O-R Athlete of the Week: Luke Dziak, Bentworth
Name: Luke Dziak
School: Bentworth
Class: Senior
Sport: Golf
Dziak’s week: In his first appearance at Allegheny Country Club since he was a freshman, Dziak fired a 5-over 75 to finish in 11th place at the WPIAL Class AA championship. The solid round earned him a spot in the PIAA Western Regional Oct. 15 at Tom’s Run Golf Course in Blairsville.
“It takes a lot of hard work, and you have to have a lot of good people around you,” Dziak said of advancing.
“Never getting back (to the WPIAL championship) had crossed my mind. It was all about hard work and dedication. As sophomore and junior year went by, it just made me want to work harder.”
Dziak’s play in the district finals continued to add to an already successful senior season. He won the Southwest Pennsylvania Junior Golf Tour in his age division – boys age 15 to 17 – and the Tri-CADA Championship played at Village Green Golf Course in August. He was the lone player to break 70, shooting a 2-under 69 against several players who also recently qualified for the Class AA and AAA championships.
“I just played one shot at a time,” Dziak said of his Tri-CADA victory. “My dad was there. My teammates and coach were supporting me.”
Dziak helped lead Bentworth to a 12-2 overall record and 10-2 to win Section 4-AA.
State satisfaction: The work Dziak has put into returning to the PIAA championship – he shot a two-day total of 170 to finish tied for 28th place as a freshmen – involved hours each day on the range and practicing his short game.
He was hoping those efforts would lead to ending a two-year absence and achieve another goal, having the opportunity to play college golf. A shared interest exists between California University and Dziak to play at the next level.
“I’ve always wanted to play college golf but needed to put in a good senior year,” Dziak said. “I’ve realized the struggles I had my sophomore and junior years are in the past.
“I just have to put all the effort that I have in me and just keep plugging. The key at Tom’s Run is to continue to play one shot at a time and stay away from big numbers.”
Compiled by Luke Campbell.