Nearly 100 Tournaments, Events Highlight 2023 Northern Ohio PGA Schedule
The Northern Ohio Section of the Professional Golfers Association of America begins what promises to be a comprehensive 77th season on Monday with the first stroke play event of 2023.
Nearly 100 events — spanning from stroke play tournaments for Section professionals, competitions for junior golfers to the PGA Hope program – are scheduled as the Section continues to provide high quality golf for all ages and skill levels and to help aid charitable causes.
The Section will conduct what it considers its 12 ‘major events, highlighted by the playing of the pre-eminent event of the season — the 102nd Ohio Open in late June at Westfield Country Club — and 38th Ohio Senior Open at Firestone Country Club, just after Memorial Day.
The Section professionals begin their season with the Pro-Pro Premier event Monday and Tuesday at Firestone Country Club. The professionals will compete weekly from now until early October with a series of stroke-play events, usually on Mondays.
The Section’s ‘major’ events are:
• The 38th Michelob Ultra Ohio Senior Open, May 31-June 1, Fazio Course, Firestone Country Club, Akron.
• The 48th Junior Section Championship, June 12-13, Oberlin Golf Club, Oberlin.
• The 102nd Pyramid Treating Ohio Open, June 26-28, North & South Courses, Westfield Country Club, Westfield.
• The 40th Kenny Novak/NOPGA Junior Tour Championship, July 25-26, Club Walden, Aurora.
• The 38th NOPGA Senior Professional Championship, August 3-4, Shawnee Country Club, Lima.
• The 72nd NOPGA Professional Championship, August 21-23, Tippecanoe Country Club, Canfield.
• The 3rd Ladies Professional Championship, August 21-22, Tippecanoe Country Club, Canfield.
• The 53rd Assistant’s Championship, September 5, Avon Oaks Country Club, Avon.
• The 93rd Habitec Toledo Open, September 11-12. Belmont Country Club, Perrysburg.
• The 21st Mitchell-Haskell Tour Championship, September 25-26, The Country Club, Pepper Pike.
• The 27th Ohio Cup Matches, October 3-4, Worthington Hills Country Club, Worthington.
• The 48th Denny Shute Match Play Championship, October 16-19, Portage Country Club, Akron.
The Section also will conduct its Smucker’s Birdies & Charity event to benefit the Northern Ohio PGA Section Foundation at Avon Oaks Country Club on September 18th and a series of PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) Programs throughout Northern Ohio.
Here is a brief summary of the NOPGA’s major events, including highlights from 2022, in chronological order:
38th OHIO SENIOR OPEN, SPONSORED BY MICHELOB ULTRA
May 31-June 1
Fazio Course, Firestone Country Club
Reigning champion: Bob Sowards, Dublin, OH.
2022 RECAP: Sowards, the Director of Instruction at Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club, became the first man to win four straight Senior Open championships when he defeated fellow Southern Ohio PGA member Sam Arnold (Cincinnati) on the first hole of the playoff. Both men finished the 36-hole event at 5-under 135. Sowards rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt to win and tie NOPGA Hall-of-Famer Gary Robison for the most Senior Open titles. Ed Steiber, an amateur from Cincinnati, won the Super Seniors Division at 2-under 138.
48th NOPGA JUNIOR SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP
June 12-13
Oberlin Golf Club
2022 RECAP: This event will have a new site, moving to Oberlin from Westfield Country Club/Portage Country Club. Chris Pollak (Aurora) won the Boys 16-18 Division and Daniel Gambone (North Canton) captured the Boys 11-15. Chloe Tarkany (Bay Village) prevailed in the Girls 16-18 group while Cammy Reed (Fairview Park) was the 11-15 winner.
102nd OHIO OPEN, SPONSORED BY PYRAMID TREATING
June 26-28
North and South Courses, Westfield Country Club
Reigning champion: Jordan Gilkison, Springboro
2022 RECAP: Kent State sophomore Gilkison became the first amateur in 44 years to win the state’s most prestigious event with a 54-hole score of 10-under 200. That included a middle round of 7-under 63, the lowest of the tournament. Second place also was captured by an amateur as Denmark native and Wright State senior Mikkel Mathiesen finished one shot behind Gilkison. A record 276 entries competed for the title won by such stars as World Golf Hall-of-Famers Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Byron Nelson and Denny Shute and Northern Ohio PGA Hall-of-Famer Herman Keiser. The 2023 event marks the third consecutive year that Westfield has played host to the Open.
40th KENNY NOVAK/JUNIOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
July 25-26
Club Walden, Aurora
2022 RECAP: A 70-minute rain delay did not stop Aurora resident Chris Pollak from winning a second straight Junior Tour Championship as the Archbishop Hoban sophomore cruised to a 7-shot victory with rounds of 67-76—143 (1-under) in the Boys 16-19 Group. Sienna Maschke (Cleveland) won the Girls 16-19 Division at 155. Ajay Morris (Cortland) was the Boys 11-15 winner at 138 and Dixon Hill (Waite Hill) won the Girls 11-15 Division at 143.
38th NOPGA SENIOR PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
August 3-4
Shawnee Country Club, Lima
Reigning champion: Rob Moss, Pepper Pike Club
2022 RECAP: Pepper Pike PGA Head Golf Professional Rob Moss added his first Senior Professional Championship to his long list of NOPGA titles when he defeated Belmont Country Club PGA Assistant Golf Professional Mike Stone with a par on the first playoff hole when the event was held at Westbrook Country Club in Mansfield. Both men finished regulation play at 4-under 140. PGA Life Member Gary Trivisonno (142) and host PGA Head golf Professional Greg Smith (143) finished third and fourth, respectively. All four players qualified for the PGA Senior Professional Championship in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico in October.
72nd NOPGA PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
August 21-23
Tippecanoe Country Club, Canfield
Reigning champion: Jim Troy, The Golf Dome
2022 RECAP: Troy shot a final-round, even-par 70 on the North Course at Westfield Country Club to win by two shots with a 54-hole total of 5-under 205. He became the event’s first repeat winner since Rob Moss put together an incredible 5-year winning streak from 2010-2014. Troy also won in 2021 when the tournament was held at Beechmont. Randy Dietz (Windmill Golf Center) and former Westfield Assistant Golf Professional Darin deLelys finished tied for second at 207. Troy, an Illinois native, birdied the final two holes in the final round to hold onto the lead he established after a second-round 6-under 64. Troy joins a list of former winners that includes the likes of Denny Shute, Herman Keiser, Charlie Sifford, Gary Robison, Tom Atchison, Don Padgett, Bryan Abbott, Mitch Camp and many other renowned players.
3rd NOPGA LADIES PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
August 21-22
Tippecanoe Country Club
Reigning champion: Mary Suitca, Tannenhauf Golf Club.
2022 RECAP: Suitca, the PGA Head Golf Professional at Tannenhauf, remained undefeated in this event held in conjunction with the Section Professional Championship. Suitca shot rounds of 75-72 for a 7-over 147 and a 7-stroke victory over Emily Heikkila (Trumbull Country Club). Erin Craig (The Turn) finished third at 167.
53rd NOPGA ASSISTANTS CHAMPIONSHIP
September 5
Avon Oaks Country Club, Avon
Reigning champion: Michael Balcar, Brandywine Country Club
2022 RECAP: Identical rounds of 69-69 (4-under 138) made Balcar, a Cleveland State graduate, the event’s first repeat winner since Jim Troy in 2018-19. Zack Ford, Assistant Golf Professional at Tippecanoe, finished one shot behind Balcar in his first NOPGA appearance. Pepper Pike Club was well-represented as D.J. Holub was third at 140 and Sean McGuire was fourth at 141. Balcar and Ford earned invitations to the 46th National Car Rental PGA Assistants Championship in Port St. Lucie, Fla., in November.
93rd HABITEC TOLEDO OPEN
September 11-12
Belmont Country Club, Perrysburg
Reigning champions: Sam Weatherhead, Royal Oaks, Michigan; Steve Parker, Portage Country Club.
2022 RECAP: Parker, Portage Country Club’s seasonal teaching pro, had the best finish of a NOPGA Section member as he won the Senior Division title with rounds of 69-72—141. Mike Stone, also a NOPGA member, was second at 144. Dover’s Blake Sattler had rounds of 68-66 to finish one shot behind Weatherhead. The 2022 tournament was held at Stone Oak Country Club in Holland (O.) but moves to Belmont for 2023.
21ST MITCHELL-HASKELL NOPGA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
September 25-26
The Country Club, Pepper Pike
Reigning champions: Randy Dietz, Windmill Golf Center; Tom Atchison, PGA Life Member (Senior Division).
2022 RECAP: A successful birdie putt on the third playoff hole at Brookside Country Club gave Dietz, a PGA Teaching & Coaching Professional at Windmill Golf Center, his second Mitchell-Haskell title in the last four years. Atchison, one year removed as PGA Head Golf Professional at Salem Country Club, sailed to his fifth Tour championship with rounds of 66-68—134 (8-under) to win by six shots in the Senior Division. Dietz and Portage Country Club PGA Head Golf Professional Adam Lewicki tied in regulation play with identical 36-hole totals of 68-71—139 (3-under). Beechmont Country Club PGA Head Golf Professional Jaysen Hansen and Brandywine Assistant Golf Professional Michael Balcar tied for third at 140.
27TH OHIO CUP MATCHES
October 3-4
Worthington Hills Country Club, Worthington
Reigning champion: The Southern Ohio PGA
2022 RECAP: A strong showing in singles play gave the Southern Ohio PGA its second straight win in the annual competition with the NOPGA at Barrington Golf Club in Solon. The event moves south for 2023. The SOPGA’s 16.5 to 15.5 victory came on the final day when it rallied by outscoring the NOPGA, 9.5 to 6.5 in the singles matches. Randy Dietz and Tom Atchison led the NOPGA with three wins each and Brookside PGA Director of Golf Cory Kumpf contributed 2.5 points and Ohio Golf Hall-of-Famer Mitch Camp (Club Walden) chipped in with 2.0. Bob Sowards, Ohio Golf Hall-of-Famer and multiple winner of both the Ohio Open and Ohio Senior Open, paced the SOPGA with three points.
48TH DENNY SHUTE MATCH PLAY: SPONSORED BY THE HOUSE OF LAROSE
October 16-19
Portage Country Club
Reigning champions: Mark Scott Jr., Westwood Country Club; Jon Jones, Youngstown Country Club (Senior Division); D.J. Holub, Pepper Pike Country Club (Associate Division).
2022 RECAP: Unfortunately, adverse weather conditions plagued the event named after the World Golf Hall-of-Famer and former Portage CC Head Professional. Patience and perseverance paid off for Scott, the former PGA Assistant Golf Professional at Brookside, who edged his former boss, Brookside Director of Golf, Cory Kumpf, 3-and-2 in the finals. Same held true for Jones, the PGA Assistant Golf Professional at Youngstown Country Club and Holub, Assistant Golf Professional Pepper Pike. Jones won his second Seniors title by beating Rob Moss (Pepper Pike), 2-and-1 in the finals and Holub edged Canterbury Director of Instruction Pat Milkovich, also by the 2-and-1 score.
