Gene Walter breezes to Tri-State PGA win
Gene Walter finished his first competitive round of the season with a birdie on Wednesday at Wildwood Country Club.
He didn’t realize that his 20-foot putt that lipped out was for eagle. He thought he was putting for birdie.
It didn’t matter. All he had to do to win the Max Golf Head Professional Championship, the Tri-State PGA’s first event of the season, was to avoid a huge number.
“I didn’t look at the leaderboard on my phone until I reached No. 18 tee,” Walter said. “I had a four-shot lead, so there wasn’t much pressure on me.
“Winning took a backseat to being back with the guys. It was good to see them.”
The Tri-State PGA season, like all athletic events across the country, was delayed because of the coronavirus. But once golf courses opened up last month and guidelines were put in place, the Tri-State PGA and Western Pennsylvania Golf Association were able to reschedule events.
This was the resumption of local golf events for the Tri-State PGA organization.
Walter finished with a 1-under par 71, five shots better than Oakmont pro Devin Gee, Allegheny pro John Aber and Connoquenessing pro David Yokitis, who each shot a 4-over par 76.
Walter finished with five birdies, including four on the back nine.
“I usually don’t like chipping and putting with the pin in,” Walter said. “But I actually putted well.”
Tying for fifth place were Indiana pro Zack Turek, Sharon’s Denny Dolci and Moon’s Roy Vucinich at 5-over. Westmoreland pro Shawn McCall was eighth at 6-over and Hannastown pro Craig Mankins, South Hills pro Tony Traci and Pittsburgh’s Jim Cichra tied for ninth at 7-over.
“I played well,” said Walter, the Director of Golf at the PGA Academy in Wexford. “The course was in excellent shape, and the wind made the course play tough. The guys at the Tri-State ran an awesome tournament.”
While Walter was happy for the victory, he was more proud of the honor received this season. He was named the 2020 Teacher of the Year.
“That’s something I worked hard to get and I want to keep that status,” Walter said. “That means more than winning. It’s a pretty good start to my season.”
The next event scheduled for the Tri-State PGA is the Golf Galaxy Open at Connoquenessing on Monday.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.