One of Pennsylvania’s oldest golf tournaments is being held this week at Mountain View Country Club in Boalsburg.

The 2026 Central Counties team and individual event features the area’s best golfers from member clubs across central Pennsylvania, including Mt. Union American Legion, Belles Springs, Clearfield-Curwensville, Huntingdon, Iron Masters, Lewistown, Lost Creek, Mountain View, Nittany, Park Hills, Philipsburg Elks, Sinking Valley and Summit Country Clubs.

The format of this event includes 18 holes of stroke play on both Saturday and Sunday, culminating in a 36-hole total score that will determine the individual winner.

A team championship will also be decided by totaling the eight lowest individual scores for each participating club.

This particular Central Counties tournament dates all the way back to 1924 when the organization was initially formed. That year, Richard Quigley of Clinton Country Club took home the individual honors when the event was decided by match play format (scoring switched to stroke play in 1984).

Throughout the years, no golfer had won more than three Central Counties Individual titles until Huntingdon’s Ed Strickler arrived on the scene.

In 1965, a 16-year-old Strickler surprised the best golfers in our area just by qualifying into the championship flight. He would go on to win each of his first three matches before defeating home course favorite George Harper in the finals at Park Hills Country Club.

Strickler would eventually capture a record 11 individual titles overall.

Sinking Valley’s Artie Fink Jr. is the only man to come close to Strickler’s record total. In 2024, Fink earned his seventh individual title after a thrilling playoff win over Cresson’s Quintin Dziabo at Nittany Country Club in Mingoville.

Fink made a bid for his eighth title just last year in the rain-shortened event at Summit Country Club. Heavy downpours eventually cancelled Sunday’s final round play, with Fink finishing in a tie for second place (at even-par 72) with Park Hills’ Todd Homan and Down River’s Brady Smith.

The 2025 overall champion, with a score of 71, was Sinking Valley’s Gregory Ferguson (Ferguson’s father, Greg Ferguson, captured this same title in both 1994 and 1995).

In recent years, the Central Counties tournament committee has also added a senior competition to this event. Last year’s winner of the senior title was Iron Masters’ Ron Hinish with the fine score of 2-under par, 70.

This year’s tournament features one of the largest fields in recent memory and is expected to crown worthy champions in both the individual and team competitions.

The Mountain View Course (formerly known as the State College Elks) is in top shape after experiencing significant upgrades in recent years.

New owners Martha and Charles McIntyre purchased the property in 2013 and have overseen the construction of an on-site hotel facility, as well as numerous design improvements to the course itself.

Local golfers will be able to enjoy the fruits of this work over the weekend as the 2026 Central Counties champions are crowned on Sunday afternoon.