West Penn Wrap-Up: Turowski and Morgan thrive on national stage, Shipley closes in on PGA card
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • July 23, 2025
Harrison City’s Nick Turowski is on quite a run of late.
The Penn-Trafford grad, who just completed his freshman year at West Virginia University, seems to be hitting his mid-summer stride on the golf course.
Two weeks ago, Turowski claimed the highly competitive 21st R. Jay Sigel Pennsylvania Amateur Match Play, administered by the Pennsylvania Golf Association.
Turowksi defeated fellow Western Pennsylvanian Amani D’Ambrosio in the championship match 2 & 1.
The match was deadlocked through its first eight holes before Turowksi’s birdie on the 9th. He went 2 up following the 11th hole before D’Ambrosio climbed back with a par on the 13th. But Turowksi’s par on the 16th and 17th holes proved to be the difference, as the match finished on the 17th.
In addition to Turowski and D’Ambrosio, the western half of the state was represented in the match play stage by Kevin Fajt of Hannastown Golf Club — who shot a second-round score of 63 — and Hunter Swidzinski of Olde Stonewall Golf Club, who shot 8-under took medalist honors for the two qualifying rounds.
Turowski’s July, however, was simply just getting started.
He fired a 4-under mark at the 125th WPGA Amateur Championship at Sunnehanna Country Club, finishing sixth after nearly clawing back from a first-round score of 73 with rounds of 67 and 66 to close the competition.
The 19-year-old sat at 5-under for his final round following an eagle on the 11th hole, but bogeys on two of his last five holes kept him away from the leaders, including eventual champion David Fuhrer.
It was the second straight year that Turowksi — the 2024 WPGA Junior Champion and 2024 WPGA Junior Player of the Year — finished in the top six at the West Penn Am.
Following the two days at Sunnehanna, Turowski made his way to The Club at P.B. Dye in Maryland for Final Qualifying for the 125th U.S. Amateur Championship.
Turowski shot a 1-under score of 69, good for third place and a spot in the amateur national championship.
He will head to The Olympic Club in San Francisco in August to play in his first U.S. Amateur Championship, coming one year after his debut in the U.S. Junior Championship.
Turowski will be joined by another strong player from Western Pennsylvania in Nathan Piatt. The 2024 WPGA Player of the Year and West Penn Am champion from last year shot 1-under at The Standard Club in Georgia on Monday, punching his ticket to the U.S. Amateur, as well.
Shipley making strides towards PGA Tour card
2024 was undoubtedly a massive one for Neal Shipley.
The charismatic Pittsburgh native finished with Low Amateur honors at both The Masters and the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst, bursting into the national spotlight for his talented play and whimsical demeanor.
But, for Shipley, 2025 may end up being far more financially beneficial — and his performance has been the biggest factor.
For the second time this year, Shipley won on the Korn Ferry Tour when he rallied to capture The Ascendant at TPC Colorado on July 13.
Shipley shot 18-under for the competition, clawing back with a final round score of 64. His mark of 29 on the front nine proved to be enough to overcome a double bogey on the 13th hole, and his birdie putt on the 18th sealed the win.
The Pittsburgh Central Catholic grad also won the LOCOM Suncoast Classic in April while shooting a final round score of 64. He received $180,000 payouts for each victory. This past weekend, Shipley was again sitting amongst the leaders at the Price Cutter Charity Championship in Springfield, Missouri. A final round score of 1-over left him with an overall score of 18-under for the tournament, and in a tie for seventh place.
With two wins and five top ten finishes this year, Shipley sits third on the Korn Ferry Tour’s points list. The top 20 players on the points list receive PGA TOUR cards for the following season.
With three Korn Ferry wins, Shipley would receive immediate PGA TOUR membership the following week based on the tour’s Three-Victory Promotion. He is currently ranked 91st in the Official World Golf Rankings and will play in this week’s NV5 Invitational in Illinois.
Morgan performs well at Pinehurst
Mya Morgan has already established herself as one of the top players in the state of Pennsylvania.
Last week, she was able to put those credentials to the test against the nation’s best.
Morgan took part in the PGA High School Golf National Invitational at historic Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina from July 14-16.
The rising high school senior tied for 39th in the event, which brought together over 200 state golf champions from throughout the country.
But Morgan was far from alone in representing West Penn at Pinehurst.
By way of their team state championship victories, members of the Peters Township and Fairview girls’ golf teams competed in the three-day event, as well.
Cora Hirz, an Erie-area resident who plays at Fairview, shot 13-over and tied for 43rd. She was joined by high school teammates Isabella Benz, Abigail Benz, Moira Erhartic and Meredith Thompson.
Ellie Benson, a standout player for Peters Township who is committed to play at Gardner Webb following her upcoming senior season, finished 15-over and in a tie for 49th. She was accompanied on the course by teammates Sophia Severns, who topped Morgan in this month’s WPGA Girls Match Play Invitational, as well as Betty Glyptis and Brooke Vowcheck.
The North Allegheny boys golf team also participated in the PGA High School Golf National Invitational at Pinehurst this week. Representing the Tigers were Ravi Desai, Preston Troiano, Liam Cooper, Christopher Hoffman and Colin Ward.
Desai finished with a mark of 1-over for his three rounds, tying for 32nd place. His score was the best among any of the ten players from Pennsylvania.
For any 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.