Homan, Fink bring home West Penn golf trophies
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Two local golfers teamed together to capture the 16th annual West Penn Senior Four-Ball Championship on Monday at Green Oaks Country Club, northeast of Pittsburgh.
Park Hills' Todd Homan and Sinking Valley's Artie Fink Jr., who can trace their friendship back to their days at Keith Junior High School, carded scores of 66 and 64 to finish the 36-hole event at 12-under par, 130.
Their winning total was one shot clear of the second-place team of Bob Crnjarick (Allegheny Country Club) and Rick Vano (Diamond Run Golf Club).
The Western Pennsylvania Golf Association is an organization of member clubs located in the western region of the state. In addition to providing course ratings and handicap services, the WPGA also conducts 19 championship tournaments over the course of a season. Monday's senior event in Verona was the latest, a two-man best-ball event which is formally referred to as a "four-ball" competition.
The minimum age for seniors at WPGA events is 55, and Homan and Fink became eligible to compete only within the past year. Both were excited to compete together in Monday's event.
"I've known Artie for such a long time," Homan said. "We know each other's games inside and out and can share advice we just wouldn't think about doing with any other partner."
This familiarity has led the pair to enjoy plenty of success over the years in local events. In fact, Homan and Fink have teamed up to win a total of 14 local best-ball titles over the past two decades.
Going into Monday's Senior championship, both golfers were in fine form. Homan had already collected two local best ball-titles this summer (at Sinking Valley with Sean Brannan and Iron Masters with Anthony DeGol). Earlier this month, he also captured his 15th Park Hills club championship, a club record.
Fink has been playing equally well, having captured the Summit two-man title in early August with Nick Helsley and posting a strong second-place finish at the Sinking Valley club championship, finishing their 72-hole tournament at 3-under par, 285.
As the pair prepared to tee off Monday morning at Green Oaks, Fink knew it would be a test of patience.
"The course was already wet and there was some more rain during the start of the first 18," Fink said. "Between rounds it rained even more, causing our second round starting time to be pushed back an extra half-hour."
Despite the wet weather, both Fink and Homan started well and were impressed by how the course held up, especially the greens. An opening round 67 left their team with a one-shot lead over the field heading into the afternoon's final round. With nine holes left to play, the battle for first came down to themselves and the team of Crnjarick and Vano.
They were paired together.
After Fink birdied the 15th hole, the teams were tied and remained that way until Homan's birdie putt on the par-3, 17th, a 223-yard par three.
"Todd hit a great five iron to 15 feet," Fink said. "He hit a great putt too, but it caught the edge and lipped out violently."
With all still even on the last hole, Fink was the last to putt and had an 8-footer to win the championship. When his birdie putt dropped, the Homan-Fink team clinched the title and finished with a 36-hole winning total of 130 to capture the 2026 WPGA Senior Four-Ball Championship.
"The West Penn does such a great job with their tournaments, and Artie is such a great partner," Homan said. "There are a bunch of great players in these tournaments and it's humbling to come out on top."