The Ohio Open will return for the 100th time next summer and it will return to a familiar site.
The Northern Ohio Section of the Professional Golfers Association of America and Westfield County Club have agreed on a one-year contract – with anticipation from both parties for an extended agreement — to stage the 100th playing of Ohio Open at Westfield’s two recently renovated courses.
The 2021 event will be played June 28-30.
Sponsored by Pyramid Treating and Minute Men Staffing Service, the Ohio Open has been held at the Weymouth Club and Fox Meadow Country Club for the last four years.
It will return to Westfield for the first time since 2016.
Westfield’s South and North Courses have undergone extensive renovations beginning in 2017 by renowned architects Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Chris Hurdzan. The South Course reopened in 2019 year and the North is expected to reopen in the near future.
Westfield, which originally opened in 1937 as a 9-hole venue, hosted the Ohio Open from 2013 to 2016. The renovations required the NOPGA to relocate the event to nearby Weymouth and Fox Meadow.
“We are extremely excited about returning to Westfield for the 100th playing of the Ohio Open,” said NOPGA Executive Director David Griffith. “The Open is one of our premier events and, in reality, it is our state championship. The Section takes great pride in conducting this major championship. It contains a tremendous amount of Ohio golf history, having been won by such greats as Jack Nicklaus (1956), Byron Nelson (1940-42), Tom Weiskopf (1965), Herman Keiser (1949, 1951), Billy Burke (1938, 1939, 1955) and Denny Shute (1929-31 and 1950).”
The Ohio Open was conducted at Westfield for the first time in 2013 and was won by Colin Biles, of Columbus. Other winners at Westfield were Tim Ailes (Lewis Center) in 2014, Justin Lower (Canal Fulton) in 2015 and Tim Crouch (Mount Vernon) in 2016.
“We are excited to welcome back the best golfers in Ohio,” said Westfield professional Chad Kitzmiller. “Hosting the 100th edition of this prestigious event is an honor we are looking forward to.”
Other notable courses to host the event in modern times include Quail Hollow Country Club, Acacia Country Club, Little Mountain Country Club, Barrington Country Club, Walden Golf and Country Club, Tam O’Shanter Golf Club, Prestwick Country Club, Portage Country Club, Tanglewood Country Club and the TRW Course, now Fowler’s Mill.
With its 36 holes contained on one piece of property Westfield is an ideal site to host a three-day, 54-hole event that attracts 200 or more local professional and amateurs, as well as numerous spectators, every year.
Pickerington’s Alex Weiss was the 2020 winner at Weymouth and Fox Meadow, which also co-hosted the tournament in 2011 and 2012.
“We would like to thank Weymouth and Fox Meadow for co-hosting the Ohio Open for the last four years,” said Griffith. “They have been outstanding hosts and are a large part of Ohio Open history. In all, those two prestigious clubs have hosted this important championship six times, making it one of the longest-running hosts.”
Westfield Country Club has grown into a full-service hospitality campus with 36 holes of championship golf, a high-quality practice facility, dining with a majestic view at the Firemark Grille, a relaxing pool facility, the elegant Westfield Inn for lodging, and Blair Conference Center.
In addition to its four-year run as host of the Ohio Open, the facility also hosted the Junior Ryder Cup in 2004, featuring 15-year-old Rory McIlroy and 14-year-old Tony Finau, and the Westfield Junior PGA Championship, which included many future PGA and LPGA stars, each year from 2001 to 2007.
