Some weeks are better than others for golf club professionals. One day you might be outside teaching in the cold; on another day you might be playing in a tournament in front of one man and a dog; and then you just might find yourself on the biggest stage of all.
One of the great traditions of the PGA Championship is that club professionals from across America get to compete against the best golfers in the world for a Major Championship title.
Michael Kartrude is one of the 20 players from the annual PGA Professional Championship who secured a place in the second Major of the year, and on Tuesday he got an extra special reward to making the field.
Kartrude, who is making his PGA Championship debut this year, got to practice alongside Rory McIlroy on Tuesday, and no one can say he doesn't deserve his moment in the spotlight.
Casual Tuesday round at Quail Hollow for Michael Kartrude, PGA. 👌 pic.twitter.com/iGkRGdMieDMay 13, 2025
The assistant professional, who just so happens to work at The Bear's Club in Florida, where McIlroy and Shane Lowry are members, was the last man standing after coming through a tense four-way playoff.
It took a nerve-shredding five extra holes before Kartrude finally secured the one remaining spot to walk the fairways at Quail Hollow with the the best players in the game.
"It means everything. To be able to qualify for a Major Championship, it's an honor and also something I worked for my whole life," an emotional Kartrude said after his qualification.
"Four years ago we were trying to make it on the Latin Tour. Fast forward four years and I'm now a Class A PGA Professional and super proud of where I'm at."
Whatever happens this week - and every one of the club professionals will be hoping to repeat what Michael Block did in 2023 - he'll have a few cool stories to tell his children when they are grown up and one very special photo for the mantlepiece.
On Tuesday, he posed on the tee for a picture alongside McIlroy, Lowry and former PGA champion, Padraig Harrington.
Kartrude will play the first two rounds at Quail Hollow in the company of Sami Valimaki and Jake Knapp.
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