Mountaineers in the Pros
Pair of WVU Golfers Advance in U.S. Open Qualifier
MIDWAY, Pa. — The forecasted rain held off, but the wind stayed strong as Quicksilver Golf Club played tough on Tuesday for 2025 U.S. Open Local Qualifying, with the only five under-par scores advancing to the final qualifier stage.
Mark Goetz, Timothy Peters, Nick Turowski, Randy Dietz and Patrick Kelly were among a record 10,202 worldwide entrants and 372 golfers from Pennsylvania looking to win their way into the field of golf’s most meritocratic event, the U.S. Open, this year being held at its most hallowed of venues, Oakmont Country Club.
Now, those five will advance to one of the 13 final qualifying sites, where a handful will earn the ultimate prize of playing in June’s 125th U.S. Open.
Goetz, a Greensburg native, and Peters, of State College, tied for the low round on Tuesday at 3 under. A former star at West Virginia University, Goetz is a professional on the Korn Ferry Tour, one level below the PGA Tour.
Goetz birdied three of his first six holes and then held on, canceling out a bogey on 14 with a birdie on 16 to finish at 69. He has played in five events on the Korn Ferry tour this year and has made two cuts, with his best finish a tie for 33rd in the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida in April.
Mark Goetz puts on No. 18 at Quicksilver Golf Club during 2025 U.S. Open Local Qualifying. (Alan Saunders/Pittsburgh Golf Now)
Goetz has two more scheduled tour stops before he’ll head to final qualifying — but the lure of returning to Oakmont, where he played in the 2021 U.S. Amateur and was medalist in the stroke play portion, will definitely be on his mind.
“It means a lot,” Goetz said of the Open coming back to Oakmont. “I remember playing the Am there a few years ago. That was a great experience. It was really cool. … I feel like it was just yesterday.”
Another player that was surprised his score was good enough was Turowski, a Penn-Trafford grad and current freshman at WVU. He played well here last year, shooting a 7 under to finish first in U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying last June.
Turowski wanted to keep the good vibes from that round going, so he didn’t play a practice round at Quicksilver, and he didn’t look at a leaderboard, either, until he turned in his 70 to advance.
“I knew that a low round was out there,” Turowski said. “I didn’t look at a leaderboard all day, and I honestly thought that wasn’t good enough. Then my caddie told me I was T-1.”
Nick Turowski on No. 18 at Quicksilver Golf Club during 2025 U.S. Open Local Qualifying. (Alan Saunders/Pittsburgh Golf Now)
Turowski had to run to Pittsburgh International Airport to catch a flight, as his West Virginia squad is headed to Arizona for a tournament before his final qualifying. He said playing at WVU as a freshman has been a humbling part of his golf journey, going from Tri-State PGA junior golfer of the year to a freshman who has had to fight to make the team.
Turowski said Goetz, a fellow member of Hannastown Golf Club in Greensburg, took it upon himself to mentor him at a young age. That’s why Turowski ended up at WVU, and now he’s following Goetz up the ranks of USGA qualifying.
“I would not be the person and the player that I am without Mark Goetz,” Turowski said. “He just kind of took me under his wing and showed me what golf is and how good you can play, because I didn’t have anyone to do that. I credit him for a lot of my success.”
“It’s been one of the coolest things for me to watch, for sure,” Goetz said. “I remember when Nicky was 12 years old, coming to Joe Corsi’s fitting center, where I worked. It’s been awesome. He works really hard at it.”
The five Western Pa. golfers who made it through can choose to attend any of the 13 final qualifiers. The closest is in Columbus, Ohio, and most of those 36-hole events take place on June 2. The Open will return to Oakmont June 12-15, perhaps with some locals in the field.
This story originally appeared on our partner site, Pittsburgh Golf Now.
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