Salvitti's low round shining example of West Penn youth movement
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Competitions • June 18, 2024
Rocco Salvitti sees the tide rising in Western Pennsylvania. He’s undeniably a major part of it, but there’s plenty of company along for the ride, too.
And that was blatantly apparent Tuesday at Chartiers Country Club.
Salvitti, a rising sophomore at Notre Dame, placed second Tuesday at the 124th WPGA Amateur Championship, registering a 4-under 206 score for the 54-hole, two-day event.
But what makes the Canonsburg native’s performance so special is what he did in his final round. Salvitti shot a 7-under score of 63, rallying to finish four strokes behind the champion, Nathan Piatt.
“I did some putting work last night with my dad and I decided to use the line on the ball today, which I normally don’t do,” said Salvitti. “I started making a couple of putts and the hole looked bigger and bigger.”
The 63 was not only the best single round in the competition, but a mark just one stroke off the Chartiers course record of 62. It is the lowest score since Chartiers lengthened the golf course in 2023.
“It was pretty windy down the stretch, but I put myself in some good spots and tried to keep all of the conditions out of my head,” said Salvitti, who also powered through temperatures that eclipsed 90 degrees for much of the tournament.
“I just drank a lot of water,” he said. “Water and Gatorade.”
No stranger to scoring in the 60’s, Salvitti is coming off a strong first year in South Bend, where he combined with another local standout, Palmer Jackson, to lead the Irish. Heading from his freshman to sophomore year, this week’s performance is undoubtedly a confidence boost for the young player.
“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “I was pretty upset with my performance (Monday). I don’t play a whole lot of local events, but when I do, I want to win. I want to win everywhere.
“I knew that my game has been great. I played great at (the Sunnehanna Amateur) last week. I knew that if I kept myself in it and stuck to the process, that it’d be pretty good.”
From a local perspective, Salvitti is part of a strong contingent of Western Pennsylvania golfers who are performing well in top events.
Jackson placed third Saturday at the Sunnehanna Amateur, a prestigious national competition that has hosted many of the game’s elite players over the years.
Neal Shipley, meanwhile, has now finished as the Low Amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open following his week at Pinehurst, drawing the attention of mainstream media both regionally and nationally, as well as fans throughout the golf landscape.
“Neal’s a really good friend of mine,” said Salvitti. “Seeing what he’s done has been great. I’ve been cheering him on. I think we finally know what we need to do, what needs to be done, the practice that needs to go in, the performances that we need to have.
“But I think it’s important for everyone to pave their own path. Not everyone’s is going to look like Neal’s. You might do it later in life, you might do it earlier. It paves a pretty good road for college golfers and junior golfers in Western Pennsylvania.”
Looking closer at the West Penn Am leaderboard and it’s apparent that the local youth movement is well represented.
The winner of the competition, Nathan Piatt, is an Upper St. Clair native who just graduated from Radford.
Ryan Ferry, who placed third, recently completed his senior year at Gannon . Fourth place finisher Amani D’Ambrosio is entering his senior year at Barry University.
Willie Hoover just ended his college career at Longwood, while WPGA Junior Champion Nick Turowski is about to begin his at West Virginia. They both placed fifth, shooting even par along with a slightly older player in Michael Gielarowski.
While the golf world — especially those in Western Pennsylvania — rightfully are focusing on Shipley’s success at the highest level, the question deserves to be asked: is this just the tip of the iceberg?
“Western Pennsylvania golf is strong in general,” said Salvitti. “But it’s great to see really good junior and college players performing well.”
About the WPGA
Founded in 1899, the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association is the steward of amateur golf in the region. Started by five Member Clubs, the association now has nearly 200 Member Clubs and 34,000 members. The WPGA conducts 14 individual competitions and 10 team events, and administers the WPGA Scholarship Fund and Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame.