Now that the calendar has turned to June, our local best-ball season has begun in earnest and will continue through the summer months.

Always a popular format in our area, the first local two-man tournament actually took place way back in 1968 when Bill Kelley and Wes Lingenfelter teamed up to win the inaugural Park Hills Classic.

After just a few years, most area clubs began hosting their own best-ball tournament, and today the local calendar is filled with two-man events.

The first significant best-ball event of this season was contested just last week at Huntingdon Country Club.

Played over two days of match play, the young team of Andrew Ferguson and Trey Heffelfinger eventually captured the championship trophy on Sunday afternoon by defeating the father-son duo of Lantz and Luke Thompson.

The talented team of Ferguson and Heffelfinger were repeat winners, having won the top prize in this event in both 2024 and 2025.

As the best ball season continues throughout the summer, here is a look at the results from last year’s competition.

Down River

The 2025 Down River tournament was won by Scotch Valley’s Anthony DeGol and Sean Brannan with scores of 66 and 62.

The duo finished just one stroke ahead of Todd Homan and Artie Fink Jr. Tied for third place, four shots back, were Summit’s Quintin Dziabo and Brett Smith and Bedford County’s Shaun Foor and Andrew Ferguson.

This year’s Down River Classic is scheduled for this weekend, June 20-21.

Mount Union

The 52nd annual Mount Union Invitational was captured by Fulton County teammates Landon Hollenshead and Calvin Mentzer.

Hollenshead and Mentzer recorded an impressive two-day total of 19-under par that included 14 birdies, three eagles and just one bogey. Their 36-hole total of 129 was good enough to finish four shots clear of second place. The 2026 Mount Union Invitational will be held June 27-28.

Sinking Valley

Originally known as the Bud Wilson Memorial Tournament when this event began in 1969, last year’s Sinking Valley tournament was won by the Bedford duo of Adam Ritchey and Josh Leibfreid.

Ritchey and Leibfreid found themselves in a close battle with Anthony DeGol and Todd Homan throughout Sunday’s final nine holes before pulling out a one-shot victory on the 18th hole. Their winning 54-hole total was 68-65-68 –201.

This year’s Sinking Valley Invitational is set for July 10-12.

Park Hills

The area’s oldest two-man tournament was won last year by Artie Fink Jr. and Todd Homan, their fifth as teammates at Park Hills.

Fink and Homan were down as many as five holes during the final match before coming back to defeat Mike Macionsky and Sean Brannan on the 18th hole of regulation.

This year’s Park Hills Classic is set for July 16-19.

Iron Masters

The Summit team of Quintin Dziabo and Hunter Duriez outlasted the entire field at Iron Masters last year by posting scores of 63 and 64.

Dziabo and Duriez finished the tournament one shot ahead of Huntingdon’s Luke Thompson and Trey Heffelfinger.

The 50th edition of the Iron Masters Classic is scheduled for July 25-26.

Summit

A team from outside of central Pennsylvania took home last year’s Summit crown. Don Dimoff and Andrew Forjan, residents of York County, recorded scores of 65 and 66 to ward off Landon Hollenshead and Calvin Mentzer by a single shot in 2025.

Iron Masters’ Spencer Hinish and Wally Clapper finished third at 133 (69-64), two shots back.

This year’s Summit Invitational will be played August 1-2.

Scotch Valley Country Club

The 2025 Scotch Valley Invitational saw considerable change as last year’s version was played in a 36-hole, stroke-play format (The tournament was formerly decided by match-play). The Hollidaysburg team of Anthony DeGol and Sean Brannan didn’t seem to mind as the two long-time friends posted rounds of 64 and 62 to win their fourth consecutive title. Amazingly, DeGol and Brannan finished a whopping 15 shots ahead of the second-place team of Ryan Good and Mike Macionsky. (This year’s Scotch Valley Invitational will be contested in mid-September).