Franklin Regional's Wareham, South Fayette's McConnell capture Tri-State Junior PGA titles

Because it is his home course, Franklin Regional rising senior Michael Wareham has played Willowbrook Country Club a time or two.

So when he took to the 6,431-yard layout Wednesday for the 36-hole Tri-State Junior PGA Championship, he had a little extra confidence.

“I mean, I know where to miss it and I know what to hit off each tee,” Wareham said. “It really helps to know the greens well, too.”

Wareham carded a 4-over-par 76 on his first 18 holes before bouncing back on the second 18 holes for a 2-under 70 to win the tournament by two strokes over 16-year-old Nolan Nicklas from Cranberry Township.

Nicklas opened the day with an even-par 72 to take the lead heading into his second round. As time carried on, Nicklas said he started to miss putts he was making during his first round.

“The putts were not falling as much as they were in the morning,” Nicklas said.

Wareham, meanwhile, got stronger as the day went on and started to play mostly mistake-free golf. After carding two bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine in his first round of the day, Wareham eliminated the miscues and converted two birdies the next time around.

He said he was focusing on not putting himself in bad situations, hitting fairways and converting good opportunities when he had them.

“I just needed to eliminate the big numbers,” Wareham said. “I was making more birdies. I was hitting more greens and not forcing myself to get up and down all the time.”

Although he carded three bogeys on the back nine during his second round, Wareham answered each with another birdie. He even birdied holes 16 and 17.

“Shooting birdie on those two holes helped a lot,” Wareham said.

Wareham bogeyed 18 to end his round.

IUP-bound Jeff Mankins was also in the mix after playing in the Tri-State Open at Williams Golf and Country Club on Monday and Tuesday. Although he shot a combined 14-over earlier in the week, he said it was good to get back out and compete against some of the top golfers in the area.

“I think it was definitely a good experience, playing against some good pros,” said Mankins, a Greensburg Salem grad. “I played with a lot of good players in there. I was definitely happy to make the cut. I played bad the second day, but overall, it was definitely a good experience.”

On Wednesday, Mankins shot two 3-over 75s to finish in third-place at 6-over. He finished tied with Meadville’s Ryan Ferry, who bounced back from a 7-over 79 in his first round with a 1-under 71 on his second 18 of the day.

After a double bogey on 13, Ferry bounced back with birdies on 15 and 18 to finish under par.

On the girls side, South Fayette’s Caroline McConnell came out on top at 10-over.

“It feels pretty good. It’s the first one of the year, and it’s one of my earlier tournaments, so it’s a pretty good start to the year,” McConnell said.

After shooting 78 on her first 18, McConnell rebounded with a two-stroke improvement. She carded four birdies on the day, two of which came on the 454-yard par-5 third hole.

“I felt like the hole just fit my eye,” McConnell said.

“I knew my club selections, and I made a nice putt in the second round, a 20-footer, so that hole was probably one of my favorites on the course.”

McConnell played in this event last year and placed third. Coming into the tournament, she felt more confident.

“It’s the same course. I’ve played here in a lot of tournaments, so I felt great,” McConnell said. “I knew the course, I knew where to hit it, and I knew what I could do if I got in trouble.”