EXPORT — During his sophomore year of high school, Camden Reyes broke his collarbone playing hockey. Looking for a way to kill time during recovery, he took up sports photography.
On the other side of the camera Monday, Reyes crafted a picture-perfect finish to win his first WPGA major championship.
A rising senior at Peters Township High School, Reyes shot a 1-over score of 71, draining a lengthy putt on his 18th hole of the day and then posting a birdie in a one-hole playoff to take the 106th WPGA Junior Championship at Westmoreland Country Club.
“It’s nuts,” said Reyes, who defeated Vandergrift native Max Mottura in the playoff. “It’s surreal. I don’t think it’s kicked in yet.”
But for Reyes to get to his championship moment, he needed a dose of patience and some clutch putting.
The tournament, originally scheduled for 36 holes, was reduced to 18 due to inclement weather that hit Western Pennsylvania throughout the day. The line of storms resulted in three suspensions of play, with each lasting over an hour.
“There wasn’t much I could do about it,” said Reyes, a member at Chartiers Country Club. “Everyone else was in the same situation. I just took it one step at a time and put my best foot forward whenever I did get to play.”
Reyes held a one-stroke lead when play was suspended for a second time Monday. Having started his round on the back nine, that suspension hit while he was on the 7th hole, with just three holes to play.
When play resumed, Reyes posted bogey on each of his next two holes, slipping behind Mottura, who was already in the clubhouse at 1-over.
“I really didn't pay attention to the leaderboard until the second delay,“ he said. “And then people started coming up to me and saying ‘good playing.’
“I was like, ‘I wonder where I'm at?’ And then I saw the leaderboard on the big TV in there. Once I came out, after a little food, I made two bogeys in a row, which was not my best showing.
“I kind of had to make up for myself on 18.”
Reyes did just that on the Par 3, hitting his tee shot to 20 feet and sliding a lengthy putt into the cup to force the playoff.
“My caddie, Austin (Malley), gave me a great read,” said Reyes, who picked up a top 20 finish in the WPGA Amateur Championship earlier this month. “It was just weird. We were talking, coming up to the green, and were just going to put a good stroke on it and leave it in God's hands.
“We just had the inner peace. And we rolled a good rock and it went in. So that was fun.”
Once his round was over, however, he and the rest of the remaining field had to endure the day’s third delay before the conclusion of the tournament.
On the Par 5 opening hole, both Reyes and Mottura had short approach shots into the green. Reyes hit his to eight feet, while Mottura’s went long, over the green. Mottura’s chip fell short, giving Reyes a look at a birdie and the victory.
“I came out, after the delays, and I just wanted to put a couple of good shots together,” he said. “I wanted to give myself a birdie look to finish it on (the first hole). It was fun. It was exhilarating.
“I was shaking a little bit over the putt, but I just wanted to drain it in there so I didn't have to make a comebacker. It was a good last hole.”
Behind Reyes and Mottura, Sewickley’s Niko Ameredes and New Castle’s Rocco Bautti tied for third at 2-over, while Team Pennsylvania member Bailey Donahue, as well as Patrick Mahoney and Alex Talmadge, all carded 3-over scores.
But it was Reyes who joined a long list of Western Pennsylvania greats to win the West Penn Junior.
“I just can't thank God enough for allowing to be here, at this beautiful course, in West Penn,” he said. “We could be doing so many other things right now, and I think it's just such a blessing that we're here and we get to play this beautiful game of golf.”
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