Albany golf pro Broadaway debuts on PGA Tour in Fla., makes cut

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Albany golf pro Josh Broadaway made a call Friday afternoon to his wife, Tina, his brother, Drew, and his good friend Ron Lee.

What was the news?

“Come on down to Florida,” Broadaway recalled during a telephone interview with The Herald on Friday, “because I made it through to the weekend.”

Broadaway, who has played on pro golf’s lower-tier Nationwide Tour for the last six years with varied success, not only made his PGA Tour debut Thursday and Friday at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, he also made the cut.

“I came off (after my second round Friday) and I bogeyed 17 and parred 18 and knew I was going to be close,” said Broadaway, who shot a dismal 8-over on Day 1, but followed that up with a 2-under in Round 2 — tied for the third-lowest score of the day by any golfer. “And I asked the (PGA official) where he thought the cut would be, and told me 6-over just might make it.”

Because Broadaway finished in an early group, he and a few friends who’d come down to support him on such a momentous occasion is his career went to lunch, where they watched the cut line unfold.

“When I found out I’d made it, I called my wife and brother and Ron, and they flew down,” Broadaway said. “It feels great. It was already a pretty cool week coming in because I was playing my first PGA event, and I got to see a lot of old friends like Boo Weekly and Vaughn Taylor, who’ve been playing on the Tour for years, and we got to hang out.

“They just beat it into my head that I just needed to go out, play my game and that I was good enough to be out here with all these guys. And I think my 2-under (Friday) definitely proved that.”

Just getting to this week, however, was a feat in itself.

Broadaway, who attended Byne Christian and eventually went on to play college golf at Troy, qualified for the event by beating out 120 other players in a weekly Monday qualifier held by the PGA for each major tournament. There, a player has to finished in the Top 4 to make the big show.

Broadaway shot a 66 at Mayacoo Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach to finish second and punch his ticket.

“They call ’em ‘four-spotters’ because only four of you move on,” he said. “I’ve played in a few of them over the years, but this was the first time I ever made it. I just played really well and here I am.”

But when Broadaway got to the tee Thursday, conditions for the first round were less than ideal. The wind was gusting up to 35 mph and Broadaway said of his round, “Well, I played bad — and the conditions didn’t help.”

But Friday was a different story. He had to return at 8 a.m. Friday to finish out Nos. 17 and 18, and went from a possible 75 score — or lower — to ending at 78.

“I just told myself as I walked off the green and headed to start my second round, ‘You know what? You’ve got nothing to lose. Just go out and strike it,’ ” Broadaway said. “And that’s what I did.”

He said just making a Tour event was his first goal. And making the cut was his second. Now, Broadaway has a new goal heading into the weekend.

“I’d love to finish in the Top 10 and make (the Tour stop) in Puerto Rico next week, but I know that’s a long shot,” Broadaway said. “But the good thing is that on this course, you don’t have to shoot 63 or 64 to climb the leaderboard. If you can just keep posting numbers like what I had (Friday), you’ll be fine.

“But no matter what, it’s been great just getting here. And I hope I’ll be back soon.”

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STANLEY LEADS AT HONDA CLASSIC:

Kyle Stanley shot a 4-under 66 at the Honda Classic on Friday to take a one-shot lead over Rory Sabbatini, who tied the tournament record at PGA National with a 64.

Stanley was at 6-under 134 in a bid for his first PGA Tour victory. Charl Schwartzel was at 137 after a 69 and four golfers were tied at 138.

Five shots behind at 1 under was Lee Westwood and first-round leader Spencer Levin.