Oakmont professional Devin Gee birdied two of the final five holes in a final-round 67 to hold off John Aber of Allegheny Country Club and win the Tri-State Open at Williams Country Club in Weirton, W.Va., for the first time.
Gee, a former two-time section match-play champion, birdied Nos. 14 and 16 to finish at 8-under 136 on Tuesday, one shot ahead of Aber, who was trying to win the event for the third time.
After opening the tournament with back-to-back bogeys, Aber played the final 34 holes without a bogey to finish at 137.
First-round leader Rocco Salvitti, a sophomore-to-be at Central Catholic High School, got off to a fast start with birdies on three of the first four holes. But a bogey at No. 6, a double-bogey at No. 7 and two more bogeys at Nos. 8 and 9 led to a 73 and a fourth-place finish at 140.
Salvitti was one of 10 amateurs to finish among the top 12, in addition to being one of 13 amateurs of the 17 players to finish under par in the 36-hole event (go to tristate.pga.com for full leaderboard). One of those was Jimmy Ellis of Hickory Heights Golf Club, who shot a final-round 67 to finish alone in third at 138, two shots back.
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerrydulac
First Published: June 17, 2020, 12:19 a.m.