts a week has given him added strength and length.

“I think that has made a huge difference in reclaiming those years a little bit,” Fellner said. “I bet I’m as strong now as I was when I was 20 years old. That’s why I’m still able to compete with the younger guys.”

Fellner was the head pro at Aberdeen Country Club and Long Bay Club in Longs for 12 years before retirement and spent 23 years as a pro with Myrtle Beach National Co., with other head pro jobs at Waterway Hills Golf Links and Carolina Shores Golf & Country Club.

He was one of the better playing pros on the Grand Strand, winning the 1996 Lowcountry Open, a CPGA major at the time, and losing in a playoff in the 2005 CPGA Senior. He last qualified for the PGA of America’s national senior club pro championship in 2008. “That was my goal was to get there, to go to Port St. Lucie,” he said.

Fellner increased his play and practice schedule in the 10 days leading up to the CPGA Senior. He played recreationally on June 16 and 17, played in a two-day event in Wilmington last Monday and Tuesday, and practiced 90 minutes each on Wednesday and Saturday before his Sunday practice round at Mimosa Hills.

“The golf game has been doing pretty good. My practice sessions have gone really well,” Fellner said.

He began the final round a shot behind Lancaster and Lawrence at 5 under. He made three birdies and a bogey on the front nine and birdied the 10th hole to reach 8 under. With players scrambling to finish to beat the threat of thunderstorms, Fellner closed with eight consecutive pars, including the clutch 15-foot par putt after blasting out of a right greenside bunker.

Morton had the best start in the final round among those near the lead, shooting a 4-under 32 on a front nine that included an eagle and two birdies, but he shot a 2-over 38 on the back nine.

Fellner earned one of six spots in the PGA senior national club pro championship in October, along with Morton, Lawrence, Gus Ulrich, Chris Hodge and Coastal Carolina alumnus John Faidley. Joining them with previous exemptions from the CPGA will be Lancaster and Ed Sabo.

The top 35 finishers from the Senior PGA Professional at PGA Golf Club will earn a berth in the 2019 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., which is a major on the Champions Tour schedule. The top eight and ties earn a return trip to the Senior PGA Professional Championship in 2019.

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 6:44 PM.