A REUNION WITH THE REFUGE
GUTIERREZ RISES ABOVE THE FIELD TO WIN GSPGA SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP AS NEWLY RENOVATED THE REFUGE GOLF CLUB SHINES
FLOODWOOD, MS: The 2025 Gulf States PGA Section Championship took place at The Refuge Golf Club in Flowood, Mississippi. Sean Racki, PGA Director of Golf at The Refuge welcomed 45 other Class A PGA Professionals to his newly renovated facility for two days of competition and camaraderie among industry leaders. In a star studded area for golf in Jackson, MS The Refuge offers a tremendous golfing experience and did a great job challenging the GSPGA Professionals the past two days.
Christian Gutierrez, PGA Head Professional at Reunion Golf & CC also located in the Jackson area took home the Section Championship with a 139 total, good for (-5). A -3 round 1 got things going for Gutierrez. He was tied with GSPGA President Jake Narro, PGA for the lead and landed himself in the final group for our final round. A slew of birdies early and often got Gutierrez 4 clear of the field heading to the back nine. Cory Cooper, PGA and Jon Howell, PGA were hot on his tail as the back nine went on. Both players had 3 birdies coming in to shrink Gutierrez’s lead to 1 after two unfortunate bogeys on #16 & #17. Stepping up on #18 tee Gutierrez needed a par to avoid a playoff, and he did just that with a comfy tap in par to secure the win.
Gutierrez spoke after saying “I didn’t want to check the leaderboard coming down the stretch, I figured it was close but didn’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on myself, especially after the slip-ups on #16 & #17.”
Jake Narro, PGA took home the Senior Division honors as he continued to add to the great golf he has played in 2025.
The Refuge Golf Course showcased tremendously as a Championship venue. The course’s narrowish feel off the tee, combined with smaller greens, lead to a huge emphasis on accuracy. A huge thanks to GSPGA member Sean Racki, PGA, for going out of his way to ensure a great championship for our Members.
The Gulf States PGA would like to thank everyone who made the event a success, title sponsor and long time GSPGA supporter Benji Nelson with Ben Nelson Golf & Outdoor was gracious enough to support this event while also hosting our general meeting following play on day 1. Also want to mention, Mark Danton of the Winston Collection, Joe Graves of Antigua, Cam Smith, PGA of Shade Headwear, Taylor Erkman of StrackaLine, and Alvin Newell of Maui Jim. Your support makes our events possible.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our next tournament, the GSPGA Stroke Play Series at Hattiesburg CC.