Glover seizes second-day lead at Fayette County Open
Dan Glover is very pleased with how the C. Harper Chevrolet Fayette County Open has grown in recent years.
“With the participation we’ve got from the last couple years, being able to grow it to where we’re kind of putting people on a wait list to play has been very rewarding in itself,” said Glover who is helping run this year’s tournament along with Justin Goletz and Greg Moore.
There’s one storyline that’s evolved at the 2025 event that even Glover is stunned about.
He’s in the lead.
Glover shot an even-par 70 for the second best score of the day during Saturday’s second round at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville and holds a four-stroke lead over two-time defending champion and seven-time overall winner Jeremy Enslen and 18-year-old Logan Voytish who both sit a 145 heading into Sunday’s final round at Uniontown Country Club.
Glover is the only golfer under par for the tournament. He’s a 1-under after shooting 1-under 71 during the opening round at Duck Hollow Golf Club.
“I wasn’t expecting to be anywhere in this,” Glover said. “I just went kind of unconscious for two days. It’s uncharted territory. When you go in without a lot of expectations and just kind of play golf it makes life a little easier.”
First-round leader Chris Bonchosky followed a 68 with a 78 on Saturday and is alone in fourth place at 146. Matt Karpeal shot his second straight 74 to stand alone in fifth place at 148 and Matt Ondra fired the best round of the day with a 2-under 68 to put himself in sixth at 148.
Santino Marchitello, John Lenkey and Chase Richardson are all tied for seventh place at 151. Fred David and Pat Calvaresi are tied for ninth at 154.
Enslen, Richardson, Mike Revak and Ronnie Jones each carded a 73 to follow Ondra and Glover on Saturday. Voytish was one of five golfers who shot a 4-over 74 along with Karpeal, Marchitello, Jeff Golembiewski and Bob McLuckey.
Glover has the extra weight of helping run the tournament on his shoulders but also is very familiar with the UCC course.
“I feel comfortable,” Glover said. “Uniontown is the course I typically play at so I have a little bit of a comfort level going in, kind of knowing where my misses should be. If I had to pick a course to go play with a lead, Uniontown would be it.
“Hopefully I’ll put up a good number and see what happens.”
Glover cited his driving and putting as keys to his round at Pleasant Valley.
“I hit my driver really well, kept it in play,” Glover said. “I kept the ball in the right positions around the greens. I made three birdies, three bogeys, so just kind of really steady. I made a few really good putts coming down the stretch on 14, 16, 17 and 18.”
Glover was surprised at his performance on Saturday.
“Pleasant Valley is usually my nemesis,” Glover said. “This is by far my best two rounds, back to back, on these two courses. I had fairly low expectations coming in here today and was just hoping to keep it under 80.”
Voytish has had plenty of success in the Fayette County Junior Open in the past, which is a yearly matchup within the Fayette County Open of four high school golfers, one each from Albert Gallatin, Connellsville, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown.
“I won the Junior Open three times in a row, from my sophomore year to my senior year,” Voytish pointed out.
Laurel Highlands’ Sevi Vecchiolla leads this year’s Junior Open with a two-day score of 171, 11 shots ahead of Connellsville’s Hunter Konieczny.
Voytish has his sights set on a bigger prize this year with the Fayette County Open title within his grasp.
“I feel good about it,” Voytish said. “I feel confident considering Uniontown has been my home course since they reopened it. I’m just going to go out and play my game. If Danny goes out and shoots a 64 and I shoot 65 I’m not going to be upset, because I played a good round of golf.
“I’m just going to play and see how it unfolds. If I play good golf, that’s all I can control.”
Voytish was seeking pars on Saturday.
“Going into it I just wanted to make as many pars as I could, just hit the green and two-putt and if I made a couple putts, great,” Voytish said. “I was just trying to get through the course because the pins weren’t awesome, they were in some hard spots, the tee box was way back and it was real windy and I hit the ball high.
“I started out pretty good. The front nine I had two birdies and all the rest pars, so I was 2-under. The back nine I parred the first hole then I got on the bogey train I couldn’t get off of. I had three bogeys in a row that took me down to 1-over. I just couldn’t get back my momentum and ended up shooting 6-over on the back. I could not find a rhythm.”
Voytish is looking for more from his driver on Sunday.
“The driver was not where it usually is today,” he said. “I’m usually a long ball hitter that gets me out there ahead of everybody and it was just kind of not doing anything for me.
“But my putting was pretty good all day. I’ve been putting pretty well all weekend.”
Bonchosky singled out two holes that foiled what he felt otherwise would’ve been a solid round.
“More or less I had 16 really good holes but I lost my concentration on two holes. It was a costly double bogey on No. 7 and I ended up taking a 9 on No. 17, the island green,” Bonchosky said.
“On 17, I wasn’t confident with my tee selection shot. I tried to force a shot that I probably shouldn’t have played then I let that get to me and it compounded my troubles on the hole. I came back with a solid par on 18 to close it out with a 78.
“Another difference between today and yesterday was that the putts were lipping in yesterday. I had four birdie putts where if it was yesterday they would’ve lipped in, but today they lipped out. The golf gods giveth and the golf gods taketh away.”
Still Bonchosky will be part of the final pairing on Sunday along with Glover, Enslen and Voytish.
“Hey, I’m only five off the lead in the final group. I can’t ask for much more,” Bonchosky said. “I haven’t competed in like 20 years. It’s fun. I’m just having a good time out there.
“I’m just going to go out, have a good time again and see what happens tomorrow.”