JOHNSTOWN —
Johnstown’s Dan Thompson had a five-stroke advantage entering Tuesday’s final round of the PNC West Penn Open Championship.
The sixth-year professional golfer was more concerned about playing a steady round than going for broke on the par-70 Fox Chapel Golf Club.
The approach produced Thompson’s third West Penn Open title.
The Ferndale High graduate shot a 2-over-par 72 and held off a charge by runner-up Bennett Smith to win by two strokes. Thompson shot a 7-under 203 for the two-day, 54-hole tournament.
“With the cushion I had, my caddy and I talked about it and I wanted to get the ball in the middle of the green and make pars,” said Thompson, who sat at 9-under at the outset of the third round. “For someone to beat me they’d have to shoot some pretty good scores.”
Smith shot a 2-under 68 on Tuesday. Third-place Jon Mills had the low round of 4-under to finish at 207, four shots behind Thompson.
“This one is a little more special because it was at Fox Chapel,” said Thompson, who also won the event in 2007 at Nemacolin and 2009 at Westmoreland CC. “They just had the Senior Players Championship there. Plus, all the history Fox Chapel has, to win it a third time here, it makes it all the better.”
Thomson tore up the course with an opening round 64 and followed up with a 3-under 67 in the second round on Monday. The West Penn Open changed its format to include 36 holes on the opening day followed by 18 holes the second day.
The 29-year-old Thompson opened Tuesday’s final round with five consecutive pars to remain at 9-under. He made a bogey on the par-3 No. 6, but ran off another eight straight pars through 14 holes.
At the par-4 No. 15, Thompson made his lone birdie of the final round.
“I finally made a putt,” Thompson said. “Then I hit the ball in the right rough on 16.”
The par-4 at 16 provided Thompson his biggest challenge of the day. He shot a 6 for a double bogey.
“The rough was really thick, 5 inches,” he said. “I hacked it out just short of the green. I hit a poor chip shot and 3-putted. It was just a bad hole.”
Thompson recovered with a pair of pars to close at round of 72.
“I had a three-shot lead with two to go,” Thompson said. “I felt pretty good about where I stood after 16 even after the double.”
Thompson is in his second year on the eGolf Professional Tour.
“I’ve been having an up and down year,” Thompson said of the eGolf Tour. “I’m good one week, and not so good the next week. There are a lot of good golfers so it’s a challenge. I play and practice at Sunnehanna, which prepares me for the week to week competition.”
Thompson was the top amateur golfer in the region for a stretch in the mid-2000s. He qualified to play in the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions three straight years from 2004 to 2006 before turning pro. Thompson won the Greater Johnstown Tournament four consecutive years as an amateur.
Since then, he’s adapted to life on the pro tour.
“The level of competition is really good on the eGolf Tour,” Thompson said. “A lot of guys make their way onto the PGA Tour. It’s a whole different level of competition. You’ve got to play good every week.”
Sports
Thompson wins third West Penn Open
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