Fox Chapel golfer Scott Bitar gearing up to face a new level of competition at Miami (Ohio)

By: Greg Macafee
Monday, June 22, 2020 | 4:00 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Fox Chapel’s Scott Bitar was one of the top golfers in the WPIAL last season.

Now, he’s looking forward to seeing how he stacks up against a different level of competition.

Before he heads to Miami (Ohio) to play Division I golf in the fall, Bitar is planning to return to tournament action this summer. He is set to play in the Pa Amateur and the West Penn Amateur and said he’s going to try and qualify for the PA Open, which is at Oakmont.

Like all local golfers, Bitar was kept off the course for a time because of coronavirus restrictions. He said he thinks his game held up just fine.

“I think I’ve gotten a lot better. I just need to compete more because I haven’t played many tournaments yet this year because of the covid and the way everything has worked out,” Bitar said. “But once I get back into the swing of things, I think I’ll be better.

“Just overall, I think my iron play and driving could get a little better. Just being more consistent overall would definitely benefit me, as well. Getting stronger so I can get a little more swing speed, too.”

Bitar’s stellar senior season at Fox Chapel reached its peak when he won the WPIAL Class AAA championship at Fox Chapel Golf Club by shooting 4-under-par 66 to beat the field by six strokes. Then, he helped the Foxes capture their first WPIAL team title since 2006 about a week later. A few weeks after that, the Foxes won the first PIAA title in school history.

“I think it was amazing. I really don’t think it could’ve gone any better,” Bitar said. “I’m really happy with the way I was able to improve every year, pretty substantially, through high school, and then have the team finally break through.”

In December, Bitar realized his dream of golfing at the Division I level when he committed to Miami (Ohio).

“As soon as I went there, I really liked the school a lot,” Bitar said. “I really liked the coach (Zac Zedrick) a ton, and he showed a lot of interest in me.”

Bitar said Michigan State, Lehigh, Georgetown and a few smaller schools were in the mix, but Miami felt like the best fit. There also was a local tie for the Fox Chapel graduate.

Former Shady Side Academy golfer Jack Katarincic attends Miami and was a senior on the golf team this past year. Bitar knows Katarincic from Pittsburgh Field Club and also Oakmont, and he said that was how Miami got into the conversation.

“He said he liked it a lot up there, and he was on the team, too,” Bitar said. “So that was kind of the initial connection, and everything kind of clicked and just worked out well.”

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Fox Chapel