Butler Eagle County Amateur: Annual golf tourney set Aug. 11 at Slippery Rock Golf Club
A replay of 2021 would suit Geoff Patterson just fine.
The Butler resident won his second straight Butler Eagle County Amateur golf title that year with a 69 at Slippery Rock Golf Club, the same venue hosting this year’s event Aug. 11.
“I’ve been a member there for years and that obviously benefits me,” Patterson said. “We haven’t had much rain, so the greens are really firm right now. If you miss the greens, you have some very tough chips to make.”
Troy Loughry, winner of the last two amateurs at Lake Arthur Golf Club (2023) and Hiland Golf Course (2022) will attempt to become just the second golfer to win the championship three straight years. Sean Knapp accomplished the feat 2008-10.
Other former champions already registered include Rob Voltz (2007, 2016) and Mike Marron (2014).
The Eagle Amateur, held every year since 1995, is a one-day, 18-hole stroke play event. Registration opened in late June, and as of Wednesday night, 80 golfers, including seven women, have signed up.
“This is about where we usually are in late July with number of golfers signed up,” said Voltz, an Eagle Amateur committee member. “We always get a big push the last two weeks and are hoping to double what we have now.”
None of the seven registered women have previously won the title. Chloe Fritch, an incoming senior at Karns City High School who won last year, is recovering from a knee injury.
The record for golfers in the event is 176, set two years ago at Hiland.
Slippery Rock Golf Club presents its own set of challenges.
“It’s not overly long, but it’s tight,” Voltz said. “If you can keep it in between the trees, you give yourself a chance, but that’s easier said than done.”
Play will begin with a pair of shotgun starts — 7:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.
The fee is $80 if signed up by Wednesday and $90 afterward. Registration can be done by completing the form in the Butler Eagle or by contacting Voltz at 724-822-4189.
Previous winners
1995-Mark Young, 1996-Jim Hepler, 1997-Bill Black, 1998-Dave Hungerman, 1999-Sean Swidzinski, 2000-Greg Minda, 2001-Chuck Young, 2002-Mark Young, 2003-Chris Marron, 2004-Mike Toubakaris, 2005-Doug Knox, 2006-Nathan Bilski, 2007-Rob Voltz, 2008-10-Sean Knapp, 2011-Bennett Smith, 2012-13-Sean Knapp, 2014-Mike Marron, 2015-Scott Vice, 2016-Rob Voltz, 2017-Scott Vice, 2018-Jeremy Enslen, 2019-Brent Rodgers, 2020-21-Geoff Patterson, 2022-23-Troy Loughry
Editor’s note: This story was updated 4 p.m. Thursday to reflect a correction. The previous version of this story misidentified 2003’s Eagle Amateur winner, Chirs Marron, 2014 winner, Mike Marron, and 2018 winner, Jeremy Enslen.
