Peters Township golfer wins amateur
Connor Schmidt won the 103rd Pennsylvania Amatuer West Qualifier, held at Indiana Country Club. The Peters Township resident now will compete in the Pennsylvania Amateur championships, set for July 25-27 at the Moselem Springs Golf Club in Berks County.
Even though he had never played the course before, Schmidt fired a 3-under-par 68 at Indiana to gain his berth in the state finals.
“Connor did great. He had a phenomenal round and that’s the amazing thing, on a course he never saw before,” said David Kuhn, his former high school coach. Kuhn also serves as Schmidt’s golf instructor. “He’s one of my best students,” Kuhn added.
Schmidt certainly was a talented scholastic golfer. He captained Peters Township to back-to-back WPIAL titles. The Indians placed third and second in the state those two seasons.
Individually, Schmidt ranked second in school history for scoring average and wore the Red Jacket as Mr. Golf for lowest scoring average. He was the Section 7 and Western Regional champion. Schmidt also owns the course record at Frosty Valley.
Also in his career, he finished second in the Tri-County championships, seventh at the chairman’s cup and ninth in the WPIAL finals. He has had top-five finishes in national events on the junior circuit.
A Reid Marshall Memorial Scholarship winner, Schmidt was the top overall student-athlete in the PT golf program. In addition to golf, Schmidt owned a 4.4 GPA, belonged to the National Honor Society and was a Character Counts nominee. He will golf and major in business at Drexel University.
NOTES: Thomas Steve, who attends Notre Dame University and golfs out of Valley Brook Country Club, finished tied with Corey Long of South Fayette and the Hickory Height Golf Club for seventh place. Both shot 72 in the amateur qualifier and made the cut. The top 16 finishers advance to the championships.
Also representing Valley Brook Country Club was Ryan Franks. He finished tied for 10th place with a qualifying score of 73.
Tim Novic, who golfs out of Southpointe, also earned a qualifying berth. He finished tied for 16th with a 74 score.