McClellan up by two shots
Gets reminder of West Penn win in 2011
Rob McClellan is in position to win his second West Penn Open championship, though he completely forgot he won the title once. He only found out when they introduced him on the first tee of the opening round as the 2011 winner.
Better yet, he couldn’t remember on which course he won the championship the first time. So he looked it up after the first round and discovered it was on the same course where he leads after 36 holes — the Club at Nevillewood.
“I was like, hey, I won it here,” McClellan said.
McClellan, a PGA professional at Slippery Rock Golf Course, used four birdies and an eagle to shoot 68 Tuesday and take a two-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round. He is at 6-under 138, two shots clear of Oakmont professional Devin Gee, the first-round leader; and Alec Stopperich of Valley Brook Country Club.
Amateur Neil Shipley birdied the last three holes to shoot 69 and finish at 3-under 141, three shots back. Six players are tied at 140, including Nevillewood’s director of instruction Kevin Shields (73) and Tri-State Open champion Brett Young, an amateur from Nemacolin Country Club.
They are the only players under par heading into the final round of the West Penn Golf Association’s second oldest championship.
“Iwondered what I shot to win it in 2011 and it was 7066,” McClellan said. “I don’t know why it was only two rounds. I didn’t even remember I won it.”
McClellan is one of the longest players in the TrriState PGA section and he used his length to play Nevillewood’s four par-5s in 5 under. His eagle came at the555-yard 15th when he hit a hybrid from 275 yards on the front fringe and made a 72-foot putt. He also made a 30-footer for birdie from 10 yards off the green at the 211yard 13th.
“I missed a couple short putts, but I made some long ones, too, to make up for it,” McClellan said.