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Malosh makes it two straight WPIAL titles

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Marissa Malosh of South Fayette, right, gets a congratulatory hug from her mother, Lisa, after winning her second straight WPIAL Class 3A title for girls golf. The second round of the finals were held Tuesday at Valley Brook Country Club.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Marissa Malosh hits out of a bunker during the WPIAL Class 3A girls golf championships at Valley Brook Country Club. The South Fayette senior won her second straight district title with a round of 77.

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Ellie Benson of Peters Township watches her putt on the No. 9 hole during WPIAL Class 3A girls individual championships action Tuesday at Valley Brook Country Club.

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Marissa Malosh watches the flight of her drive off the No. 9 tee Tuesday during WPIAL Class 3A girls championship golf action at Valley Brook Country Club.

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Marissa Malosh of South Fayette hits a chip shot during WPIAL Class 3A girls championship golf action at Valley Brook Country Club.

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Marissa Malosh of South Fayette hits a drive during WPIAL Class 3A girls championship golf action Tuesday at Valley Brook Country Club. Malosh won her second consecutive championship.

McMURRAY – Three years ago, Marissa Malosh shot a miserable round of golf in the WPIAL Championships at Diamond Run Country Club.

How bad a round was it?

She doesn’t even recall the score.

But she remembered the round. It served as impetus for her golf game over the past two years.

And on a chilly Tuesday, over the tree-lined, sand-guarded 5,500-yard course at Valley Brook Country Club, the senior from South Fayette High School shot 77 to wrap up her second straight WPIAL Class 3A title and a spot in the PIAA Championships.

Eva Bulger of Quaker Valley won the Class 2A title with an 85.

Ellie Benson of Peters Township finished third in Class 3A.

The scores were taken from two rounds. The first round was held last week at Youghiogheny Country Club. The top seven in Class 3A and the top nine in Class 2A advance to the PIAA Championships, which will be held Oct. 17 and 18 at the Penn State Blue & White Course.

Malosh, whose two-round total was 152 (77-75), said keeping her composure on the course was crucial to her success.

“I made sure that I was calm,” said Malosh. “If I had a bad hole, I’d just put it out of my mind. Last year, everything came together. This year, I had to scramble a little. My strong point is usually my irons and by far they were the worst part of my game today.”

Hole No. 4, a short, 381-yard par-4, was a good example. She found herself buried in the bunker, then blasted out across the fairway and into the water. She finished with a double-bogey 6,

“I just wanted to get away from that hole as fast as possible,” said Malosh. “I wanted to stay composed, don’t make anything worse, don’t let it snowball. If I can minimize that and stay composed, I could get back on par.”

Malosh said she made some “50-foot putts but missed some 2-foot putts.” Malosh was boosted by three birdies: the par-4 No. 2 after sinking a 10-foot putt, the par-3 No. 3 on the gold course, No. 12 overall, after draining a 25-footer, and the par-5 No. 14 after sinking a 40-foot putt.

“I was calm on the back but it was weird,” Malosh said. “I went birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, and lipped out for eagle and missed the putt. So I was kind of feeling good. There was never a point when I was super comfortable and there was never a time when I felt I was in danger.”

South Fayette golf coach Rocco Violi said he knew Malosh would be special on the links when he saw her play for the first time when she was in eighth grade.

“She was up at Hickory Heights and I knew she had great potential playing golf,” Violi said. “It just shows how much you can improve over the years going back to that. It was just fantastic.”

Benson shot 41-40-81 yesterday for a two-round total of 161.

“I really like this course,” said Benson, only a freshman. “It was really tough. The greens were rolling nice and it was a great round.”

Benson’s best round was a 1-under 70 at Stonecrest Golf Course in a Tri-State event.

Benson got a boost on the 16th hole of the tournament, where she eagled the par-4, 292-yard hole.

“I hit a good drive, about 40 yards away,” Benson said. “I used a gap wedge. I used the range finder to find the flag and it was 35 yards away. I’ve had a couple eagles before. It was a big deal today.”

There were a couple close calls for local girls. In Class 3A, Sophia Severns of Peters Township shot a two-round total of 169, one stroke off the qualifying mark. Her teammate, Brooke Vowcheck, shot 174 and Amelia Severns came in with a 197. Ally Brennan of South Fayette shot 194.

In Class 2A, Gianna Petersen of Beth-Center lost in a playoff for the final spot. She shot 204 for the two rounds.

Avery Davis of Waynesburg shot 220.

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