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.
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