Upper St. Clair's Brent Colella wins Tri-State Amateur Championship

Upper St. Clair resident Brent Colella didn’t know he was going to be able to play in the Tri-State Amateur Championship at Chartiers Country Club until Wednesday.

The eight-year member of the course took advantage of the opportunity Friday and carded five birdies, including four on the back nine, to shoot 2-under-par 68 and capture his first significant amateur win.

“It’s unbelievable, and I know how good some of these guys like (Adam) Scuilli, (Erik) Bertrand, are,” Colella said. “So coming down the stretch I’ve kind of felt this before, giving away leads, and I’ve been right there and I’ve not done it. So to be right there and get it done is pretty cool.”

Colella shot even-par on the front nine but had an interesting sequence on Nos. 5 and 6. After carding his first bogey of the day, on the 434-yard par 4, Colella put his course knowledge to work on No. 6.

After hitting a short tee shot, the former Bethel Park golfer knew where he needed to put his second shot but got a little unlucky with how his ball landed on the green.

“It was a putt I can guarantee no one else, other than maybe the four other members in play, would have any idea where to play it,” Colella said. “You wouldn’t think from 15 feet you’d have to putt it sideways but I made it.”

Colella said the Senior Amateur Division winner, Sean Knapp, called it a little “home cooking” after the make, but it put him back on track to finish the front nine with 35. Heading into No. 17, Colella had three birdies and a bogey on his car but was on track to secure the win at 2-under with runners-up Scuilli and Jack Katarincic, sitting at even-par.

So after hitting a disappointing tee shot, Colella calmed himself because he knew he had room to work with down the stretch.

“I said I don’t care if I bogey this because I can go into 18 with a par to win,” Colella said. “I know how to play the hole. I just needed to lay it back and get my wedge on, so there weren’t any nerves there.”

That’s exactly what the 36-year-old did. He hit a stifling tee shot down the right side of the fairway, put his second shot within wedge range, chipped on and made a 15-foot putt for birdie to secure the victory.

“It felt pretty sweet, and, honestly, I knew it was a putt I could make,” Colella said. “But when I rolled it, I thought I might’ve been a little bit too aggressive, but 5-feet out I knew it was drain-o and that’s kind of how the day went.”

With the experience Colella had on the course, he knew his play on the greens would pay off .

“The greens are the big thing. I’m not going to hit it as long as a lot of guys. I hit it well and pretty straight, but knowing the greens is huge,” Colella said. “It’s a short golf course compared to what a lot of these guys play, but it’s very undulated on the green and that paid off big time.”

Scuilli and Katarincic finished at even-par to tie for second place. Central Catholic rising sophomore Rocco Salvitti tied for fourth at 71 with Rick Stimmel and Michael Lubrani.