EXPORT — Kevin Fajt and Alec Stopperich are on a pretty good run of late. And that run got even better Tuesday.
Fajt, teamed up with reigning WPGA men’s player of the year Darin Kowalski, and Stopperich, paired up with former collegiate teammate Harlan Winn, all qualified for the 12th U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship with impressive rounds Tuesday at Westmoreland Country Club.
Fajt and Kowalski, two long-time competitors and teammates who have combined to play together in the Palmer Cup matches and claimed the 2024 WPGA Four-Ball title together, shot an 8-under score of 63 to earn medalist honors.
“We haven’t qualified for this together,” said Kowalski, a member at South Hills Country Club. “I can confidently say that I felt like we were due. For whatever reason, when we’ve played in these qualifiers together, we just haven’t played well.
“We both know what we’re capable of and we know each other’s game. We’re very comfortable playing with each other. We just felt like we were due and it came to fruition.”
Stopperich, meanwhile, just appeared in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship — along with Fajt — and linked up with former Samford University teammate Harlan Winn on Tuesday to shoot 7-under, earning the final qualifying position.
“This is our third time qualifying,” said Stopperich, who qualified in 2018 and played with Winn — a Mobile, Alabama native — at Jupiter Hills and also qualified in 2020, but was unable to play the championship due to its cancelation during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Today, we ham-and-egged it pretty well. We made a couple of longer putts, in the 20-foot range. Once one of us was in for par, we could give putts a little more gas. We bagged a few putts in there.”
In a four-hole playoff, a pair of 14-year-olds in Niko Amaredes and Elijah Stewart earned the first alternate position at 6-under. Amaredes, a Sewickley native, claimed the WPGA Boys Championship earlier this year, winning the 15 and Under division as a 13-year-old.
Bucknell teammates Jack Hartman and Taylor Kuehn fell in the playoff, but secured a second alternate position.
For Fajt, 48, qualifying for two USGA national championships in the same season has felt rewarding.
“I’m impressing myself, to be quite honest with you,” said the Greensburg native and member at Hannastown Golf Club. “I’m getting pretty old and it’s getting harder and harder to play with these kids, even with Darin and how far he hits it. I’m 30 yards behind him. It’s a different game that I play. But I drove it well today… and if I can roll some putts in, then I can still compete.”
Stopperich, who turned professional after college but regained amateur status before last season, is quite pleased with where his game is situated.
“It’s a good ending to the year,” said Stopperich, who won the 2024 WPGA Open Championship as a professional at the time. “I played a good number of events this year and reaching two USGA championships is going to be hard to beat in the future.”
With the triumph, Kowalski broke through to his first USGA championship, with a trip to famous Wisconsin course Erin Hills next spring ahead for he and Fajt.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “Kevin and I have been doing this a long time, him longer than I. Competing is what we love the most. We want to compete. Doing it with each other, with the relationship we’ve built, that makes it mean that much more.
“I think if Kevin and I play well, it’s hard to beat us, no matter who it is. I’m looking forward to going out there and seeing what happens.”
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