How a club pro's smart practice strategy fueled a hot PGA start

When Jeremy Wells arrived at his tee time at 9:15 a.m. at Valhalla on Thursday for the first round of the PGA Championship, there wasn't much excitement.

It's no surprise that Wells, the director of instruction at Cypress Lake Golf Club in Fort Myers, Fla., and the club's 21 PGA pros on the course this week, weren't playing with the big names. All due respect to KH Lee and Sami Valimaki, but that three-footer won't draw the big crowd when Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Co. they are also part of the morning wave.

“[I] I had like 12 people watching and I knew them all,” Wells said after his round.

And while only Wells' friends and family were watching, the 33-year-old played in outstanding fashion, making four birdies en route to an opening round 69 under. He still has a long way to go before he becomes this year's Michael. Block, but he was the only club player under the morning session.

It wasn't the light gallery Thursday that Wells attributed to his great performance. It was the biggest one he had on Wednesday.

“The best thing that happened to me this year was yesterday I was in the 10th waiting to play and I sneaked in with Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler's ninth practice round,” Wells said. “It was a real story. To have that knowledge yesterday, to be very high and very nervous in the practice round, and hit well. I survived. And that made today feel a little bit better — so thanks to those guys.”

Wells said he has a lot of experience playing in front of “hundreds” of people, but it must be a different experience when you play with two of the biggest stars in the sport.

This is his second consecutive appearance at the PGA Championship. After missing the cut at Oak Hill last year, he finished T-8 at the 2024 PGA Professional Championship to qualify again.

He said he learned a lot from his journey last year in New York.

“I did my best before last year's event, didn't I?” he said. “It was my first year as a PGA member. It was my first PGA tournament and I was probably tired when I came from Oak Hill last year. Four 18-hole practice rounds later, I said- maybe I overdid it.

“I'm very happy, but for us when you get to one of these, you never know if you're going to play in one again, right? There are no regrets about that.”

The second time around, he made sure to do things differently.

“I wanted to be ready to play good golf on Thursday morning, or afternoon,” he said. “This year was organized. I had a plan.”

That plan worked well as he said he felt more comfortable on Thursday after knowing he could play in front of the World No. 1 and another top ten player.

But now he just wants the other PGA Associate members he teaches to finish the book work he sent him. He went through that grind himself, but now he's qualified for both PGA Championships he's qualified for since becoming a PGA Class A Professional.

“I sent an email like three weeks ago. I thought about it. You have to cheer for this team, right? There are no answers,” Wells said. “So I hope they see this interview. And I'm going to design a really nice email next week when I get home and see if we can run it because this is one of the great benefits and opportunities of being a member.”

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A native of Pennsylvania, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was the captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as the head coach. Jack is also *still* trying to stay competitive with the local novices. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a reporter/multimedia reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting weather. He can be reached at [email protected].