Austin Hurt Holds Three-Shot Lead Through Two Rounds of 2026 PGA Professional Championship

Austin Hurt figured his dominant 8-under-par 64 in the opening round of the 2026 PGA Professional Championship would be a tough act to follow.

Demanding greens and pins on the Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort presented a formidable test on day two, challenging Hurt (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) as he looked to maintain his position atop the leaderboard. But the PGA Head Golf Professional at Wing Point Golf & Country Club did more than hold his own, shooting an even-par 71 in Monday’s second round to stay at 8-under and extend his lead to three.

“I stuck with it pretty well,” said Hurt. “I felt like it was a tough day for me out there. I think it's so wind dependent and weather dependent out here. It was challenging. The pins were challenging, the greens are slightly different. On top of just not feeling entirely confident over the putter, mixed with a few misreads.”

Jeff Kellen (Glenview, Ill.), Charlie Beljan (Mesa, Ariz.) and defending champion Tyler Collet (Vero Beach, Fla.) are T-2, three shots back at 5-under. Eight players are T-5, four shots off the lead at 4-under.

After starting on Pacific Dunes’ par-4 8th, Hurt registered four consecutive pars to begin his round. The 37-year-old birdied the par-5 12th and par-3 14th holes before posting a pair of bogeys on holes 16-17. Hurt went birdie-bogey on holes 3-4 before closing with three consecutive pars.

“I faced some adversity in the middle of the round, bogeying 16 and 17,” said Hurt. “I made a really good par save on 18 and had some early birdies that kind of kept me in there. The putter wasn't quite cooperating in the way that it was yesterday.”

Hurt, a two-time Pacific Northwest PGA Professional Champion, is eager to return to the Bandon Dunes course on Tuesday and pick up the momentum of his opening round.

“I want to stick to the same theory as yesterday, a hole at a time approach and really try to stay present,” said Hurt. “I felt myself kind of slipping on that today a little bit, so I really tried to reel it back in and just tried to capitalize on opportunities when they showed themselves. I’ve got a good group of people here from Wing Point supporting me. They're out following, so it's really fun that they're there to pick me up if there's a down hole or something like that.”

Kellen, PGA Head Golf Professional at North Shore Country Club, followed his opening-round score of 7-under-par 65 on Bandon with a 2-over-par 73 on Pacific Dunes. The 37-year-old posted three first-nine bogeys, including back-to-back on holes 7-8. The Illinois PGA Member rebounded with consecutive birdies on holes 11-12 and concluded his second round with double-bogey-birdie on holes 17-18.

Beljan, a PGA Teaching Professional at Torreon Golf Club, recorded the low round of the day on Pacific Dunes on Monday, a 6-under-par 65. After starting on Pacific’s eighth hole and playing his first six holes at 1-over par, the 41-year-old birdied eight of his next 10 holes, including four straight on holes 18-3.

“Today I just went out, had a good attitude, stayed patient and hit it close,” said Beljan. “It wasn't easy to get the ball in the hole because these things are definitely bumpy and you don't want to leave yourself three-footers, but I kept it in the fairway, kept it on the green, kept giving myself chances, and it all worked out.”

Collet, a PGA Assistant Golf Professional at John’s Island Club, turned in a “solid” second-round 4-under-par 68 on Bandon Dunes after a 1-under-par 70 on Pacific Dunes on Monday. The 30-year-old tallied three front-nine birdies, including at the par-4 1st and par-5 9th holes, against his lone bogey of the day at the par-4 4th. The South Florida PGA Member collected seven pars along with birdies at the par-4 14th and par-4 17th to get to 4-under.

“I was a little shaky off the start with the driver,” said Collet. “I was kind of hooking it all over the place, but I straightened it out. Overall solid play, I’m really happy. I’ve got to keep plugging along for the next two days.”

He looks to draw on his experience as the 2025 champion over the next two days of competition.

“It definitely feels more comfortable,” said Collet. “I use the mentality of ‘I've done it once, I can do it again.’ I feel like I've done a good job defending and hopefully I can keep it up.”

Braden Shattuck (Aston, Pa.), the 2023 PPC Champion, is among the eight players T-5 at 4-under. He shot even-par 72 at Bandon Dunes. Allie Knight (Knoxville, Tenn.) posted 2-over-par 73 on Pacific Dunes and leads the nine women in the field at 3-under.

2024 Champion Ben Polland (Wilson, Wyo.) registered a 1-under-par 71 on Bandon Dunes and is T-13. Riley Wheeldon (Newtown Square, Pa.) is one of six players T-17 at 2-under after posting a 1-over-par 73 on Bandon Dunes on Monday.

Zach Haynes (Bowling Green, Ky.) is T-53 at 2-over and made a hole-in-one on Bandon Dunes’ par-3, 191-yard 2nd with his 6-iron. Brian Smock (Coronado, Calif.) withdrew before the start of his second round due to injury.

94 players made the 36-hole cut at 3-over-par. Tuesday’s third round of the 2026 PGA Professional Championship presented by Club Car, Corebridge Financial and Rolex will be broadcast live on Golf Channel from 4-7 pm (PT). A 54-hole cut will take place following the third round to the low 70 scorers and ties.

For additional information on the PGA Professional Championship, visit here.