Photo: Omar Rawlings
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – For the second time, New England PGA Professional Rich Berberian Jr. (Vesper CC) will represent the United States in the PGA Cup. Berberian, who competed in the 2017 PGA Cup, will join three other veterans and six rookies as the Unites States faces Great Britain & Ireland in the 29th PGA Cup Sept. 27-29 in Austin, Texas.
Berberian was one of two players to clinch his spot when the final points were tabulated, joining eight others who clinched at the 52nd PGA Professional Championship which ended May 1. The 10-member US Team in the biennial international showcase for PGA Club Professionals was determined through a two-year points system that includes the past two PGA Professional Championships and two PGA Championships. The points race ended with last week’s PGA Championship.
Berberian, the 2016 PGA Professional Champion, went 3-2 in the 2017 PGA Cup but the GB&I team won their third-straight PGA Cup after winning on US soil for the first time ever in 2015.
The PGA Cup began in 1973, and although the US Team dominated early, the GB&I team has made a resurgence. The US is 17-7-4 overall, but has not won since 2011.
Berberian will join veterans Danny Balin (Freshmeadow CC), Stuart Deane (Texas Star Golf Course) and Bob Sowards (Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club) on the US team, along with rookies Alex Beach (Westchester CC), Jason Caron (Mill River Club), Ben Cook (Yankee Springs Golf Course), Ben Kern (Georgetown Country Club), Sean McCarty (Brown Deer Golf Course), and Ryan Vermeer (Happy Hollow Club). The US is captained by PGA Past President Derek Sprague.
“I am impressed by the talent on the team,” Sprague said. “We do have six rookies, but they are proven champions in many respects. And, we have those who have won our PGA Professional Championship in Alex (Beach), Rich (Berberian), Bob (Sowards) and Ryan (Vermeer). Overall, I feel good about this team because of their experience. They will be very competitive this September.”
The GB&I team is captained by Cameron Clark, who won the PGA Cup as a player in 2015 and again as a Vice Captain in 2017.