SCORING| GALLERY (to come)
APOLLO — Through a chilly morning and a windy afternoon, 26 players punched their tickets to the 126th WPGA Amateur Championship at Thursday’s qualifying round at Willowbrook Country Club.
Youngstown State redshirt sophomore Nolan Shilling led the pack with a 4-under score of 68, qualifying for the region’s top amateur championship, set for June 8-9 at The Kahkwa Club in Erie.
Shilling, an Oakmont Country Club member, finished his impressive round without a hole over par, carding four birdies on the day.
Just behind Shilling was Andrew Reynolds, an accomplished amateur player whose collegiate playing days are behind him.
“I made some putts,” said Reynolds, a former Willowbrook member who played collegiately at La Salle. “I’ve been kind of struggling with my putter early on in the season, but I made some putts today.
“I’m very familiar with the golf course. I love Willowbrook and love playing here. Everything was kind of clicking.”
The familiarity of qualifying at his former club, he felt, played to his benefit once again.
“I’ve played here thousands of times,” said Reynolds, who qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship in 2023 thanks to his play at Willowbrook, which hosted Qualifying that year. “They keep it in great shape. The greens are smooth, fast. I feel like I have an advantage as far as reading putts. There's some subtleties here and there. It's just a classic Western Pennsylvania course. I played good today.”
Unlike Shilling, Reynolds’ round was a bit more up and down. He sat at 1-over through his first two holes, but then birdied four of his next six. Following a pair of pars towards the back end of his round, he dotted his second shot on the Par 5 eighth hole to six inches, making eagle.
“It’s up there,” he said of the best shots he’s hit at Willowbrook. “It's probably number one as far as easiest eagles on number eight. Anytime you can have a 7 or 8 iron into a Par 5, it helps. I think that wind helped a little bit with the left to right. I just hit a good shot and was happy to knock it in for an easy three.”
Lance George was the only other player to finish under par, shooting 1-under. Trey Susa, a freshman at Sewickley Academy, impressed with an even par score of 72.
Two members of Team Pennsylvania competing Thursday qualified, with Nico Ward (2-over) and Bailey Donahue (5-over) advancing to next month’s championship. A third member of Team Pennsylvania, Jack Sacriponte, earned the top alternate spot.
Brothers Colin and Connor McKenzie qualified, as did Penn State commit Ravi Desai, who shot 1-over. Davis Kittsley, whose younger brother Carson nearly won last year’s WPGA Amateur Championship, shot 4-over and will join his brother in the West Penn Am.
The 26 qualifiers had a similar battle Thursday, with a sporadic and gusty wind providing a variable to the round.
“It wasn’t too bad, but you just kind of needed to know where to club up and where to club down here and there,” Reynolds said. “It was kind of a typical Willowbrook wind day.”
Up next, the WPGA will host one more Amateur qualifying event, next Thursday at Lawrence Park Golf Club in Erie. That event will round out the field for the WPGA’s first major championship of 2026, with a prestigious course in The Kahkwa Club — located in Erie — welcoming the region’s top amateurs.
“I’ve never played Kahkwa, but I have a lot of friends who are Gannon graduates,” added Reynolds. “A lot of them are members at Lawrence Park, so I’m familiar with Erie golf. I’m super excited to get up there and get after it.”
For any media inquiries, please contact WPGA Director of Communications Josh Rowntree.
