2024 PA Open Round 3

Jake Sollon clinches second PA Open title in three years

Scores

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – It was all about survival for Jake Sollon at the 108^th Pennsylvania Open Championship, who entered Wednesday’s final round at St. Clair Country Club with a six-stroke lead but had to battle to hang onto it after a five-over front nine put his victory in jeopardy. Despite a triple bogey on hole No. 4 and bogeys on 5 and 9, Sollon rallied to shoot two-under on the back nine with eight pars and an eagle on 14 to win the 2024 Open Championship, his second Open victory in the last three years. He also won in 2022 at Longue Vue and becomes just the 15^th player in all of the 108 previous years of the Championship to claim multiple titles. 

“I’ve played this place a few times before and I figured coming in I had a pretty good gameplan,” said Sollon. “I executed well the first two days and then the front nine today was a little sketchy. Teeing off this morning I figured if I made 18 pars I’d probably win, but that was not the case on the front nine. I figured if I could shoot under par on the back nine I’d have a good chance to win.” 

Jake’s eagle on 14 ended up being the most critical part of his final round and put him back in front for good. 

“I hit a nice driver off the tee and then didn’t hit the best six iron but ended up getting up there with about 25 feet left,” recalled Sollon. “I had a similar putt in the first round and my caddy had a great read and I played it right where he said – and it went in on the left edge for a three on the par five. I went back in the lead by one with four to play but I figured I needed one more, to be honest. You can make three on the par-five 18^th and a lot of guys were making four. I ended up hitting a decent shot on 15 but two-putted, then a pretty average wedge on 16, but all I ended up needing to do on 18 was make bogey so it wasn’t that hard. I’m glad I got it done.” 

Amateur Tanner Johnson (Nemacolin Country Club) was the man to put a scare into Sollon late in the day.  Johnson birdied four holes on the day, including two back-to-back on 13 and 14 that briefly gave him the one-stroke advantage that was wiped away by Sollon’s eagle. A bogey from Johnson on the par-four 17^th ended his hopes for the Overall title but he still earned runner-up status as well as the win in the Amateur Division by three strokes, ending the week with a three-day total of 212 (-4). Hannastown Golf Club’s Nicholas Turowski was your Amateur runner-up with a 215 (-1) and was the only other Amateur (along with Johnson) to finish each round at or under par. Austin Lemieux (The Club at Nevillewood) was the Am leader after the first round and ended the week in third place with a one-over-par 217. 

Other notable finishers in the Overall standings include JD Hughes and Mike Van Sickle tied for third place. The pair were both tied for the lead along with Sollon after the first round but struggled in round two before recovering with solid rounds on Wednesday. Hughes fired a 69, the lowest round of the day, while Van Sickle shot even par. The two finished the week with three-round totals of 213 (-3). 

The only other competitors to shoot under par for the Championship finished tied for fifth place—Turowski, Conor McGrath (Huntingdon Valley CC) and Kyle Vance (Cedarbrook CC)—who all finished with one-under 215’s. 

Next up on the PAGA schedule is three Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifiers, with the action taking place for an East Qualifier at Bellewood Country Club on Aug. 19, a Northeast Qualifier at Fox Hill on Aug. 21, and a Central Qualifier at Colonial Golf & Tennis Club on Aug. 22. 

The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of St. Clair Country Club for the hospitality shown during this week’s Open Championship. Additional thanks, as always, go to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event.