Fuhrer holds 36-hole lead after first day of 125th WPGA Amateur
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • July 14, 2025
JOHNSTOWN — Last summer, David Fuhrer was a young golfer, yet to compete in a collegiate event, but thriving at the junior ranks.
A year later, Fuhrer sits at 8-under and atop the leaderboard heading in Tuesday’s final round at the 125th WPGA Amateur Championship at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown.
Fuhrer, a rising sophomore at George Mason University, fired off a wildly impressive first round score of 63 Monday morning, seizing control of the lead at the premier amateur golf competition in the region.
“To be honest, I had no clue how far under par I was,” said Fuhrer, who leads the competition by three strokes. “Whenever I get it going, I just try to focus on one shot at a time. I knew I was playing great but was just taking it slow.”
JF Aber and Scott Jordan finished their first two rounds at 5-under and rest in second place. Defending champion Nathan Piatt is five strokes off the lead at 3-under, where he sits in a three-way tie for fourth place alongside Hunter Swidzinski and Darin Kowalski.
Fuhrer followed his first round with a 1-under mark of 69 in the afternoon round, as he completed his day with only three bogeys throughout the 36 holes.
“Golf is golf, you have to build momentum where you can,” he said. “My putter was going today, which has been a struggle of mine recently. I made a little mid-round change, went from left-hand-low back to conventional, and I was rolling it well.”
Fuhrer began his first round on the 10th hole and posted a score of 33 in his first nine holes. He followed that with a fantastic finish, shooting 30 over the final nine holes with five birdies during that stretch.
His second round was not as eventful, with three birdies and two bogeys. But it was good enough to keep him ahead of the strong field that will chase him during Tuesday’s final round.
“You can make some easy mistakes out here,” he said of Sunnehanna Country Club. “It’s a great course design. Off the tee, you just need to get it in play.
“It’s not the longest course, so you have some wedges in your hand. You can capitalize on some of the shorter holes and a few of the Par 5’s. But it really comes down to putting.”
Fuhrer claimed the WPGA’s C.R. Miller Memorial Match Play Invitational last July. He followed that with a victory in the Pennsylvania State Junior Championship, establishing himself as one of the top junior players in the region before heading off to college.
But his introduction into college golf brought with it some trials that, he feels, have positively leveled his composure and softened his fieriness while competing.
“I didn’t have a great college season,” he said. “I didn’t win anything. It’s really hard to win. College golf is a struggle. You’re working at it every day. But those long, 36-hole days definitely help prepare you for tournaments like this. College golf is like a job, to a degree. I’d say it helped a lot.”
Follow a night’s rest Monday, Fuhrer will have a chance Tuesday to etch his name onto the W.C. Fownes Jr. Trophy, named after the son of H.C. Fownes, the founder and architect of Oakmont Country Club, where Fuhrer is a member.
He will also have an opportunity to add the Fuhrer name to the trophy for a third time. His uncle, Frank Fuhrer III, is one of the area’s most decorated amateur players ever, having been inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame in 2014. Frank Fuhrer III won the West Penn Am in 1978 and 1979.
“Tonight will be the same as every other night,” said Fuhrer. “I’ll think about what I did well today and say, ‘Hey, I can go out and win tomorrow.’
“I’m going into tomorrow with a good mindset.”
With the field cut to 36 players who shot 7-over or better through the first two rounds, the final round will commence Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m., with groups set to go off the first tee every ten minutes.
For all starting times and a live leaderboard, please click here. (GGID: 25WPGAAMATEUR)
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.