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Winter comes close to making Senior PGA
Winter

By VINCE REMBULAT
The Bulletin
The goal for Don Winter is to make the cut for Senior PGA Professional Championship.
The 1985 graduate of Manteca High came close achieving just that, falling four shots shy for the chance of advancing to the 2020 KitchenAid Senior PGA event scheduled for May at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, MI.
He missed the cut last year, which was his first year on the Senior PGA.
“My goal every year is to make the cut,” said Winter, who is the First Assistant Golf Pro at Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton.
He’s been there for the past eight years.
Don Winter is the son of retired Manteca High principal and coach Steve and Fiona Winter and the father of current Sierra High water polo coach Corey Winter.
He was one of 264 club pros age 50 and older competing in the 31st Senior PGA Professional Championship held Oct. 3-6 at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas carding 287 during four rounds of play, which tied him for 53rd.
Winter, who was playing on the fast Bermuda grass surface, was pleased the first-round playing, shooting a 2-under-par 68 – he birdied No. 1, 6, 15, and 16.
He also made the 36-hole cut (1-under 71) and the 54-hole cut (1-over 73) at the Fazio Foothill course.
The top 35 received exemptions to the upcoming KitchenAid PGA Championship while the top eight will have exemptions to the 2020 Senior PGA Professional Championship.
Winter, who represents Northern California, is now focusing on the Senior PGA’s second season.
He learned the game at an early age, earning Class A status while serving as an instructor.
His objective as an instructor, according to his Castlewood CC bio, is “to help students achieve their goals and enjoy the game.”
Don Winter works with both aspiring tour pros as well as beginners, creating individual plans that are unique and encompasses different skills sets depending on athletic background, flexibility and body types.