The last four holes of the 92nd Northeast Ohio Amateur Championship determined the name that would be engraved along side Arnold Palmer’s.
Dublin resident and Dayton Flyers collegiate golfer Blake Solomon and Akron resident and former Duke golfer Aaron Crewse separated themselves from the rest of the field then battled it out for the title, tied at 1-under par for the championship with just four holes left to play.
But Crewse failed to get up-and-down for par on the tough 15th at Windmill Lakes, and Solomon did.
Then Solomon made birdie on the par-5 16th hole, and Crewse settled for par.
Those two shots in two holes made all the difference.
“The 15th was huge, it kept the momentum going,” said Solomon of his par save that gave him the outright lead. “On 16, I just got it up by the green, got a chip close, made the putt.”
Solomon finished as the only player under par for the three day, 54-hole tournament at the par-70 Windmill Lakes Golf Club, posting a 1-under par 209 total.
“Coming down in, it was ‘hit the fairway, find the green, and two putt’,” Solomon said of his play after grabbing the two shot lead. “Unfortunately I didn’t do that on 18, but I got it done regardless.”
Rounding out the top finishers in the Championship Division, Zander Gibson of Concord finished solo third at 213, while Medina’s Andrew Grayson and Youngstown’s Bryan Kordupel shared T4 another shot back.
As his consolation prize, Crewse won the Mid-Amateur Division (for players age 25+) by two shots over Grayson, with a 212 total. Clevelander Jeff Blechschmidt took third place in the Mid-Am at 215.
In the Senior Division, Kurt Peterson of Bolivar posted a solid final round score of 2-under par 68, the lowest Senior score of the week, to leapfrog the rest of the players on a jammed leaderboard. Starting the day one shot back in a four-way tie for second place, Peterson turned in 33 after making three birdies on the front side, then cruised home with an even par back nine to win by two shots.
“It felt good. I wanted to keep it in play all day, stay out of trouble then try to make some putts,” said Peterson. “And that’s really what I did. I stayed away from big numbers. I had an early three-putt, but after that I putted well all day.”
Brad Steven of Concord finished in solo second place after a Monday 69 of his own, jumping over a host of contenders as well.
NEOAm Golf Genius Hole-by-Hole Scoring >
Northeast Ohio Women’s Amateur Championship
It took a playoff to determine a winner of the second annual Northeast Ohio Women’s Amateur Championship.
Emily Holzopfel from Rayland, Ohio caught first-round leader Margaret Williams of Wooster on Monday, with both players finishing at a 36-hole score of 153.
Holzopfel then made a par on the first playoff hole to secure the victory.
“Coming into the tournament, I knew I had to do pretty well,” said Holzopfel about the effort required to win. “On Day 1, I didn’t hit the ball as well as I could have, or scored as well. But I knew today I just had to rally and get it done.”
Canton’s Shirley Vaughn played well enough to earn a wire-to-wire victory in the Senior Division of the second NEOWA, holding off Gail Hackett of Canton by two shots.
“It was a little bumpier today with a triple and a double on the front nine,” said Vaughn. “But I was able to bounce back on the back nine and hit the ball better. The conditions changed with the wind picking up, it was much more difficult to score today. I was able to hang in there and come home with a win.”
The shot of the day from all five divisions on Monday at Windmill Lakes belonged to Green’s Cari Hetler, as she aced the par-3 eighth hole from 139 yards with an 8 iron.
NEOWAm Golf Genius Hole by Hole Scoring >
FINAL RESULTS: Northern Ohio Golf Association
2022 Northeast Ohio Amateur Championship
presented by Great Lakes Auto Network
Windmill Lakes Golf Club, Ravenna, Ohio
Sat, June 4 – Mon, June 6, 2022
Championship Division
1 Blake Solomon, Dublin, Ohio 69 – 69 – 71 = 209 $800.00
2 Aaron Crewse, Akron, OH 67 – 72 – 73 212 $500.00
3 Zander Gibson, Concord, OH 73 – 73 – 67 213 $500.00
T4 Andrew Grayson, Medina, OH 75 – 66 – 73 214 $425.00
T4 Bryan Kordupel, Youngstown, OH 72 – 68 – 74 214 $425.00
T6 Justin Atkinson, Brookfield, Ohio 72 – 73 – 70 215 $308.33
T6 Jeff Blechschmidt, Cleveland, OH 75 – 69 – 71 215 $308.33
T6 Cade Kreps, Boardman, OH 73 – 67 – 75 215 $308.33
9 Vaughn Snyder, Canton, Oh 77 – 69 – 71 217 $250.00
T10 Ian Hardesty, Kent, OH 76 – 74 – 68 218 $162.50
T10 Andrew Kaye, Avon Lake, Ohio 75 – 73 – 70 218 $162.50
T10 Camden Solomon, Dublin, OH 73 – 73 – 72 218 $162.50
T10 Joshua Clay, North Canton, Ohio 72 – 73 – 73 218 $162.50
T10 Jeff Mallette, North Canton, OHIO 71 – 71 – 76 218 $162.50
T10 Tyler Andersen, Columbiana, OH 71 – 70 – 77 218 $162.50
T16 Jack Herceg, Dublin, Ohio 75 – 75 – 69 219
T16 Brandon Jatich, North Canton, Ohio 72 – 74 – 73 219
T16 Tyler Ankrom, Akron, OH 73 – 72 – 74 219
T19 Brian Smith, Amherst, OH 77 – 71 – 72 220
T19 Aaron Belcher, Bluffton, Ohio 73 – 72 – 75 220
21 Kyle Smith, Akron, OH 73 – 76 – 72 221
22 Roni Shin, Rocky River, OH 71 – 74 – 77 222
T23 Jack Hanus, Bowling Green, OH 83 – 68 – 73 224
T23 Ben Hogan, Elyria, Ohio 77 – 73 – 74 224
T23 Brandon Bodis, Avon Lake, Ohio 74 – 73 – 77 224
T26 Brian Terlesky, Youngstown, ohio 79 – 70 – 76 225
T26 Chris Okeson, Lyndhurst, OH 70 – 76 – 79 225
28 Luke Johnson, Westerville, OH 78 – 72 – 77 227
T29 Kyle Buzaki, Stow, Ohio 77 – 74 – 78 229
T29 Doug Barber, Willoughby, Ohio 72 – 76 – 81 229
31 Thomas Miano, Stow, Ohio 72 – 77 – 81 230
32 Luke Gazarek, Delaware, Ohio 74 – 76 – 84 234
33 Nicholas Longano, Concord, OH 77 – 74 – 93 244
WD Nick Reardon, Galloway, OH 78 – 69 – WD
CUT Jay Prospal, Twinsburg, OH 73 – 79 73 225
CUT Zach Glassman, Painesville, OH 77 – 76 75 228
CUT Andrew Malkus, Maple Heights, OH 78 – 79 74 231
CUT Brian Beebe, Uniontown, OH 80 – 77 76 233
CUT Eric Wonkovich, Lakewood, OH 77 – 80 81 238
CUT Logan Hooper, Toledo, OH 77 – 75 152
CUT Ryan Chipps, Painesville, Ohio 79 – 74 153
CUT Gunnar McCollins, Massillon, OH 74 – 80 154
CUT Miles Miller, Dublin, OH 79 – 75 154
CUT Ayden Richmond, Geneva, Ohio 75 – 80 155
CUT Jacob Lowis, Westerville, Ohio 81 – 74 155
CUT Jacob Sylak, Mineral Ridge, Ohio 77 – 78 155
CUT Mason Frazier, Wooster, OH 79 – 76 155
CUT Colton Vincelette, Wadsworth, Ohio 79 – 78 157
CUT Rob Loomis, Akron, Ohio 74 – 83 157
CUT Max Crookston, Stow, OH 78 – 80 158
CUT Matthew Roth, North Royalton, OH 80 – 79 159
CUT Blake Hood, Alliance, OH 78 – 82 160
CUT Cole Christman, Canfield, OH 83 – 77 160
CUT Paul Mastros, Wintersville, OH 83 – 79 162
CUT Xander Moran, Kent, Ohio 82 – 80 162
CUT Alec Adcock, Canton, Ohio 81 – 82 163
CUT Charles Belden, Canton, Ohio 80 – 83 163
CUT Colin Frimel, Medina, OH 85 – 78 163
CUT Robert McMahon, Cleveland Heights, OH 79 – 84 163
CUT Jonathan Riemer, Lakewood, Oh 82 – 82 164
CUT Zach Panek, Bay Village, Ohio 86 – 80 166
CUT Conner Stevens, Brookfield, Oh 85 – 84 169
CUT Emilio Noguez, University Heights, OH 84 – 85 169
CUT Kota Ando, Ashland, Ohio 83 – 86 169
CUT Adam Wickham, Uniontown, Ohio 81 – 90 171
CUT Brian Tischler, Cleveland, OH 87 – 87 174
WD Michael Klaric III, Peninsula, OH 71 – WD WD
WD PJ Malik, Pepper Pike, Ohio WD WD WD
WD Brett Kaufman, Westlake, Oh WD WD
Mid-Amateur Division
1 Aaron Crewse, Akron, OH 67 – 72 – 73 = 212 $500.00
2 Andrew Grayson, Medina, OH 75 – 66 – 73 = 214 $400.00
3 Jeff Blechschmidtn, Cleveland, OH 75 – 69 – 71 = 215 $300.00
4 Vaughn Snydern, Canton, Oh 77 – 69 – 71 = 217 $250.00
T5 Ian Hardestyn, Kent, OH 76 – 74 – 68 = 218 $175.00
T5 Joshua Clayn, North Canton, Ohio 72 – 73 – 73 = 218 $175.00
T5 Jeff Malletten, North Canton, OHIO 71 – 71 – 76 = 218 $175.00
8 Brian Smithn, Amherst, OH 77 – 71 – 72 = 220 $125.00
9 Ben Hogann, Elyria, Ohio 77 – 73 – 74 = 224
T10 Jay Prospaln, Twinsburg, OH 73 – 79 – 73 = 225
T10 Chris Okesonn, Lyndhurst, OH 70 – 76 – 79 = 225
12 Zach Glassmann, Painesville, OH 77 – 76 – 75 = 228
13 Doug Barbern, Willoughby, Ohio 72 – 76 – 81 = 229
14 Thomas Mianon, Stow, Ohio 72 – 77 – 81 = 230
15 Andrew Malkusn, Maple Heights, OH 78 – 79 – 74 = 231
16 Brian Beeben, Uniontown, OH 80 – 77 – 76 = 233
17 Eric Wonkovichn, Lakewood, OH 77 – 80 – 81 = 238
18 Luke Stretarn, Richfield, Oh 82 – 75 – 87 = 244
WD Nick Reardonn, Galloway, OH 78 – 69 – WD
CUT Matthew Rothn, North Royalton, OH 80 – 79 = 159
CUT Scott Loudonn, N. Canton, Ohio 85 – 78 = 163
CUT Jonathan Riemern, Lakewood, Oh 82 – 82 = 164
CUT Rob Venrosen, Poland, Ohio 87 – 78 = 165
CUT Zach Panekn, Bay Village, Ohio 86 – 80 = 166
CUT Emilio Noguezn, University Heights, OH 84 – 85 = 169
CUT Josh Dankovichn, Boardman, Ohio 85 – 84 = 169
CUT Brian Tischlern, Cleveland, OH 87 – 87 = 174
CUT Matt Malonen, Ashland, OH 92 – 83 = 175
WD Michael Klaric IIIn, Peninsula, OH 71 – WD
WD PJ Malikn, Pepper Pike, Ohio WD
WD Brett Kaufmann, Westlake, Oh WD
Senior Division
1 Kurt Peterson, Bolivar, OH 73 – 74 – 68 = 215 $500.00
2 Brad Steven, Concord, OH 75 – 73 – 69 = 217 $400.00
3 Marc Fried, Solon, OH 71 – 76 – 73 = 220 $300.00
4 Mark Guadagni, Hudson, Ohio 73 – 74 – 74 = 221 $250.00
5 David Trier, Stow, OH 74 – 72 – 76 = 222 $200.00
6 Lou Boarman, Mogadore, OH 74 – 73 – 76 = 223 $175.00
T7 David Stover, Pepper Pike, OH 78 – 72 – 74 = 224 $137.50
T7 Mark Borlin, Stow, OH 71 – 79 – 74 = 224 $137.50
9 Jeffrey Knox, Brecksville, OH 77 – 73 – 75 = 225
10 Mike Cassell, Hudson, OH 74 – 80 – 72 = 226
T11 Nick Lambos, Canton, OH 73 – 81 – 73 = 227
T11 Rick Bryson, Akron, OH 75 – 76 – 76 = 227
13 Robert Schustrich, Windham, Ohio 77 – 75 – 76 = 228
14 Chris Sabo, Akron, Ohio 79 – 72 – 78 = 229
15 Brian Sparrow, Chagrin Falls, Ohio 77 – 78 – 77 = 232
16 Paul Lagrotteria, Elyria, Ohio 75 – 80 – 81 = 236
17 Roger Tolley, Willard, United States 79 – 76 – 86 = 241
CUT Mike Crawford, Sheffield Lake, Ohio 78 – 79 = 157
CUT Tom Baugh, Akron, OH 78 – 79 = 157
CUT John Toth, Akron, OH 79 – 79 = 158
CUT Jim Durr, Silver Lake, Ohio 80 – 79 = 159
CUT Tim Baker, Chagrin Falls, OH 82 – 77 = 159
CUT Randy Crider, Brunswick, ohio 79 – 82 = 161
CUT Marc Blaushild, Moreland Hills, OH 83 – 79 = 162
CUT Tim Heavner, Alliance, ohio 79 – 83 = 162
CUT Joe Denk, Fairview Park, OH 86 – 84 = 170
CUT Matt Timmons, Shaker Heights, Ohio 90 – 83 = 173
CUT Ed Marsinek, Ravenna, Ohio 86 – 89 = 175
WD Monty Guest, Solon, OH WD
WD Scott Saari, Avon Lake, OH WD
Women’s Championship Division
T1 Emily Holzopfel, Rayland, Ohio 77 – 76 = 153 $200.00
T1 Margaret Williams, Wooster, Ohio 74 – 79 = 153 $100.00
3 Cari Hetler, Green, Ohio 79 – 78 = 157
4 Emily Baumgartner, Tallmadge, OH 85 – 77 = 162
Women’s Senior Division
1 Shirley Vaughn, Canton, Ohio 75 – 80 = 155 $200.00
2 Gail Hackett, Canton, OH 78 – 79 = 157 $150.00
3 Dawn Swit, Chagrin Falls, OH 81 – 79 = 160 $100.00
4 Denise Callahan, Canton, Ohio 80 – 82 = 162
5 Diane Sabo, Painesville, OH 83 – 83 = 166
6 Janet Shaheen, North Canton, OHIO 82 – 86 = 168
Photos and player interviews by Justin Golba, NOGA USGA Communications Intern
