Two weeks removed from a record-setting performance in the PGA Professional Championship that allowed him to secure a spot in this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Golf Club, Tyler Collet has perhaps never felt better about the state of his golf game.
“I’ve gained a lot of self-belief and my confidence is at an all-time high,” said Collet, a native of Cross Lanes and 2013 graduate of Cross Lanes Christian School. “I said in an interview right after the event, and it was no offense to the guys that played that week, but it felt unusually easy that week. Not to take away from anybody that played or made it, but it shouldn’t have felt that easy. It’s a testament to what I can do and how I can play. It feels great and I’m proud and honored to be the champ.”
An assistant pro at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Florida, Collet will appear in his fourth PGA Championship starting at 1:53 p.m. Thursday when he plays alongside Richard Bland, winner of the 2024 Senior PGA Championship, and Jimmy Walker, who won the 2016 PGA Championship.
This opportunity stems from a dominant showing last month at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Collet finished 15-under par for a record 10-shot victory in the PGA Professional Championship, a result sparked by an opening-round 7-under par 65 on the Wanamaker Course. In Round 2, Collet carded a 4-under 68 on the Ryder Course, before returning to Wanamaker and capping off the comfortable win with closing rounds of 68-72.
Collet earned $66,700 and exemptions in six PGA Tour events over the next 12 months by becoming a PGA Professional Champion.
“It’s been kind of a long time coming,” Collet said. “I’ve worked really hard on my game the last few years and had a lot of support from home, my wife, the club I work at and my boss. The membership is unbelievable and they’re super supportive.”
Ahead of his opening round Thursday, which will start on Quail Hollow’s par-5 10th hole, Collet had an opportunity to meet both players he is grouped with for the first two days of the PGA Championship. That took place Tuesday night during Xander Schauffele’s PGA Champions Dinner, an event Collet earned the right to attend through the recent 10-shot win.
“It was awesome,” Collet said. “I never thought I’d be in that room, but it was really neat.”
During the dinner, Collet had a chance to talk to the most recent major champion, Rory McIlroy, who achieved the career Grand Slam by winning The Masters last month. Collet and McIlroy played a practice round together leading up to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.
“I’ve noticed a lot more people that know my name and what I’ve done the last couple weeks,” Collet said. “I was fortunate enough to play with Rory last year in a practice round, and Tuesday night was the first night I’d seen him since then. He came over, tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘congratulations on your win, you deserve to be here.’ A lot of people are noticing. Selfishly, it’s kind of nice being in the spotlight.”
A 2016 graduate of Eastern Kentucky who was enrolled in a PGA Golf Management Program, Collet did not play college golf because the professor overseeing that program felt the educational demands were enough to handle. Yet Collet accepted a position out of college as an assistant professional at York Country Club in Pennsylvania, and connections there led to his spot at John’s Island Club.
Less than five years later, Collet first appeared in a PGA Championship in 2021 at Kiawah Island. He was also among the field in the 2022 version of the event at Southern Hills. The closest he’s come to making the cut at the major was last year when Collet shot 73-72, and at 3-over par, was within four strokes of playing two more rounds.
He has his sights set on playing four rounds in Charlotte.
“I have one more goal that I want to accomplish in the PGA of America, and that’s standing on 18 green Sunday afternoon holding the low club pro trophy,” Collet said. “I have to make the cut to do that obviously, and that’s my goal for the week.”
“I have one more goal – low club pro at the PGA Championship.”
Tyler Collet’s ready to keep the heater going.🔥 pic.twitter.com/dXA9YLmY75
— PGA of America (@PGA) May 14, 2025
Collet has never played competitively at Quail Hollow, though last week, he played 36 holes over two days at the venue that regularly hosts a PGA Tour event.
“One of our members at John’s Island is also a member at Quail Hollow, so I got to see it and learn the golf course before the hustle and bustle,” Collet said. “I got to learn it how I want to.”
Now he hopes to make the most of what he learned.
“I saw the course in really good shape. It was firm and fast,” Collet said. “Now it’s really soggy and wet, and it’s playing a lot longer. Quail Hollow has some air on the greens, so they’re still pretty firm and fiery, but the golf course is playing so much longer. It will favor longer hitters for sure.”