Katzeff advances in WPIAL Sectional
Brandon Katzeff just went out and did what he wanted to do. Now he hopes that will be the impetus toward doing something he has wanted to do but has never done.
Katzeff fired an even par round of 72 Monday at Duck Hollow Golf Course to take top honors in the individual qualifying tournament held by Division I, Section 2, and contested by 40 golfers from eight schools.
Katzeff played the front nine in one-over-36, with two birdies, and came back in one-under-36, with three birdies, for his championship card. For the day, he had five birdies, 10 pars, two bogies and a triple-bogey.
Three strokes back was Zach Rockwell of Uniontown, with 38-37-75, and teammate Greg Franko was four back in third place with 36-43-79, including an eagle two on the fourth layout.
They were the only qualifiers to break 80.
Rounding out the top 10 were Josh Oros, Albert Gallatin, 39-41-80; Cory Chrise, Laurel Highlands, 41-39-80; Brian John, Laurel Highlands, 38-44-82; Jarrod Bartok, Uniontown, 39-43-82; Bret Herspold, Belle Vernon, 37-47-84; Jarred Detwiler, Laurel Highlands, 42-43-85, and Brett Lehman, Mount Pleasant, 42-44-86.
Lehman earned his 10th spot the hard way, winning a two-hole playoff with teammate Ron Chlebowski, Eric Brooks (Albert Gallatin), and Bobby Umbel (Uniontown). They all finished with 86, and the WPIAL has decreed that all ties must be broken. Lehman won on the second hole, then Brooks parred the third hole to be the first alternate, and Umbel will be second alternate.
Of his win, Katzeff noted, “I had a pretty good day overall. I went out at the start just wanting to play a consistent round and qualify, just staying away from the high numbers.”
He did that, starting the front nine with six pars, and a bird on seven (165, 3), coming within two inches of a hole-in-one.
He said “I hit a pitching wedge that ended up two inches from the cup. On nine (340, 4) I hit a good drive down the middle, about 40 yards from the green, then hit a wedge shot six feet from the pin and got the putt.”
Had it not been for a triple-bogey on eight (514, 5), Katzeff could have been under par on the front and for the match. He said, “I hit my drive to the right, just punched it down the fairway, then tried to play it safe by hitting a six-iron to the green. But I pulled it to the right and out of bounds. I had a drop, but then hit short of the green, chipped on, and two-putted. But at the same time, something good followed, for I birdied the next two holes.”
On 10 (581, 5), Katzeff hit a “big drive down the right side, then a four-iron about 230 yards to the front of the green, chipped on, and got a three-foot putt. On 13 (456, 5) I drove down the right side, then put a seven-iron about 180 yards to the green, and two-putted from 30 feet. On the 14th (300, 4) my four-wood tee shot went about 30 yards left of the green, from where I hit on a got a six-foot putt.”
A couple of spectators watching the play felt that Katzeff made a great recovery for par on the sixth (322, 4), with the champion recalling “I hit a five-iron off the tee, under a willow tree on the right, then punched short of the green with a seven-iron. I hit a decent chip that went about five feet past the pin, but then got the uphill putt for par.”
This is his third year to qualify for the second round, and this poses another goal for him.
Katzeff added, “I have never reached the WPIAL finals. I came close last year but lost in a playoff. So I hope things will be different this year, for my goal is to qualify and then do well after I get there.”
Rockwell, a repeat qualifier for the second round, had three birds on his runner-up card.
On No. 3 (160, 3) he “drove a nine iron to 15 feet from the cup and got the uphill putt. I guess you can call the 10th a lucky bird for me. I hit my drive to the right into the trees, punched out with a three-iron, but I hit it too hard and it rolled across the fairway, into some more trees. But I hooked a seven-iron around a tree to the green, and made a 25-foot putt. My drive on the 14th was short of the green about 20 yards, then I chipped up and past the pin, but got the 15-foot putt coming back.”
Rockwell felt that “I hit well off the tees, but my short iron play wasn’t sharp, in fact my short game overall could have been much better. But some one and two putt greens helped offset some of the short game.”
Franko called his round “an eagle without any birds.”
He eagled the fourth (334, 4) where he “drove into the left rough, about 90 yards away from the green, then hit a pitching wedge that landed about four feet from the pin and rolled in.”
The third year qualifier (twice to states) added, “My putter let me down. I didn’t putt well at all, and my chipping wasn’t real good, either. I sort of scrambled on the back nine. Overall, it wasn’t one of my better games. I was just trying to get into the top 10 and qualify. You never mind what happened last week, it’s what you do today, where you try to move to the second round.”
In the playoff for 10th place, all four bogied the first (341, 4), moving them to the second (340, 4), where Lehman dropped a 10-foot birdie putt to win and be the 10th qualifier. The other three went to the third (160, 3) where Brooks hit to the edge of the green, chipped on, and parred with a five-foot putt. Umbel had a five to be second alternate.
All 10 qualifiers advance to the regional qualifier next Monday at Cedarbrook Golf Course, starting at 10 a.m.