Titsworth holds on to win West Penn Open title
McMURRAY – Not that he didn’t realize the cruelty of what professional golf can be, but Beau Titsworth nonetheless got another taste of it Thursday.
One day after setting the course record at Valley Brook Country Club with a 10-under 62, Titsworth was faced with a tough battle in the final round of the West Penn Open on a sunny pleasant day.
In the nothing-is-given, everything-is-earned world of golf, Titsworth needed some divine intervention to hold his three-stroke lead over T.J. Howe of Bellefonte over the final round across this well-manicured 6,685-yard course.
It came at the ninth hole.
With Howe surging and Titsworth teetering, Howe made his first bogey of this three-day event, a five on the par-4 ninth, and Titsworth made three. The two-shot swing seemed to galvanize Titsworth, who went on to birdie three of the next five holes, finished the tournament at 16-under par and won the event by three shots over Howe.
“It was a little more exciting than I wanted it to be,” said Titsworth, who graduated from St. Ignatious High School in Cleveland and Oklahoma University but lives in Ross Township in Pittsburgh.
“T.J. played great. He put the pressure on me when I didn’t have it.”
A pair of 67s in the final two rounds propelled Matt Gurska of Hermitage to 11 under and a third-place finish.
Two Peters Township High School graduates, Alec Stopperich and Tom Nettles, played leap-frog throughout most of the round. They finished tied for fourth at minus-10. Peters Township grads Jimmy Ellis (6-under) and Jake Solon (1-under) finished in 11th and tied for 19th, respectively. Brett Carman, who recently worked at Dogwood Hills in Claysville, finished at even par and in 22nd place.
The two-stroke swing at No. 9 was one of four in the round between Titsworth and Howe, rare for the golfers at the top of the leaderboard. Despite Titsworth’s birdie run midway through the back nine, Howe cut his lead to one when Titsworth bogeyed the 17th and Howe made his second straight birdie. But Titsworth sank a five-footer for birdie on No. 18 and Howe bogeyed.
“It was a lot closer than the scoreboard showed,” said Titsworth, who has victories in two multi-day professional tournaments. “It was nice to knock mine in.”
“It’s tough to make up shots when he’s making threes,” Howe said.
The 31-year-old Howe, who coaches at his alma mater, Penn State, had an eagle-2 on the par-4 7th.
Stopperich finished with a 4-under 68. His 10-under par made him low amateur for the tournament.
“It was nice to finish the way I did,” said Stopperich, who is heading into his senior year at Samford University in Alabama. “Sometimes, I walk off the 18th a little disappointed but not today.”
Stopperich had five birdies and two bogeys on the back nine for a 33. Nettles had a bogey-free final round with five birdies.
“I’m really pleased with the way I played,” said Nettles. I kept the ball in front of me the whole time. I got a few putts to fall. It was a good round.”