APOLLO — The third Western Pennsylvania Golf Association major championship of the 2026 season is set to begin Monday, as Willowbrook Country Club will host the 123rd WPGA Open Championship.
78 players look to add their name to an impressive list of past champions over the three-day competition.
The WPGA conducted two qualifying rounds this spring, as players earned their way into a field that includes exempt players who will compete in the 54-hole stroke play championship.
The West Penn Open is the second-longest running championship in the region. It has been played continuously since its inception in 1899, with the exception of two years during World War I (1917-1918) and three years during World War II (1943-1945).
Past champions include Fred Brand, Sr., Eben Byers, W.C. Fownes, Jock Hutchinson, Ed Furgol, Ted Luther, Sam Parks, Jim Masserio, Lew Worsham, Arnold Palmer and Neal Shipley.
Winners of the WPGA Open Championship have gone on to claim 13 USGA National Championships and six Major Championships at the professional level.
The competition has been won five times by three men: Roy Vucinich, Perry DelVecchio and Jock Hutchinson.
This is the second time that Willowbrook Country Club has hosted the WPGA Open Championship, but first in over two decades. In 2003, Sean Farren took the title at the Apollo club.
The reigning champion of the West Penn Open is Connor Schmidt, who earned his third WPGA major title a year ago at Sewickley Heights Golf Club.
Schmidt will be the first player off of the first tee when the championship begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Also in the field will be reigning WPGA Amateur champion Carson Kittsley, who in June became the youngest winner in the 126-year history of the West Penn Am.
2019 and 2023 champion Beau Titsworth will begin his round at 9:10 a.m., while 2021 winner Gregor Meyer will tee off ten minutes later. Former champions Easton Renwick, Mike VanSickle, Kevin Shields, Devin Gee and Rob McClellan will compete in the tournament, as well.
Following the second round, the field will be cut to the top 32 players, including ties, for Wednesday’s final round.
For any media inquiries, please contact WPGA Director of Communications Josh Rowntree.
