Renwick captures West Penn crown
across 20 holes and five hours.
Renwick, a Punxsutawney, Pa., native, rolled a birdie putt home from about 4 feet on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to claim the victory and the $6,800 champion’s prize. The 25-year-old also became the 13th player to win both the West Penn Amateur (2015) and the West Penn Open, joining a group that includes Arnold Palmer..
Renwick and Van Sickle began the day in a four-way tie for the lead but separated themselves from the pack by shooting 5-under 65s, which helped set a 54-hole tournament-record score of 202. Beau Titsworth and Reid Howey finished tied for third at2-under.
Van Sickle’s long birdie puttfrom the left-center of the green came up just short on hole No. 1, a 425-yard par-4, giving Renwick his chance to win it. Renwick’s putt slid briefly around the cup from right to left before dropping in.
After bogeying the par-4 13th, Renwick made birdie on the par-3 15th to retake a share of the lead with twotime West Penn Open winner Van Sickle, who didn’t have a bogey in 20 holes Wednesday.
Van Sickle had a birdie puttfrom about 3 feet to win it outright on the 18th hole, but it lipped out. After Van Sickle stuck his approach shot, it looked to those watching like the tournament was his. Standing just beyond the green, Renwick’s mom, Pam, put her arm around her son and said, “5 under ain’t too shabby.”
Van Sickle, also the runner-up in 2016, said later he thought he hit a good putt, but it just had too much pace on it.
“You don’t mind getting beat by birdies,” Van Sickle said. “And that’s what Easton did. He just made one more birdie than I did at the end.”
Renwick opened his round with back-to-back birdies, but it was his three consecutive birdies on Nos. 9, 10, 11 thatset the stage for the thrilling finish. On the par-3 10th, inparticular, Renwick sank a downhill roll from about 30 feet. It was the kind of putt, Renwick said, you need to have fall in tightly contested finalrounds.
On the first hole of the playoff, Van Sickle lasered a wedge in tight, putting even more pressure on Renwick’s 98-yard approach shot.
“You’re thinking, it’s either hit this close or you’re probably going home,” Renwick said, “and, thankfully, I hit up there about 3, 3 ½ feet.”
Van Sickle’s approach on the second playoff hole didn’t cut toward the backright pin as he’d hoped, and Renwick found a way to tuck his wedge from 118 yards just beyond the hole to about 4 feet.
Renwick has had “millions of putts” just like it in his career. Still, he said, “I was shaking pretty bad when that one went in. But I’m pretty glad it did.”