Future college teammates bring thunder at U.S. Amateur Qualifier
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Competitions • June 24, 2024
JOHNSTOWN — Ryan Bilby had a good feel for the course he was playing Monday, but even he was a bit taken aback when he entered the Sunnehanna Country Club clubhouse following his round.
Bilby, a rising senior at Marshall University, shot a 4-under 66, tying Matt Mattioli for the top spot in the U.S. Amateur Local Qualifying round at Sunnehanna Country Club.
“A little surprised, yeah,” said a wide-smiling Bilby, who notched six birdies on the day.
Following his round, Bilby was able to take in a strong round from a friend and future teammate, J.F. Aber, who shot 3-under and placed third.
“I first met him when I was 16 years old when we were playing Junior tournaments,” said Aber, who is in the process of transferring from Wittenberg to Marshall. “To be able to play with him in college is pretty cool. We’ve kept in touch since then.”
That connection with a current member of the Thundering Herd made the transfer decision a lot easier.
“Having him already on the team, it made me want to go there a little bit more, just because I would have a friend there automatically,” said Aber.
“He’s gone above and beyond making me feel comfortable with switching schools. He’s willing to drive places and do anything. He’s obviously a great friend, a great person. To see him also play well is amazing.”
Bilby is coming off a solid season for the Thundering Herd. He received Second Team All-SBC honors and has now carried a strong fall into the summer with his performance Monday.
“I just got off to a good start,” said Bilby, a native of Follansbee, West Virginia. “I started on (hole) 10, birdied 10 and 11 and I birdied three of the five Par 3’s. It definitely helps when you do that around here. I just hit it pretty well all day. I was just hitting a bunch of greens and playing as stress-free as possible.”
Follansbee is in the northern West Virginia panhandle, meaning that Bilby can leave his house and be in Pennsylvania or Ohio in about ten minutes. He has played and trained frequently on Western Pennsylvania courses, including six rounds in Johnstown last week during the Sunnehanna Amateur, where he finished 4-over.
“I was going to come practice last night, but got poured on,” he said. “But I learned where to miss it last week. That was huge. It’s not super demanding off the tee, but where to miss it around the greens is what I learned last week playing it six times.”
Bilby joins Kerri-Anne Cook, who took top qualifying honors at the U.S. Junior Girls Sectional Qualifier two weeks ago, as West Virginians who have played tremendous rounds at Western Pennsylvania-based USGA events this season. He feels it’s a sign that golf in his state is on the rise.
“I think it’s underrated.” Bilby said. “I think we have a bunch of good players that people don’t know about. We’re really competitive in our State Am’s and Open’s. We play some good golf in West Virginia.”
Bilby was part of the first wave of golfers Monday during the 18-hole contest. His score of 4-under led by three strokes until the second wave began. That’s when Mattioli put the pressure on.
“I just played a lot smarter than I did the last time I was around here for Sunnehanna Am qualifier,” said Mattioli, a Fox Chapel grad who plays at Miami (Ohio). “I just took advantage of the holes I should’ve taken advantage of and putted pretty nicely on the back 9… I just stayed pretty even-keeled and let the day came to me.”
The top finisher in the West Penn Open qualifier at Treesdale earlier this month, Mattioli was able to see the first wave’s scores and get an idea of what it might take to secure a qualifying spot.
“I had a pretty interesting routine this morning,” he said. “I left my house at 10:30 a.m. and knew it was an hour and a half drive. But I meant to leave at 11:30 a.m. So I got here a little early, took a steam in the morning, did some stretching and then came out and checked the board.
“It was playing a little tough. (Bilby) took it low, so I knew there were some numbers out there that I could definitely birdie.”
Bilby, Mattioli and Aber ended up atop the 14 qualifiers and two alternates — a group finalized during an 11-player playoff that stretched into near-darkness and capped a long, exciting day of golf.
For a player like Bilby, who has made the drive from West Virginia to Johnstown now numerous times over the last two weeks, the long day was more than worth it.
“This place is so good, I couldn’t get sick of playing here,” said a bit drained Bilby with a laugh. “Now, if it was somewhere not as nice? Definitely.”
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For media inquiries, please contact WPGA Director of Communications Josh Rowntree.
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.