FOX CHAPEL — The winning score was almost too perfect.
Fueled by a second round mark of 66 and a tournament score of 7-under, Austin Lemieux claimed his second WPGA Mid-Amateur Championship on Tuesday at Fox Chapel Golf Club.
“This feels pretty good,” said Lemieux, who also won the Mid-Amateur Championship in 2023. “All summer I’ve been playing pretty well. Almost every event I’ve played in, I’ve been able to put some good scores together. I was trying to come here and play the same way I’ve been playing all summer and was fortunate enough to put two good rounds together and get another win.”
Lemieux, the son of NHL Hall of Famer and Penguins legend Mario Lemieux — who famously wore the number 66 — was powered by a blistering start to his second round that was accentuated by a hole-in-one on Fox Chapel’s third hole.
“It was about 136 yards, so I just hit a little chip pitching wedge to take the spin off,” said Lemieux, who made his fourth career ace but first in competition. “It landed a foot short and spun in. It was nice, it was a nice swing. That was the first in competition, so it was nice to get that out of the way.”
Having already birdied the prior hole, Lemieux went on to birdie two of the next four before recording ten pars in his final 11 holes, keeping himself firmly in the lead.
“I thought it (gave me a boost),” he said. “But I also just wanted to make sure that the round stayed steady and I didn’t get ahead of myself or too high, because there were plenty of holes left in that round to play.”
Alex Stopperich threatened, as he continued a summer of strong play with a 3-under mark of 137, good for second place. Mike Wolfe was third at 2-under and Tanner Johnson was the only other player to finish below par at 1-under.
But Lemieux’s lead grew and, at one point, the former Arizona State hockey player was ahead by six strokes. However, he kept his eyes off the leaderboard.
“I knew I was playing well,” he said. “I said, ‘if somebody’s going to beat me, then good for them.’ I just tried to play and had a lot of good looks.”
Coming off of the 18th green, Lemieux received a congratulatory handshake and embrace from his father, who spectated during the final round alongside longtime family friend and former NHLer Pierre Larouche.
“It was nice,” said Lemieux, who was part of the WPGA’s victorious Palmer Cup team last week. “It’s always nice to have family and friends come out. I look for to them supporting me.”
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