Love

The annual Central Counties team and individual championship was held last weekend at Mountain View Country Club in Boalsburg, and the individual honors were decided after one of the closest finishes in tournament history.

Contested over two days of stroke play, several golfers had a chance of winning the individual title as play came to a conclusion Sunday afternoon.

In fact, as the last three foursomes came to the final hole, there were five golfers tied for the lead.

While Dan Solomon, Carter Fischer and Matt Dougherty were unable to par the difficult, uphill closing hole, Sinking Valley’s Artie Fink Jr. and Mountain View’s Mike Braniff were up to the task and finished regulation play with identical, 36-hole totals of 4-over par, 146.

A sudden-death playoff was needed to decide the overall champion, and Braniff eventually defeated Fink on the second extra hole of play.

Congrats to Braniff on winning his first Central Counties title.

The home club also took home the trophy in the team competition. After totaling each club’s eight lowest scores over two days, Mountain View posted a grand total of 1215 strokes, 32 ahead of second-place Sinking Valley. Iron Masters Country Club finished in third place at 1249.

Korda wins

Like many golf fans, I went into last week’s Women’s U.S. Open rooting for Nelly Korda, and the best player in women’s golf didn’t disappoint.

After a slow start on Thursday (shooting 73) Korda rebounded with impressive scores of 67 on Friday and Saturday to grab a share of the lead.

Sunday’s final round saw a few golfers challenge for the lead, but Korda eventually came to the last hole with a one-shot lead.

Playing conservatively, Korda left herself with a mere 2.5 foot par-putt on the 18th that would allow her to take home the biggest championship in women’s golf..

She seemed calm and collected, but as soon as she stroked her putt you could see she definitely pulled it left. Watching everything live, it seemed there was no way the ball was going to fall in the hole, but somehow it did.

Afterward, you could see the sigh of relief on Korda’s face.

During her entire, brief career, Korda has always handled every situation she’s encountered with grace. She’s an extremely hard worker who seems to have earned the universal respect of her peers.

Kudos to Korda for winning the 2026 Women’s U.S. Open.

Sunnehanna Amateur

One of the finest amateur golf tournaments in the country gets underway next week in nearby Johnstown as participants in the 2026 Sunnehanna Amateur tee off on Wednesday morning.

Alabama’s Tyler Watts is the defending champion at this historic tournament that always features the top amateur golfers in the world. Play will conclude through Saturday afternoon, and fans are welcome to attend with no admission fee.

110 years ago

During the second week of June in 1916, Altoona native Lawrence Canan was elected as captain of the Harvard golf team, one of the top golf programs in the country.

Canan, a top performer on the team as a sophomore and junior, would go on to help lead his team to a fourth-place finish later that year in the national championship competition.

After graduating, Canan served as an officer in World War I and flew several missions as a pilot in the European theater. Canan would eventually return to Altoona and captured the prestigious Altoona Cricket Club Invitational nine times during the 1920s.