BALCAR, SATTLER LEAD CHAMPIONSHIP; FOUR SENIORS TIED AT MITCHELL-HASKELL
Michael Balcar and Blake Sattler have taken up residency at the top of the leaderboard in the Northern Ohio PGA’s Mitchell-Haskell Tour Championship.
We will learn on Tuesday if it is a permanent residency or just temporary –- golf’s version of squatters’ rights — when the 23rd edition plays out at The Country Club.
Balcar and Sattler, two of the hottest players in the Northern Ohio Section of the Professional Golfers Association of America, finished in a tie for second in the Tour Championship last year, finished 1-2 in this year’s Assistants Championship, and currently stand 1-2 on the Player-of-the-Year Points List for the Associate Division.
Balcar, an assistant professional at Brandywine Country Club and winner of the 2023 Ohio Open, played his way into the first-round tournament lead with a 4-under 34-34=68.
Sattler, with outstanding showings in the Ohio Open and a few other events this season, is alone in second place at 2-under par 70 with rounds of 33-37.
Balcar had 17 pars or better; Sattler had 16. Both went ten holes without making a bogey. They were paired together on Monday, along with Pepper Pike assistant DJ Holub, and will do so again on Tuesday. While the NOPGA will have live online scoring for tomorrow’s final round, Balcar and Sattler won’t need a scoreboard.
Westwood Country Club head professional Mark Scott Jr. was the only other player to shoot par or better and had sole possession of third place after a blistering 4-under 32 led to a round of even-par 72.
Overall, eight players – five in the Championship Division and four in the Senior Division — came in at one-over par 73.
That includes three-time winner Jim Troy (37-36) and two-time winner Jaysen Hansen (37-36). Troy, a teaching professional at The Golf Dome, has won this event more than anyone else with victories in 2018, 2020 and 2021. Hansen, head professional at Toledo Country Club, won it in 2014 and 2016.
Others at 73 in the Regular Division include Canterbury Golf Club head professional Jason Carbone (34-39), Pepper Pike assistant Sean McGuire (37-36), PGA Career Consultant Garrett Korte (36-37).
Carbone, 50, is entered in both divisions so he shares the Senior Division lead with PGA Life Member and five-time Senior winner Tom Atchison (38-35), 2020 Senior winner Gary Rusnak (35-38), and Tony Milam.
Milam, who conducts the North Coast Junior Tour, had the most intriguing round, going 4-over 40 on the front nine, but posting four birdies on the back en route to a three-under par 33.
Balcar was the most consistent with his rounds of 34-34 on a damp, gray and misty day.
“I am pleased with my performance,” he said. “I was able to stay in the moment and play one shot at a time. I really think I fed off the beautiful rhythms of Blake and DJ.”
Balcar, a Cleveland State graduate, got off to a great start with a birdie on the first hole. He got to 2-under and maintained a share of the lead on the 568-yard eighth when he rolled in a monstrous, double-breaking putt of 44-feet from the back edge, which broke left-to-right and then right-to-left.
“That was huge as far as momentum goes,” he said. “That very easily could have been a double. Blake made birdie there, too. So, I needed that.”
Balcar’s lone bogey came on the par-3 11th hole when he left his second shot from a bunker on the short side and two-putted.
He finished strong with birdies on three of his last four holes. He made a 15-foot putt on the 15th, nearly canned a 51-footer from another zip code for eagle on the 600-yard 16th and closed hitting a 7-iron shot from 184 yards to 12 inches on the closing hole.
Balcar was the first-round leader after opening with a 68 last year but shot 75 in the final round and ended up one shot behind eventual champion Mark Sierak, co-owner of Optimus Golf.
“I didn’t play very well the second day last year and Mark played great,” he said. “So, I am excited to have another opportunity.”
The final round is scheduled to begin at 8:50 a.m. with the leaders going off at approximately 11:20.
PHOTO GALLERY: 2024 Mitchell-Haskell >
ROUND 1 RESULTS: Northern Ohio PGA
2024 NOPGA Mitchell-Haskell Tour Championship
The Country Club, Pepper Pike
Monday September 23, 2024
Blue Golf Hole-by-Hole Results >
Championship Division Results
1. Michael Balcar, Brandywine Country Club, *34-34-68 -4
2. Blake Sattler, Willie’s Custom Golf Center, *33-37-70 -2
3. Mark Scott Jr., Westwood Country Club, *32-40-72 E
4. Jason Carbone, Canterbury Golf Club, *34-39-73 +1
4. Jaysen Hansen, The Toledo Country Club, *37-36-73 +1
4. Garrett Korte, Northern Ohio PGA, *36-37-73 +1
4. Sean McGuire, Pepper Pike Club, *37-36-73 +1
4. Jim Troy, The Golf Dome, *37-36-73 +1
9. Antonio Bodziony, Chagrin Valley Country Club, *37-37-74 +2
9. Nick Paez, GolfTEC – Cleveland West, *37-37-74 +2
11. William McKinley, Sharon Golf Club, *36-39-75 +3
11. Rob Moss, Pepper Pike Club, *36-39-75 +3
11. Jordan Paolini, Shaker Heights Country Club, *38-37-75 +3
11. Joe Puch, Fox Meadow Country Club, *35-40-75 +3
11. Jared Toom, GolfTEC-Stonebrook, *38-37-75 +3
16. Mark Bixler, Kirtland Country Club, *39-37-76 +4
16. Steve Bordner, The Country Club, *35-41-76 +4
16. Randy Dietz, Windmill Golf Center, *37-39-76 +4
16. DJ Holub, Pepper Pike Club, *36-40-76 +4
16. Daniel Terry, Chippewa Golf Club – Doylestown, *35-41-76 +4
21. Nick Gustin, Erie Shores Golf Course, *41-36-77 +5
21. Dennis Miller, PGA Of America Life Member, *38-39-77 +5
23. Jon Jones, Youngstown Country Club, *38-40-78 +6
23. Cory Kumpf, Brookside Country Club, *38-40-78 +6
23. Kevin Quinn, The Country Club, *38-40-78 +6
23. Mark Sierak, Optimus Golf, *37-41-78 +6
27. Matthew Creech, The Golf Dome, *38-41-79 +7
27. Austin Rohrer, Alliance Country Club, *43-36-79 +7
29. Adam Lewicki, Portage Country Club, *43-37-80 +8
30. Jennifer Creech, The Golf Dome, *42-40-82 +10
30. Joshua Diemer, Chagrin Valley Country Club, *40-42-82 +10
30. Joe Meglen, StoneWater Golf Club, *42-40-82 +10
30. Drew Pierson, The Clubhouse, *39-43-82 +10
34. Douglas Brown, Alliance Country Club, *41-42-83 +11
34. Nate Curtis, NorthStar Golf Club, *41-42-83 +11
36. Averi Hanna, The Country Club, *44-40-84 +12
36. David Morgan, Westfield Group Country Club, *40-44-84 +12
36. Dan Wasinski, Signature of Solon Country Club, *46-38-84 +12
39. Mary Suitca, Tannenhauf Golf Club, *43-42-85 +13
40. Collin McEndree, Club Walden, *41-45-86 +14
Senior Division Results
1. Tom Atchison, PGA Of America Life Member, *38-35-73 +1
1. Jason Carbone, Canterbury Golf Club, *34-39-73 +1
1. Tony Milam, North Coast Junior Tour, *40-33-73 +1
1. Gary Rusnak, 1899 Indoor Golf – Twinsburg, *35-38-73 +1
5. Mitch Camp, PGA Of America Life Member, *37-37-74 +2
6. Rob Moss, Pepper Pike Club, *36-39-75 +3
7. Dennis Miller, PGA Of America Life Member, *38-39-77 +5
7. Eric Morgan, Plum Brook Country Club, *39-38-77 +5
9. Jon Jones, Youngstown Country Club, *38-40-78 +6
10. Kevin Sullivan, Quail Hollow Country Club, *40-40-80 +8
