It was 1930. Mickey Mouse made his first appearance, Scotch tape was invented, Bobby Jones won the first Grand Slam of Golf, and the very first Portage County Amateur Golf Tournament was held, with Don Ulrich capturing that initial championship.
Golf in Portage County has come a long way since 1930, and the Amateur has changed as well. Now celebrating the 82nd Anniversary of the Record Courier Portage County Amateur, the event has grown to more than 150 golfers competing in seven divisions.
THE AMATEUR LAST SEASON: 2011
The 81st Portage County Amateur and Senior Amateur paid tribute to the ever-increasing numbers of seniors registering for the event by holding a separate and-concurrent Senior amateur.
Men in the senior, senior platinum and senior gold divisions competed at Aurora Golf Club on the first day and at Windmill Lakes on the final day of competition while all other divisions of men and women were at Windmill the first day and Aurora the final day.
Champions of the 81st Amateur in 2011 included:
County Division: Nathan Tarter of Mogadore earning a two-stroke victory over Cody Nickson of Kent.
Open Division: Stephen Spalding of Stow running away with the victory by 10 strokes over Jacob Forsythe of Chagrin Falls.
Women: Mandi Morrow of Kent winning by two strokes over Katie Jenior of Rootstown.
Senior Women: In its first appearance as a division, Missy Gedeon of Hudson won by a slight one stroke over Laura Erwin of Kent.
Senior Platinum: Bob Harwell of Stuart, Fla. walked away with the championship by 17 strokes over Rendal Stout of Rootstown and Terry Bonar of Aurora.
Senior Gold: Don Labaj of Berea earned a 10-stroke victory over Ernest Johnson of Akron.
Senior: Larry Lanhan of Aurora finished with a two-day total of 144 strokes, seven strokes better than Tim Davis of Uniontown.
THIS YEAR’S EVENT: 2012
With ever-increasing numbers, the 82nd edition of the Record-Courier Portage County Amateur will return to Aurora Golf Club and Windmill Lakes Golf Club with the Senior Amateur and Amateur again running concurrently at the two courses.
Set for July 28 and 29, Amateurs in the County, Open, Women and Senior Women will begin their competition at Windmill on Saturday and then play the final 18 holes at Aurora Golf Club on Sunday.
Registration fee remains $75 and includes 18 holes of championship golf at both courses and a prize package of trophies, medals and gift cards.
Divisions will remain the same as the Amateur increases.
Portage County residents under age 50 will compete in the County Division while all others under 50 will compete in the Open Division.
Three Senior Men divisions include: Seniors 50 to 59, Senior Gold age 60 to 69, and Senior Platinum 70+.
Senior Women will compete in their own division for age 40 and over while all additional women will compete in the Women’s Division.
Host professionals Jim Beers and Aurora Golf Club and Herb Page at Windmill Lakes will welcome golfers.
— Susan Jenior
Portage County Am Tournament Director
(330) 206-9083 | golffam2@gmail.com
