On behalf of the WPGA and Tri-State PGA, let us introduce you to the panel for Junior Golf Night:
Mark Leon - Head Coach Penn State University Men's Golf
Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft named former Nittany Lion standout Mark Leon as the head coach of the Penn State men’s golf team on June 9, 2023. A Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-American, GCAA All-Region and All-Big Ten selection as a Penn State student-athlete from 2001-05, Leon returns to his alma after serving as the head coach at Florida Atlantic for the last two seasons.
In addition to his time as the head coach of the Owls, Leon’s coaching career has also seen him make assistant coaching stops at Florida (2017-21) and Penn State (2011-17).
Leon was named the head men’s golf coach at Florida Atlantic in August 2021. He mentored five All-Conference USA selections during his two seasons with the Owls. Leon’s 2021-22 FAU team won the stroke play portion of the Conference USA Championship, in addition to the Bayou City Collegiate tournament title.
Leon spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Florida prior to his appointment as head coach at FAU. While with the Gators, Leon helped guide Florida to three-straight NCAA Regional appearances (2020 NCAA Championship events were canceled due to COVID-19) and a berth in the 2021 NCAA Finals. Leon helped mentor five GCAA All-Americans, the 2020 Phil Mickelson Award winner, the 2020 and 2021 SEC Freshmen of the Year, six All-SEC honorees and three SEC All-Freshman team members throughout his four seasons in Gainesville.
Prior to his time at Florida, Leon served under long-time head coach Greg Nye as an assistant coach at Penn State from 2011-17. He helped the Nittany Lions advance to NCAA Regionals in four-straight seasons, including Penn State’s most recent trip to the NCAA Finals in 2017. Leon coached a pair of GCAA All-Americans in Cole Miller and Charles Huntzinger in addition to 19 GCAA All-Region selections during his first coaching stint in Happy Valley.
Leon spent four years on the Canadian Tour before getting into the coaching ranks. He had two top-10 finishes, placing fourth in the 2008 Players Cup and tied for sixth in 2009.
One of the most accomplished players in Penn State history, Leon earned 2004 GCAA All-America honors, three GCAA All-Region nods and All-Big Ten honors. Leon led the Nittany Lions to the 2004 NCAA Finals, finishing tied for sixth as an individual, which still stands as the best individual finish in Penn State history.
Leon graduated from Penn State with a degree in history in 2005. He is married to the former Jaime Stitch, who was a member of the Penn State women’s soccer team from 2001-04. The couple has two children, Cameron and AJ.
Dave Gedris - Owner/Instructor, PGA Member - Oakmont Golf Center
Katie Miller-Gee - Decorated Amateur Player
Jeff Groff - Head Coach Allegheny College Men's & Women's Golf
The 2023-24 season marks Jeff Groff's 39th at Allegheny College, and 23rd as the Gators' head golf coach. He led his Gator men’s squad to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in each of his first five seasons -- part of a 30-year streak by the program.
Groff has served as head coach of the women’s program since its inception in 2006. The Gators qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships in their first seven years as a varsity program, producing six top-10 finishes. In 2006, Groff became just the fifth coach in NCAA history to lead both the men’s and women’s teams to the NCAA Championships in the same year, while both teams also bagged a top-10 finish that season.
During Groff’s tenure, seven Allegheny golfers have combined to earn a total of 14 All-America honors.
Groff is a 1983 graduate of Millersville University and earned his master’s in sports administration from Kent State University in 1985. He has been a member of the NGCA Division III Awards Committee, the NGCA East Region Advisory Committee and the Golf Coaches Association of America Mid-Atlantic Regional Committee, where he served as the chairperson and voting member of the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches Poll for several years. He currently serves as the NCAC’s representative on the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Advisory Committee. He also is an avid golfer and a student of the game. Groff is married to the former Chris Binnie, a 1989 Allegheny graduate, and they reside in nearby Cambridge Springs.
Allegheny Career Coaching Highlights
2023 Men - President’s Athletic Conference Runner-Ups
2023 Women – President’s Athletic Conference 3rd Place
2018 Men - Louis Olsakovsky - All-Region, NCAC Individual Champ, NCAC Newcomer of the Year
2016 Men – Jimmy Lasher - GCAA All-American Scholar, NCAC Individual Champ & Player of Year
Craig McRoberts - Director, WPGA Board of Directors
Craig currently serves on the Board of the WPGA. A graduate of Bethel Park High School, Craig played on both a WPIAL and PIAA state championship baseball team. His baseball career took him to Penn State where he was a scholarship recipient on the varsity team. When his baseball days ended, Craig developed a passion for golf and today he plays out of Valley Brook Country Club.
Craig is employed in the wealth management and financial planning industry. The first 29 years of his career were with Hefren Tillotson and the last 2 years have been with Robert W. Baird after the two firms merged in 2022.
Craig’s daughter Ella played at Peters Twp High School where she earned two individual WPIAL top 5 finishes as well as a pair of individual PIAA State Championship top 10 finishes. Her high school team won the WPIAL team title her senior year and finished second in the state. She also competed and won local tournaments including events in the Tri-State PGA Isaly’s Junior Tour and Hurricane Junior Golf Tour. Ella is currently a co-captain of the Women’s golf team at Denison University in Ohio and is in her junior year.
Adam Bureggman - Regional Director, American Junior Golf Association (AJGA)
Adam grew up in Whitehall, Pa - where he attended and graduated from Baldwin High School in 2017. He began caddying at 14-years of age at South Hills Country Club where he continued to work in both the golf shop and bag room throughout his time in college. Adam was a recipient of both the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Scholarship and the Western Golf Association Evans Scholarships which aided him in graduating from Penn State University in 2021 with a degree in Economics. After graduating from Penn State, Adam completed a traveling operations internship with the American Junior Golf Association conducting 21 events over a six-month period. Starting full-time with the AJGA in 2023 as a Tournament Coordinator, Adam now oversees the AJGA’s northeast schedule as Regional Manager, Northeast.
Moderator:
Sean Knapp - Decorated Amateur Player
The 2017 U.S. Senior Amateur Champion, Sean has won more championships than any golfer in WPGA history. Sean won his ninth West Penn Amateur Championship last summer at Hannastown Golf Club. In addition to his WPGA titles, Sean has been WPGA Player of the Year ten times. Sean was also a member of the champion 2009 USGA State Team champion while representing Pennsylvania. Sean was inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.
Important Note:
The program will be focused on providing attendees with information on how to best prepare themselves to be a better player and what opportunities may be ahead of them in the game of golf. The evening will be interactive, and attendees are encouraged to submit questions in advance via email to cborst@wpga.org.The panel will share their experiences and knowledge of golf. The panel will focus on answering questions about championship preparations, scheduling, routines, opportunities the game may provide, and balancing golf with life.
The dress for the evening will be golf casual. Blue jeans are not permitted.
We look forward to seeing all the young golfers come out for this evening.