Smith's wild finish leads to West Penn Senior Am title
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • October 1, 2024
PRESTO — The final stroke of the 93rd Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Senior Amateur Championship was a perfect representation of how the final round unfolded Tuesday.
William Smith circled around a par putt on the ninth hole, claiming victory to his first-ever WPGA major title at The Club at Nevillewood.
“The history that’s gone on in West Penn, and the names on some of these trophies, it’s something,” said Smith, a member at Allegheny Country Club.
Smith shot a 2-over score of 146 to win the competition over a pair of rainy days. But the victory certainly had its uncertain moments, right up until the final putt.
Leading by two strokes, Smith saw his lead evaporate when he double-bogeyed the Par 5 seventh hole. Rick Stimmel birdied that hole, jumping in front of Smith with two holes to play.
“It's hard to win,” said Smith. “It's hard to finish. And I really did feel it. On (hole) seven, I got myself in trouble.”
Stimmel, however, finished bogey-par, while Smith rebounded from the rough seventh hole with a birdie and a par to finish.
“To come back and birdie (hole) eight was significant,” added Smith who, moments later, froze as the ball completely circled the rim of the hole before dropping in to give him the win. “Golf. It’s just silly, so silly. The hole is round for a reason, though. I was like, ‘it missed.’ But then it went in.”
Stimmel — currently one of the country’s top-ranked senior amateur players — shot a 73-74—147, placing second.
“We started paying attention to the leaderboard after the turn,” said Smith. “Rick was looking and updating us. When I made birdie on the fifth hole, I was up three strokes. And the sixth and sevent holes were as bad as I played. But that’s called ‘pressure.’”
Bob Crnjarich and Curt Coulter tied for third, shooting 4-over. Crnjarich and Bill Rosemeyer posted the only scores of the two days at even-par or better, with each shooting an even-par 72 Tuesday. Sean Knapp, Paul Bangor and Mike Wickett placed fifth, registering 7-over scores each.
Two-time defending WPGA Senior Amateur champion David Brown ended up 12th at 11-over.
Monday’s competition was played in challenging conditions, as steady and sometimes heavy rain soaked the brilliant layout of Nevillewood. But Smith was able to tie for the top score in the first round, giving him belief that he could make a run at the title the following morning, when conditions eased up but still included a light, misty rain throughout the day.
“I birdied 17 and 18 (Monday) and was like, ‘yeah, I’ve got a shot,” he said. “Rick didn’t play bad, but I told him this, he didn’t have his A game the last two days. I saw where he was and thought, okay, let’s make some good swings.”
With the weather turning, Smith will now look to get into events across the country with the Society of Seniors and hopes to carry over the history he made as the final major champion in the 125th year of Western Pennsylvania Golf Association competitions.
“(West Penn) has got to be one of the finest Associations in the country, truly,” he said. “There’s so much history. I’m just humbled by this.”
For the final leaderboard, click here (GGID: 24WPGASRAM)
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.