Greensburg's Goetz wins West Penn Open

Winning the 117th West Penn Open wasn’t good enough for Mark Goetz on Wednesday.

After he birdied the final to win the championship at Shannopin Country Club, he headed the Green Oaks Country Club to play nine more holes against his cousin Katie (Miller) Gee.

At Shannopin, the Greensburg native and West Virginia University senior was able to overtake first-round leader Dan Obremski of Irwin. Goetz shot a 4-under par 67 to finish at 11-under 131.

His round included an eagle on the first hole, eight birdies and six bogeys.

“I consider this my best tournemant victory since I won a USGA Junior event in Ohio when I was 15,” Goetz said. “I did win the Westmoreland County Amateur, but this was bigger.”

After both golfers opened the day with eagles on No. 1, Goetz said he though he’d have to go real low to beat Obremski.

“Dan and I have played against each other for years,” Goetz said. “He’s a great golfer and a great person.”

The match came down to the final hole when Goetz hit a big drive down the right side, which left him about 115 yards to the pin.

“I kind of thought about what happened at Oakmont in the West Penn Amateur last season and my poor drive,” Goetz said. “I took a few seconds and focused on what I had to do.

“When I got to my drive, I figured they’d put the pin on the back right. I hit a perfect wedge to 3 feet.”

Goetz has been in good form this summer. He shot a 64 at Edgewood Country Club for the Pennsylvania Golf Association Open qualifier. He played well at the Sunnehanna Amateur and made the match play round at the R. Jay Sigel Amateur state tournament, where he shot a 65.

He is a member of Hannastown Golf Club, where many of the top golfers play in Western Pa.

Obremski, who shot a 9-under par 62 during the first round, finished with a 1-under par 70 to end up at 10-under 132 for the tournament. He had 10 birdies during the first round and he too opened the final round with an eagle on No. 1. He had three birdies and four bogeys, three on the back nine.

It wasn’t a total loss for Obremski; he collected a $5,130 purse as the top professional. Goetz is an amateur and collected $555 pro shop credit.

Mars’ Anthony Muscato finished third at 7-under par, and Peters Township’s Tommy Nettles was fourth at 6-under.

Five players, including amateur Nathan Smith and pro Michael Van Sickle, tied for fifth at 5-under.

AJGA Southpointe

Carson Judge soared into the lead at the American Junior Golf Association Junior at Southpointe by shooting a 1-over par 73 on Wednesday at Southpointe Golf Club near Canonsburg.

The Columbus, Ohio, native is 4-over for the tournament and sits one shot ahead of Westerville, Ohio’s Ali Khan, who is 5-over. The final round is Thursday.

One of the three first-round leaders, Anthony Delisanti of Sanborn, N.Y., is tied for fourth at 6-over. The other first-round leaders — Shane Lowler of Malvern and Bach Ngo of Frederick, Md. — had rough days. Lawler shot an 8-over par 80 and is 10-over, and Ngo shot a 12-over par 84 and is at 14-over.

Canonsburg native and Pittsburgh Central Catholic sophomore Rocco Salvitti is tied for 11th at 10-over after his second consecutive 5-over par 77.

Franklin Regional senior Michael Wareham is also tied for 11th at 10-over. He also shot a second consecutive 77.

In the girls division, first-round leader Hailey Schalk of Erie, Colo., holds a four-shot lead. She shot a 3-over par 75 and is at 1-over for the tournament. Elina Sinz of Katy, Texas, is second at 5-over and Ellen Dong of Longwood, Fla., is at 6-over.

Pittsburgh’s Tara Loughran is tied for eighth at 10-over par and South Fayette’s Caroline McConnell is 19th at 19-over.

Isaly’s POY Championship

The Tri-State PGA Isaly’s Junior Tour ended Wednesday with the Player of the Year Championship at The Pittsburgh Field Club.

Ryan Ferry won the 17-18 division by shooting an even-par 70. He edged out Anthony Nuzzo, who shot a 1-over 71.

The shot of the day came from Cole Villa, who had a hole-in-one on No. 18 to finish sixth at 5-over.

The 15-16 division winner was Connor Walker, who shot a 3-over par 75, while David Fuhrer II won the 11-14 division by shooting a 5-over 75 to edge out Ryan Frohlich, who was at 6-over.

Victoria Witouski was the girls 16-18 division winner. She shot a 3-over par 73.

The 11-15 girls division winner was Lihini Ranaweera, who shot a 4-over 74.