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Scores
BUTLER, Pa. - It was a wire-to-wire win for South Hills Country Club's Darin Kowalski at the Pennsylvania Golf Association's (PAGA) 32nd Middle-Amateur Championship, as he held onto his first round lead and finished the week at Butler Country Club four-under-par with a two-day total of 136. His second round 69 was enough to secure a two-stroke win over runner-up Austin Lemieux of Allegheny Country Club.. Kowalski's final round included four birdies on the front nine (on No. 2, 3, 4, and 8) but also a bogey on 12 and a double bogey on 15. He was able to stabilize and make par on the last three holes to take home the 2025 title.
"There were obviously a bunch of great players up there on the leaderboard so I knew I had to put the foot on the gas and play well," said Kowalski. "Fortunately I was able to do that on the front nine. I missed a couple putts early on the back nine and had a bad bounce on the cart path for the double bogey on 15 but overall I played really solid over the two days on one of my favorite golf courses."
Kowalski has had an incredibly successful 2025. He won the WPGA Mid-Amateur Championship in early September and was also the overall runner-up at the WPGA Amateur. Adding the PAGA Mid-Am title is another fantastic accomplishment as summer begins to wind down.
"It feels awesome to win," said Kowalski. "I have two young kids, ages seven and four, so I haven't been able to play in many state events since my oldest was born. Last year when I came out for the Mid-Am was the first state event I had played in a while. So it's fun now that things are getting a little easier at home I'm able to play in more stuff and we as competitors always want to play against the strongest fields at great golf courses like this. I work my tail off at this game so to get some success, it means a lot."
Runner-up Lemieux was just one stroke back and in second place heading into today's final round and was able to shoot an even par 70 to maintain his position and finish the week at two-under-par. Behind him, three players finished tied for third at one-under: Kevin Koerbel (Longue Vue Club), 2023 PAGA Mid-Am champ Zach Dilcher (LedgeRock Golf Club) and round one co-leader Andrew Friend (Oakmont Country Club).
Rounding out the top nine players and finishing tied for sixth at an even par 140 for the tournament was Andrew Forjan (Royal Manchester Golf Links), Arnie Cutrell (Greensburg Country Club), Andy Butler (Huntingdon Valley Country Club), and Brock Kovach (LedgeRock Golf Club).
Only one PAGA event remains on the 2025 schedule: the 5th Women's and 18th Men's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship, scheduled for September 29-30 at Chambersburg Country Club.
The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of Butler Country Club for the hospitality shown during this week's Championship. Additional thanks go to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event as the title sponsor of the PAGA.
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