WPIAL golf
Katzeff, Rohanna, Rockwell qualify for finals BELLE VERNON – This time Brandon Katzeff made absolutely sure that nothing was going to stay him from his appointed round.
In three previous tries to qualify for the WPIAL championship golf finals, he always came up just a bit short, including losing out in a playoff last year. But he was determined that wouldn’t happen this year.
Katzeff made sure of that by shooting a one-under-par 71 to lead a field of 40 contenders over the Cedarbrook Golf Course Monday to achieve his long elusive goal. He was the only golfer to break par, advancing him to the next Tuesday’s WPIAL championship finals at Treesdale Golf Course in Gibsonia.
As he relaxed after his sub-par round, Katzeff said, “I lost last year in a playoff in the semis, and I came here today with redemption as my goal. It feels good to win and qualify, but right at the moment, I don’t want to get too comfortable with it for I still have one more round to go to qualify for the state finals.”
Going out, Katzeff was one-under after four holes, with a bird on four (448-yard, par 5), and then that was offset by a bogey on five (308-yard, par 4). Another bogey on eight (386 yard, par 4) left him one over at the turn with a 37.
On four, he “hit a two-iron off the tee, about 200 yards from the green, then hit a five-iron to the right side of the fringe. A 40-foot chip left me about five-feet from the cup for a birdie putt.”
That was followed by a bogey on five where “I hit into the water, then I bogied eight when I hit over the green. I also bogied 10 (580-yard, par 5) and 14 (223-yard, par 3).”
After his one-over finish for nine, Katzeff charged over the back nine, to come home in two-under-34, including four birds, on 11 (184-yard, par 3), 12 (528-yard, par 5), 15 (464-yard, par 4) and 17 (360-yard, par 4).
On 11, he “hit an eight-iron to within 10 feet of the cup and got the putt. On 12, I hit a real good drive right down the middle, then a six-iron about 50 yards short of the pin, a wedge onto the green, and got the four-foot putt. My drive on 15 went to the left side of the fairway, about 160 yards from the green, and then my eight-iron shot stopped about eight feet from the pin. I used a four-iron off the tee on 17, then a pitching wedge to about eight feet from the pin and got the putt.”
Katzeff said the key to his win was “my game being real consistent. My short game was great and I also putted well. This helped me move to the next round. I got to the semis all four years, but this is the first time I have qualified for the finals.”
Coach Don Crawford was about as happy as his number-one player was with his leading round.
Crawford said, “Brandon has put in a lot of hard work, and it has all paid off. Last week he played what I consider the best golf of his career. He was very consistent. Brandon has put in a lot of work on the basics of his game, especially with his putter. He has the skills, and he has been working hard on them, fine tuning his game, especially concentrating on his putter, and today we saw the results of all that work. He has always had the ability, and he has made me, and everybody associated with Laurel Highlands, very proud. I’m extremely proud of him.”
The cutoff point for qualifying was 82 with Katzeff being joined by local golfers Robert Rohanna of Waynesburg with a 77 and Zach Rockwell of Uniontown with a 79.
Others qualifying were Mark Cimarolli, Upper St. Clair, 76; Matt Salera, Upper St. Clair, 78; Mike Papciak, Peters Township, 79; Kevin Lazzaro, Bethel Park, 80; Zack Lewis, Mount Lebanon and Greg Duray, Bethel Park, 81; Ron DeNunzio, Greensburg Central Catholic and Pat Shanahan, Upper St. Clair, 82.
Rohanna earned a third trip to the WPIAL finals, where he will try for his third state trip. But for a moment, he had to move out of his golf game and go to a “baseball” finish, in order to birdie the 18th (341-yard, par 4).
He explained, “I hit my drive about 75 yards away from the green, up on a bank. So, I took a “baseball swing” with the wedge and hit the ball to the third tier of the green, and it rolled back to within two feet of the cup, leaving me a short birdie putt.
“I also had a birdie on 10, with a real good drive about 225 yards from the green, then hit a three-iron shot that stopped about 15 feet from the cup from where I two-putted, the last one from about three feet. That 10th is a good tough test for any golfer.”
Overall, Rohanna said he “didn’t hit the ball too badly all day, and my putting was pretty good. I had a lot of two-putt greens.”
Rockwell is also a first-time finals qualifier, but he did play in the semis a year ago.
He went out in 38 and back in 41 with his only bird on the 13th (384-yard, par 4). He said, “I hit a real good drive down the right side of the fairway, about 125 yards short of the green. A three-quarters pitching wedge shot landed about 15 feet from the pin, and I got the putt. This would be my only one-putt green the whole day.
“This was also the only bird I could get, although I did have chances for others, but just couldn’t make the putts. My putter was not the best part of my game today; in fact it kept me from having an even lower score. I couldn’t get too much around the greens. My driving was good and I can’t complain about my irons, but that putter…!”
Greg Franko of Uniontown came up a stroke short of qualifying, finishing with an 83.
He said, “I just didn’t play well; this was not one of my better games. The putter was the worst part of my game today; not one putt went in. I hit my drives well, but I hit my irons poorly and my putter was even worse.”
Coach Aaron Scott said, “I’m proud of what Zach accomplished today for it is the result of a lot of hard work on his part. He proved today that he can play with the elite scorers of the WPIAL. I am disappointed for Greg, because he worked hard to get here and tried so hard today. A putt here and there and he was on his way to the finals. The putter can be your dearest friend one day and your worst enemy the next.”
(See Scoreboard Page for scores of those competing at Cedarbrook).