Western Pa. golf notebook: Busy Neal Shipley withdraws from 124th WPGA Amateur

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, June 16, 2024 | 9:19 PM

After playing four grueling rounds at the U.S. Open the past four days and finishing as the low amateur, Central Catholic grad Neal Shipley has decided to withdraw from the 124th Western Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Amateur Championship, which begins Monday at Chartiers Country Club.

Shipley tied for 26th at 6-over par 286. He shot a 2-over 72 during his final round at the difficult Pinehurst No. 2.

Shipley said he’s flying home Monday and could not make his tee time for the two-day tournament.

Sean Knapp, the 2023 champion at Hannastown Golf Club, has won seven amateur titles. He replaced Shipley in the field.

WPGA results

The WPGA held the 104th Junior Championship at Shannopin Country Club on June 10 and the 64th Boys Championship at Youghiogheny Country Club on June 12.

Penn-Trafford grad Nick Turowski won the Junior Championship by shooting a 1-under par 141. He shot a 2-over 73 during Round 1 and followed with a 3-under 68 during the second round.

Four players tied for second place at 4-over 146. They were Jacob Crissman, David Fuhrer, Nixen Erdely and Neil Joon.

The Boys Championship winners were Aaron Didjunas (15-and-under) and Colin McKenzie (13-and-under).

Didjunas shot a 1-under par 71. Ty Hartman was second at 4-over wile Luke Sikora and Barron Bitar tied for third at 5-over.

McKenzie won with a 10-over 82. Sam Casciani was second at 15-over.

Tri-State Juniors

The Tri-State Section PGA held two events this past weekend.

On June 10 at Ligonier Country Club, Dom Cerilli of North Huntingdon won the 17-18 division with an 8-over 80.

Parker Berk of Latrobe won the 15-15 division with a 6-over 76 and Jacob Wallace of Cranberry edged Henry Manciu of Canonsburg. Both shot an 11-over 81.

The 16-18 girls winner was Madison Sharek of Harmony at 11-over 82 while JoJo Jaskulski of Washington was the 11-15 winner at 12-over.

On June 14 at Rolling Fields Golf Course in Murrysville, Codi Fennell of Renfrew won the 17-18 division with an 8-over 78.

Mike Quallich of Pittsburgh won the 15-16 division with an even-par 70 while Trey Susa of Presto edged Bailey Donahue of Pittsburgh for the 11-14 division. Both shot a 4-over 74.

Margaret Alan of Pittsburgh won the girls 16-18 division by shooting a 14-over 84, while Siena Smith of Wexford won the 11-14 division with an 11-over 81.

DeNunzios win

Ronald and David DeNunzio needed to extra holes to win the Westmoreland County Golf Association’s Better Ball title at Greensburg Country Club.

The DeNunzios and the father-son duo of Roger and Nixen Erdely each shot a 65.

The DeNunzios birdied the first two playoff holes.

Tied for third were Matt Montgomery/Alex Turowski and Joe Corsi/Nick Turowski, each shooting a 66.

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.

Tags: Central Catholic