Edina golf store manager, Anoka HS-grad Derek Holmes set to play in PGA Championship
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Derek Holmes says the biggest golf tournament he’s ever played in was the NCAA Division-III National tourney when he was in college.
After this week, that answer is going to change.
Holmes is playing alongside the best golfers in the world at the PGA Championship in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
Click the video box on this page to watch KSTP Sports’ story on Derek Holmes as it aired on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, along with the full interview with Holmes the day before he headed to the tournament
The 34-year-old Anoka High-grad qualified for this week’s event – one of golf’s four major tournaments – by winning one of 20 spots in qualifying tournament among PGA golf professionals last month.
Derek Holmes celebrates a 30-foot putt on the 72nd hole of a qualifying tournament that earned him a spot in the 2021 PGA Championship[GOLF Channel]
To lock up his spot, Holmes sank a monstrous 30-foot putt on the 72nd and final hole of the qualifying tournament – a putt he says was the single biggest stroke in his entire lifetime playing golf.
Don’t confuse Holmes and his fellow "golf pros" with professional golfers of the PGA Tour. Golf pros typically work at golf courses, while "professional golfers" are the ones you see on TV playing full time.
Even beyond that, Holmes differs from his fellow "golf pros" in the field. While he formerly worked as a course pro – most recently at Dellwood Country Club – he now runs the PXG Golf shop at Southdale Mall in Edina.
Watching the qualifying tournament at the shop back home, Holmes’ co-workers erupted when his final putt dropped – sending him into the PGA Championship field. They’ll be glued to the TV’s mounted on the store’s walls again this week as Holmes plays the biggest tournament of his life.
Holmes tees off his first round at 6:22am Central time Thursday. His initial threesome includes PGA pros George Coetzee and Byeong-Hun An.