WPGA reveals commemorative logo for 125th Amateur Championship
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • March 5, 2025
PITTSBURGH — The Western Pennsylvania Golf Association has unveiled a commemorative logo to celebrate the 125th WPGA Amateur Championship this summer.
The logo, crafted after the USGA’s standard logos for national championships, features the historic W.C. Fownes Jr. Trophy’s awarded to the champion of the West Penn Amateur.
The 125th WPGA Amateur Championship will be held on July 14-15 at historic Sunnehanna Country Club, just one month after the playing of the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
“Amateur golf is the lifeblood of the game, and the WPGA Amateur Championship has been the marquee amateur event in our region for 125 years,” says Terry Teasdale, Executive Director of the WPGA.
“As we looked at a way to properly honor the history of the competition during this exciting year for golf in our region, we knew that we needed a historical, premier club to host. We achieved that with Sunnehanna Country Club. We also hoped to honor the rich history of the event and golf in Western Pennsylvania with the creation of a commemorative logo that celebrates the W.C. Fownes Jr. Trophy.”
The W.C. Fownes Jr. Trophy is named after William C. Fownes Jr., one of the elite players in the early days of golf in Western Pennsylvania. A winner of eight WPGA Amateur Championships, Fownes Jr. was born in 1877 and was the son of Henry Clay Fownes, the founder of Oakmont Country Club.
William C. Fownes Jr. won the 1910 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. He also finished 11th in the 1913 U.S. Open. Fownes Jr. went on the be the playing-caption of the first U.S. Walker Cup team in 1933, leading the team to victory. He served as President of the USGA from 1926-1927 and was instrumental in the design of over 300 golf courses, many of which are considered to be among the highest regarded in the world today.
William C. Fownes Jr.’s eight WPGA Amateur Championship wins is second-most all-time, a mark passed in 2023 when Sean Knapp claimed his ninth title.
The 124th WPGA Amateur Championship was won in 2024 by Nathan Piatt, a member at Oakmont Country Club, who shot 8-under to win the three-round competition at Chartiers Country Club.
The WPGA Amateur was first played in 1899 and has been contested all but two years — 1917 and 1918, during World War I. It is among the oldest amateur golf championships in the United States.
Seven USGA national champions have also claimed the WPGA Amateur Championship: Eben Byers, Sewickley, (U.S. Amateur), William C. Fownes, Oakmont, (U.S. Amateur), Carl Kauffmann, Pittsburgh (U.S. Amateur Public Links), Sean Knapp (USGA State Team, U.S. Senior Amateur), Jim Masserio, Pittsburgh (U.S. Junior Amateur), Arnold Palmer, Latrobe (U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open), and Nathan Smith, Allison Park (U.S. Mid-Amateur, U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, USGA State Team). Jim Simons of Butler, who won the 1978 Memorial & 1982 Bing Crosby at Pebble Beach, is also a past champion.
Sunnehanna Country Club has hosted the event three times prior. Matt Holuta won in 2017 at the Johnstown, Pa. club. Amateur legend Nathan Smith claimed victory in 2007, and Knapp hoisted the Fownes Trophy in 2000.
The West Penn Amateur features qualifying competitions on May 8 at Greensburg Country Club, May 21 at The Country Club of Meadville and June 4 at Latrobe Elks Golf Club.
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 nearly 37,000 members. The WPGA conducts 14 individual competitions and 10 team events, and administers the WPGA Scholarship Fund and Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame.