By Tim Schmitt
Niagara Gazette
LEWISTON — When Matt Petrosian got the call — the one he’d dreamed about as a little kid growing up just below the hill in Lewiston — he was standing, appropriately enough, in a golf course pro shop.
The Lewiston-Porter graduate works at nearby Niagara Frontier Country Club in Youngstown and when Marty Shimmel of the Porter Cup organizing committee called to see if Petrosian might be interested in participating in this week’s tournament, he got an emotional reaction.
“I almost dropped the phone,” Petrosian said. "My jaw dropped and the members were looking at me. I started yelling that I was playing in the Porter Cup. I thought it was the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Petrosian is just one of a number of local players who will take part in the event, which starts today with the annual Ham-Am event, but officially kicks off with Wednesday’s opening round at Niagara Falls Country Club.
According to Tournament Director Steve Denn, the Porter Cup has tried to get more area players involved to garner as much local interest as possible. The committee has expanded the number of slots in the field given to those who finish high at the qualifier and more local players have been given late invitations when nationally ranked played cancel late.
“We like to get the locals involved and we’ve shown that through some of the invitations we’ve sent out in recent years,” said Denn, who is as diehard an amateur golf fan as you’ll ever find. “It’s nice to see fans come out and support them, and they get a chance to play with some of the best in the world.”
Petrosian is by no means the only local player. Jake Katz, who plays out of Westwood Country Club in Amherst, is also in the field and Denn called him “one of the area’s best players, for sure.” Raman Luthra, a Niagara Falls Country Club member who was the Buffalo District Golf Association points champ, also got an invitation, while Nick Morreale was granted the automatic bid from NFCC champ Fred Silver. Matt Stasiak, P.J. Alterio and John Edwards are others from Western New York who’ll be in the field when play kicks off.
Petrosian said his invitation will certainly bring out a group of fans for the event — his brother, Mike, made the trip home from Michigan to carry his bag and a group of other family and friends will be in attendance.
“My brother’s a golf pro and when I found out, I called him and he said he’d take off of work to come home for it,” Petrosian said. “I’d always dreamed of him caddying for me at a big tournament.”
Although he admits he’s a little overmatched in a field that includes top amateurs Russell Henley, Byeong-hun An, Peter Uihlien and Jin Jeong, Petrosian said he’s excited for the opportunity to play with such stars.
“It’s going to be a pretty rough start because it’s such a big thing for me,” said Petrosian, who will play Division II golf at the University of Tampa this fall. “My brother’s going to have to calm me down a little. But I’ve got the local knowledge. I know the course pretty well and know how to play it.”
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