Sunnehanna Amateur, 1000 Sunnehanna Drive, Johnstown, PA (2026)

06/05/2026

Marvin “Vinnie” Giles.
One of the greatest amateur players in the history on American golf, Vinny Giles long, phenomenal career is somewhat unfairly overshadowed by the coming success of Jay Sigel. It shouldn’t be.

Giles would finish runner-up in three straight United States Amateurs (1967-1969) and finally won in 1972. He would late add the 1975 British Amateur title trophy to his home and far later the United States Senior Amateur title in 2009.

A three-time All-American at the University of Georgia, he would win numerous amateur titles, the Dogwood Invitational (1963,1965), the Southern Amateur (1967,1975), the Eastern Amateur (19730, the Porter Cup (1973, the Eastern Amateur (1973) and the Northeast Amateur (1971).

A member of four United States Walker Cup teams, Giles, a practicing attorney in Richmond, Virginia, won seven Virginia Amateurs and 3 Virginia Opens.
His commitment to the game extended beyond the course serving on the Executive Committee of the Virginia Golf Association for over 20 years and as Director of the Southern Golf Association for three years.

The leader after 54-holes in 1963, Giles stumbled on the back-nine with a surprising 4-over par 39 to finish third to lose to the well-liked Roger McManus. Giles attire during the tournament created some issues with the tight-buttoned committee who frowned on shorts for play. Because of that experience, he never returned to play in the Sunnehanna Amateur.

Roger McManus, the 1963 Sunnehanna Amateur, was a fine player and the definition of a “gentleman”. He qualifier for 17 United States Amateurs, reaching the quarterfinals once, qualified twice for the United States Open and twice was invited to The Masters. He won the Mid-Atlantic Amateur in 1970. He played in a record 29-times later broken by Sean Knapp.

Lloyd Monroe was a two-time New Jersey Amateur champion. After playing professional golf, he became a prominent Head and Teaching Professional in New Jersey and won numerous titles in the PGA Metropolitan Golf Section. He competed in 5 United States Opens, 2 PGA, United States Senior and PGA Senior Championships.

Bill Wilson was an iconic sports voice at WJAC-TV from 1956 until 1989. Known locally, regionally and even nationally for his interviews with sports stars in both the amateur and pro game. His sports segment, highlighted by a deep and rich voice and pull-no-punches approach, was one of the most memorable portions of WJAC-TV’s nightly broadcast. Covered local Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich, internationally legendary golfer Arnold Palmer and Steelers Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham of Johnstown. Among some of the stars he featured were Roberto Clemente, Jack Ham, Muhammed Ali, Willie Mays, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Rocky Marciano and many, many more.
His colorful attire, especially plaid, and well-known hair piece were a staple. Andrew Duncan, who played Jim Carr the voice of the Charleston Chiefs in the movie Slapshot which was filmed in Johnstown, modeled his role after Wilson .

06/05/2026

Marvin “Vinnie” Giles.

One of the greatest amateur players in the history on American golf, Vinny Giles long, phenomenal career is somewhat unfairly overshadowed by the coming success of Jay Sigel. It shouldn’t be.

Giles would finish runner-up in three straight United States Amateurs (1967-1969) and finally won in 1972. He would late add the 1975 British Amateur title trophy to his home and far later the United States Senior Amateur title in 2009.

A three-time All-American at the University of Georgia, he would win numerous amateur titles, the Dogwood Invitational (1963,1965), the Southern Amateur (1967,1975), the Eastern Amateur (19730, the Porter Cup (1973, the Eastern Amateur (1973) and the Northeast Amateur (1971).
A member of four United States Walker Cup teams, Giles, a practicing attorney in Richmond, Virginia, won seven Virginia Amateurs and 3 Virginia Opens.
His commitment to the game extended beyond the course serving on the Executive Committee of the Virginia Golf Association for over 20 years and as Director of the Southern Golf Association for three years.
The leader after 54-holes in 1963, Giles stumbled on the back-nine with a surprising 4-over par 39 to finish third to lose to the well-liked Roger McManus. Giles attire during the tournament created some issues with the tight-buttoned committee who frowned on shorts for play. Because of that experience, he never returned to play in the Sunnehanna Amateur.
Roger McManus, the 1963 Sunnehanna Amateur, was a fine player and the definition of a “gentleman”. He qualifier for 17 United States Amateurs, reaching the quarterfinals once, qualified twice for the United States Open and twice was invited to The Masters. He won the Mid-Atlantic Amateur in 1970. He played in a record 29-times later broken by Sean Knapp.
Lloyd Monroe was a two-time New Jersey Amateur champion. After playing professional golf, he became a prominent Head and Teaching Professional in New Jersey and won numerous titles in the PGA Metropolitan Golf Section. He competed in 5 United States Opens, 2 PGA, United States Senior and PGA Senior Championships.
Bill Wilson was an iconic sports voice at WJAC-TV from 1956 until 1989. Known locally, regionally and even nationally for his interviews with sports stars in both the amateur and pro game. His sports segment, highlighted by a deep and rich voice and pull-no-punches approach, was one of the most memorable portions of WJAC-TV’s nightly broadcast. Covered local Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich, internationally legendary golfer Arnold Palmer and Steelers Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham of Johnstown. Among some of the stars he featured were Roberto Clemente, Jack Ham, Muhammed Ali, Willie Mays, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Rocky Marciano and many, many more.
His colorful attire, especially plaid, and well-known hair piece were a staple. Andrew Duncan, who played Jim Carr the voice of the Charleston Chiefs in the movie Slapshot which was filmed in Johnstown, modeled his role after Wilson .

06/04/2026

Don Cherry-Champion 1954

Don Cherry would win the inaugural stroke-play version of the Sunnehanna Amateur in 1954. A noted act in Las Vegas with a million-copy, gold record hit “Band of Gold”, Cherry was paid $500, roughly worth over $6,000 today, to be entertainment for the week of the tournament.

As a child, Cherry pursued both of his lifelong loves: golf, he got his first golf clubs at age eight, and singing, he delivered singing telegrams for Western Union.
His volcanic temper on the golf course (which, according to Cherry, "...made Tommy Bolt look like a choir boy!") was in startling contrast to his velvety-smooth singing voice and pleasant stage persona.

Before coming to Johnstown, Cherry had also amassed a note-worthy amateur golf record. In 1953, he had won the Canadian Amateur and lost in the semi-finals of the Southern Amateur. That success led to him being named to the United States Walker Cup team the same year.

Later in 1954, he would lose to Arnold Palmer in the quarterfinals of the United States Amateur that, coupled with his victory at Sunnehanna would cement his spot on the 1955 United States Walker team again. He would be named a final time in 1961. He never lost a match in the Walker Cup. Among his most notable victories was defeating the legendary Joe Carr 5&4.

Cherry would return in 1955 and finish runner-up to Hillman Robbins, who had won the 1954 NCAA Individual title. Robbins would later win the 1956 North and South Amateur and the 1957 United States Amateur.

Don Cherry played in 17 major championships. Nine of those appearances were in The Masters, and eight were in the U.S. Open. He made the cut in nine majors.

Some additional interesting tidbits of Don Cherry.

In 1956, Cherry would have three more hits Wild Cherry", "Ghost Town", and "Namely You", all backed by orchestra leader Ray Conniff.

He was also the voice of the Mr. Clean commercials during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In 1962, he also recorded the original version of "Then You Can Say Goodbye” which became a hit much later for The Casinos and others.
He was also married to Miss Nevada, Joy Garner and singer, Dean Martin was the best man at their wedding. Miss Garner was a Copa showgirl at the Sands Hotel.

06/03/2026

Justin Leonard
A two-time participant in the Sunnehanna Amateur, Justin Leonard was the dominate force in college and amateur golf in the early 90’s.
A 4-time All-American and 3-time, 1st team All-American at Texas, he won, among his many collegiate victories, 4-straight Southwest Conference individual titles.
Justin Leonard’s summer of 1992 is somewhat forgotten when compared to Ben Crenshaw in 1972 and Scott Verplanks in 1985 but it shouldn’t be. He would win the United States Amateur, the Western Amateur and the Southern Amateur. The only blemish, finishing 3rd at Sunnehanna Amateur 14-strokes behind champion Allen Doyle.
In 1993, he would defend his Western and Southern Amateur titles.
The Dallas, Texas native would close out his collegiate career by winning the 1994 NCAA Individual title, and being named the Haskins Award winner as the nation’s best collegiate player.
He captured 12 PGA Tour titles, the biggest the 1997 Open Championship.
He is one of only five players have won the United States Amateur, the NCAA title and one of professional golfs four majors.

06/03/2026

Bruce Lietzke earned his invitation to the 1972 Sunnehanna Amateur by winning the 1971 Texas Amateur. A 2nd team All-American at Houston in 1972-1973. In spite of playing a limited schedule compared to most, Bruce Lietzke would win 13-times on the PGA Tour and 7-times on the Champions Tour including the 2003 United States Senior title.
Like many, his achievements have been forgotten with time. That’s the goal of our posts, to remember great players and the great history of the Sunnehanna Amateur!

06/02/2026

Jay Haas-1974

A three-time All-American at Wake Forest, in 1975 Jay Haas would win the NCAA individual title and was named the winner of the Haskins Award as the College Player of the Year at Wake Forest. Among his other achievements as an amateur was making the cut in consecutive US Opens in 1974 and 1975.

The 1975 Wake Forest team is considered by many to be the greatest team in the history of college golf. Having won the title in in 1974, the 1975 featured a team with multiple All-Americans and future winners on the PGA Tour. Curtis Strange, Bob Byman, David Thore, along with Haas, were the nucleus of the team whose roster also included Tim Saylor, Bill Argabrite and Scott Hoch. They dominated college golf winning 12 of the 14 tournaments and won the NCAA team title by a record 33-shots.

As a professional, he won 9-times on the PGA Tour and an incredible 18-times on the Champions Tour

06/01/2026

The 1966 Sunnehanna Amateur was a two-player tournament after 54-holes between Jack Lewis of Wake Forest and Bob Murphy from the University of Florida.
The field several notable players. Two were University of Houston star, Marty Fleckman, who had won the 1965 NCAA Championship and in 1967 would lead the US Open for 54-holes, and George Boutell from Arizona State,the 1965 Trans-Miss and Eastern Amateur champion.
The final round saw Murphy, who had won the Florida Amateur the week before and the 1965 United States Amateur, chasing Lewis who pulled away on the final nine to win by four strokes.
The next week Bob Murphy would win the NCAA individual title.
Jack Lewis would become a 1st-team All-American in 1968 and 1969. A member of the 1967 Walker Cup team, he also won the ACC and North&South titles in 1968.
Bob Murphy would win 5 times as a professional and was a prominent announcer for many years

06/01/2026

Jim Simons was a legendary golfer from Western Pennsylvania. He won the 1965 and 1966 National PGA Junior titles and 196 West Penn Junior, he would take his talents to Wake Forest.

He would become a two-time All-American and named National Player of the Year in 1971. Runner-up in the 1971 British Amateur and 1970 Canadian Amateur, he was a member of the Walker Cup team the same year.

More memorable was Simons leading the United States Open at Merion in 1971 for 54-holes. Trailing by one-stroke going into the final hole, his drive would find the rough and lead to a double-bogey and a 5th place finish. He would repeat as low amateur in the US Open in 1972 at Pebble Beach.

His amateur career included 2 Pennsylvania Amateur titles and the West Penn Amateur.

Sadly injuries and vision issues plagued his professional career. He would still win 3 PGA Tour titles.

05/29/2026

Mike Reid finished tied for 2nd with Florida standout Phil Hancock in the rain shortened 1975 Sunnehanna Amateur finishing behind Oklahoma State All-American Jamie’ Gonzalez.
A 4-time All-American at BYU, Reid, in 1976, won the WAC Conference Championship and the Pacific Coast Amateur. He was also low-amateur in the 1976 United States Open.

The 1976 BYU team was outstanding featuring 5 All-Americans: Reid, Mike Brannan, John Fought, Jim Nelford, and Jimmy Blair. Two-other players of note on that roster were Pat McGowan, who was an All-American in 1977, and Stan Souza, who would reach the semifinals of the United States Amateur in 1976.

Reid would win twice on the PGA Tour and three-times on the Champions Tour, his biggest victory was the 2005 Senior PGA title.

The summer of 1977 BYU would capture 2 of amateurs biggest titles: John Fought won the United States Amateur and Jim
Nelford won the Western Amateur.

Nelford had also won the Canadian Amateur in 1975 & 1976.

05/28/2026

Steve Stricker played in the 1986 and 1989 Sunnehanna Amateurs, finishing 3rd in 1989.
A two-time All-American at Illinois, he won the Big 10 title in 1986, 1988 and 1989.
His amateur career was home grown winning the Wisconsin Amateur in 1985 and 1989 and the Wisconsin Open, as an amateur, in 1987.
He would turn professional in 1990 winning 11-times on the PGA Tour and an incredible 18-times on the Champions Tour.
What shouldn’t be forgotten is his Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2006. After struggling with his game and losing status in 2004, Stricker relied on sponsors exemptions in 2006. He rewarded them with seven top-ten finishes. In 2007, he won his 4th PGA Tour title and 19 years later hasn’t looked back!!

Sunnehanna Amateur

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