Malvern pro headed to 2nd straight PGA

DAVE McNABB went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the PGA Professional National Championship in June with a bit of confidence.

After all, he had been among the 20 qualifiers from last year's field to be invited to the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

McNabb, the head professional at Malvern's Applebrook Country Club, got through the ups and downs of the first three rounds in Myrtle Beach and started the final round tied for third place. Things got dicey when he double-bogeyed the 12th hole, moving him to 6-over on the day, and just on the cusp of the qualifying line.

Everything came down to the 18th hole, where McNabb had a 20-foot birdie putt that would either send him into a playoff if he missed it, or qualify him for next week's 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Ky.

He drained the putt, securing his second straight appearance at the last major championship of the year.

"It is a validation of the fact that I did it once and I was able to do it again," said McNabb, 48. "I knew I had to make the putt on the last hole to avoid a playoff. I was able to pull it off. It was probably the highlight of my career, making that putt."

McNabb will have the chance to have a new highlight of his career when he travels to Kentucky to compete with the world's best golfers on a major stage. While McNabb did not have the showing he would have liked at Oak Hill, shooting 10-over and missing the cut, he is going to use that experience to help him this year.

"I need to play very, very well, but I can make a couple of mistakes and still be competitive without trying to play perfect," McNabb said. "That is the biggest thing I can take away from my experience last year."

McNabb said that he needs to drive the ball better to have more success this year, but he plans on getting enough practice at the course that hosted the 2008 Ryder Cup before the tournament starts.

"I have not been there before," McNabb said. "The plan is to go down the Sunday before, get there around noontime and play nine holes that day, play 18 Monday, Tuesday, and another nine Wednesday."

After not making the cut a year ago, McNabb is focused on preparing for this time around. He has high hopes for his second time around at a major championship.

"My goals when I get there are to get myself prepared to play great," McNabb said. "By that, I mean making sure that I am prepared to play the shot that is the right shot at the right time. My goals are to play great. If I do that, everything else will take care of itself.

"Obviously my goal is to make the cut, but my real goal is actually a little loftier. It is to play better than to just make the cut. The goal of playing great for four rounds, everything else will take care of itself."

Regardless of where McNabb ends up at Valhalla, he is proud of what he has done.

"I have an overwhelming sense of accomplishment from the fact that it is a pretty difficult task to make it there once," McNabb said. "I had been trying for 20 years with no luck, and to pull it off 2 years in a row is awesome. 'Awesome' is a pretty good word to describe it."