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In golf, Artie Fink certified for the U.S. Novice Championship.
Editor’s notice: That is the third in a collection on the Blair County Sports activities Corridor of Fame’s class of 2024:
By Ken Love
For the Mirror
An all-around athlete rising up, Blair County native Artie Fink was a very profitable bowler as a younger teenager.
He would go on to attain nice success within the sport on each the state and nationwide scenes, and for many, that could be sufficient. Not so for Fink.
As an grownup, he took up the sport of golf, and, amazingly, Fink would rapidly excel at this sport too, changing into a highly-skilled golfer and finally incomes recognition as probably the most achieved golfer in Blair County historical past, in addition to its greatest bowler.
Fink appeared destined for sports activities stardom from beginning.
His father, Artie Fink Sr., was a standout wrestler at Hollidaysburg Space Excessive Faculty who captured each district and regional titles earlier than inserting within the state championship wrestling event. His mom, Melody, additionally got here from an lively sports activities household. Her dad, Invoice Noye, was one of many space’s greatest bowlers, and her brothers, Jim and Ed, have been among the many higher highschool athletes in Blair County.
From a younger age, Fink was lively in soccer, baseball, wrestling and bowling, however baseball was all the time his past love.
Nearing commencement from Altoona Space Excessive Faculty in 1988, Fink was set to just accept an athletic scholarship to James Madison College, however his plans modified when native businessman Greg Dempsie supplied to sponsor Fink’s try to hitch the Skilled Bowling Tour.
Fink was already a highly-ranked bowler, however one of many necessities for PBA membership at the moment was attending a one-week PBA faculty in Torrance, California.
“The college was actually useful for getting younger professionals began heading in the right direction,” Fink stated. “Getting my card allowed me to begin competing in regional occasions throughout the jap U.S.”
By means of the early Nineteen Nineties, Fink excelled on the regional stage and finally gained entry into nationwide PBA occasions held throughout the nation, competing towards the likes of Pete Weber, Marshall Holman and Mark Roth.
By 1994, he was on the prime of his recreation and earned a third-place end within the USBC Open Championship. That 12 months, he additionally completed third within the 1994 Cincinnati Open, incomes $25,000.
By the mid-Nineteen Nineties, nonetheless, the touring life-style and being away from residence started to put on on Fink.
He finally stated goodbye to his skilled bowling profession however has remained lively as an area bowler. To at the present time, he continues to compete in space league play and participates in weekend tournaments throughout the mid-Atlantic Area frequently.
In 2004 and 2006, Fink captured the PA State USBC Scratch Singles Championship. He was additionally the PA USBC Scratch All Occasions Champion in 2004.
Amazingly, Fink has recorded 90 licensed 300 video games and 55 licensed 800 collection in his 38 years of organized bowling competitors. These many spectacular bowling accomplishments earned Fink induction into the Pennsylvania State Bowling Corridor of Fame in 2023.
If all these accomplishments weren’t sufficient, Fink would set his sights on a second sporting profession the place he finally equaled, and in some ways surpassed, his bowling successes.
Fink recollects his earliest recollections of golf concerned good good friend Randy McKee, who switched from the Altoona soccer squad to the college’s golf group in tenth grade.
Fink couldn’t perceive why somebody would select to play golf over some other sport, however that modified when his skilled bowling profession was winding down.
With a bit extra free time, Fink joined Sinking Valley Nation Membership and commenced to be taught the sport with a foursome that included his dad, uncle Jim Noye and his pap, Invoice Noye.
“We teed off each Saturday morning at 6:45 a.m.,” Fink stated. “And it didn’t take lengthy for me to fall in love with the sport. I quickly began enjoying golf from sun-up to sunset.”
Most golfers who take up the sport as an grownup wrestle to grow to be proficient, however it wasn’t lengthy earlier than Fink labored his method to grow to be a single-digit handicapper.
Throughout that point, Sinking Valley was residence to lots of the space’s prime golfers, and so they rapidly took discover of Fink. A number of members went out of their means to assist him early on, together with Bobby Sweitzer, Greg Ferguson and Eddie Strickler.
“I bought to play numerous golf with Artie when he first began competing,” Strickler stated. “Unquestionably, he had the best uncooked expertise of any native golfer I’d ever seen, and on prime of that, Artie has one of the best aggressive thoughts of anybody I do know.”
Inside a short while, Fink was competing for native championships, and in 1996, he received his first Sinking Valley title. He additionally partnered with Jim Roseberry that summer season to win the Down River Basic.
From there, Fink by no means seemed again.
By means of 2023, he has captured 24 native membership championships, eight Better Altoona particular person titles, six Central Counties Particular person Championships and an unbelievable 59 native best-ball titles — Iron Masters (13), Sinking Valley (10), Summit (10), Down River (9), Scotch Valley (8), Mount Union (5) and Park Hills (4).
Native standout golfer Leonard DelBaggio has been a member at Sinking Valley for many years. He was there to witness Fink’s progress, from newbie stage to changing into one of the best within the space.
“When Artie began, you may see he had numerous expertise, however what actually impressed me was how onerous he labored on his recreation,” DelBaggio stated. “Inside just a few years, Artie was competing with one of the best gamers within the space. Quickly after that, he was beating completely everyone.”
Fink’s meteoric rise within the recreation of golf wasn’t restricted to the native scene.
On the state stage, he captured a Pennsylvania 4-Ball Championship title with Greg Ferguson in 1999 and a second trophy with Anthony DeGol in 2018.
On a nationwide stage, Fink has been one in every of only a few Blair County natives to ever qualify for a USGA championship. In 2005, he competed within the US Public Hyperlinks Championship at Shaker Run C.C. in Lebanon, Ohio, and in 2010 he was chosen for the USGA State Championship in Santa Rosa, California.
Maybe his biggest particular person achievement, nonetheless, was qualifying for the distinguished U.S. Novice Championship in 2013, enjoying alongside future PGA stars Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Max Homa.
Fink’s golf recreation has made an enormous impression on Scotch Valley’s Anthony DeGol. The 2 have performed many rounds collectively as championship companions in various native tournaments.
“The way in which Artie was capable of decide the sport up later in life and get to an elite stage, competing on a nationwide stage a number of instances, is simply flat out astonishing,” DeGol stated. “There have been lengthy stretches the place he would beat his opponents by giant gaps.”
Having gotten to know Fink effectively in recent times, DeGol has witnessed a number of traits which have served Fink effectively.
“Competitiveness, grit, structured work ethic and immense expertise,” DeGol stated admiringly. “Artie is all the time understanding what his weakest factors are at any given time and works on them with objective.”
Although Fink is now 54 years previous, he’s nonetheless profitable native championships and has his sights set on extra competitors within the close to future. When he turns 55, he’ll be eligible for the numerous senior championships performed on the state and nationwide ranges.
As he appears again on 40 years of competitors, although, one explicit occasion could have been the spark that lit Fink’s aggressive fuse.
When he was simply a youngster competing on Altoona’s soccer group, coaches would sometimes give every participant a written evaluation on the finish of the season. On the shut of his senior 12 months, defensive again coach George Geishauser gave Fink a report {that a} made enormous impression, one that is still with him to at the present time.
“Coach Geishauser stated I used to be a great defensive again, but when I’d have simply practiced slightly more durable, I may’ve been nice,” Fink stated. “These phrases actually hit residence with me. From that second on, I instructed myself I’d by no means let anybody outwork me once more.”
Fink’s aggressive outcomes over the previous 40 years are proof of that promise, and he’s gratified by his choice for the Blair County Sports activities Corridor of Fame.
“If you’re younger, you don’t give it some thought a lot,” Fink stated. “However the older you get, the extra you understand what an accomplishment it’s. It provides you chills.”
Blair County Sports activities Corridor of Fame
When: Saturday, April 13
What: Blair County Sports activities Corridor of Fame’s twentieth induction
Inductees: Artie Fink Jr., Rachel Gehret, Mark Moschella, Tom Turchetta, Alli Williams
Workforce inductee: 2022 Hollidaysburg Little League group
Group Service Award winner: Jim Price
Emcee: Bob Pompeani
Tickets: $100 every or $1,000 for tables of 10. Name Kathy Millward at 814-312-4753 or e-mail [email protected]. Ticket varieties can be found at blaircountysportshof.com.
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