The nine events of the Northern Ohio Golf Association’s 2024 Great Lakes Auto Scratch Series regular season have all been completed. The top players from both the Championship Division and the Senior Division have secured their spots in the Tour Championship this upcoming Sunday and Monday at Firestone Country Club.
The 31 players will compete in a 36-hole stroke play tournament: players will take on the Fazio Course on Sunday and the South Course on Monday in an attempt to claim the Player of the Year or Senior Player of the Year honors.
How these players finish will help decide eligibility for the upcoming Lewis Cup, a Championship Division vs. Senior Division cup-style event played at Westfield Country Club at the end of September.
Nine-time Player of the Year Brian Smith enters the Tour Championship with a 90-point lead in the Championship Division Player of the Year standings. Smith has finished Top-10 in all six events he’s played in this year, including a victory in the Foursomes tournament on June 21st.
In second place in the Championship Division is Chris Okeson of the Mayfield Sand Ridge Club. Okeson also finished Top 10 in all 6 tournaments he played in this year, with two of those being Top 3 finishes. Okeson also won the Scratch Four-Ball Season Long Match Play with his partner Michael Klaric III.
Entering Sunday in 3rd place is defending NEOA and Tournament of Champions winner Vaughn Snyder. In Snyder’s three starts this season he has cracked the top 2 in two of the three. He will come into Sunday 130 points back of the points lead.
The 2023 Tour Championship winner, Ian Hardesty, will look to climb up from 4th place on Sunday morning. Hardesty has competed in 5 events this Summer and has posted two top 10 finishes, including a top 3 finish in the final Stroke Play event of the year.
Kyle Buzaki, who has finished in the top 2 of all three events he has played in this year, will look to continue his strong 2024 season at Firestone. Kyle will look to add to a NOGA Tour Championship to his resume after winning the 2024 Stark County Amateur.
Thomas Bell has been improving as the season has gone on, knocking on the door with two top 3 finishes in his last two events. Bell has finished in the Top 10 in every event he has played in this year, and will look to get his first win.
In his final year in the Championship Division, Howard Clendenin, has been able to finish top 10 in three of the four events he has played in. Howard will look to get back on track after his lowest finish of the season in the final Stroke Play event.
Jeff Sawitke claimed his spot in the Tour Championship by earning three Top-10 finishes in five starts this season. Jeff will look to build off of the two Top 5 finishes in his final two starts.
Ryan Wirtz started his 2024 season off strong by taking home a victory in the Stroke Play Season Long Match Play Qualifier. Wirtz was able to finish in the Top 25 in his other four starts, including another Top 10 finish. Wirtz will be looking to end his season exactly how it started.
Rick Deichert was able to claim one victory so far this season, in the Four-Ball #2 in July. This would give him the point boost he needed to solidify his spot in the Top 15. Rick was also able to finish Top 10 in three of his other five events on the year.
Andrew Malkus will enter Firestone after a very consistent 2024 campaign. Malkus will look to break through and get his first win of the season this week, after having four Top 10’s in his seven starts this season.
Ben Hogan, the reigning NOGA Player of the Year, will be looking for his first win of the 2024 season at Firestone. Hogan has logged three Top 10’s in six events this season, including a second place finish in the Foursomes event in June.
Timothy Moore finds himself in 13th place in the points standings after a solid season in 2024. Moore was able to finish Top 10 in three of the four events he played in this summer. With his best finish coming in the third Stroke Play event, as he finished 3rd overall.
Andrew Grayson will look to build upon a consistent season where he hovered around the Top 10 in all four events he participated in this year. Grayson will look to put everything together over two days to hopefully get a win and his first Top 5 of the season.
Doug Barber was able to start the season strong, gaining most of his season long points with a T3 finish and a T10 finish in the Four-Ball #2 and the Stroke Play #2. Doug was able to sneak into the second last Championship Division spot with a T14 in the final Stroke Play event.
Rounding out the Championship Division is Brian Beebe. Brian has been playing through injury later in this season, but was able to secure the final spot with a T30 finish in the final Scratch event of the season.
Two-time defending NOGA Senior Player of the Year Mark Borlin and current Senior points leader Robert Schustrich have been battling for the top POY spot all season long.
Schustrich, who is looking for his first NOGA Senior Player of the Year award, has dominated in his six events this season, including two wins and two second place finishes, including 2nd in the Northeast Ohio Am Senior Division.
Borlin, who sits 55 points behind, will look to make a move to claim his third consecutive NOGA SPOTY trophy. In eight events this season, Borlin has finished Top 10 in seven of them, including two wins and three second place finishes.
Mike Belacic enters the Tour Championship fresh off winning the season-long Senior Individual Match Play bracket, which propelled him into third place. Belacic was able to crack the Top 5 in five of eight events this summer, including one win in the Four-Ball SLMP Qualifier.
In three events this season, Doug Hauenstein was able to log two top five finishes including a win at the Stroke Play SLMP Qualifier in May. These three events, plus the points he received from the Ohio Senior Amateur, locked him in for the Tour Championship.
Allen Freeman, who is coming off a T1 in the final event of the Scratch Season, will start in 5th place for the Tour Championship. Freeman was able to post six Top 10’s in his eight events, while adding a runner up finish in the Four-Ball Season Long Match Play.
Former NOGA President, Tom Baugh, enters the Tour Championship off of five straight Top 5 finishes, including a win in the Four-Ball #2 event in mid-July. Baugh has yet to finish outside of the Top 10 in his eight starts and will look to continue this consistent play into Firestone.
Rick Bryson comes into the Tour Championship with three Top 10 finishes in four NOGA events on the season. His most season long points came from a second place finish in the Super Senior division of the Ohio Senior Amateur.
Scott Winckowski will finish a solid season at Firestone this week. The Oregon, Ohio native racked up three Top-3 finishes this season in eight starts, only finishing outside of the Top 2 in two of those eight starts.
Dean Cutlip of Firestone Country Club will look to gain some ground in the Player of the Year standings at his home course. Cutlip was able to qualify for the Tour Championship by finishing in the Top-10 in four of his eight starts.
Tom Laubacherof Club Walden played in the minimum number of events to qualify for the Tour Championship, but was able to finish Top 3 in two of those three starts. Laubacher did finish in the Top 10 in the other start to solidify his position.
Jim Durr started the season off with a Top-5 finish in the Four-Ball Season Long Match Play Qualifier. Durr was able to put together three straight Top 25 finishes to claim a spot at Firestone.
David Trier will also be heading to his home course of Firestone to try to climb the Senior Player of the Year points list. A recent winner at the Senior Summit County Amateur, Trier was able to finish in the Top 10 in his last three starts to give himself a chance to play his home course.
Tom Skidmore picked up his most points on the season by winning the Four-Ball tournament in mid-July. This win, along with three other Top 10 finishes in his five starts earns Tom an early tee time at Firestone on Sunday.
John Toth claimed one of the final two spots in the Senior Division. Toth, who plays out of Fox Den Golf Course, was able to squeak into the field by finishing in the Top 10 of three of his five starts this season.
Rounding of the field for the 2024 NOGA Tour Championship is Chris Minear. Minear was able to claim the last spot in the field by finishing 14th in the final event of the year. Minear also claimed two Top 10’s in his other three starts on the season.
Follow along with the action on Sunday and Monday!
NOGA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD >
Championship Division POY Point Standings
1 Brian Smith, Oberlin Golf Club 646.25
2 Chris Okeson, Mayfield Sand Ridge Club 536.35
3 Vaughn Snyder, Shady Hollow Country Club 517
4 Ian Hardesty, Barrington Golf Club 480.5
5 Kyle Buzaki, Fox Den Golf Course 415
6 Thomas Bell, Stone Ridge Golf Club 386.84
7 Howard Clendenin, Firestone Country Club 344
8 Jeff Sawitke, Quail Hollow Country Club 332.95
9 Ryan Wirtz, NOGA Club E 318.5
10 Rick Deichert, Canterbury Golf Club 304.5
11 Andrew Malkus, NOGA Club E 282.35
12 Ben Hogan, Oberlin Golf Club 270.14
13 Timothy Moore, Mayfield Sand Ridge Club 261.75
14 Andrew Grayson, Weymouth and Fox Meadow CC 239.6
15 Doug Barber, NOGA Club E 238.5
16 Brian Beebe, Firestone Country Club 222.45
Senior Division Point Standings
1 Robert Schustrich, Trumbull Country Club 977.88
2 Mark Borlin, Silver Lake Country Club 924
3 Mike Belacic, Westfield Country Club 767.17
4 Doug Hauenstein, NOGA Club E 732.5
5 Allen Freeman, NOGA Club E 713.5
6 Tom Baugh, Portage Country Club 628.25
7 Rick Bryson, NOGA Club E 522.25
8 Scott Winckowski, Toledo Metro Golf Association 508.17
9 Dean Cutlip, Firestone Country Club 502.88
10 Tom Laubacher, Club Walden 390
11 Jim Durr, Silver Lake Country Club 370.5
12 David Trier, Firestone Country Club 326.25
13 Tom Skidmore, Weymouth and Fox Meadow CC 315.25
14 John Toth, Fox Den Golf Course 304.3
15 Chris Minear, Good Park Golf Course 293
