NIC golf coach Russell Grove fires 6-under 66, earns spot in PGA Championship

Russell Grove adhered to a bold game plan in Wednesday’s final round of the PGA Professional Championship at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

The North Idaho College men’s and women’s golf coach attacked the high desert course as much as possible. He told caddie and longtime friend Taylor Pierce he was “either going to shoot 80 or 67. We’ve got nothing to lose.”

Grove went even lower, carding a 6-under 66. He soared up the leaderboard to finish in a six-way tie for 11th and earn one of 20 spots in the 105th PGA Championship from May 18-21 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.

Grove teed off in the first group Wednesday morning and needed to pass at least 45 players to claim a spot in the second major on the golf calendar.

He was 3 over through 54 holes and made the cut by one stroke.

Grove’s clutch 66 matched Jeremy Wells for the lowest score out of 70 players.

“I’ve had runs like that at the Rosauers (Open Invitational) and Oregon Open, but to do it on a bigger stage with (television) cameras and whatnot, it’s just good for my future and my confidence,” Grove said.

Grove, 37, had played in four previous PGA Professional Championships, but came up short of qualifying each time, including 2017 when a rocky finish over the last five holes left him outside the top 20.

“From my experience in the last few years, right around par seems to get in,” Grove said. “So that was our strategy the first day or two, to play pretty conservatively.

“I learned a lot from 2017. That was my first time (in contention), cameras are right up on me and I was out of my element honestly. This being my fifth time, I felt pretty calm and confident.”

Grove’s aggressive approach led to a big turnaround from Tuesday’s 76 when he made just one birdie (No. 13), bogeys on Nos. 3, 10 and 16 and a double bogey on No. 18. A day later, he birdied 3, 10 and 16 and made par on 18.

He shot 4-under 32 on the back side, a seven-shot improvement from his third round.

Grove, a standout player at Coeur d’Alene High and the University of Idaho, joined nine others in the field from the PGA Pacific Northwest Section.

Four made the cut, including 2021 Rosauers champ Colin Inglis, who finished tied for eighth to join Grove in the PGA Championship field.

The NIC men will attempt to win their fifth straight NWAC title at the conference championships May 21-22. Grove said he needs to figure some things out with the PGA Championship set for May 18-21, but he’s planning on playing at Oak Hill.