FINAL RESULTS: 2024 NOGA Lewis Cup

On paper, the Amateur Team competing in the Northern Ohio Golf Association’s 2024 Lewis Cup carried handicap indexes significantly better than the Senior Team, giving them a perceived advantage heading into the fourth annual competition at Westfield Country Club.

But after the Saturday team points were split evenly at 6 to 6, and after a glance at the scoreboard in the middle of the Sunday Singles matches, paper prognostications went out the window.

The 2024 Lewis Cup matches would hinge on the play of a few individuals in a few key matches, and which team would perform better overall on the day.

The first singles match of the day was a blockbuster, featuring reigning Northeast Ohio Amateur champion and past Ohio Open and Ohio Am winner Vaughn Snyder vs. Tom Laubacher, a past Ohio Senior Amateur champion. Laubacher won two of the last three holes and fought Snyder to a halve, earning a half point the Senior Team might not have expected.

In the second match, 22-year-old Am Team member Tom Bell of Bowling Green put up a 68 against the even par round of veteran competitor Tom Skidmore and won going away, 4&2. Advantage Ams.

But Senior Team member Tom Baugh grabbed that point right back, defeating Am Rick Deichert in a match that went to the 18th and never saw more than a one-hole lead in either direction.

In match number four, Senior Dean Cutlip played solidly but was also the beneficiary of an off day by Amateur Ryan Wirtz, good for a Senior point in a 4&2 win.

The next four matches went mostly according to script, as the “favorites” (as much as amateur match play golf can have favorites) won as expected, mostly by a final score without significant stress. Past Northeast Ohio Am champ Doug Hauenstein got past Am Brian Beebe for a Senior point, but two of the hottest amateur players in Northern Ohio, Kyle Buzaki and Howard Clendenin, claimed their Am Team points against Mike Belacic and Jim Durr, respectively. Am Tyler Ankrom shot 5-under par in 13 holes to win 7&5 against John Toth for another Am point.

Tyler Ankrom, 2024 Lewis Cup — Tyler Ankrom

But when Senior Allen Freeman was able to get past talented, long-hitting Am Andrew Grayson by 4&3, the Sunday matches were as square as square could be: 4.5 to 4.5.

It would all come down to the three anchor matches, featuring the two Lewis Cup Captains and some past NOGA Players of the Year in a showdown to see who would win the 2024 Cup.

Andrew Malkus, 2024 Lewis Cup — Andrew Malkus

Amateur Andrew Malkus played a solid round of golf in putting away two-time NOGA Senior Player of the Year Mark Borlin by a score of 4&3.

But 2024 NOGA Senior Player of the Year and Senior Lewis Cup Captain Rob Schustrich took care of business against 10-time NOGA Player of the Year and Amateur Captain Brian Smith with a strong 5&4 result to again square the point totals.

So the 2024 Lewis Cup came down to the final match, a tall order for Senior team member Scott Winckowski of Toledo. Given the Ams held the Cup after their 2023 victory, Winckowski would have to defeat a past NOGA Player of the Year in Ben Hogan if the Senior Team was to win. But Hogan played well and earned a 3&2 win, and with that the Amateur Team earned a one point victory and retained the Lewis Cup for the third consecutive year.

The fourth edition of these matches was a hard-fought battle with a narrow margin of victory for the Amateur Team. The Senior Team is going to have to figure out a way to play just a little bit better if they want to get the Lewis Cup back in 2025.

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FINAL RESULTS: Northern Ohio Golf Association
2024 Lewis Cup Matches
Westfield Country Club, Westfield Center, Ohio
Sunday, September 29, 2024
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