Oakmont welcomes Meyer, Jackson, Pevarnik for WPIAL final

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 29, 2018 | 7:15 PM

Gregor Meyer brings hope to the 36-player field competing in the WPIAL Class AAA boys golf championship Tuesday at Oakmont Country Club. And it’s not just because the Fox Chapel senior and some teammates came back from a horrific vehicle accident last fall that happened only 10 minutes from the famed club. Their story brought the WPIAL golf community together. Their comeback provided inspiration.

But Meyer did something else that was impressive and drew praise from his peers two years ago, when he showed the area’s top high school players there isn’t anything to be afraid of at Oakmont.

Meyer won the last time the district finals were played at the storied course, considered by many to be one of the hardest on the planet with its savagely fast greens, punishing rough and dungeon-deep bunkers.

Meyer, then a budding sophomore, shot 1-under-par 70 for a three-stroke win. The round still is talked about fondly in WPIAL circles. And as players get set to take on the grueling venue again, many are thinking, “If he did it, why can’t I?”

“I reminisce how well I played,” Meyer said. “The first couple holes (stand out). I remember I could have made some big numbers. I didn’t hit any good shots in the beginning. I wasn’t finding any fairways, but I made so many good putts, so many good up-and-downs. That really got me going.”

Meyer admitted to playing the course a few times before. Experience at Oakmont can put players light years ahead of the field. But the key was removing the awe factor and trusting his game.

“Two years ago, I was shocked that the score was 70 because I shot 77 and I figured maybe I’ll be second or third and I was (10th),” said Franklin Regional senior Palmer Jackson, one of the favorites Tuesday. “I was pretty surprised. But this year I have a lot more course knowledge, and I feel like I am going to do better.”

Jackson, a Notre Dame recruit, will join close friend and rival Brady Pevarnik of Latrobe in the featured grouping Tuesday.

Pevarnik finished second last year to Moon’s Chris Sabol, who graduated. Pevarnik lost in a playoff after shooting an even-par 70 at Nemacolin Country Club.

Jackson was third (72).

Pevarnik and Jackson have watched one another endure one close call after another in pursuit of their first WPIAL and PIAA titles.

They tied two years ago at Oakmont and finished 3-4 in 2015, with Pevarnik taking bronze.

Pevarnik, a Penn State recruit, is 7-under this postseason, including a 3-under 67 in the semifinal round last week at Hannastown Golf Club. Jackson was second with a 69. Both are averaging under par for nine holes for the season.

In 2016, Oakmont gave up 14 rounds in the 70s and 49 birdies.

“I think it will take a solid round (to win),” Pevarnik said. “I don’t think I have to do anything special. At the end of the day, it’s still a golf course. … It has grass and bunkers. If you look at it and make it something it’s not, it will be very difficult. Low numbers have been shot there, like Johnny Miller’s 63. You can shoot low there, but you can also shoot really big numbers.”

While that WPIAL final was played less than four months after the U.S. Open in 2016, Oakmont wasn’t quite chiseled and varnished by the USGA before play began. But as the members say, the course could handle a U.S. Open as-is, off the rack on any day of the week, sans touch-ups.

The place is proud of its malevolence.

Meyer shot 3-under on the front nine on the course long-bomber Dustin Johnson had just conquered, before coming home in 37. He made 50-plus-foot putts for birdies on Nos. 6 and 8, both par 3s.

Recent rainfall could soften the course but won’t change the contours of greens or make the rough any less penal.

“Hitting fairways is important, hitting greens and spending a lot of time on the greens before the round,” Jackson said. “Figuring out the speed and the break is crucial.”

A career summer on the junior and amateur circuit allowed Jackson to play numerous world-class courses, including Pebble Beach and Baltusrol, another regular U.S. Open stop.

“Pebble, Spyglass, Valhalla and Baltusrol were all hard, but Oakmont is the most demanding and it’s probably the hardest to shoot a low score on,” Jackson said. “It will be a little more ‘gettable,’ but you still have to hit the fairways. The rough is going to be thicker because it’s so wet.”

Pevarnik can picture an idealistic ending to his WPIAL career, a first-place medal dangling from his neck at a gem of a venue.

“It would be a dream to win at Oakmont,” Pevarnik said. “It would be a fitting way for me or Palmer to end our senior years.”

Meyer tied for eighth last year with a 77. If anyone knows how to get around Oakmont, especially a second time in competition, it’s him.

“It’s going to take a lot of patience,” Meyer said. “If you can hit the fairways, find some greens and make some putts, anyone will have a good chance. … I can have a pretty good chance if I stick to a good game plan.”

Meyer knows Pevarnik and Jackson, not to mention additional contenders in Central Catholic’s Neal Shipley and Jimmy Meyers, and Donnie Professori of Pine-Richland, among others.

“We’re all friends. We all love to compete against each other,” Meyer said. “If I can pull it off against those guys, I think it would be pretty special.”

Peters Township senior Parker Johnson was the medalist at the other semifinal, played at Youghiogheny Country Club near McKeesport, with a 74.

The top 14 finishers advance to the PIAA Western Regional tournament Oct. 15 at Tom’s Run Golf Course in Blairsville.

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Central Catholic, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Latrobe