A former Butler County Country Club golf champion may be adding another trophy to his collection.

Rob Stoops, 49, of Adams Township was leading the entire field after the opening round of the Tri-State PGA Pittsburgh Open.

Stoops shot a 69 to finish 2 under in Monday's round at Sewickley Heights Golf Club in Sewickley.

Before he teed off at noon Tuesday for the second and final round, Stoops said, “I hope to keep doing what I was doing and hope I don't screw up.”

“It's a challenging course. The greens are very fast,” he added.

“I'm a pretty straight golfer. I'm not a long hitter. I keep the ball in play,” he said. “I'm a good putter. I'm kind of a grinder. I just keep the ball in front of me and hit it again.”

Stoops, who runs a real estate business with his father, Charles, was paired with two pros during Monday's round.

“I was paired with Jason Martin and Steve Superick,” he said. “We did talk a little bit.”

Stoops said that even though he had played the Sewickley Heights course before, it didn't give him any advantage over the pros because they had played the course in the past, too.

Stoops said he didn't take up golf until after he graduated from college but he's managed to win some small trophies in his 27 years of playing, but nothing like this.

“I play as much as I can, three or four times a week and I'm a member of the Butler County Country Club,” he said.

“I've won some small stuff, but this would be a big win,” said Stoops.