Plum’s Wes Lorish earns trip to state golf championships

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 5, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Wes Lorish is in position to go after state gold.

The Plum senior capped his run in the WPIAL Class 3A individual playoffs with a sixth-place finish in the two-day, 36-hole championship tournament last Tuesday and Wednesday at Southpointe Golf Club in Canonsburg (first round) and Oakmont Country Club (finals).

He joins 13 others from the Class 3A finals at the PIAA tournament Oct. 21 and 22 at Penn State Golf Club.

Lorish had five bogeys and two birdies over his first round of 18 at Southpointe to finish with a 3-over 75.

At Oakmont, he carded a bogey, a double bogey and two birdies to finish his round at 2-over and the tournament all alone in sixth with a 5-over, two-day score of 148.

Lorish recorded a nine-hole score of 33 at Oakmont in Plum’s section win over West Mifflin on Aug. 22.

The PIAA tournament has a similar format to the WPIAL first round and finals, where it will be 36 holes of stroke play over the two days of competition.

This will be Lorish’s third trip to the individual state tournament.

He struggled in the WPIAL first round as a freshman and finished 53rd (14-over) and missed the cut to the finals.

In 2022, he made the WPIAL finals at Allegheny Country Club and placed fifth (8-over) after 36 holes before moving on to states where he tied for 10th (5-over, 74-75).

Last year at WPIALs, Lorish just made the cut as the 14th and final state qualifier. He shot a final-round 79 at Valley Brook Country Club in Canonsburg and ended 15-over for 36 holes.

He made up for it, however, with a strong performance at states on Penn State’s Blue Course, where he tied for second overall with Penn-Trafford’s Nick Turowski.

Lorish and Turowski, the WPIAL champion, finished the second round of 18 holes tied with Butler’s Hunter Swidzinski at 7-under. Lorish shot a 66 on Day 1 and a 71 on Day 2.

Swidzinski prevailed in the all-WPIAL playoff to take the title.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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