David Hewett
David Hewett was born on February 21, 1960. He captured his first major win on October 1, 1988, when he married Elaine Stolarski.
Dave is a 1978 alumna of McDowell High School. He went on to Mercyhurst University (1983-87) where he graduated summa cum laude with a double major and a 3.95 GPA. In addition to being honored as the 1987 Mercyhurst Student Athlete of the Year, Dave received the President’s Achievement Award in Business. He also achieved NCAA Division II and CoSida Academic All-America honors for the 1986-87 collegiate golf season.
Mr. Hewett worked the first 17 years of his career as a CPA, in public accounting, with several local and regional accounting firms. Giving back to the University he loves, David spent the final 16 years of his career as the Controller at Mercyhurst University while also serving as the Men’s and Women’s golf coach for six of those years. He retired from Mercyhurst in 2018.
David, also known as, “David O”, started playing golf at a young age. He honed his skills at the Gospel Hill Golf Club where he was a member until 1990. He was a key contributor to both the Trojan and Lakers’ golf teams. He was an instrumental member of 2 Metro league championship teams. He was named a first team all-metro player in his senior year at McDowell. As a Laker, David O played all 4 years and qualified for the 1987 NCAA Division II National Championship as an individual. He was inducted into the Mercyhurst University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
David began his EDGA career in 1976 at age 16 when the Match Play was hosted at his home club. He qualified and won his inaugural match, but then bowed out after facing local superstar, Dave Smith who eventually finished runner-up that year. Dave went on to compete in 46 Match Play events, qualifying for match play 41 times, both records. Along the way, he compiled a 58-40 match play record holding the record for matches won, lost and played. Entering the 2011 tournament, David O had compiled three runner up finishes, including a loss in 2010 to Ron Coleman, which was Coleman’s 4th straight title. Hewett met Coleman again in 2011, this time in the semi-finals, and ended Coleman’s record 23-match win streak. He then defeated a young and very talented Drew Deimel 1up in the finals to record his only match play championship, coming in his 35th try. Dave’s three finals losses all came to EDGA Hall of Famers, Ed Podufal (1997), Tom Amendola (1994) and Coleman (2010).
David won his first golf major in 2000, when he raised the hardware for the EDGA Amateur Championship at Downing. That victory capped a run that saw him finish in the top ten for a full decade. Mr. Hewett finished his Amateur career with one victory; three runners up, including bridesmaid finishes in both the 1997 Amateur and Match Plan; three third place finishes; and a total of twenty top ten finishes. Running with the best of them, David O’s 3 second place finishes were also at the hands of EDGA Hall of Famers: Dario Cipriani (1987); Amendola (1997); and Ellery Tarbel (2008).
David has amassed twelve other EDGA titles. He won the EDGA Mid-Am in 2013. Since turning fifty, he’s captured a record setting 5 EDGA Senior titles. Owning the senior division, between 2010 and 2021, Mr. Hewett has finished in the top 3 on nine occasions.
As Elaine will attest, Dave has proven to be a good partner as well. He paired with long-time friend Dave First to capture 3 EDGA Better-Ball titles and a Streeter Cup (Senior Better Ball). Establishing that it wasn’t just the play of Mr. First, David O claimed two more Streeter Cup titles with good friend Rick Carlotti; and he left the course with the EDWGA Mixed Couples’ title on nine occasions where he teamed with four different partners, none more special than the first, his mom, the late Jayne Hewett. David also won an EDWGA Mother-Son with his mom and teamed with his father, Don Hewett, to finish runner up in the 1983 EDGA Father & Son. David O established that while there may not be an “i” in the team, it helps to have an “O” on your team.
Dave’s been fortunate to be a part of nine winning teams in the EDGA Interclub with Lake View as well as another nine winning teams with the Erie team in the League of the Lower Lakes, a team he’s been a part of for 25 years.
David currently plays at Lake View Country Club where he’s captured eleven club championships. He has nine more club championships at Gospel Hill where he holds the course record there with 61. He’s also captured five senior club championships at Lake View and another at Whispering Woods.
Dave finished 3rd in the 1996 Pennsylvania State Amateur held at Lake View. He posted a runner up finish in the WPGA Public Links in 2008; and he recorded a 6th place finish in the WPGA Amateur in 1997.
While David has an incredible record of taking the top prize, he has a solid history of giving. He first became involved with the EDGA in 1980 as a club representative for Gospel Hill. In 1985 he was elected Secretary, a post he held until 2003 when he was named President, a position he still holds. He served as the Treasurer on the Board of the Greater Erie Charity Golf Classic and as well as a number of other local non-profit organizations. Dave’s “give ya’ s” are not limited to golf. He’s been the Tournament Director of the Times-News Open Bowling Tournament since 1983. He was inducted in the Erie District Bowling Association Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2015 he was inducted into the Greater Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.