Aston’s Braden Shattuck has a new lease on his golf career after a big win

Shattuck, 28, once saw his career derailed by a devastating car crash. A victory in the PGA Professional Championship gives him a fresh start.

Braden Shattuck hits his tee shot on the sixth hole during the second round of the 55th PGA Professional Championship at Santa Ana Golf Club on May 1.Read moreDarren Carroll/PGA of America / PGA

by Isabella DiAmore

Published May 11, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

Braden Shattuck felt the stress creep in. As each round passed, the 28-year-old from Aston, Delaware County, continued to move up the leaderboard in the PGA Professional Championship in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

But when he watched the final putt drop that sealed his victory, Shattuck pretended to “fist-bump the air,” feeling the tension release from within.

“I wanted to do much more than a fist bump,” Shattuck said last week. “But Ryan [Wilson, his caddie] told me to keep it classy.

“By the time I got to the last round, I didn’t sleep at all. I didn’t even fall asleep that night. It was a long week. … It doesn’t even feel real — thinking back on it and watching it on TV, it doesn’t feel real at all.”

Shattuck, the director of instruction at the Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, shot a steady 2-under-par 70 to finish at 9-under-par 279, securing the PGA Professional Championship by one shot and becoming the 11th player in history to win in his tournament debut.

The tournament took place from April 30 to May 3 and featured about 300 golfers. The top 20 players earned spots in the PGA Championship on May 18-21 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. As the winner, Shattuck receives six exemptions for PGA Tour events next season.

“It’s huge for my career,” Shattuck said. “The opportunities I have with that tournament, it’s amazing. It’s going to be a game-changer hopefully for me.”

Four years ago, Shattuck was in Florida competing in mini-tour events. One night, he was driving back from the course when his car was struck broadside by another vehicle at an intersection.

Shattuck suffered two herniated disks in the crash. He dealt with prolonged back problems and had to put the clubs down for two years. Shattuck initially thought he wouldn’t golf professionally again.

“I was not in a good head space at all,” he said. “Pretty much the things that I worked toward for my whole life got taken away from me. I didn’t know if I was ever going to play again. ... The beginning part of 2021, I healed up enough to play. Not a great season, but I played golf again.”

Shattuck’s love of golf was nurtured by his father, who bought him a pair of plastic clubs at age 5. Once he was old enough, he traded those in for a real set and started competing in the Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour.

While he didn’t have a natural grasp for the sport, Shattuck spent most days practicing at the Glen Mills golf course. At the time, his mother worked at the Glen Mills School, which closed in 2019, and family members of staff could play the course at reasonable rates.

“My mom would go to work at 8:30 a.m., she dropped me off at the course,” Shattuck said. “Then she would come pick me up at like 4:30 p.m. I’d just spend eight to nine hours every day practicing, so I developed a work ethic from a young age. I definitely wasn’t gifted. I was decent for this area, but I was no prodigy. I just kept improving over the course of many years.”

He participated in Sun Valley High School’s golf program while also playing other courses, including Rock Manor Golf Club in Wilmington and Edgmont Country Club, which is now closed.

Shattuck received a scholarship to play golf at the University of Delaware. But after one year, he shifted his focus to going pro. He dropped out of college and started working two jobs to build a savings for competing in tournaments.

“I really only turned pro at that young age so I could make money,” Shattuck said. “It’s very expensive; I don’t really come from money. It kind of changed how I went about my practice habits and my mindset. Now it’s more real — I’ve got to make sure that I’m preparing properly and I have a game plan.”

He worked at Concord Country Club in West Chester on bag-boy duty, cleaning clubs and caddying while also working nights at an auto transport business. However, after the accident, Shattuck was uncertain about his future in the sport. He turned to coaching as an instructor at Rolling Green Golf Club, taking an alternative path that allowed him to play golf at his own speed.

Last year, Shattuck dived back into his training and became a PGA professional. He made adjustments to his swing and the way he gripped the club, trying an upright stance that took some of the pressure off his lower back. At times the injury will linger on the course, but Shattuck said he’s in a much better place.

“Obviously I still want to be able to play,” he said. “I knew what you got if you won the PGA Professional Championship, I knew this four or five years ago. I still had to work.”

Shattuck hopes to make the most of his big win. He aspires to make the PGA Tour as a full member someday.

“It seems unbelievable,” Shattuck said. “It means a lot to be able to continue to improve, where my goals that I’ve had my whole life feel like they’re in reach.”