Ascencio falls one shot shy of PIAA golf berth
Peter Twp.'s Ellian Ascencio keeps an eye on his opening shot Tuesday morning of the WPIAL Boys Class AAA Individual Golf Championship at South Hills Country Club.
Peters Twp.'s Andrew Poon reacts as his putt on the fifth green slides past the cup in Tuesday's WPIAL Boys Class AAA Individual Golf Championship at South Hills Country Club.
Peters Twp.'s Christian Schreiber follows through on his tee shot off the second hole at South Hills Country Club during Tuesday's WPIAL Boys Class AAA Individual Golf Championship.
PITTSBURGH — Peters Twp.’s Ellian Ascencio was in the first group off the tee in Tuesday’s WPIAL Boys Class AAA Individual Golf Championship at South Hills Country Club.
Then, the senior waited around until the final putt fell into the cup to see if he’d sneak into a playoff for one of the 10 berths into the PIAA Championships.
Ascencio shot 6-over 77 and hovered near the cut line throughout the afternoon as the threesomes posted their final scores.
Ascencio had a feeling his score might’ve snuck into a berth for the state tournament. He was hoping to be in his second playoff in as many rounds.
“I think it’ll be around 6-over,” said Ascencio. “I was already in a playoff at Hannastown (in the semifinal round).”
Ascencio played the front nine in 4-over 40 with one birdie and five bogeys.
He made the turn with six pars and a birdie to go to 3-over for the tournament, but faltered down the stretch with a bogey-5 on No. 17 and double bogey-6 on the final hole.
“I knew the back was easier than the front nine. The front nine was more of a struggle,” explained Ascensio. “I made par on No. 9 and made the turn feeling my confidence was back.”
Ascencio said he entered the district final with no score or finish in mind.
“I didn’t have any real expectations, just to go out and play my best,” said Ascencio.
Teammates Andrew Poon and Nick Wetzel both shot 89, and Christian Schreiber finished with 91.
Belle Vernon sophomore Patrick Bush carded back-to-back scores of nine in the middle of his round to finish with 12-over 83.
Bush had two double bogeys and three bogeys in his first eight holes before his first disastrous hole. Then, he followed with another nine.
“They were bad plays on my part,” explained Bush. “I had bad breaks on trees. I hit tree limbs. One hit and bounced back at me. Another hit and dropped down. I couldn’t get a good break.
“And, I went into the water.”
Bush added with a smile, “If I had a bad hole, it was a really bad hole.”
Bush could’ve cashed in the round heading into the 11th hole, but managed to keep things together for an impressive finish that netted a back nine score of 1-over 36.
“I just realized I have to get my head back it. At the end of the day, anything is possible,” said Bush. “I had three birdies and five pars in the last eight holes.
“I feel I played decent.”
The Leopards’ Tyler Mocello was in position to finish in the top-10 and advance to the PIAA Championships, but took a double-bogey six on No. 11 and had three bogeys over the final six holes to finish with 9-over 80 and a tie for 17th place.
Mocello went out in 4-over 40 with four bogeys and five pars. He opened the back nine with a par, but lost two strokes with a double bogey on No. 11.
“I got lucky the ball stayed in from out-of-bounds on the left. Then, I hit the next shot in the water,” said Mocello, who also plays soccer for the undefeated Leopards. “Other than that, I had pars and bogeys.”
Mocello played the back in 40, as well.
“I had chances with birdie putts and par putts. I could not get them to fall. My speed was good. I was just missing everything,” said Mocello. “I made a good par on No. 2 and almost made birdie.
“Some of the pins were hard to get to. It was hard to get the ball close. I was hard to get birdies.”
The cut for the top-10 places was 5-over 76. Moon’s Justin Scally won the title with an impressive 2-under 69, one stroke ahead of Shady Side Academy’s Adam Lauer. Central Catholic’s Rocco Salvetti finished alone in third place with even-par 71.
Upper St. Clair’s Jack Urban (74), Fox Chapel’s Aidan Oehrle (75), Franklin Regional’s Chuck Tragesser (75), Mars’ Blake Bertolo (76), Central Catholic’s Carter Pitcairn (76), Franklin Regional’s Michael Wareham (76), and Upper St. Clair’s Scott Jordan (76) rounded out the top-10 finishers.