Sep 5, 2017 4 min read

Struggling to simply remain in contention, Eric Apodiakos taught himself a lesson Thursday in the final round of the Tri-State PGA (Section) Assistant Professional Championship at South Hills Country Club in Pittsburgh.

Apodiakos, a Washington native and Bethel Park resident, shot a four-over par opening-round 75, and then started the final round by playing three-over through the first six holes. He was at seven-over and in survival mode.

But the assistant pro at Valley Brook Country Club in McMurray literally made a mad dash to 18 and the tournament championship, winning with a four-over 146.

“I really didn’t expect to win it,” Apodiakos said. “I was five shots back after one round and my thought was to just try and qualify (for the national championship) by finishing in the top three.

“I basically was just going to play and see what happened.”

What happened was Apodiakos birdied four of the next five holes (7 through 11) to go one-under for the round.

“I was struggling,” Apodiakos said. “I was not putting well. But I started hitting some close and I made a long putt. The next thing I know, I’m in contention. I still didn’t think I had chance.”

At that point, Apodiakos, 33, started thinking about his 1-year-old son and “holding my game together.”

Apodiakos’ strategy was to think of his son, Dash and “make some pars.”

He did just that and finished with a final-round even-par 71 – good enough to win the most significant tournament of his career, earn the $1,500 winner’s check and advance to the 41st Assistant PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Nov. 9-12.

Matt McLean from Oakmont Country Club and Mike Frisina of Edgewood Country Club placed second and third, respectively, to qualify for the national event.

Apodiakos, a 2002 graduate of Trinity High School and 2006 graduate of Bethany College, has been employed at Valley Brook for eight years. He started out by cleaning clubs and eventually worked his way up to first assistant pro.

Apodiakos played for Trinity for a couple seasons but did not play in college.

“I’ve been playing all of my life, but I didn’t really start to take it seriously until after I graduated from Bethany,” Apodiakos said. “I just started working at Valley Brook and things just kept working out. I worked my way up.”

He had to work for his first “significant” championship and then keep himself collected to secure the victory on the final few holes.

“It was really nerve-racking,” Apodiakos said. “I kept thinking of Dash to try and calm myself. I have his name inscribed on my balls so that was a constant reminder. I could see it all the time.”

Apodiakos and his wife, Natalie, are expecting a second child.

He said winning the tournament will not change anything for him as he moves toward the national championship.

“Really, there is nothing I am going change,” Apodiakos said. “I will be playing and practicing, as normal. But I work to teach the game. This is one of our busiest times of the year. We have a lot going on. Winning tournaments is not my main goal here. I want to help and teach others how to get better.”

Apodiakos said the key to any success he has on the course is making putts.

“I usually drive the ball pretty well,” he added. “I struggle with putting. If I can get putts to fall in, it helps make me a little more comfortable and confident.”

While the individual accomplishment was “exciting,” it wasn’t his first victory of the year. Apodiakos and Mike Papson, a fel-low Trinity graduate and the pro at Valley Brook, won a “Pro-Pro” event at Fox Chapel Country Club earlier this year – tying for first – in a weather-shortened event.

At South Hills Country Club, Apodiakos finished on the 16th hole – in a Shotgun start format – but was aware of the possibility of winning the tournament.

“When I was coming up the fairway, the leaderboards were up and I knew where I was and what I needed to do,” he explained. “I bogeyed the last hole and I wasn’t sure. But it worked out. It was exciting but unexpected.”