Assistant Golf Professional’s Storied Journey Takes Him to the PGA Championship

Evan Bowser, PGA First Assistant Professional at LaPlaya Golf Club in Naples, Fla., will play in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. “My Sister Elayna will be my caddie and I am so grateful to share this experience with my family, and I want to take it all in and enjoy the honor of playing at Valhalla,” Bowser says.

Evan Bowser, PGA First Assistant Professional at LaPlaya Golf Club in Naples, Fla., will play in the 2024 PGA Championship, the second major golf event of the year, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

“I’m very grateful for the support and encouragement I’ve received from everyone at LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, LaPlaya Golf Club, all of our dedicated members, and my ownership,” Bowser said. “My Sister Elayna will be my caddie and I am so grateful to share this experience with my family, and I want to take it all in and enjoy the honor of playing at Valhalla.”

Bowser, who will be making his PGA Championship debut, finished in a tie for eighth in the 2024 PGA Professional Championship, after achieving the same finish in the 2023 South Florida PGA Professional Championship. Previously, he emerged as the winner of the 2022 Fort Lauderdale Open and the 2021 South Florida PGA Assistant Championship, while also boasting a history of competing in 34 events on the PGA TOUR Canada from 2017-2019, participating in three U.S. Amateurs, and showcasing his skills in college golf at Oakland University, where he clinched victory in the Horizon League Conference Tournament as a junior in 2015.

“There are over 29,000 certified PGA Professional golfers, men, and women, all working at 15,500 golf facilities throughout the USA,” said Alan Findlay, General Manager at LaPlaya Golf Club. “To qualify for the PGA Championship means entering and excelling at local, regional, and national PGA events before receiving an invitation to participate in one of the four most prestigious golf events staged in the world each year. The PGA Championship is referred to as a ‘major’ golf event, along with the Masters, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship held in the U.K. We are all incredibly proud and grateful that Evan and his sister Elayna are taking us all on this journey from May 13-19, 2024. We wish him well.”