2025 PGA Professional Championship: 3 Things to Know About the Final Round

What a day we have on tap in South Florida.

Easily one of the best days on the golf calendar, the final round of the PGA Professional Championship always promises drama. Not just about who will raise the Walter Hagen Cup, but also . . . for a chance to play in the PGA Championship.

The race to get on the Corebridge Financial Team at PGA Golf Club's Wanamaker Course and play at Quail Hollow will likely come down to the wire, as it usually does, to see who can claim the 20 spots. The good news? It's all on Golf Channel today from 3-6 p.m. ET.

Ahead of that, though, let's get you caught up on the the pressing storylines entering the final round.

It's clear there's been one person on property having a better week than anyone else. That's Tyler Collet.

One look at the leaderboard and you can see why: the PGA Assistant Professional at John's Island Club in nearby Vero Beach, Florida, is leading by 7 shots and seems like he's channeling his inner-Tiger Woods in 2000 the way he's picking a part PGA Golf Club. His 54-hole score of 200 is tied for the second-lowest 54-hole score in Championship history, one shy of Jesse Mueller’s record of 199 (2022).

In Round 3, Collet was T1 in Fairways Hit (12 for 14) and 4th in Greens in Regulation (15 for 18) and when you're doing that around the Wanamaker Course at PGA Golf Club, your life is a little easier.

"I feel good," Collet said after 54 holes. "We're sticking to the game plan. Dylan [his caddie] and I have thought through it the whole week and we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. I’m putting well, leaving myself in good spots and that’s what I’m going to try to do in the final round and we’ll see if it holds up.”

A little primer on Collet: He's 28, played in three PGA Championships, finished T-6 at last year's PGA Professional Championship, is a two-time South Florida PGA Player of the Year (2023, '22), and made the cut at last year's Puerto Rico. He's also a 2017 graduate from the PGA Golf Management program at Eastern Kentucky University and helped his Colonels team win the 2016 PGA University Championship at . . . guess where? PGA Golf Club.

But Collet knows what's at stake this time around. And there's no gray area.

"Honestly, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, I was nervous all day long,” he said after his third round. “I’m proud of what I did. Just got to keep the nerves in control and win it or not."

If Collet is going to be the one raising the Walter Hagen Cup this evening, he along with all the other players with their sights set on Quail Hollow will have to finagle their way through a tricky final stretch at the Wanamaker Course.

We'll give you some good news first. If there's going to be a hole where players could make a move near the end of their rounds it's on Nos. 15 and 16. The short 15th has given up the fourth most birdies of par 4s (52), while players have made 143 birdies the par-5 16th, which is second most of any hole on the course. Talk about a good hole to get your nerves settled, because the final two holes are brutes.

First, the par-3 17th is playing as the fifth hardest hole of the week and second-hardest par 3 with an average 3.41 strokes. It's no wonder why: the hole is exposed to the wind making the tee shot tricky. A massive bunker surrounds the front of the green while the green itself is undulating and raised, with runoff areas into native scrub the right and behind the hole. Par will be a good score here. And if you see any competitors go right of the green into the scrub, they be wise to follow Darrell Kestner's advice:

As it will on the Wanamaker's final hole. The 18th has always been a tough finishing hole, with a fairway cinched by a massive bunker right, palm trees left and water lurking beyond the bunker. The stroke average on the hole is 4.50, and it's accumulated the most double bogeys (37) and "other" - triple bogey or higher - scores (15) of any hole on the Wanamaker.

The tee shot is uber-critical. If players can find the fairway, their approach becomes much more bearable, but not by a lot. The water creeps all the way up to the green and in front of it. With windy conditions, it makes the second shot just as important almost. You'll likely see players all over the green, as well front left and beyond it if they don't control their distance.

What more could you ask for when it comes to a spot on the line in a Major Championship? If they want it, players will have to go earn it.

No, this isn't a section dedicated to the legendary James Taylor, but for those hovering around the Corebridge Financial Team cut line today, they probably resonate pretty well with Taylor's lyrics from "Carolina in My Mind."

While Collet and just a few others are in a race for the Walter Hagen Cup, there's a big group of players looking to punch their ticket to Quail Hollow Club. As it currently stands around the noon-hour, it looks like -2 will be the number to hit. And to give you an indication of how crazy it can get late in the day during the final round of the PGA Professional Championship, there are currently 27 players within four shots of -2. That group could get bigger or smaller depending on conditions and play, but it makes for some intense drama.

You'd be wise to have this leaderboard handy and tune into Golf Channel for one of the best golf days of the year.