Former Plum golfer Andrew Reynolds on top of his game headed into West Penn Amateur

A week and a half ago, former Plum golfer Andrew Reynolds was playing his home course at Willowbrook Country Club when he recorded his first hole-in-one. He used a pitching wedge on the 123-yard 15th hole.

“I played well that day, and I’ve kind of just continued to play well since then,” Reynolds said.

He kept his momentum going last Thursday at the West Penn Amateur qualifier at Hill Crest Country Club. He made four birdies and shot 2-under-par 69 to tie for first and qualify for the field July 6-7 at Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley Heights.

Reynolds tied with 2018 WPIAL champion Jimmy Myers (Central Catholic) and current Gannon golfer Mike Marsico (Fox Chapel).

“It was nice to see that I qualified in my first qualifier of the summer,” Reynolds said. “It was nice to start the summer off 1 for 1, and it felt pretty good.”

Throughout the quarantine, Reynolds said he was driving the ball well, but his short game wasn’t where he wanted it to be.

“Leading up the qualifier, I grinded on my putting and put in a lot of practice time, and my short game just kind of clicked,” he said. “Hill Crest is kind of a shorter course, and you can kind of hit it around however. But your scoring comes on the greens, so it was good to see that I putted well.”

After an even-par 35 on the front nine, Reynolds started to hit his stride. He birdied Nos. 10 and 11, which gave him the confidence to finish strong.

“Birdieing 10 and 11 was definitely the best feeling for me all day,” he said. “It just made me feel more comfortable playing the rest of the holes after getting a couple birdies under my belt early on the back nine.”

The qualifier was the first step in what should be a busy summer for Reynolds. He also is hoping to play in the Pennsylvania Open at Oakmont Country Club. He will have to get through a qualifier at Indiana Country Club first, but he is excited to compete at a course he knows well.

“I’ve been caddying there for the last nine years, and I played in the West Penn Amateur and the West Penn Open there the last two summers, so I am really hoping to get back in there for that,” Reynolds said. “Just to play a tournament at Oakmont Country Club is such a cool experience in itself, so that’s my biggest one for sure.”

After graduating from Plum, where he was a three-time WPIAL Class AAA qualifier, in 2015, Reynolds played at La Salle, where he spent his freshman and sophomore years.

As a freshman, Reynolds was named A-10 Rookie of the Week after winning two matches at the A-10 Match Play event and led his team at the Finegan Invitational. As a sophomore, he shot a personal-best 67 on the first day of the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate and tied for 21st at the Matthews Auto Collegiate Invitational.

Although he transferred closer to home at Penn State New Kensington, Reynolds said his time at LaSalle was a rewarding experience.

“It was a lot of fun for sure,” he said. “I played in the lineup during both of my years, and I think I only missed one tournament out of maybe 10, which was pretty cool, to get into the tournaments and be competitive. Division I golf is so competitive, and you think you’re good, then you get into a tournament and you shoot an average score and you don’t even come close to the top. So it’s really fun.”

Reynolds, who is set to finish his degree in December, said he still has one year of eligibility left and is hoping to save it in case he goes for his MBA.