LEWICKI, ATCHISON, MCGUIRE PREVAIL IN 50TH FINALS
Three matches. Three divisions. More than 80 holes. And so many story lines.
Perhaps it was only fitting for the 50th playing of the NOPGA Denny Shute Match Play Championships at Portage Country Club, and you have to imagine old Densmore would have liked it that way.
Let’s begin by stating the obvious. Tom Atchison, Adam Lewicki, and Sean McGuire are the Match Play champions, winning their respective divisions on a bright, windy, and chilly day.
Yet, the obvious doesn’t always tell the story. It’s not that simple. Not in golf. So, here are their respective stories.
Senior Division: Tom Atchison defeats Jon Jones, 8&6
The story line: Two four-time champions meet in the 18-hole finals. Maybe it wasn’t Hagen vs. Nelson, but you get the picture.
The bottom line is that it was Atchison’s day and Jones has seen many better days throughout his career.
Heck, Atchison might have beaten old Shute himself, and Shute, the long-time pro at Portage, was a match-play wizard.
Atchison, fresh off a sparkling 3-point performance in last week’s Ohio Cup, was 4-up through five holes and 3-up after seven, thanks to one birdie and some generous mistakes by Jones, who unfortunately bogeyed four of the first five holes.
Given such a cushion Atchison went on a putting clinic that turned into a birdie binge and gave him his fourth Senior Division title and fifth overall, adding the Member Division title in 2002.
After a bogey on the 296-yard seventh hole that cut his lead to 3-up, Atchison made five consecutive birdies to close out the match.
He made a 15-foot putt on the par-3 eighth, a 6-footer on the difficult ninth, a 15-footer on 10, an 8-footer on 11 and a 3-footer on 12. Jones, a four-time winner of this event, made par on five of his last five holes.
“Actually, I have been solid tee to green for the last couple of weeks and I have been putting well all season,” said Atchison, a PGA Life Member. “Being a five-time champion is something to be proud of. I feel I have always been a good match-play player and I’ve been fortunate to play well in this event. I make a lot of pars and sneak in some birdies.”
How well has he been putting? No 3-putts in the 18-hole single finals at the Ohio Cup and none on Tuesday. On some very tough greens and pin placements at Westbrook and Portage. He edged Scott Pollack, 1-up, and eliminated three-time champ Rob Moss, 2-and-1, in the semifinals.
With six top-10 finishes it has been a productive summer for Atchison, 64. The production continued on Wednesday, concluding a marvelous 9-day match play run.
Associate Division: Sean McGuire defeats DJ Holub, 1-up
The story line: Co-workers at the Pepper Pike Club, former teammates at Twinsburg High and best friends go 37 holes. Friendships should never be tested like this.
Regarded as two of the longest hitters in the Section, the Pepper Pike Club Assistant Professionals put on a dazzling display of power and finesse in their match, scheduled for 36 holes but extended to 37 when Holub birdied the final hole to pull even after never having the lead after the third hole.
Two years ago Holub defeated McGuire in the Shute semifinals and it appeared he might do it again on the first extra hole. Appearances, especially in golf, are fickle.
McGuire’s tee shot hit a tree and dropped straight down into the left rough of the 407-yard first hole. Holub pumped his drive down the middle and was 50 yards in front. Advantage Holub.
McGuire, 30 and one-year younger than his opponent, hit a terrific second to the back, right-hand side of the green. Holub left his second short of the green and his third about 8-feet short of the hole. McGuire lagged his first putt to six inches for a gimme. Holub missed. McGuire had his second NOPGA major title, adding the Shute to his Assistants Championship of 2023.
“I just wanted to give myself a chance to make a putt,” McGuire said of his second shot on the first extra hole. “Just a chance to give myself a chance.”
The Holub-McGuire relationship might be the closest in the Section. McGuire explained:
“DJ was the reason I started playing golf,” he said. “In high school I played other sports but then wanted to try golf. DJ was a grade older and he was already playing and when I saw him play I decided I wanted to be just like him.”
Together, Holub and McGuire led Twinsburg to the district tournament for the first time in school history. The bond never wilted. And there was no extra joy on McGuire’s part in beating his pal.
“He’s one of my best friends,” said McGuire, who played his first nine holes of the second 18 in 5-under, making seven threes in his first eight holes. “We’ve been that way for a long time and it’s always fun when we get to compete. All this means is that I have bragging rights for a bit. Until the next time. When you play DJ you know he is not going to give you anything. He played great today.”
Holub, who led 1-up after the first 18 holes, went 36 straight holes before making a bogey. The 37th hole was the villain.
The final hole of regulation – the 552-yard 18th — was an adventure for both. McGuire hit his drive into the trees on the left. Holub pushed his drive into the trees on the right and had an unfavorable lie. McGuire hit a low liner for his second and the ball caught the rough just to the right and in front of the hole.
Holub hooked his second shot, which glanced off a tree and hit the brick wall surrounding the club swimming pool and caromed back into play. From there he hit a deft chip over a bunker to about 12 feet. He made the putt for a must-have birdie.
McGuire left his third short of the green and on a small hill just in front of a bunker. His chip from an uphill lie rolled well past the role and he missed the putt. It was off to the extra hole.
McGuire and Holub partnered to win an earlier team match at Barrington. Both are close to becoming PGA Class A members, which would enable them to play in many other events, such as the Ohio Cup. That would be a partnership everyone would like to see.
Member Division: Adam Lewicki defeats Nick Paez, 3&2
The story line: Ohio Cup teammates reach the finals. Lewicki becomes what is believed to be the first host professional to win.
In a match in which no one had a lead larger than three holes, Lewicki birdied the 18th hole in the morning to pull even, went 1-up on the ninth hole of the afternoon and never trailed.
The victory ended a string of runnerup and contending finishes over the last several years for Lewicki. It also ended a streak in which he played 234 holes over the last seven days, combining Section events and club responsibilities.
“I think I’ve finished as the runnerup in every one of our major events over the last couple of years,” said Lewicki, who was 1-up after 33 holes but extended his lead to 2-up with a birdie on the 314-yard 15th when his chipped from just in front of the green to within three feet and made the putt to Paez’s par.
The match ended on the 232-yard 16th with a par to Paez’s bogey.
“You look at all the names on that trophy and, of course, Denny Shute’s legacy here, and it’s an honor to be there with them.”
Lewicki, certainly earned his spot in the finals. He beat Bill McKinley, 2-and-1, in his opening match and eliminated two former champs in next two. He beat 2021 champ Drew Pierson, 2-and-1, in the quarterfinals and ousted defending champion Anthony Panepento, 5-and-4, in the semifinals.
“Without question, this is a hard tournament to win,” said Lewicki, who teamed with Paez to produce two points in last week’s Ohio Cup win. “So many good players in our Section. You have to win a number of matches and anything can happen in match play.”
This was the last major event of the NOPGA Section season. Coupled with the victory in the Ohio Cup it was a great way to bring the season to a close. The 2025 season can’t get here soon enough. There will be more story lines to tell.
