Pinecrest CC's Nathan Smith named
William C. Fownes, Jr., Player of the Year

  Nathan Smith’s analysis of the Player of the Year Standings prior to his U.S. Middle-Amateur Championship trip in late September was nothing more than a cursory glance.

  “I wasn’t following it that closely,” said the Pinecrest, Pa., resident of the POY race. “There were so many guys playing well all summer it could have gone to a host of people. I really didn’t know what I had to do in the Mid-Am [to win the Player of the Year]. I figured I’m trying to go as far as I can [in the Mid-Am] anyway. I was fortunate.”

Nathan Smith sends his par putt on the final hole of the Amateur Championship on its way. Smith bogeyed the hole to finish in second place.

  If Smith delved deep into the numbers, he would have realized a pretty nerve wracking scenario. The 30-year-old needed a Round of 32 appearance to secure his second Pennsylvania Golf Association William C. Fownes, Jr., Player of the Year Award in the past five years. A tall order for sure. Now consider he ended up in a 10-man playoff for the final five U.S. Mid-Am match play spots and that in the playoff Smith needed six holes to outlast Chris Kuhlke, Augusta, Ga., for the 64th and final qualifying position.

  Even after all of that, Smith still needed to defeat medallist George Zahringer, III, of New York, N.Y., to assure his second state player of the year.

  “That day was crazy,” said Smith, the 2003 U.S. Middle-Amateur Champion. “I had to finish my final nine holes at 7:30 a.m., then play in a 10-man playoff and then at 2 p.m. compete against the guy who has been playing the best all week.”

  Smith, a member at Pinecrest CC, defeated the top seed Zahringer, 1-up, after both players birdied the final hole. He would eventually advance to the Round of 16 with another 1-up triumph over Packard Dewitt of Germantown, Tenn., in the second round before being eliminated.

  “It’s an honor and I’m truly excited to be the state player of the year,” said Smith. “There are so many great players in the state that anyone of them could have won it. I was very fortunate.”

  Smith accumulated a total of 547 points from four events this year, 47 clear of second-place finisher Mike Van Sickle of Wexford, Pa. In addition to the U.S. Mid-Am., Smith scored points with a second-place outing in the State Amateur at Longue Vue Club, an event he was tied for the lead in before a bogey on the final hole; a Top 5 finish in the Sunnehanna Amateur and by qualifying for the U.S Amateur Championship.

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