2026 Pennsylvania Open Preview

Sheehan Defends Pa. Open Title at Laurel Valley

Talamore Country Club’s Patrick Sheehan will defend the Pennsylvania state Open championship he won a year ago when the 110^th edition of the event takes place August 10-12 at one of the country’s outstanding venues, Laurel Valley Golf Club, in Ligonier, Pa. The event is administered by the Pennsylvania Golf Association and presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

Sheehan has significant success in Pennsylvania Golf championships over the past six years including last year’s Open win at Llanerch Country Club in his first year as a professional. The former Penn State University standout was even after the first round but went 10 under par in the final two rounds to finish ahead of Anthony Sebastianelli (Rolling Green Golf Club) by two shots.

Sebastianelli is not entered in this season’s event but, in addition to Sheehan, there are eight other players who finished among the top 12 players a year ago at even par or better. Mike Van Sickle (Sewickley Heights Golf Club) heads that group as he tied for eighth place at Llanerch posting a two-under three-day total. Van Sickle is a past Open champion and the last player to win back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008 at Lancaster and Old York Road country clubs.

 Other high placers last year were Jake Sollon (Valley Brook Country Club), the 2022 and 2024 champion and Riley Wheeldon (Aronimink Golf Club) who shared third place at 6-under par. Calen Sanderson (Jericho National Golf Club), the 2023 runner-up in the tournament and J.F. Aber (Allegheny Country Club) posted -4 scores to tie for sixth place while Braden Shattuck (Rolling Green Golf Club) was the fifth-place finisher at -5. All three are entered in the 2026 field. Another entrant among the 128-player field is Jake Haberstumpf (Saucon Valley Country Club) who tied with Van Sickle last season at -2.

Other past champions in this year’s field include Alex Blickle (LedgeRock Golf Club), the 2021 winner at (Philadelphia Cricket Club), Kevin Kraft (2nd Swing Golf), champion in 2018 and 2023 and John Pillar (Woodloch Springs Golf Resort), winner in 2014. Already a three-time Pennsylvania Golf Association winner this season and recent Pennsylvania Senior Amateur champion Rick Stimmel (Connoquenessing Country Club) adds even more power to a very good draw.

• Sheehan’s three-day total of 200 was the second lowest score since the Open became a 54-hole championship in 1997. Greg Jarmas (Overbrook Golf Club) posted a 197 to win the 2017 title at Gulph Mills Golf Club.
• This is the only the third time Laurel Valley has hosted the Pennsylvania Open. The last was in 1988 when Overbrook Golf Club’s Gene Fieger topped the field with a 143 total over two days. Roy Vucinich (Allegheny Country Club) finished one stroke back. Prior to 1997 when the Open became a 54-hole tournament it was contested over 36 holes for the previous 56 years.
• The tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers, has been played annually since 1912 (except for war years) at a variety of courses around the state. It was considered a PGA Tour event for several years during the 1920s and 1930s and, at the time, consisted of 72 holes.
• While Sheehan is seeking to join the list of two-time winners there are only three players who have more Pa. Open crowns. The last winner at Laurel Valley, Fieger, who won three times in 1988, 1995 and 1997, well-known and long-time Oakmont Country Club and Seminole Golf Club head professional Bob Ford, the 1977, 1981 and 1993 champion, matched Fieger’s win total. One of the leading amateur players of all-time, R. Jay Sigel, leads the victory list with four Open titles – 1974, 1978, 1983 and 1990.
• The initial time the competition was held at Laurel Valley, Robert Ross (Philadelphia Cricket Club) shot a final day 68 to defeat Arnold Palmer by a stroke. The Pennsylvania Open was one of the few titles Mr. Palmer never won. NOTE: see the Golf Digest story of that 1967 championship below.

Arnold Palmer and the one that got away | Golf News and Tour Information | Golf Digest

The link for this story is being shared with permission by Golf Digest.

Laurel Valley Club Overview and History Video

Laurel Valley Golf Club has granted permission for Pennsylvania Golf to share this video.