Malosh, Meyers find winning mentality in WPGA Women's Amateur
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • July 16, 2024
VERONA - Golf is undeniably a game fixated on mindset. Marissa Malosh and Colleen Meyers discovered this week that, when that mindset is right, great things can happen.
Malosh dazzled Thursday, claiming her first West Penn major title, winning the 17th WPGA Women’s Amateur Championship by shooting a two-round score of 1-under to take the title at Green Oaks Country Club.
She posted a tournament-best score of 69 in the event’s final round, edging Sasha Petrochko by two strokes.
“I’ve been working on my game for a while,” said Malosh, a rising sophomore at Delaware. “It wasn’t the best summer at first. But I just came into this tournament remembering that I’ve always had fun in these WPGA events, and I’ve had great experiences at Green Oaks, as well.
“My goal was to genuinely enjoy golf. It’s so easy to lose track of that sometimes.”
Meyers, meanwhile, was able to stay levelheaded through an admittedly rocky round, posting a 12-over score of 84 to take the 8th WPGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.
“I actually struck the ball really well,” said Meyers, who also won the West Penn Women’s Senior Amateur in 2021. “I had good tee shots. But the putting was a little bit difficult for me because there are such subtle things on these greens. Between speed and reading, I was all over the board a little bit. But it was enough.
“I knew that I was just going to have to put my head down and grind and fight my way through a messy round.”
She entered the clubhouse a stroke off the lead, but surged ahead when Randi Lichtenstein, who placed second, recorded a double bogey on the 18th hole.
“I was watching (the leaderboard),” said Meyers. “It’s not a good feeling to know that it’s out of your control. I wished I had a few holes back. I’d never root against somebody. I was hoping for a playoff. That might’ve been a fun thing.”
Malosh started the competition with a bang Wednesday. She posted an eagle on the opening hole, a 390-yard Par 5. She birdied that hole, along with four more of them, on Thursday.
“That was in interesting way to start,” she said of the competition’s lone eagle. “I haven’t done that ever on a first hole. The nerves were there, but I was like, ‘oh, we’re already off to a great start.’ That really helped me believe that I could play good. It gave me a kick, some fire in me.”
Despite not having a practice round, Malosh — a South Fayette graduate — had plenty of experience at Green Oaks Country Club dating back to her Drive, Chip and Putt days as a child. But, without a recent look, she posted a 74 in the first round.
“I always walk into this course thinking that I have a good mojo here,” said Malosh, who also won the WPGA’s Girls’ Match Play Invitational in 2022. “There were a couple of mistakes I made yesterday that I wouldn’t have if I knew the course a little better. But I knew I was hitting the ball great. I just thought to myself, ‘why not go under par?’ I was telling myself that and convinced my brain to do that.”
Petrochko shot 74-71—145 to take second place in the Women’s Amateur. She finished her round just after Meyers, who will be her head coach in the fall when Duquesne launches its Women’s Golf program in its inaugural season.
“I’m in charge of a program and my score now does kind of matter,” Meyers said. “I want my players to respect me. I don’t like coming out and playing a messy round. But I also think there’s a lot to be learned in that sometimes you don’t come with your A-game and you need to make it work.”
Malosh’s former South Fayette teammate, Caroline McConnell, placed third in the Women’s Amateur, registering consecutive rounds of 73 to finish 2-over.
Mya Morgan, a rising junior at Elizabeth Forward High School, again impressed in a WPGA event, taking home the Women’s Amateur Net Championship with a 4-over score that Net adjusted to 4-under. Morgan finished second at the WPGA Girls’ Match Play Invitational two weeks ago at Fox Chapel Golf Club.
Lichtenstein ended up 13-over in the Senior Women’s Amateur, narrowly missing out on a second straight title following her win last year at Sunnehanna Country Club. Annie Vanzant placed third at 16-over.
The Senior Net Division went to Carol Onufro, who shot a Net adjusted 7-over and won via a scorecard playoff. Onufro, the Vice President of the WPGA’s Board of Directors, assisted in handing out the trophies in the Green Oaks Clubhouse before receiving her own.
And the Super-Senior Division Amateur Championship title was won by Virginia Ley, who posted a 27-over score of 99.
For the winners, a chance to compete against deeply talented fields seemed to excite them just as much as the wins themselves.
“It makes me so happy to see how much it’s growing,” said Malosh, who once had to beg her basketball-playing friends to fill out her high school golf team. “The game of girls’ golf is growing so much and that’s something that’s so important to me. South Fayette has a JV team now. There are 30 girls who want to try out. It’s good, because it’s a great sport for girls to play when they get older.”
Meyers, who is eager to lead the Greater Pittsburgh region’s first Division I team women’s team, hopes that the growth of the game continues to have a ripple effect on the college ranks and on tournament participation.
“Even though women’s golf is healthy, I wish we had even more people coming out to play in these events,” she said. “Everyone does such a great job at these tournaments.
“It’s exciting to watch the young, Division I players, how far they hit and how they get around the course. But there’s a place to play for every age, every ability, every distance off the tee. I encourage everyone to come out and play in these competitions because they’re so enjoyable.”
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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.