ELMSFORD, N.Y. (April 16, 2014) - On Tuesday April 15th, the Metropolitan PGA held their 52nd Educational Forum at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, NY. The morning program was filled with expert speakers, including Mark Broadie and Mike Diffley who spoke about the impact of statistics on the PGA Tour scoring; Michael Breed shared his insights on putting; and Craig Shakland offered insights on the teaching experience.

The Met PGA also inducted Jim McClean, Bruce Zabriski, and Craig Shankland into the Metropolitan PGA Hall of Fame.

Jim McLean is synonymous with Met PGA golf and his nearly 40 years of service to Met Section clubs has earned him a spot in the Met PGA HOF. After serving as head professional at three section clubs (Sunningdale, Quaker Ridge and Sleepy Hollow), Jim moved to Doral in Miami where he founded Jim McLean Golf Schools. His teaching school are located all over the world and he is now ranked #3 by Golf Digest in their top 50 instructor rankings.

The Hall of Fame is a fitting place for Bruce Zabriski. Zabriski dominated Met Area events for the better part of three decades. Zabriski has won 22 events in the New York Metropolitan Area including the New York State Open, multiple Met Opens, Long Island Opens and a Met PGA Championship just to name a few. He also won the 1997 PGA Professional National Championship and was named National PGA Club Professional Player of the Year and Metropolitan PGA Player of the Year 5 times.

The final inductee was former Met PGA President Craig Shankland. During Craig’s time as President, the Met PGA saw tremendous growth and his accomplishments include starting a newsletter to improve communications, establishing an Employment & Club Relations Committee, forming the beginnings of the Met PGA’s junior tour, bringing in new sponsors and creating the Assistants Association. He was also named PGA Teacher of the Year in 2001.

The Met PGA presented three of the association's Special Awards, including the Sam Snead Award to Mary Beth Childs, the Player of the Year Award to Rob Labritz, and Professional of the Year to Joe Felder.

The Sam Snead Award, the Met PGA’s highest honor that can be presented to an amateur, continued to break new ground on Tuesday when it was presented to the first female recipient, Mary Beth Childs. Mary Beth is a key member of the Lincoln Met PGA relationship, having first been involved with the Met PGA in the late 1990’s. Mary Beth is also proud supporter of junior golf and numerous charities in the Met Area.

Rob Labritz culminated an amazing 2013 season with being awarded his 2nd Met PGA Player of the Year Award. Labritz had one of the most memorable shots of the year, holing out from the first playoff hole for birdie in the PGA Professional National Championship at Sun River Resort, which gained him entry to the PGA Championship. Labritz also captured the Met PGA Head Pro Championship, Metropolitan PGA Professional Championship and the Treiber Memorial.

Joe Felder, longtime Head Professional at Griff Harris, was awarded with the 2013 Professional of the Year award. Joe has been the catalyst behind growing golf operations at Griff Harris and a driving force behind the incredible growth of the Met PGA Junior Golf program. Joe has committed immeasurable time to golf charities and foundations like Patriot Golf and The First Tee, which makes him a perfect candidate for the award.

For more information about the Met PGA, the Special Awards, and the Hall of Fame, please visit www.met.pga.com.