October has been quite a month for golfer Scott Bitar. Most recently, on Oct. 15, the senior advanced to the PIAA Class AAA Individual Golf Championship with a third-place finish out of 20 contestants playing in the PIAA West Region tournament. Prior to that, on Oct. 1, he won the WPIAL Class AAA individual championship (the Foxes’ third in six years), and then helped his team win the WPIAL Class AAA championship.
The team win was something all of the players had fought hard for.
“It was something we had come so close to winning four times, but for various reasons, we just couldn’t get over the hump,” says Coach Bryan Deal. “When we won it,our entire golf family was just so ecstatic.”
The day was heaped with even more excitement for Scott when he received notification that he had been selected as one of only 12 men worldwide to be a part of the 2019 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Scholastic Junior All-America Team. He was the only player selected from Pennsylvania.
“It was a great honor,” says Scott, who scored a 1510 on his SATs and maintains a 4.48 quality point average (QPA). “I didn’t really think I had a chance of being selected; I was really surprised.”
Western Regionals
This year’s Western Regions were a redemption for Scott over last year, when the tournament ended his individual season. Since then, he has made a few very little adjustments in his game, but nothing big. He says the difference is, “just having more experience was a big factor. My game is a lot better this year and I’m mentally stronger.”
“There is a lot of pressure on a WPIAL champ going into west regions,” says Coach Deal, “but Scott literally just kept with the grind and stayed focused. He is the kind of person who thrives on pressure, as do all great athletes. He is comfortable being uncomfortable.”
And that’s how the day began – with a slow, uncomfortable start that could have rattled the Foxes’ number one player, but did not. After the first couple of holes, many players’ scores were extremely low, but Scott was hovering around the 9th, 10th, and 11th spots. Only 10 players advance to the state playoffs.
“Scott didn’t panic,” says his coach, “and that’s the sign of a mature, experienced senior.”
He finished strong birdieing two of the last three holes for an impressive one under par 71.
On to PIAAs
Neither Scott, nor the rest of the team, have ever played at Heritage Hills Golf Course in York, PA, the site of the PIAA Class AAA team and individual championships, but they will get to play two practice rounds prior to the start of competition. The individual championship will be held Oct. 21 and 22, with the team tournament set for Oct. 23.
Scott says he’s approaching both events as he does for every game and tournament. “I always have some nerves beforehand, but I’m going into it trying to improve, just as I always do. It’s just going to be a great week!”
