PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Fighting Illini head coach Mike Small has been recognized by the PGA of America as the 2017 OMEGA Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year, as announced today by the organization. Small will be recognized for this award on June 15 in conjunction with the 51st PGA Professional Championship at Bayonet Black Horse in Seaside, California.
A three-time PGA Professional Player of the Year (2006, 2007 and 2010), Small garnered the Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year laurel after earning Top-5 finishes at both the PGA Professional Championship (T-3) and the Senior PGA Professional Championship (4th) this year. He finished 42nd in the U.S. Senior Open, and becomes the only Illinois PGA Member to earn both the PGA Professional Player of the Year and Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year awards.
"My schedule has always been dictated by my coaching, and when I get the chance to play, it is a bonus," said Small in a release from the PGA of America. "I'm a coach first, a player second and I look upon any success gives me credibility as a coach. It is an honor to win this award. The PGA of America is very important to me, and a big part of my coaching."
Small has continued his professional career while coaching, most recently making his debut on the PGA TOUR Champions. Since starting at Illinois in 2000, he is a three-time PGA of America National Champion, a three-time PGA Professional National Player of the Year, Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year, a 12-time IPGA Champion, four-time Illinois Open Champion and he has participated in 11 major championships. Small has made the cut in 15 of 34 PGA TOUR events since he began coaching at Illinois.
A 2017 inductee into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame, Small has also been recognized as the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year. He has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year a conference-record nine times in his coaching career and has also been named Midwest Regional Coach of the Year eight times. Under his direction, Illinois athletes have won 22 All-America honors and 42 All-Big Ten accolades.
