Donnie Trosper, 23, qualifies for third PGA Tour tournament; he'll wear a Metro Detroit Golfers hat

He's got some new finances, and now he's got his old swagger back, too.

Donnie Trosper, the Michigan State alum and Canton native who played his first two PGA Tour events last summer, qualified Monday for this week's Puerto Rico Open, the tournament being played opposite of the World Golf Championship in Bradenton, Florida.

Trosper shot a 7-under 64 at PGA National in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday morning, then waited and waited and waited until final seeing his score hold up for one of four spots available Monday night. Trosper finished tied for second of the 111 players in the field.

Ben Cook, the 2020 and 2018 Michigan PGA champion from Caledonia in West Michigan, finished in a three-way tie for fourth, but lost in a playoff Tuesday morning after play was halted Monday because of darkness.

 and because of darkness, he will return to the course early Tuesday morning for a playoff for the final spot.

Trosper, 24, moved to Florida in the fall to prepare for a run at some PGA Tour events, while playing the Florida mini-tour circuit. He won a mini-tour event in Florida, for $3,000.

As with many young grinder golfers trying to make it, securing enough to enter enough qualifers and mini-tour tournaments — while having enough for food and a place to live — can be a challenge.

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Earlier this month, David Hall, founder of the Troy-based Hall Financial mortgage broker and a big golf fan, stepped up and pledged to sponsor Trosper for several weeks worth of tournaments, including the $450 entry fee into Monday's qualifier. Rather than have Trosper wear a Hall Financial hat, Hall told Trosper to wear Metro Detroit Golfers hats instead — so that's what he will do this week on the PGA Tour. MDG was founded last year by former 97.1 Ticket hosts Mike Sullivan and Kyle Bogenschutz, and the community has grown to more than 40,000 members.

Trosper qualified for back-to-back PGA Tour events last summer, including Detroit's Rocket Mortgage Classic. They were his first two PGA Tour starts, and he missed the cut in both of them.

At Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico, he will tee it up along with Traverse City's Ryan Brehm, who has conditional PGA Tour status again this season after last season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Puerto Rico was the site of Viktor Hovland's first PGA Tour win last year, and Tony Finau's in 2016.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonpaul1984