Kevin Fajt knew if he wanted to win his fourth Westmoreland County Amateur on Sunday, he had to be aggressive.
He followed his gameplan to a T.
On the putting green, Palmer Jackson, who shot a 74 on Day 1, asked Fajt what he needed to shoot to catch him. Fajt said: “62.”
He knew playing in the final threesome with Sean Knapp and Mark Goetz would play to his benefit. It would push him to play well and stay focused.
But when Fajt birdied the second and third holes to open up a four-shot lead, he knew he’d be tough to catch. He coasted to the title in a 27-hole tournament that was shortened by heavy thunderstorms that whipped across the county in the late afternoon.
The mayor of South Greensburg shot a 4-under-par 31 on the front nine at Hannastown Golf Club. After a two-hour delay, Fajt and Goetz had to finish the ninth hole after the tournament was shortened to 27 holes. He finished the event with a 6-under 99.
Fajt, 43, calmly rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt to close out the round.
“Anytime you can win a tournament of this caliber, it’s special,” Fajt said. “The first win is always special, but when you can defeat Sean (Knapp), Palmer (Jackson) and Mark, its pretty good.
“I compete against those guys a lot. Palmer and Mark are great players, and Sean, what can you say about him other than he’s been playing great.”
Fajt and Knapp are competing in the West Penn Amateur on Monday and Tuesday at Indiana Country Club. Goetz and Jackson are headed to Mississippi to participate in the Southern Amateur.
Fajt won his first county title in 2002. He went back-to-back by winning in 2003, the same year he competed in the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont. He also won in 2015.
“Competing a lot against Palmer, Mark and Sean makes you better,” Fajt said. “If you don’t up your game, they’re going to bury you.
“Playing them gets your competitive juices rolling.”
Goetz finished second with a 1-over 106. Sam Brourman was third, finishing at 3-over (108), and Matt Montgomery was fourth at 4-over (109). The top four finishers call Hannastown home.
Sal Cerilli, Jackson and Arnold Cutrell tied for fifth at 5-over, while Cade Patterson, David DeNunzio and Logan Divald tied for eighth at 7-over. Bob Allshouse rounded out the placewinners at 8-over.
The senior winner was Dave DeNezza, who shot 10-over. Jeff Hovanec was second.
The junior winner was Chase Crissman at 11-over, and the runner-up was Patrick Bush at 13-over.
