SCORING | GALLERY (to come)
BEALLSVILLE — This time, it was Rick Stimmel’s turn to get in on the history making.
Stimmel, propelled by a dominant opening round, turned in a record-setting performance by shooting an 11-under score of 133 in the 95th WPGA Senior Amateur Championship Tuesday at Nemacolin Country Club.
Following a bogey-free first round Monday, Stimmel entered Tuesday’s final round with an eight-stroke advantage, and was never threatened on his way to victory.
With the win, Stimmel becomes the first player in the 127-year history of the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association to win the WPGA Amateur, WPGA Open and WPGA Senior Amateur Championships in their career.
“That’s pretty cool,” said Stimmel, a member at Conoquenessing Country Club. “I would’ve figured that Sean (Knapp) might’ve caught that. That’s pretty good. The West Penn Open is the hardest one to get, or so I thought. But apparently this one was the hardest one for me to get. Grabbing those top three, it’s a pretty cool achievement.”
Stimmel won the WPGA Amateur Championship in 1997 and the WPGA Open in 2002, making this his third major championship in a third different decade.
His two-round score of 133 broke the 95-year competition scoring record, previously held by David Brown, who shot 135 at Allegheny Country Club in 2017.
“I think if I had known that record, I probably wouldn’t have done as well,” Stimmel said. “It’s always good to break records. Hopefully somebody down the road will do the same thing I just did. Records are made to be broken.”
Stimmel's historic achievement adds to what has been a record-breaking year in the WPGA. Carson Kittsley, at 17 years old, became the youngest winner of the WPGA Amateur Championship in June. A month later, Colton Lusk became the first teenager to claim the WPGA Open crown. And in late July, Mya Morgan became the WPGA Women's Amateur Championship's youngest winner.
At Nemacolin Country Club Tuesday, Jim Augustine and Artie Fink tied for second place at even par for the championship. Ralph Litrenta and William Smith tied for fourth at 2-over.
An accomplished senior player who has peaked atop the rankings among American seniors in recent years, Stimmel has been sharp on the course all summer, contesting at a number of state and even national competitions while also representing the victorious WPGA team in the Palmer Cup matches earlier this month.
But this competition had eluded him, having finished runner-up in each of the last four years. Entering the final round with a commanding lead of eight strokes, it was all but a given that his near-miss streak would come to an end.
“That eight-shot lead last night made it a little bittersweet,” said Stimmel, who played in a group with the championship’s last two winners, Fink and Smith. “I knew that, sitting on that lead, if I just did what I’m supposed to do or capable of doing, hopefully I’d come out on top. It all paid off today.”
In the Super-Senior Division, for players ages 65 and older, John Henk of Sewickley Heights Golf Club claimed his first major title with a 2-under performance.
“It feels pretty good,” said Henk. “This is my first West Penn championship. I played in one with Casey (Courneen) as my partner once, but we finished third. To win an individual one is very special to me.”
Henk’s second round score of 70 was the best mark among Super-Senior Division players during the championship.
“I never looked at the leaderboard,” he said. “I just tried to play the course. Every shot, when I started thinking ahead, I didn’t really do too well. I just kept my head down and played on.
“I didn’t putt very well yesterday, but I putted much better today, particularly on the short ones.”
The win was particularly special for Henk, who was briefly a member at Nemacolin Country Club while going through a battle with cancer a few years back.
“I love this course,” he said. “I think that helped me today. I knew this place, especially some of the green complexes.”
Michael Capotis shot 2-over, good for second. Rod Piatt was third at 3-over and Casey Courneen and Alan English each shot 4-over, tying for fourth.
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