NEW CASTLE — Nick Curran’s golf game has admittedly regressed a bit as he’s gotten older and life’s priorities have stepped in the way. But the itch to compete flared back up Monday.
Through off and on rain, Curran registered 37 Stableford points, winning the Richard Falchetti Trophy and the overall championship at the 10th WPGA Net Championship at The Avalon Field Club at New Castle.
“It was a rough day out there and I was just trying to survive and hang around for a while,” said Curran, a member at The Club at Nevillewood. “I knew that I better keep it in the fairway, because we were going to get some mud balls. And this rough was brutal.”
Curran surged late in his round, carding a net eagle on the 15th hole and net birdie on the 16th, propelling him ahead over Christopher Rhode and Robert Strom, who finished second and third in the overall standings.
“This was my first time playing here,” said Curran. “It’s a beautiful course. It’s a typical Western Pennsylvania course with a lot of up and down shots. You’ve got to be able to adjust to hills. And the greens are very, very tricky. Luckily, I stayed below the hole pretty much all day.”
Joshua Kane finished fourth and Howard Looman fifth in the overall standings.
The competition — designed for amateur players of all skill levels — also has four flights within it, proving an even more level playing field for players depending on their Handicap Index®.
Linda Malley claimed the Jeannette Nicholson Price Flight with a score of 30, winning a tiebreaker over Linda Womsley.
Rhode took the John Moorhead Jr. Flight with 34 points. With 30 points, Joe Barch won a tiebreaker over Ryan Joschak and Thomas McKinnon for the Joseph Oliver Flight. And Strom’s 34 points were good enough to claim the Joseph Shea Flight.
While the course and weather provided a stiff challenge, getting back to competitive golf for many was a treat, including Curran.
“I’ve played golf since I was a kid and I’ve been pretty good,” said Curran, who works in the kitchen sales industry for his family’s company. “I played in high school at Chartiers Valley and played in the West Penn Am a couple of times.
“I haven’t really played in anything in like five years. I just wanted to come back to competitive golf. It’s nice to have that little extra pressure on. Sometimes it makes you play better. It’s cool to see that I can still hang around.”
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