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Team News.
4.0 years ago @ 9:08AM
MIKE WHITE
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Their uncle was a Pro Bowl quarterback in the NFL and their grandfather played QB at Notre Dame. Their two aunts were high school basketball stars in the WPIAL and are in the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame.
But for Aidan and Eva Bulger, sports aren’t a relative thing. When it came time to find their sports niche, Aidan and Eva decided to break from family tradition and get in the swing of things.
Aidan is a senior at Quaker Valley High School and Eva a freshman. They are golfers. Darn good golfers. Among the best in the WPIAL.
And by the way, Aidan played only one year of football in his life and neither played basketball.
“They weren’t that type of athletes,” said Jim Bulger, the father of Aidan and Eva. “Certainly not for basketball.”
Eva is 4 feet 11 and Aidan 5-7. But they’re big on the WPIAL golf circuit.
Aidan played in the WPIAL Class 2A golf championships Thursday at Allegheny Country Club in Sewickley and shot a 75 to tie for fifth place. A year ago, he finished third at the championships and last week he shot a 76 at Allegheny in the section qualifier for the championships.
Eva Bulger will play for the WPIAL Class 2A girls championship Oct. 2 at Diamond Run. At last week’s section qualifier, Bulger shot a 78 at Del Mar Golf Course in Wampum to tie two-time defending PIAA champion Maddie Smithco of North Catholic for first. Quaker Valley doesn’t have a girls team, so Eva played team matches on the boys team.
So instead of the pigskin or the rock, the Bulgers found that little balls with dimples work best for them. Actually, golf does run in the family because Jim Bulger played golf all four years at Central Catholic in the early 1990s. His brother, Marc, actually played golf and not football as a freshman at Central Catholic. He didn’t become Central Catholic’s starting QB until his senior year. He eventually ended up a star at West Virginia and had some excellent seasons in the NFL.
Kate and Meg Bulger were Post-Gazette Fabulous 5 selections at Oakland Catholic High School before going on to be standouts at West Virginia. These days, Marc lives in Nashville, Kate in Chandler, Ariz., and Meg in Pittsburgh. Their father, Jim Sr., once a backup QB at Notre Dame, lives in Pittsburgh also.
Meg calls herself a “proud aunt” of Eva and Aidan, who are two of Jim and Sara Bulger’s six children.
“The funny thing is my kids know Marc played football and they know Kate and Meg played basketball, but they don’t know that much about it. That stuff is ancient history to them,” Jim Bulger said with a laugh. “The king is dead.”
And golf is now king — and queen for Aidan and Eva.
4.0 years ago @ 9:19AM
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 | 1:02 PM
Eva Bulger
School: Quaker Valley
Sport: Golf
Class: Freshman
Claim to fame: There is a new golfer with the last name Bulger in the WPIAL finals.
Eva Bulger, the younger sister of Aidan Bulger, has followed in her senior brother’s footsteps. The siblings will soon play for the Class AA boys and girls individual championship. Eva beat the 91 cutoff score last week at Del-Mar Golf Course by 13 strokes, tied for first in sectionals, to advance to the finals.
The Class AA boys championship is Thursday at Allegheny Country Club. The WPIAL girls golf championship will be held Oct. 2 at Diamond Run Golf Club.
What does the family do to compete on the golf course?
We definitely go out and play a lot, which is good, friendly competition, especially at Allegheny (Country Club). It’s really good for me, because I learn from my dad and Aidan. We like to do putting contests a lot, which is fun. I do occasionally (get the upper hand), and that makes me feel good.
How has Aidan helped you become a better golfer?
He’s probably helped the most by teaching me how to be smarter about the game. He’s really good at showing me where to put the ball on the course.
What part of your game have you been working on lately?
I’d say consistency. I think I’ve been hitting the ball well, but I want to continue to hit it well for the finals. So, I need to hit my putts solid and my chips close.
How does it feel to get to the WPIAL championship in your freshman year?
It’s pretty awesome. I’m excited, but I’m not necessarily expected to do really well as a freshman. If I don’t do well, it’s fine, but it would be nice to play well at WPIALs.
What are your thoughts about Diamond Run?
I actually have not played there before, but I heard it’s all about ball placement. You’ve got to know where to put the ball to make it easier. I’m not really nervous. I’ve just got to go out and do my best.
What would it mean to win the WPIAL title?
It would be really awesome and impressive, and I would be really proud if I did win.
What’s your favorite course?
I like playing at Oakmont, because it’s a challenge. Every time I finish a round I always want to go right back out to do it again to try to beat the last round.
4.0 years ago @ 9:15AM
MIKE WHITE
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Fox Chapel’s Nina Busch had the round of her life. North Allegheny’s Isabella Walter countered with the putt of her life.
Walter sank a 12-foot putt on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff against Busch Wednesday afternoon. That putt had Walter lowering her head not long after, just so they could place a WPIAL gold medal around her neck.
Walter, a senior, won the WPIAL Class 3A title at Diamond Run Golf Club with the clutch par putt. The playoff looked like it might be headed for a third hole. But after Walter’s putt, Busch pulled an easy three-footer past the hole, giving Walter the title.
There were championship hugs for Walter not long after she gave away the lead when she three-putted for a double bogey on No. 18.
“I just was being dumb on 18,” Walter said. “I just got really nervous and tightened up on my grip on my putt.”
Meanwhile, Busch was ecstatic to get to a playoff after she literally had the round of her life. A sophomore, Busch had never broken 80 on any course ever before. But she tied Walter with a four-over 76.
“It all came together – finally,” Busch said.
On the first hole of the playoff, both Busch and Walter bogeyed the par 4 No. 1. Next came a 117-yard par 3 and Walter looked to be in trouble when she pulled her tee shot left of the green, above the hole. Busch was below the hole, 20 feet away. Walter came through with a nice chip shot that gave her a chance to save par – and win the championship.
“Definitely the biggest putt of my life,” said Walter, who placed 12th a year ago and did not even qualify for the championships as a freshman or sophomore. “I absolutely thought I was in trouble after my tee shot.”
Peters Township junior Ella McRoberts finished third with a 79.
WPIAL Class 2A
Madie Smithco was the two-time defending PIAA 2A champion and last year’s WPIAL winner. But she spent Wednesday in bed with the flu and did not compete for the WPIAL title.
Smithco’s absence opened the championship door for some young blood.
Eva Bulger, a 5-foot-tall freshman at Quaker Valley, won with an 82 at Diamond Run. Twin sisters Ella and Meghan Zambruno, sophomores at Greensburg Central Catholic, finished second and third. Ella shot 83 and Meghan 84.
“I could’ve done better than I did,” said Bulger, who shot 78 in a practice round at Diamond Run Sunday. “But at the end of the day, I won. So it doesn’t matter.”
A key to Bulger’s win was making par on both par 5s on the back nine. Ella Zambruno had a double bogey on both. Meanwhile, Meghan Zambruno was the leader after the front nine with a 37, but she had an 8 on one of the par 5s on the back and carded a 47 on the final nine holes.
Bulger didn’t know she had a one-shot lead heading into the 18th, a difficult 308-yard par 4 with a lake that requires an iron shot off the tee and then either a long iron or wood.
“I didn’t know if I bogeyed if I would win,” Bulger said. “I just figured I had to just play smart.”
Bulger reached the green in three and two-putted to win.
Bulger comes from an athletic family. Her uncle, Marc, played quarterback in the NFL while two aunts, Kate and Meg, were standout basketball players and are in the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame.
While Bulger was feeling pumped about a WPIAL title, the defending champ was at home, battling the flu and feeling dejected.
“She certainly has never been one to quit, but I never saw her like this. She hasn’t gotten out of bed since Sunday,” said Joe Smithco, Madie’s father. “She was in tears that she couldn’t play. To not be able to play after winning two state titles and hoping for a chance to get three ... it’s tough to take.
“It’s hard to see her career end like this because she worked her butt off.”
