Eagle Amateur field up to 135 golfers
SLIPPERY ROCK — The field for the 24th annual Butler Eagle County Amateur golf tournament Sunday is up to 135 players, including defending champion Scott Vice.
Vice, the general manager of Lake Arthur Golf Club, joined the field Thursday night. He won last year's Eagle Amateur at Lake Arthur and was also victorious in 2015, the last time the tourney was played at Oakview.
Oakview Golf Club in Slippery Rock will host this year's Eagle Amateur, an 18-hole stroke play event which carries its usual tee times of 7:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.
Tournament committee member Rob Voltz said he will accept entries into the tournament through Saturday. He can be reached at 724-822-4189.
Vice is one of four multiple champions of the Eagle Amateur, joining Voltz (2007, 2016), Mark Young (1995, 2002) and Sean Knapp (2008-10, 2012-13). Young and Knapp have not signed up this year.
“Sean won't be playing,” Voltz said. “He's in the Pennsylvania State Open in Philadelphia and they're teeing off Monday morning.”
Vice has not committed 100 percent to playing on Sunday.
“I'm hoping I can be there and I'll do everything I can to be there,” Vice said. “But we have an outing here (Lake Arthur) tomorrow, two more on Saturday, another on Sunday.
“I'm trying to arrange things so I can play.”
Vice added that he didn't play a lot of golf during the summers leading up to his Eagle Amateur titles.
“It's been even worse this year,” he said. “I've played very little golf. I'm not expecting much ... just go out there and enjoy the day.”
Vice joins Voltz, Chris Marron, Jim Hepler and Dave Hungerman as former Eagle Amateur champions in Sunday's field.
Slippery Rock's Tom Wolak is in the field with his three sons: Jacob, Brad and Logan. The latter is entering his sophomore year with the Slippery Rock High School golf team.
Jacob Wolak, 13, plays on the PGA Junior League team at Oakview and was recently selected an all-star in that league. He placed fourth in the recent Drive, Chip and Putt competition at Nemacolin.
“They're all playing pretty good golf right now,” Tom Wolak said of his sons.
Another key player in the field is Brent Rodgers, a Cranberry resident who won the WPIAL championship with Central Catholic a few years ago.
“He's won long drive competitions,” Voltz said of Rodgers. “He can just crush the ball.”
Though the number of women registered for the tournament is low, the field does include two-time defending champion Paige Scott and former champion Jane Wymer.
