SCORING| GALLERY (to come)
GREENSBURG — Between the semifinals and finals of the 52nd C.R. Miller Match Play Invitational, Nico Ward sat back, relaxed, and chatted about the state of athletics at his high school, West Allegheny.
Needless to say, the school with the perennial powerhouse football program may have its most promising athletic star found on the golf course this coming fall.
Ward continued his white hot play this summer on Thursday, taking the prestigious junior match play competition at Hannastown Golf Club in blazing hot weather.
“I hit the ball great and the putter was definitely hot,” said Ward, the 16-year-old who has achieved success at the regional and national level this summer. “I feel like everything really clicked pretty well for me. I just hit good tee shots and that definitely helps around here to set yourself up to score. I feel like that made me play solid.”
A day earlier, Ward — the tournament’s No. 4 seed — picked up a 2 & 1 win over Alex Talmadge, doing so as temperatures peaked in the upper 90s. He then dropped Patrick Mahoney in Wednesday afternoon’s quarterfinals by a 6 & 5 score, registering six birdies in his final seven holes.
The run Wednesday flirted with the Hannastown course record, leading Ward to continue his round after the match concluded to see if he could make history. Ward fell just short of the mark, and turned his attention to the semifinals.
On Thursday, as the heat remained, he faced stiffer competition in reigning WPGA Amateur champion Carson Kittsley, who became the major champion’s youngest winner last month. Ward defeated Kittsley, 4 & 3, doing so with four birdies in six holes to end the match against the Penn State recruit.
He faced another future Nittany Lion in the finals, matchup up with North Allegheny graduate Ravi Desai.
Desai won the first two holes, but Ward answered with victories in four of the next six holes. Desai cut the deficit to one following the 13th hole, but Ward again surged with three straight birdies to put away the championship.
“I feel like my game is right there,” said Ward of matching up with two Division I recruits. “This year has been really solid. I’m happy to see that all of the hard work is finally paying off.”
Ward has had a dynamite run over the last couple of months, clinching Low Scorer honors at U.S. Junior Championship Qualifying — a championship event he will play in later this month. The Team Pennsylvania member also made his way through U.S. Open Local Qualifying and performed well in the Final Qualifying stage, as well.
He also competed well at Pinehurst in the North & South Junior Amateur last week and won the Ten Memorial Junior Tournament in May.
“I feel like my mental game is way better,” said Ward of his strong play this year. “I’ve slowed it down whenever I make a bogey, sticking to my process.
“I feel like I got better a little bit, but my mental game has just got way better.”
With the win, Ward joins an accomplished list of players to win the C.R. Miller, which annually invites the region’s best junior golfers for a rare regional match play competition.
“It feels awesome to join that group,” said Ward. “It’s pretty cool to hear that and I’m really excited about that.”
13-year-old Kline pulls upset, makes history in Girls’ Match Play
Earlier this spring, Brooke Kline competed in the Drive, Chip and Putt National Championships at Augusta National Golf Club before the Masters.
Kline, just 13 years old, rubbed elbows with the likes of Scottie Scheffler and other greats of the game who were on hand for photo opportunities with the young players.
It seems that Kline learned a thing or two about great performances during that experience.
The rising 8th grader at Quaker Valley Middle School stunned on Thursday, becoming the youngest champion ever in the 7th WPGA Girls’ Match Play Invitational.
“My motivation was just have fun and be confident in the shots, because I've worked hard,” said Kline, who was competing in her first ever match play competition. “I have everything. So I just needed to be confident. And it really didn't change throughout the matches.”
On Wednesday, Kline impressed with a 5 & 4 win in the quarterfinals over Elise Wadas. A day later she dropped Kutztown University commit Adalena Robb, 3 & 2, winning the final three holes of the match.
That set up a finals showdown with the top seed, Central Michigan recruit and two-time WPGA Junior Girls’ Player of the Year Mya Morgan.
Despite a five-year difference in age and experience, Kline held her own against the long-hitting Morgan, keeping the match even through four holes before taking her first lead on the 5th hole.
The match drew even when Morgan parred the 11th hole. But Kline answered with two birdies in the next four holes. Morgan drew the deficit to one on the 17th hole, but her three-putt for par on the 18th gave Kline the surprising victory.
“Thanks to Mya for a great match, that was awesome,” said Kline of the two-time PIAA state golf champ in Morgan. “I didn’t think much about what she was doing. It was really me against the course. That’s always what I think about when I’m playing golf. So it didn’t really affect me what she did. And she played good.”
In the event’s seventh year, Kline showed maturity and promise beyond her years.
“This tells me a lot,” she said. “It gives me a lot of confidence for these upcoming years. I love golf and I play in a lot of tournaments. Once I got invited, I was like, ‘oh, I’m so excited for this, I can go out there and play good.’ And that’s what I did.”
Kline’s now firmly on the West Penn Golf scene. The Sewickley Heights member, however, has been building to these moments, regularly practicing with her father, Chris, who plays in WPGA competitions and is a former Division I golfer.
“My grandpa taught him,” said Kline of her father. “I started watching golf at a young age and fell in love with it. Every day, I’m like, ‘Dad, take me to the course, or let’s practice inside.’
“I love practicing. And, today, it paid off.”
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