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Founded in 1899, the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association serves member clubs in our area with a mission statement that promises "to foster, promote and advance the true spirit of the game of golf throughout western Pennsylvania."
The WPGA was organized when five prominent Pittsburgh golf clubs came together that year to help popularize the game and today boasts more than 180 clubs in the western region of our state.
Nearly every major golf club in Blair and surrounding counties is a member of the WPGA, and all benefit from services that include course ratings, handicap calculations, educational programs and the conducting of champion tournaments.
Over the years, winners of West Penn golf tournaments have been dominated by members of Pittsburgh area clubs.
One of the earliest exceptions to this rule was a young Latrobe resident, Arnold Palmer, who captured the West Penn Junior Championship in 1947 and 1948. He would go on to win the West Penn Amateur five times (1947, '49, '50, '51 and '52) and later added a West Penn Open title in 1957.
Former Blairmont head pro Frank Kiraly was the first Blair County resident to take home a WPGA championship trophy when he won a West Penn Open in 1959, and it would take more than four decades before another local golfer took home a WPGA trophy.
However, since 2000, golfers in our area have become much more competitive in these events. The following is a list of central Pennsylvania golfers who have captured WPGA championship trophies:
Jamison Cup Inter-Club championship: This annual event features WPGA member clubs competing in a team format (counting the top three of four scores for each club). In 2000, Scotch Valley Country Club took home the prestigious Jamison Cup trophy over the likes of Oakmont and Sunnehanna Country Club.
WPGA Four-Ball championship: In 2005, Sinking Valley's Artie Fink Jr. and Greg Ferguson teamed to win this two-man best ball championship held at Lake View Country Club in North East, PA.
West Penn Open: First held in 1899, the West Penn Open title was captured three times by Kiraly, the former Blairmont and Scotch Valley head pro. His victories came in 1959 (at Edgewood CC), 1961 (St. Clair CC) and 1963 (Churchill Valley CC). In 2018, former Tyrone Area High School standout Jimmy Gillam captured this prestigious title at historic Oakmont Country Club after rounds of 73, 68 and 73 landed him in a playoff. Gillam eventually won the title on the fifth hole of sudden-death.
WPGA Senior Series Event: Iron Masters' Ron Hinish was the winner at the West Penn Senior Series Event held at Montour Heights in August of 2025, posting the low score in the tournament's super-senior division.
WPGA Senior Amateur championship: Fink added to his area-wide Hall of Fame resume by capturing last year's Senior Amateur championship at Williams Golf and Country club in Weirton, W.Va. Fink carded rounds of 69 and 68 on his way to winning the 2025 trophy.
WPGA Senior Four-Ball Championship: Just this year, Fink and Park Hills' Todd Homan posted scores of 66 and 64 at Green Oaks Country Club to win the 2026 Senior Four-Ball team championship.
As the 2026 season winds down, look for Fink to be among the favorites as he defends his WPGA Senior Amateur title at Nemacolin Country Club, south of Pittsburgh, Sept. 28-29.