If David Fuhrer feels any pressure to live up to his family’s golf legacy, he certainly doesn’t show it. A calm, collected player who’s extremely calculated, the junior is the Foxes top golfer this season and has clinched almost every match medal. He knows the team expects a lot from him and depends on him to play well. His lead-by-example temperament has meshed perfectly with the team’s senior leadership, so it was only natural that David and senior Andrew Begg just led the team to the program’s 31st section title.
That winner’s feeling is something that David has experienced many times during his three years with the team. Just recently, on September 20, David finished as the co-first-place medalist at the WPIAL Class 3A Section 8 individual playoffs, held at Saxon Golf Course. Along with David, teammates Andrew, junior Joey Rattner, and sophomore Davis Kittsley also now advance to the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A individual tournament on September 27 at Champion Lakes Golf Course. Qualifiers’ scores then are transferred to the final round, to be held October 6 at Allegheny Country Club.
Brings Experience to Postseason
As a sophomore, David was a big contributor when the team captured the WPIAL Class 3A championship and then went on to become the PIAA team runners-up. Individually, David won the 3A Section 8 championship and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals. He was disappointed with his performance, however, and has taken steps to refine his technique and focus more on the mental part of the game.
“At WPIALs last year, the qualifying score was 82 or better,” he says. “I went into a 10-man playoff for one qualifying spot and ended up with an 83. The tough experience taught me that you can never take anything for granted and always to keep grinding, something that I am trying to incorporate into my game this season.”
During the summer, David played in a lot of tournaments, including the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Tri-State and West Penn events, and was pleased with his consistent performances.
“The players who are at AJGA events need to qualify, which is hard to do, and the field of players is always strong,” David says.
At the AJGA Randy Wise Junior Open, David finished 13th among a field of 60 players, and he won the Nick Faldo Hurricane Tournament and the Isaly’s Junior Tournament of Champions.
“I’m putting more work into my game than before, and I expect high performances of myself every single round I play,” explains David, who tries to limit his days off. “Also, I think two very important things have changed from last season: I have gained a lot of distance, and my putter is hot, something that can make or break your game.”
“Davey has always been consistently solid, but this year he is posting some great scores and averaging a score of 35,” says first-year coach Joe Farrell. “He is a great teammate, and I can tell he is very relaxed on the course.”
The next thing David is most looking forward to is competing against some of the best high school golfers, including Nick Turowski of Franklin Regional, who was the 2021 WPIAL Class 3A individual champion.
“I have played with Nick for the past years in junior tournaments,” David says. “He is a great player and a friend of mine, and he will be great competition during the WPIAL individual tournament.”