Braden Schattuck almost didn’t make it. About seven years back, the PGA pro got T-boned at a Florida intersection, with injuries so stubborn that they sidelined him from the sport. But he fought back from physical ruin. Now, once again, he has become the guy the Phillies could root for in the week of the PGA Championship.
Shattuck, the director of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, punched one of the final 20 tickets to the PGA Championship last month. He finished tied for eighth at the 2026 PGA Professional Championship, which booked him a place on the Corebridge Financial Team, the 20 PGA of America club pros who earn entry into the season’s second major at Aronimink GC. Thirteen club professionals from the Philadelphia PGA section were in Oregon, battling a field of more than 300 PGA of America golfers from across the country.
This is hardly Shattuck’s first gig here, but it is impressive nonetheless.
His golf career nearly went off the rails after a March 2019 car accident. On top of herniated discs, he suffered a concussion and nerve problems in his legs. Even walking was a struggle, never mind swinging a golf club. Getting around became painful, and he began to wonder whether golf would still have a place in his future. In fact, Shattuck couldn’t pick up a club for most of the next two years and stepped away from the game.
But once he was back on his feet, he returned to golf in a new capacity, earning his PGA of America A-14 designation in 2022 and stepping into the role of director of instruction at Rolling Green GC, just outside Philadelphia.
Ahead of the 2023 PGA Championship, and looking back at that accident, Shattuck confessed, “Yeah, for a while there I thought golf might be out of the question. You kind of rely on uncertainty there for a while, and it kind of sucks. But yeah, definitely the goal was still to get back here.”
But what an inspiring comeback it was.
Early in the same month, he won the PGA Professional Championship in his debut, earning the ticket to the major at Oak Hill. Imagine the essence of that in this information: his fellow Rolling Green members held a watch party for Shattuck’s final round, with an expected 50-60 members holding their breath. When he won, they probably hugged and cheered. Some of them even travelled to watch him play at Oak Hill.
Next week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink will feature the best golfers in the world as well as some teaching professionals who qualified for the event. One of them is a local professional from Delaware County.https://t.co/b5uVauJbir
— KYW Newsradio – NOW ON 103.9 FM! (@KYWNewsradio) May 9, 2026
He was paired with Shaun Micheel and New Zealand’s Steven Alker for the first round. At that time, when asked if he could have imagined that four years ago, a confident but witty Shattuck said, “I could definitely imagine it. But I didn’t think it would actually happen.” Unfortunately, Shattuck went on to miss the cut. But when he returned the next year, he shot 71-70-68-74 to finish solo 72nd for the week.
But, of course, you can credit his swing changes for that. He does, at least.
The many steps Braden Schattuck took to arrive here
“I have been making a lot of swing changes. I changed my equipment too, so I find myself in an ‘experimental phase’ once again. I played well in the Section’s Spring Meeting event, and played well again today, so the experiment is working so far,” shared Braden Schattuck after winning the 2026 Radnor Golf Foundation Tournament Players Division Championship. Winning the event was the right step heading into the PGA Championship.
Sure, the week was a smash hit, but Schattuck made sure to tip his hat to wife Veoletta, Rolling Green Golf Club, Titleist, TPD Championship partners, and the host venue. That said, he wasn’t always riding high on confidence when it came to his swing.
Roughly two years after the accident, Schattuck managed nine holes at last, though practice was still off the table. He cobbled together a revamped swing that, by 2023, he described as feeling like it belonged to someone else entirely. It features a weaker grip with his top (left) hand and a more upright swing path. But it has definitely helped him reach this stage.
Does Schattuck think he can win at this PGA Championship? Back in 2023, when presented with the same question, he stated, “I don’t think it’s reasonable to think I can win the golf tournament and beat the best players in the world, but I think I can definitely make the cut this week.”
That would definitely be his goal in the major week, but even if he doesn’t, he will have learnt something new. “My playing actually helps my teaching more than anything,” he stated as if to prove the previous statement right.
During an interview with KYW Newsradio, Schattuck revealed that even the week before the PGA Championship, he’s grinding a full slate of lessons from 8 AM to 6 PM daily, while squeezing in practice and tourney prep. Aronimink is just 40 minutes from home, yet he’s only tackled the course a handful of times.
“I’m not super familiar with the golf course, but from what I have played, it’s very straightforward,” he stated, but he is just focusing on hitting good shots. “Definitely a more freeing way to think at it rather than trying to tiptoe my way around and not make any mistakes.”
Well, here’s us wishing him good luck.
