MIKE STONE WINS NOPGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP; EARNS BERTH AT BARTON CREEK
Mike Stone of Perrysburg shot a final-round 3-under 67 on Wednesday at Portage Country Club to win the 2109 Northern Ohio PGA Professional Championship with a 54-hole score of 5-under 205.
The victory sends Stone and four other NOPGA members to the 53rd annual PGA Professional Championship next April at the Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas.
It will be Stone’s second trip to the National after finishing in a tie for second in the Section Championship last year.
Stone, 47, was the only player in the starting 61-man field to equal or better par-70 all three rounds with scores of 68-70-67.
Stone, the lead instructor at Belmont Country Club, will not be alone when he travels to Texas next year as the top five finishers move on, with four alternates waiting in the wings.
Stone will be joined by Section runnerup Jim Troy (Mount Vernon Country Club), Randy Dietz (Windmill Golf Center), Mark Sierak (Barrington Golf Club) and David Champagne (Firestone Country Club).
Troy, paired with Stone in the final group, battled head-to-head until a bogey on the demanding, 179-yard 14th hole set him one stroke back. Troy finished at 3-under 207 with a final-round 68.
Dietz (pictured), the former NOPGA Apprentice of the Year, equaled Stone’s final-round 67 – the lowest rounds of the tournament – to finish in third place at 208.
Sierak came in at 210 and Champagne at 211 as both shot 68 in the final round.
A key moment came on the 396-yard 15th hole when Stone made a 10-foot putt to save par after experiencing some difficulty from tee to green.
Stone, 47, was holding on to his one-shot advantage when his 3-wood off the tee found the fairway bunker on the right side, while Troy was at least 50 yards longer in prime position.
Stone, who did not use his driver once throughout the event, hit his second shot into a bunker to the right of the green and Troy hit his second shot to within 15 feet, seemingly giving himself an advantage.
Troy missed his birdie attempt after Stone blasted out of the bunker to 10 feet and made the putt to save par — and perhaps the match.
“That putt was huge,” said Stone. “A 10-footer for par? That was a little bit of excitement there.” In a rare display of emotion, Stone gave a feisty fist-punch when his putt dropped.
The 2019 season has been a good one for the Stone family and the month of August has been terrific.
Stone’s older brother, Steve, won the NOPGA Senior Professional Section Championship at Oberlin Golf Club on August 9th and his mother, Karen Stone, was inducted into the Toledo Golf Hall of Fame earlier this week.
Eagle Creek’s David Morgan (212) and Mayfield Sand Ridge pro Mark Evans (213) will serve as alternates, as will Canton Brookside’s Cory Kumpf and director of golf Gary Robison, who survived a 3-man playoff for the final two alternate spots.
FINAL RESULTS:
2019 Northern Ohio PGA Professional Championship
Portage Country Club, Akron, Ohio | Par: 70
Mon-Wed, August 26-28, 2019
QUALIFIERS:
1 Mike Stone Belmont CC 68-70-67–205 -5 $3,200.00
2 Jim Troy Mt. Vernon CC 68-71-68–207 -3 $2,400.00
3 Randy Dietz Windmill Golf Center 72-69-67–208 -2 $1,900.00
4 Mark Sierak Barrington 72-70-68–210 E $1,500.00
5 David Champagne Firestone CC 69-74-68–211 +1 $1,250.00
ALTERNATES:
6 David Morgan Eagle Creek GC 72-72-68–212 +2 $1,100.00
7 Mark Evans Mayfield Sand Ridge Club 68-73-72–213 +3 $1,000.00
T8 Cory Kumpf Brookside 71-74-69–214 +4 $850.00
T8 Gary Robison Brookside 69-71-74–214 +4 $850.00
DID NOT QUALIFY:
T8 Milton Carswell Stone Oak CC 73-69-72–214 +4 $850.00
11 Mitchell Camp Club Walden 72-67-76–215 +5 $750.00
T12 Jon Jones Youngstown 75-71-70–216 +6 $675.00
T12 Tom Atchison Salem GC 72-73-71–216 +6 $675.00
T14 Nick Paez GolfTEC – Cleveland West 72-75-70–217 +7 $600.00
T14 Steve Mulcahy Shawnee CC 72-74-71–217 +7 $600.00
T14 William McKinley Canterbury 72-70-75–217 +7 $600.00
T17 Adam Lewicki Portage 73-74-71–218 +8 $525.00
T17 Jason Nussbaum Congress Lake 76-69-73–218 +8 $525.00
T17 Craig Goldsberry Bent Tree GC 73-71-74–218 +8 $525.00
T20 Nick Gustin Erie Shores GC 77-70-73–220 +10 $425.00
T20 Nicholas Myers Highland Meadows GC 72-73-75–220 +10 $425.00
T22 Steve Parker Portage 75-72-75–222 +12 $325.00
T22 Douglas Brown Alliance 71-74-77–222 +12 $325.00
24 Tom Waitrovich Lakewood 75-72-79–226 +16 $250.00
DQ Glenn Cunningham Silver Lake +7 $200.00
DQ Joe Meglen GolfTEC-Stonebrook +8 $200.00
