Fox Chapel's David Fuhrer II gets off to blistering start at WPGA Amateur

Fox Chapel graduate David Fuhrer II got off to a blistering start to his opening round, making birdie on five of the first eight holes, to take the lead after the first day of the WPGA Amateur Championship on Monday at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown.

Fuhrer went out in 5-under 30 in the first round and finished with a 7-under 63. He followed that up with a 1-under 69 in the second round to sit at 8-under for the tournament, three strokes clear of the field.

Golfers played 36 holes Monday with the field being cut to the top 32 for Tuesday’s final round.

Fuhrer finished in the top 10 at the WPIAL and PIAA championships as a senior at Fox Chapel in 2023. He was among the top players on the George Mason team last fall.

“To be honest, I had no clue how far under par I was,” Fuhrer told wpga.org. “Whenever I get it going, I just try to focus on one shot at a time. I knew I was playing great but was just taking it slow.”

Sewickley’s J.F. Aber and Upper St. Clair’s Scott Jordan were tied for second at 5-under.

Aber had a big second round, following an even-par 70 with a 5-under 65. Jordan shot a 3-under 67 and a 2-under 68.

Defending champion Nathan Piatt of Upper St. Clair was joined by Butler’s Hunter Swidzinski and Bethel Park’s Darin Kowalski at 3-under.

Four other players were under par after two rounds. Carson Kittsley, Timothy Peters, Matthew Mattioli and Tim Novic were at 2-under.

Hannastown Golf Club’s Nick Turowski and Kevin Fajt were joined by Amani Dambrosio at even par.

Nine-time champion Sean Knapp withdrew after a first-round 85.