Strong finish nets Peters Twp. grad Lusk West Penn Open title
Colton Lusk entered the final round of the West Penn Open with the lead, but after a double bogey on the ninth hole, he found himself trailing by a shot.
Then, he caught fire on the back nine to ensure the championship didn’t slip from his fingers.
Lusk, a Peters Township grad, birdied holes 13 through 16 to reclaim the lead and became one of the youngest winners in tournament history with a victory in the 123rd West Penn Open Wednesday at Willowbrook Country Club in Apollo.
Lusk won as an amateur and is 19 years old. He shot a one-under par round of 71 to finish the tournament at 10-under, three shots ahead of Beau Titsworth and Amani Dambrosio.
“It feels great,” Lusk said via a press release. “I knew it was going to be a battle today with all of the guys at the top. I only had a two-shot lead (entering the final round), but I knew it was going to be a tough one because the wind was picking up.”
Lusk is the first amateur to win the West Penn Open since Neal Shipley did it in 2022 at The Club at Nevillewood.
Shipley is now on the PGA Tour.
Lusk is the third straight West Penn Open champion that is a Peters Township graduate, along with Connor Schmidt and Alec Stopperich.
Schmidt won last year’s event at Sewickley Heights Golf Course and Stopperich won at Indiana Country Club in 2024.
“It’s awesome,” Lusk said. “There are a lot of big names who have come through Peters. It shows that it’s a good program and that we have good players.”
After posting a round of 66 on Tuesday to take the lead, Lusk’s final round did not get off to a strong start. He bogeyed the second hole and after a bridie at the fifth, he made a five on the par 3 ninth to go out with a two-over par 38.
After the double bogey, Dambrosio, a fellow amateur, assumed the lead.
“I knew I had to stay patient,” Lusk said. “I knew there was going to be good shots and bad shots. I knew that later in the round there were some holes that I could get after and hopefully birdie. I just had to reset and keep going. I was only a shot back. I knew I was close.”
The back nine had been good for Lusk all week and that was the case again in the final round. After making five birdies on the back nine Tuesday, he made four in a row in the final round, which vaulted him back on top of the leaderboard.
His birdie barrage started at 13 and finished at 16, and at the end of it he had a four-shot lead.
He sank a 25-foot birdie putt on 15.
“On 13, I made a 15-footer for birdie and that got me back in it,” Lusk said. “On 14, I put it to three feet and tapped in, but the putt on 15 sent me over the edge. It relieved a lot of the stress for the next hole. And then I almost holed my next approach shot.”
With a big lead Lusk was able to cruise through the last two holes. He made an inconsequential bogey on the 18th hole, but after his final putt went the hole, he secured one of the biggest wins of his career.
It goes alongside his WPIAL Class 3A championship in 2024. He is headed to Penn State this fall where he hopes to earn a spot on the men’s golf team after playing his freshman year at Siena.
“I think this is huge,” Lusk said. “I think it shows that I can play at that level. It shows that I can do great things in the game of golf. Hopefully I can keep doing great things.”
Schmidt defended his title by finishing in a tie for 10th at 2-under. He shot one-over par in the final round. Austin Malley, a third Peters Township grad that made the cut, finished in a tie for 24th at five-over.