South Fayette junior wins WPIAL golf championship
South Fayette's Marissa Malosh connects on a drive during WPIAL Class AAA girls golf championship action.
South Fayette's Marissa Malosh is all smiles after carding an even-par 72 to capture the WPIAL Class AAA girls' golf championship title at Hannanstown Country Club.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette’s Marissa Malosh captured a WPIAL golf title when she fired an even-par 70 at Hannastown Golf Club in Greensburg and captured the Class AAA girls individual title on Oct. 7.
South Fayette's Marissa Malosh, right, is congratulated by Peters Township's Allison Poon, back, Lindsey Powanda of Mt. Lebanon, left, and Seneca Valley's Lihini Ranweera, center, after shooting an even-par 72 to win the WPIAL individual girls golf championship.
Peers Townhip's Delaney Kern watches her tee shot from No. 8 during the WPIAL Class AAA championships.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Delaney Kern follows her putt attempt as it approaches the hole during the WPIAL Class AAA championships.
Peters Township's Delaney Kern tees off during the WPIAL Class AAA championships.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Allison Poon hits her way out of a difficult spot on No. 8 during the WPIAL Class 3A girls golf championships.
Allison Poon
GREENSBURG – Marissa Malosh was just 10 years old when she first decided to join her father, Greg, and brother, Dom, in their back yard to hit some golf balls.
Six years later, the South Fayette junior is tops in the WPIAL.
Malosh shot an even-par 70 from the white 5,477-yard tees at Hannastown Golf Club and captured the Class 3A girls individual title Thursday.
“Honestly, I’m really excited and happy,” said the 16-year-old daughter of Lisa Malosh. “I had a good day.”
Malosh’s previous experiences in WPIAL championship action had not been up to her current standard. She shot an 84 and finished 12th in 2019 and fired a 94 for another 12th-place showing in 2020.
“My last two years I messed up and ended up playing really badly,” Malosh said. “I got nervous on 17 and 18, and when I got to those last two holes this time I had no idea where I stood. That was good because I was able to control my mental game a lot more.”
Malosh gained composure on the greens by taking a little trip to Lake Mary in Florida last season where she attended the Mike Bender Elite Golf Academy.
For three months, she just golfed. She went from an 8 handicap to a scratch golfer.
“Everything about my game improved. How to approach shots, what to hit, chipping,” she said. “It helped me a lot.”
Malosh said she played smarter than she normally does. She said during the course of the tournament she knew her driver was getting away from her, so she took her time on her tee shots.
“I took that extra second and it paid off,” Malosh said. “I am usually more aggressive but I feel like I was able to know when to go for things and when to lay back.”
Malosh is not going to relax anytime soon.
As the WPIAL champion, she is already qualified for the PIAA tournament to be held Oct. 18 and 19 at Heritage Hills Golf Resort. It will be her fist trip to York for the championships.
“Honestly, I just want to do well,” she said. “Even if I play bad, I want to have a good time and a good experience because I can learn a lot. There will be a lot of good players there.”
Allison Poon from Peters Township and Caroline McConnell from South Fayette also qualified.
The top seven scores qualified for the state match.
McConnell finished tied for fourth place with a 75.
It is McConnell’s third and final trip to the state championships. She qualified as a freshman by finishing third in the WPIAL and runnerup last year as a junior.
“I am super excited, especially since it is my last year to get one more run at a state title and because I will be going together with Marissa,” she said. “We may compete against each other but we are great friends and I am thrilled for her.”
A Michigan State recruit, McConnell expects to elevate her game at states. She said she did not have her best stuff in the WPIAL finals.
McConnell said her driver was off but her short game was on and she compensated for the inconsistency with a good attitude.
“My mental game has been better than in the past,” she said. “That kept me in it.”
Poon, unlike McConnell, is making her first foray into state individual competition. While she admitted to not having “super-high expectations” Poon said she wants to place in the top half of the state bracket.
A senior, Poon carded a 76 and tied for sixth place with Mt. Lebanon’s Lindsey Powanda, the 2020 WPIAL champion.
“I felt confident with my round,” Poon said. “I have not been putting well but today was relieving to be able to putt better than I have been. I had a few holes that I could have made up for it but overall I was pleased with my performance and I’m excited to be going to states.
In Class 2A, McGuffey’s Faith Chapman shot 95 and finished in 11th place. Chapman missed qualifying for states by two strokes, or one bad hole – the par-5 14th. She took a 9 on the hole. Chapman shot 46 on the front and 49 on the back.