Sophomore golfer Michael Quallich placed second at the WPIAL individual championships on Tuesday, qualifying for the state championship in the process.
Quallich shot one over par with a score of 72. He attributed his success to the mental aspect of the game.
“I mentally did well. I stayed in the game even with a rough start,” Quallich said.
Quallich improved from last year’s WPIAL championships, going from sixth to second.
“It feels good to improve. It shows that my game has been progressing and hopefully it gets better going into states,” Quallich said.
Quallich also got to experience playing on an elite golf course at WPIAL championships.
“Playing at Oakmont was awesome. It proves how challenging golf is. And I got to play at that famous course in a competition aspect,” he said.
As he moves on to states, Quallich wants to prove that underclassmen can compete at this top level.
“I obviously want to try and win the thing, but I want to prove that not only seniors and juniors can be at the top,” Quallich said.
To do so, he said he needs to play a cleaner game of golf.
“I need to take advantage of all my opportunities and keep my mistakes to a minimum,” Quallich said.
The state championship will be Oct. 21 and 22 at Penn State White Course.
Tom • Oct 4, 2024 at 9:27 am
We had a match against his team yesterday and prior to that I had no idea who Michael was. I am a coach of the visiting team and made some small talk with their team when we arrived. Michael stood out as he was outgoing and very friendly. Only after talking to his coach during and after the match did I learn all that this young man has accomplished thus far. It is easy to root for him. Keep working hard and you’ll do great things!