David Smith has quite a story. A 1984 Warren Area High School graduate, he got his start in competitive golf at Conewango Valley Country Club as a teenager.

“My dad introduced me to golf when I was 10,” said Smith, who moved with his family to Warren from Titusville in 1976. “Dad was a scratch golfer.”

David followed in his father’s footsteps, eventually being introduced to junior golf tournaments by longtime standout Mary Conarro, who was inducted into the Warren County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

“I love saying Warren is the town I grew up in,” said Smith, 58, son of Bill and Sandy Smith, who now live in Florida. “So many wonderful memories.”

Photo submitted to the Times Observer David, right, is pictured with his brother Mike, a 1983 graduate, who was his caddy for the USGA event.

Smith was a member of Warren Area High School’s first golf team, coached by Dick “Fuzzy” Merenick. Smith went on to Westminster College where he qualified for the NAIA National Championships four straight years.

“I fell in love with New Castle Country Club — home course at Westminster,” he said.

The former NAIA All-American moved to Scranton in 1988 for his first job as a State Farm agent. Smith — who is married to Lisa and has two children who attend Liberty University — has lived in Indiana, Pa., since 1994.

He’s been a member at the Indiana Country Club for 30 years, but his family is in the midst of moving to Charleston, S.C. His last round as a member saw him win a U.S. Senior Open sectional qualifying round on his home course, shooting a 1-under-par 70 to win by one stroke.

“We’re moving south and the event’s north,” Smith told the Indiana Gazette after qualifying. “So I’ve got to figure all of that out. I’ve never been to Rhode Island. I can’t believe I’m going with all the pros.”

The 2023 U.S. Senior Open winner was Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters winner on the PGA Tour.

Instead of stress about it, Smith felt an inner peace he had never felt while golfing.

“I came here (to Newport, R.I.) and my opinion was, ‘I already won,'” said Smith. “(I) soaked it all in.”

Smith said he has a lot to be grateful for — especially his family, who has had to do a lot of packing for South Carolina without him with so much going on. David’s brother Mike, a 1983 WAHS graduate, caddied for him at Newport Country Club.

“I have a lot of great memories,” said Smith. “Obviously, Warren was my first stomping grounds.”