THE 47TH SOUTHWEST PGA MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Section’s second major of the 2022 season, the 47th Southwest PGA Match Play Championship, is scheduled to take place June 27-29 at Verde River Golf & Social Club in Rio Verde, Ariz. The top four seeds for the 47th edition of the Championship are: Jesse Mueller (1), Michael Hopper (2), Dennis Downs (3) and Chris Dompier (4).

Mueller, PGA Director of Golf at Grand Canyon University Golf Club in Phoenix, leads the 2022 Southwest PGA Player of the Year race by margin of 262.85 over Hopper, who is currently second in the standings with 359.58 points.
In a year to remember, Mueller won the 2022 PGA Professional Championship at Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas, by five shots, earning himself numerous perks, including a spot in the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He went on to qualify for his second consecutive major after earning a spot in the U.S. Open held at The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts. Mueller finished T3 in the U.S. Open Sectional at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. It was the second time he competed in the U.S. Open having made the cut in 2012, also at the Olympic Club, finishing, T-51.

Other notable finishes so far in 2022 include a T3 in the first Southwest PGA major – the Spring Masters Championship held at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.; T9 and T11, respectively, in the first PING Player Series events and last week winning the third PING Player Series Events held at Sterling Grove Golf & Country Club in Surprise, Ariz.

Hopper, PGA Head Golf Professional at Lookout Mountain Golf Club in Phoenix, enters the Championship as the 2-seed and attempts to win his sixth Southwest PGA Match Play title, (2011, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021), to break the tie with John Jackson with the most wins in the history of the event.

Hopper captured last year’s title after besting D.K. Kim, PGA Assistant Golf Professional at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, 2 and 1 in the final match held at Verde River.

The 3-seeded Downs, PGA Director of Instruction at Pebble Creek Golf Resort in Goodyear, Ariz., has his sights set on his first Match Play Championship victory after finishing as the runner-up in 2019 and 2020. He is currently fifth in the point standings with finishes of T9, T3 and T7, respectively, in the first three PING Player Series events. He finished as the runner-up in the Spring Masters Championship.

Dompier, PGA Head Golf Professional at Skyline Country Club in Tucson, is 10th in Player of the Year points after top 12 finishes in Player Series events this season. His quest for his second Southwest PGA begins in the afternoon on Monday having earned a bye in the opening round as the 4-seed.

The 51-player field includes five past champions: Chris Endres, PGA Teaching Professional at Anthem (Ariz.) Golf & Country Club (1995, 1998), Dompier (2010), Hopper, D.K. Kim (2015) and Dean Vomacka, PGA Head Golf Professional at Tucson Country Club (2003).

The 47th Southwest PGA Match Play Championship gets underway with the opening round matches on Monday, June 27 at 7:00 a.m. followed by second round matches at 12:00 p.m. The round of 16 and quarterfinal matches are scheduled for Tuesday, June 28 at 7:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively. The semi-final matches and final match are slated for Wednesday, June 29 at 7:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively.

Jackson, PGA Director of Golf at Orange Tree Golf Club in Scottsdale, holds many of the records in the Match Play Championship, including now tied with Hopper for the most victories in the history of the Championship with five (1976, 1978, 1980, 1988, 1993). Hopper, Jackson and PGA Life Member Tom Tatum (1982, 1985, 1992) are the only Southwest PGA Professionals to win three or more Match Play titles.