NOPGA PREVAILS IN DRAMATIC FASHION AT THE 28TH OHIO CUP
Drama.
The Oxford Dictionary says drama is an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events.
You can find it in the theater with a bunch of Shakespeareans. Or you can find it on the big screen in a Marlon Brando or Bette Davis flick. Or you can find it in a classroom full of sixth graders.
On Thursday, the best place to find drama was the 6,891-yard golf course at Westbrook Country Club.
The final day of the 28th annual Ohio Cup was a dramafest — a nail-biting, heart-pounding, headache inducing, sweaty-palms dramafest.
Man, was it great.
It was great especially if you were a member or supporter of the Northern Ohio PGA team. It was great golf, great theater and another great chapter in the Ryder Cup-like competition between the NOPGA and its counterparts from the Southern Ohio PGA.
The NOPGA won seven of 16 singles matches and tied two others to end a losing streak that resembled a lingering hangover with a 17-15 victory.
“I don’t remember anything this close in all my years playing this event,” said NOPGA playing captain Mitch Camp, who has participated in 23 of the 28 Ohio Cups.
Oh, there have been closer outcomes, one-point SOPGA wins in 2022 at Barrington and in 2016 at Brookside, both by the identical 16.5 to 15.5 finish.
But this one was special.
First, it snapped a three-year NOPGA winless streak, the longest such streak in the 28-year history of the event. Secondly, it came in Camp’s first year of an anticipated two-year run as the Section captain. Thirdly, it helped eradicate — or at least numb – the humiliation of last year’s 20.5 to 11.5 loss, the NOPGA’s widest margin of defeat. Finally, it improved the NOPGA’s lead in the series to 17-11. Good for the egos.
But perhaps most importantly it proved the NOPGA can get going when the going gets tough. It trailed by a full point after Wednesday’s opening Fourball competition and struggled in the early going of that afternoon’s Foursomes.
Then, as if the players were controlled by the flip of a switch, things began to improve. Camp’s Crew won four of the final six matches and halved another to take a 9-7 lead heading into Thursday’s 16 singles matches.
Another slow start. With half the matches underway after the 8:50 a.m. start the NOPGA was down in five, up in two and three more were tied. Four hours into the final day they had lost four of the six matches that had been completed, were ahead in five, behind in two and two were even. The 9-7 lead had vaporized into an 11-11 tie and things were dicey.
Then steady Tom Atchison and Jaysen Hansen – arguably the squad’s best senior and junior players, respectively — provided wins. Rob Moss and Adam Lewicki added two more, and at one point that tally was 13 points each with six matches remaining.
“I said all along that I had a good feeling about this team,” said Camp. “I told (assistant) Tom Waitrovich and (executive director) David Griffith that I was tired of playing like the underdog. I don’t like it and I wasn’t going to play that way. I decided I was just going to throw the guys out there and they just had to beat the guy they were playing.”
It was a vote of confidence that Camp had in his players. It worked.
Unlike last year when the NOPGA produced five points by going 4-10-2 in singles, it produced eight points by going 7-7-2 on Thursday.
One pairing or one man does not win an event such as the Ohio Cup. Fifteen of Camp’s 16 players contributed at least one-half point or more. Some contributed more than others. Here are the point producers that led to the NOPGA victory.
JAYSEN HANSEN: He saw a 3-up lead dwindle to an all-square match in a matter of six holes on the back nine but his par on the 166-yard 17th hole and another on the difficult closing hole gave up a one-up win over a game Taylor Suggs, playing in his first Ohio Cup. Hansen, head professional at Toledo Country Club, won all three of his matches to raise his all-time record to 24-21-6. Hansen had 16 pars on the day.
TOM ATCHISON: The PGA Life Member and the Section’s all-time wins leader was another 3-point producer, and parred 12 of his first 14 holes and added a birdie on the 15th to build a 3-up lead against Mike Thomas. Another par on the 16th closed out the 3-and-2 win and improved Atchison’s lifetime record in 22 Cup appearances to 42-16-8. Afterwards, Thomas said he felt better in knowing he had lost to the Ohio Cup’s first 40-match winner.
ROB MOSS: The Pepper Pike Head Professional completed his 19th Cup appearance with a 2-and-1 victory that raised his record to 31-20-6. He was even with Tim Krapfel through 11 holes but took the lead with his second birdie of the day two holes later. His third birdie and second in four holes put him at 2-up and he closed the match with his 12th par on the 166-yard 17th. His putt hung on the lip for several seconds – Krapfel was about to pull the pin — before it fell to give him 1.5 points for the two days.
ADAM LEWICKI: The Portage Country Club Head Professional went head-to-head with Ricky Denny for 12 holes before Denny bogeyed the 13th and Lewicki stuck a 135-yard approach to two inches on the 370-yard 14th to go 2-up. Denny 3-putted the 16th and Lewicki had a 3-and-2 win, raising his two-day point total to two.
JIM TROY: Three matches, three wins and three points for the five-time winner of the Section’s Rolex Player-of-the-Year. Troy called it his second-best round of the year and it could not have come at a better time. His win gave the NOPGA 15.5 points and a one-point lead with four matches remaining. He was up one through the 10th hole but Doug Wade – a last-minute substitution for the injured Dave Bahr – pulled even with a birdie on the 11th. Undaunted, Troy countered by making putts of 10 and 15 feet for consecutive birdies on the 13 and 14 to go 2-up before Wade cut it to one with a birdie on 16. In true Troy fashion he buried a 20-footer that broke six feet on the par-3 17th to return to 2-up.
STEVE PARKER: After a tie and a loss in his first two matches Parker came up big in the singles with a 2-up win over Bob Stephens that wasn’t secured until the final hole when Parker made par to Stephens’ bogey. The match was even before Parker went 1-up with a birdie on the par-5 12th when his flop shot over the greenside bunker cozied to five feet and he made the birdie. Both men parred the next five holes before the fateful 18th when Stephens’ short game deserted him.
TOM WAITROVICH: The playing assistant captain suffered two tough losses on Wednesday and only accounted for one-half point this week but what a half-point it was. The NOPGA was holding a slim lead but Waitro was one-down to Chad Ammer on the 18th tee with only two matches remaining. A loss could have been devastating to the Section’s hopes and a tie would be beneficial. After coming up short of the green with his second shot Waitrovich’s hit-skipper from about 25 yards stopped five feet to the left of the hole. Ammer made bogey before Waitro earned his half-point by draining it. His par touched off a mild celebration as his teammates rushed the green to congratulate – and thank, no doubt – the assistant.
CORY KUMPF: Following Waitrovich’s halve the NOPGA needed a win or two halves in the final two matches to end the dreaded winless streak. A birdie on the 14th gave the Brookside Country Club Director of Golf a 2-hole lead but first-timer Wyatt Wilson followed with a birdie on the 15th. Both bogeyed the 16th and parred the 17th, meaning Kumpf was assured of at least a tie and a valuable one-half point. His second from the middle of the fairway sailed over and to the left of the green, leaving him with a nervy, downhill chip. He got it to about eight feet but missed the putt for bogey to Wilson’s par. But it was worth a half-point meaning all Randy Dietz – in the last match of the tournament – needed a tie on the final hole to clinch the Cup. Kumpf, playing with a swollen wrist suffered in an accident earlier in the week, went 1-0-2 for a critical two points.
RANDY DIETZ: The Windmill Golf Center Professional was three holes up through the seventh but Kyler Booher responded with three straight birdies on the 11th, 12th and 13th to pull even. Dietz, who had 17 consecutive pars and a Booher bogey on the 15th hole put Dietz back on top. His tee shot on the par-3 17th stopped a few inches short of the green but in the middle of a sidehill, uphill slope about 35 feet away. He masterfully chipped to three feet, made the par and guaranteed the Section of at least one-half point and the lead was at 16-15. Both men bogeyed the last and Dietz, like Waitrovich before him, was engulfed on the green.
“Playing the last match was different,” said Dietz, now 12-5-1 lifetime. “I didn’t have my best with 17 pars and a bogey but he made some mistakes early before pouring it on with those three straight birdies. You have to make birdies. I’ve never been in this position before. Usually, I’m one of the first off. But I embraced it.”
After all the back slapping and hand shaking and hugging and speeches, the NOPGA guys gathered for several pictures around the trophy.
“Get closer together,” Westbrook Head Professional and tournament host Greg Smith encouraged, wittingly setting the stage for a marvelous ambush.
Suddenly, a bottle of champagne was in Smith’s hands and the cork was off and the celebration began amidst a spray of bubbly.
If the golf didn’t do it, maybe the champagne washed away the frustration and disappointment of the last three years.
Man, was it great.
DAY 2 OHIO CUP PHOTO GALLERY >
FINAL RESULTS: Northern Ohio PGA
2024 Ohio Cup Matches
Westbrook Country Club, Mansfield
Wednesday, Oct 2 – Thursday, Oct 3
SINGLES MATCHES RESULTS:
NOPGA Player vs SOPGA Player
Anthony Panepento Lost 2 & 1 to Jeff Olson
Mitch Camp Lost 4 & 2 to Bob Sowards
Jaysen Hansen Won 1 up over Taylor Suggs
Mike Stone Lost 2 up to Sam Arnold
Nick Paez Lost 4 & 3 to Andy Montgomery
Tom Atchison Won 3 & 2 over Mike Thomas
Drew Pierson Lost 1 up to Chase Wilson
Rob Moss Won 2 & 1 over Tim Krapfel
Adam Lewicki Won 3 & 2 over Richard Denny
Tom Waitrovich Tied Chad Ammer
Mark Bixler Lost 4 & 2 to Mike Auterson
Steve Parker Won 2 up over Bob Stephens
Jim Troy Won 2 & 1 over Doug Wade
Mark Sierak Lost 4 & 3 to Chris Muse
Cory Kumpf Tied Wyatt Wilson
Randy Dietz Won 1 up over Kyler Booher
SINGLES POINT TOTALS: NOPGA 8, SOPGA 8
FINAL MATCH RESULTS: NOPGA 17, SOPGA 15
