Facing tough course, extreme heat, 3 players tied for Pittsburgh Open lead

Golfers playing in the first round of the Pittsburgh Open on Monday faced not only the tough challenge of The Pittsburgh Field Club but also the need to stay hydrated as temperatures soared into the 90s.

Tri-leader Nick Turowski of Harrison City brought along a gallon of water mixed with electrolytes.

“Getting to ride in a cart was absolutely massive,” Turowski said. “The most important thing I did was bringing the water. I drank the entire gallon after the first nine holes. My goal was just to stay hydrated because it was so hot.

“As for my round, it was a pretty steady round. I just tried to limit my mistakes, and I played pretty solid.”

Turowski and two players who were in contention during the West Penn Open — Nathan Piatt and Easton Renwick — were tied for the first-round lead at 3-under-par.

Turowski, a rising sophomore at West Virginia, had a bogey-free round. He had birdies on Nos. 5, 8 and 11.

“I’ve played in tournaments in temperatures like this,” Turowski said. “But the humidity was what made it worse. I must prepare the same way for the final round.”

Renwick led the field with six birdies during his round (Nos. 2, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 15). He had bogeys on Nos. 6, 16 and 18.

J.F. Aber also had six birdies, but he made six bogeys in an up-and-down round and shot an even-par 70.

Seven players had five birdies. They were Nick Baum, Andrew Friend, Devin Gee, Shawn McCall, Piatt, Jon Pratkanis and Evan Ruhling.

Sitting at 2-under, one stroke off the lead, were Rick Stimmel, Pratkanis, Carter Pitcarin, Friend, Brody Taylor and Brian Hurst.

Gee, the head pro at Oakmont, rounded out the list of list of 10 players under par with a 1-under 69. He shot a 2-under 33 on the back nine, including a birdie on No. 18.

Hurst, from Cranberry Township, was the only player in the group of 10 who were under par who had a late afternoon tee time.

Eight players shot an even-par 70, including Aber and his Marshall golf teammates Joseph Kalaskey and Ryan Bilby. The other five at even-par were Ty Roush, McCall, Garrett Browning, Mitch Mercer and Daniel Donahue.

Zach Turek, who plays out of Westmoreland Country Club, said staying hydrated and finding shade was key.

“We had a lot of rain and now we are dealing with heat,” Turek said. “It wasn’t all that bad, all things considered, but it was cooking (the course). It was the easiest way to lose weight. You just must drink as much as possible.”

Turek said one of the best things about playing in the heat is it doesn’t take long to loosen up.

Play will resume at 8 a.m. Tuesday off split tees.