McCarthy rallies to win 2nd Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational

Daniel McCarthy earned his second Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational victory Wednesday by rallying to edge Penn-Trafford graduate Dan Obremski during the final round.

It was a par on the final hole that gave McCarthy the one-stroke win. He also won in 2018.

Obremski’s brilliant birdie on No. 17 allowed him to pull even, but he bogeyed the final hole, a 220-yard par 3, after his tee shot landed left of the green.

“It was a difficult up-and-down, and I left my par putt short,” Obremski said.

Obremski began the final round with a 3-shot lead over McCarthy, who plays on the Korn Ferry Tour.

McCarthy shot a 4-under-par 66 to earn the a $40,000 prize, nearly four times the amount of what he’s earned on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished with a record 14-under 266, beating the 2009 mark of 9-under by Yough graduate Ryan Sikora. It also smashed the 5-under mark at Pittsburgh Field Club.

“I feel fortunate to win this again,” McCarthy said. “To shoot 14-under here, you’re game is in a good place. I thought my game was trending down over the weekend in Utah.

“I did pretty much of a good job keeping the ball under the hole. That’s crucial out here. Front pins are pretty much impossible to keep it under the hole, but even though, I didn’t hit it too far past. It’s always tough to be aggressive at the Fuhrer.”

The $20,000 second-place prize was the largest paycheck Obremski has earned in his professional career.

Last year’s champion, Michael Gligic, placed third at 3-under, and 2009 winner Michael Van Sickle of Wexford placed fourth by shooting an even-par 280.

While Obremski wasn’t able to finish with a victory, he was encouraged by how he played.

“We’ll see where things go from here,” Obremski said. “For the past year I was saying, ‘Should I hang it up?’ This was encouraging. This week tells me I can still do it.

“I’m teaching golf in Florida, and I’m still playing some mini tour events. I kind of hit the reset button, but I’ll take a lot out of this tournament and this day.”

Obremski started well with birdies on Nos. 2, 5 and 6 to get to 15-under, four shots better than McCarthy. But bogies on Nos. 7 and 8 allowed McCarthy to pull to within two.

McCarthy birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to pull even at 13-under.

“I gave myself a number of chances, and it turned out to be enough,” McCarthy said. “I just want to try to build on this win moving forward, and hopefully I can earn a win on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“Dan (Obremski) putted great the past two days. He made a number of clutch putts and kept the momentum going. I was just trying to keep up with him, and I was patient enough to put a little run together on the back nine. His game is in a good place.”

The two remained tied until No. 14, when Obremski failed to get up and down from the bunker, missing a 6-foot putt for bogey.

“I just wanted to try and play match play against Dan,” Obremski said. “I did everything I could. I thought I did a good job. He played really well.”

Pittsburgh’s Jack Katarincic won the amateur version of the tournament by shooting 5-over 285.