Oct 2, 2014 4 min read

LATROBE – Peters Township junior Alec Stopperich is not immune to pressure. He’s the first to admit that his biggest weakness the last few years was losing his composure when he failed to successfully navigate the golf course.

Entering Thursday’s WPIAL Class AAA Individual Championships at Arnold Palmer’s Latrobe Country Club, Stopperich was the favorite to win the gold medal after shooting a 1-under-par 71 in the section qualifier.

The championship round was magnified by the presence of the club owner and golf legend, Arnold Palmer, who watched the events from a golf cart. Stopperich nailed an 8-foot putt on No. 18 to finish at 8-over-par 80 and tie for fourth place. He qualified for the PIAA West Regional Oct. 14 at Tom’s Run Golf Course at Chestnut Ridge Golf Resort in Blairsville.

Stopperich finished three strokes behind Fox Chapel sophomore Anthony Cordaro, who won the gold medal after defeating Indiana junior Kyle Grube in a one-hole playoff.

“I just knew I had to come out and play my game,” Stopperich said. “I did everything I could to get the win. Obviously, I had confidence because I’ve been playing well lately, but I couldn’t get it done. The greens were tough. The course played really hard. It’s just about surviving and moving on.”

In his first trip to the WPIAL championships, Stopperich spent much of the day tied for first place. A birdie on the par 3 second hole followed by a birdie on the 482-yard No. 6 sparked Stopperich’s optimism.

He finished the front nine with back-to-back pars before getting into trouble on the back nine. Stopperich double-bogeyed the par 3 10th and bogeyed four of the next five holes. While he was never in jeopardy of missing the cut, that rough stretch cost him a shot at first place.

“Going into the back, I told myself I was back in it, but I fell apart there,” Stopperich said. “On 12 through 16, I had no feel for the greens at all on my putts. It just really sped up throughout the day or I was getting too nervous and just kept pounding it by the hole. It was really tough.”

Peters Township was well-represented on the Latrobe course. Stopperich was joined by senior Ben Morgret and junior Jake Sollon. The trio played their practice round together Sunday afternoon, working on shot placement and seeing how the greens carried the ball.

While Stopperich used his woods and drivers from the tee Sunday, he changed strategy in the championships, taking a more conservative approach and relying on his short game.

Sollon missed the cut after shooting an 18-over 90, but Morgret will join Stopperich at in Blairsville after finishing tied for ninth with a 12-over 84.

“These are some of the fastest greens I’ve seen anywhere,” Morgret said. “It’s a course where if you aren’t on the fairway, you’re under a tree. It brings all aspects of your game out. I put it on a lot of fairways, which was helping me.”

Stopperich lost his grip on the gold medal after three straight bogeys, the final one on the 15th. He finished with the three straight pars, capped by the putt on the 18th hole while Palmer was looking on.

In previous years, a tough stretch would have shaken Stopperich. He was frustrated on a few putts yesterday but pleased with how he handled his emotions.

“I’d lose my head out there after a couple bad holes,” Stopperich said of last year. “Everyone has been saying it’s gotten a lot better. I’m proud of that, and it’s good to keep moving forward. I was a little heated. I got frustrated, but I started telling myself there’s nothing I can do about it now. I just have to put it behind me.”

Next up is the team event for Peters Township.

“We want to play our best in the next round and see where it takes us,” Stopperich said. “Team stuff is going to be our focus for a bit. “If we both make it to states, that would be awesome. If one of us makes it, it would be really nice. I’m sure he would be out there supporting me, and I’d do the same for him.”

Trinity seniors Jeremy Tyman and Nathan Bazant missed the cut, but it came with drama. While Tyman shot 23-over par 95, Bazant was on the verge of qualifying after 15 holes, when he began to have trouble breathing.

He had an eight on the par-4 16th before losing his ball on the next fairway. Bazant exited the course and withdrew from the tournament. Neither he nor the Trinity coaches could be reached for comment.