West Penn Wrap-Up: Four locals appear in U.S. AM in California
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • August 21, 2025
The 125th U.S. Amateur Championship was contested last week at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, and Western Pennsylvania was well represented in the field.
Four natives of the region participated in the nation’s amateur national championship, including Nick Turowski, Nathan Piatt, Rocco Salvitti and Matt Vogt.
The eldest of the group of West Penn players, Vogt finished 5-over to miss the cut by just two strokes. The Cranberry native made national headlines this summer, qualifying for the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club despite having an active career as a dentist in the Indianapolis areas. The U.S. Open appearance earned him an exemption into the U.S. Amateur.
Salvitti was also exempt into the U.S. Amateur thanks to his victory in the 2025 Pennsylvania State Amateur Championship on July 30. The junior at Notre Dame shot a three-round score of 17-under at Huntsville Golf Club to win the Pennsylvania Am.
The 2022 WPIAL individual champion shot 11-over at The Olympic Club, while earning valuable experience against the world’s top amateur player.
Piatt, the reigning WPGA Player of the Year who played collegiately at Radford and Tampa, shot 7-over at the U.S. Amateur — including a solid second round score of 72 — but missed the cut. Piatt claimed the 124th WPGA Amateur Championship and was Low Amateur in the 121st WPGA Open in 2024.
Turowski, a sophomore at West Virginia, shot 14-over in his first appearance in the U.S. Amateur. He claimed last year’s WPGA Junior Championship and Junior Player of the Year honors.
Ultimately, it was Georgia teenager Mason Howell who took home the 125th U.S. Amateur Championship, defeating Tennessee’s Jackson Herrington 7 and 6 in the final match.
Shipley secures PGA TOUR Card
It was all but a formality, but Neal Shipley officially secured his PGA TOUR card for the 2026 season last week.
A past champion of the West Penn Open and West Penn Junior championships, Shipley found out that his performance on the Korn Ferry Tour had netted him a spot on the PGA TOUR while he appeared on the Pat McAfee Show last week.
The Central Catholic grad is currently third on the Korn Ferry Tour’s points list, with the top 20 players earning a card. His ranking, despite there being several Korn Ferry events remaining, was enough to lock him into a spot next year.
Shipley appeared late last week on 93.7 The Fan and discussed the reasons for his rapid rise as a professional, and his ability to adjust to the challenges thrown at the game’s best.
“The courses around Western Pennsylvania, and honestly the access that these courses give to organizations like West Penn Golf — to have tournaments like the West Penn Amateur, or West Penn Open, or West Penn Junior — and to have these tournaments at some really quality golf courses around town, we get accustomed to playing on super-fast greens, firm greens,” he told 93.7 The Fan’s Jack Hillgrove.
“That’s really helped me when I come out to the tour and play greens that are as fast as what I play back home, or maybe even slower.”
Shipley still has more work to do this season. The better he finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour, the more invitations he’ll get to events next year on the PGA TOUR.
The next Korn Ferry Tour event will be September 11-14 in Franklin, Tennessee. The following week, Shipley will likely make a return to Ohio State, where he played collegiately, for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship at the OSU Golf Club’s Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.
Morgan finds her collegiate home
One of the state’s top junior girls players has decided where she will play collegiate golf next year.
Mya Morgan committed to Central Michigan on August 7, taking her powerful drives and solid overall play to Mt Pleasant, Michigan.
“This journey has been filled with a lot of hard work, dedication, and so many amazing people and opportunities,” Morgan said in a social media post. “I am incredibly grateful to Coach (Ryan) Williams for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Central Michigan family.”
Morgan is the reigning WPGA Junior Girls Player of the Year and has won WPIAL and PIAA titles already at the high school level. She has consistently finished near the top of leaderboards in West Penn competitions, including consecutive runner-up finishes at the WPGA Girls Match Play Championship.
“A special thank you to the West Penn Golf Association and the United States (National Development Program) for providing me with incredible opportunities, experiences, and support that have shaped my game and prepared me for the next level,” added Morgan, who intends to pursue an engineering degree in college.
In April, Central Michigan announced its intentions to build an $11 million golf facility on its campus.
Stimmel nearly snags Sunnehanna Senior Amateur
Rick Stimmel has put together an impressive summer with victories in the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Dressler Senior Championship and Senior Open Championship, as well as a win in the WPGA’s second Senior Series competition last month.
He nearly added a national trophy to his mantle last week, however, when he fell in a playoff in the prestigious Sunnehanna Senior Amateur Championship at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pa.
Kentucky native Tony Wise took home the title, draining an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th green during the first playoff hole.
Stimmel, a day earlier, broke the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record — held by fellow West Penn golfer Sean Knapp — with a 9-under mark, shooting 66—65 in the first two rounds.
“Sean’s been one of my dearest friends for 30 years,” said Stimmel, who played in the event’s final group for a second straight year. “I know how good he is, so if I can nip that record by a couple, then I must have done something special.”
On Monday, Stimmel teamed up with Kevin Fajt for a third-place finish at the 84th WPGA Four-Ball Championship at Nemacolin Country Club.
He is scheduled to compete in the 40th WPGA Mid-Amateur Championship on September 2.
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.