Plum golfer Lorish commits to Marshall, pursues U.S. Open

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 | 4:25 PM

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The U.S. Open golf championship is coming back to Oakmont Country Club on June 12-15, and Plum’s Wes Lorish is going to do his best to be there on the course with the game’s greatest players.

“That would be a dream come true, to play there right in my back yard,” he said.

That journey for the Plum senior and newly minted Division I commit at Marshall begins Tuesday at Quicksilver Golf Club in Midway.

He will be one of 84 golfers hoping to land one of the five spots to the final qualifying events May 19 through June 2.

“I tried to qualify at Sewickley Heights Golf Club last year with about 100 others,” Lorish said. “I didn’t play my best golf, but they had the course playing so tough. I finished in that bottom lower half.”

Lorish said his knowledge of the Quicksilver course should serve him well.

“I’ve played a couple of junior tournaments there, and I went up and played a practice round a couple of weeks ago, so I am pretty familiar with the course,” he said. “I know if I can play well, I can get past that first round.”

Golf has been a life’s passion for Lorish, who will graduate from Plum in less than a month.

Practice round after practice round, junior and amateur tournaments, and play for the Plum High School team the past four seasons has sharpened his abilities.

Lorish had his eyes on golfing in college at the Division I level. He made Marshall his home and made it official with a signing last Friday in front of family, teammates, coaches and friends at Plum High School.

“This gives me the opportunity to look back at how much I’ve put in over the years and how challenging that can be,” Lorish said.

“I’ve been involved in it my whole life, so to come to this point where I can say I will play golf at the Division I level with the opportunity at a place where I know I can take my game to the next level and hopefully to the professional level, it is so very special. This is a step in the right direction.”

Lorish said last summer was more crowded with tournament golf and it being a recruiting year.

“This year, I am kind of taking it a little bit lighter,” Lorish said. “I still will go and play some amateur tournaments and things like that, but it won’t be as packed with things like junior golf as in previous years. I am just kind of gearing up to play in college.”

Kent State, Coastal Carolina and North Florida were among the schools and golf programs Lorish considered.

“I took a break from playing in the winter, so I had time to decide, weighing a couple of options,” he said.

But Marshall ended up being the place for him.

“Coach (Matt) Grobe was honest with me throughout the whole recruitment process,” Lorish said.

“He’s been really good about being honest with the new golf roster limits that came out. He’s been helpful the whole way.”

Grobe and Lorish started to talk last summer and developed a connection.

“He came out for a tournament at Nemacolin and followed a practice round,” Lorish said. “He also watched me at the Junior PGA Championship in Bethesda, Maryland. I made an official visit in November, and from then on, it just kind of clicked.

“I like the course they play on where they practice. The team is developing. They’re graduating a couple of seniors this year, but they’re looking for the (transfer) portal to get some older guys, so we should be competitive next year.”

Plum boys golf coach Keith Nonnenberg said he couldn’t be happier for Lorish that he found a spot where he wants to be and a program that wants him.

“With NIL, and the transfer portal, that has made it really challenging for high school students coming out to go into athletics,” Nonnenberg said.

“College programs are looking to bring in seasoned athletes all the time. Like I explained to John and Missy (Lorish) throughout the course of the season, Wes will have the opportunity to transfer, if he wants to. If he likes Marshall, he can stay there all four years. But certainly, if he has a good year, the teams like Penn State and Kent State will be looking for him to transfer.”

Lorish enjoyed one of the most productive careers in Plum history.

He produced a pair of top-10 finishes at the WPIAL Class 3A individual golf championship, taking fifth as a sophomore in 2022 and sixth last fall at Oakmont Country Club.

Lorish also was a part of three PIAA tournaments at Penn State.

He tied for 10th in 2022, but his best finish came as a junior in 2023 when he ended his two rounds of regulation play in a three-way tie for first before taking second in a playoff.

Plum qualified for the WPIAL team tournament for the third straight season in 2024, and Lorish fronted the efforts in helping the Mustangs reach the finals where they placed third overall.

He shot 72 — second out of 48 — in the semifinals at Champions Lakes and led all golfers with a 71 in the finals at Cedarbrook Gold.

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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