LOG JAM AT TOP IN PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP; FINALS WEDNESDAY AT WESTFIELD COUNTRY CLUB
Can we describe the top of the leaderboard at the Professional Championship a gathering of familiar strangers?
After all, Jim Troy, Darin de Lelys and Jason Carbone – the tri-leaders by one stroke heading into Wednesday’s final 18 holes at Westfield Country Club — have that and other obvious commonalities.
Yet, when it comes to this event, one of the majors on the Northern Ohio Section’s bountiful schedule, there isn’t much to link them together, other than their identical scores of 5-under 135.
Troy, from Strongsville, is the defending champion and solidified his spot at the top of the leaderboard with a delightful 6-under 64 on Tuesday, the best round of the tournament.
“It was a lot better than the first round,” said Troy. “I felt a lot more comfortable over the ball.” Troy is 17-years-older than de Lelys and is regarded by many as the best player in the Section.
de Lelys, 24, is in his fifth season as a top assistant at Westfield and agreed his spot at the top came in part because of his familiarity with Westfield.
“I see these greens every day,” said de Lelys, who lives on the 13th fairway of Westfield’s South Course and laid claim to his share of the lead with a second-round 5-under 65. “No doubt it’s an advantage. But I still have to hit the shots. I’ll have to hit the shots I did today.”
Carbone, 48, who returned to Northeast Ohio in February to become the head professional at Canterbury Golf Club, has an impressive list of stops after graduating from Gilmour Academy (where he helped the Lancers win the Division III state title in 1991) and Bowling Green.
He has been the Director of Instruction at Woodland Country Club (Carmel, Indiana), Baltusrol Golf Club, the Jim McLean Golf School and Muirfield Village. He has been recognized as one of the top 100 instructors in the country by Golf Digest.
Carbone has played in just three Section events this summer and has put together his two best rounds this week at 68-67.
So, we have a former champion and the guy regarded as the best in the Section in Troy, an employee with vast knowledge of the golf course and youth on his side in de Lelys and a newcomer to the Section who had never set foot on Westfield property until this week but has a resume that would impress a Harvard expert.
Carbone birdied four of the nine holes on the back, which he toured in 3-under 33. One of his six birdies on the day came on the 552-yard 14th hole, which yielded a tournament-high 31 birdies. His lone bogey on the back came on the 498-yard 17th, which played as one of the toughest holes of the day for the field.
The three tri-leaders are not home free. Standing alone in fourth place is Pepper Pike head professional Rob Moss, whose second-round 66 got him to 4-under 136, just one shot behind the three leaders.
Moss won this title four consecutive years (2011-2014) and has an opportunity for a rare double. At 53-years-old, he won the Senior Professional Championship last week at Westbrook Country Club in Mansfield. While five others have accomplished that feat no one has ever been able to win both events in the same season.
First-round leader Randy Dietz (Windmill Golf Center) kept himself in contention with an even-par 70 and a two-day total of 137.
Dietz, 43, took four weeks off to end what had been his worst season as a professional. The vacation worked as he has posted rounds of 66-66-67 and 70 in his last four outings, which included a victory in the Stroke Play event at Shaker Heights earlier this month.
Dietz shares fifth place with former two-time champ Gary Trivisonno (69-68) and 2020 champion Jaysen Hansen (68-69). Hansen, head professional at Beechmont, currently leads the NOPGA Player-of-the-Year race.
Troy, who won this tournament last year when it was held at Beechmont, pulled into a tie for the lead with the best round of the tournament, a 6-under 64 to go with his opening 71. His round included five birdies and an eagle 2 on the 342-yard seventh hole when he drove the green and made an 8-foot putt.
Troy, an instructor at Windmill Lakes Golf Center, opened his round by making a 35-foot putt on the first hole and proceeded to add two more birdies in making the turn at 4-under 30.
The field was cut to the low 25 scores and ties for Wednesday’s final round, which gets underway at 8:30 a.m.
ROUND 2 RESULTS: Northern Ohio PGA
2022 NOPGA Professional Championship
Westfield Country Club North Course, Westfield OH
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
T1 Jason Carbone Canterbury Golf Club 68-67–135 -5
T1 Darin de Lelys Westfield Country Club 70-65–135 -5
T1 Jim Troy Windmill Golf Center 71-64–135 -5
4 Rob Moss Pepper Pike Club 70-66–136 -4
T5 Randy Dietz Windmill Golf Center 67-70–137 -3
T5 Jaysen Hansen Beechmont Country Club 68-69–137 -3
T5 Gary Trivisonno PGA Of America Life Member 69-68–137 -3
T8 Nick Gustin Erie Shores Golf Course 71-67–138 -2
T8 Gary Rusnak 1899 Golf – Cle East 69-69–138 -2
T10 Mark Bixler Kirtland Country Club 72-68–140 E
T10 Nick Paez GolfTEC – Cleveland West 69-71–140 E
T12 Mark Evans Mayfield Sand Ridge Club/Mayfield CC 70-71–141 +1
T12 Jon Jones Youngstown Country Club 68-73–141 +1
T12 Cory Kumpf Brookside Country Club 71-70–141 +1
T12 Jason Nussbaum Congress Lake Club 71-70–141 +1
16 Greg Smith Westbrook Country Club 69-73–142 +2
T17 Tony Adcock Seven Hills Country Club 69-74–143 +3
T17 Milton Carswell Stone Oak Country Club 71-72–143 +3
T17 Mike Stone Belmont Country Club 71-72–143 +3
T20 Mitch Camp Club Walden 72-72–144 +4
T20 Brett Coluccio Fore Golfers Indoor Golf Center 72-72–144 +4
T22 Joe Meglen StoneWater Golf Club 73-72–145 +5
T22 Jordan Paolini Shaker Heights Country Club 73-72–145 +5
T22 Jordan Schroeder Findlay Country Club 72-73–145 +5
T25 William McKinley The Sharon Golf Club 69-77–146 +6
T25 Mark Scott Jr. Brookside Country Club 71-75–146 +6
T25 Mark Sierak Barrington Golf Club 72-74–146 +6
MISSED CUT
MC Mary Suitca Tannenhauf Golf Club 75-72–147 +7
MC Tom Atchison PGA Of America Life Member 71-76–147 +7
MC Joshua Coad Mt Vernon Country Club 71-76–147 +7
MC Daniel Terry Chippewa Golf Club 70-77–147 +7
MC Jared Toom GOLFTEC – Stonebrook 74-73–147 +7
MC Drew Pierson The Clubhouse 74-74–148 +8
MC Tom Waitrovich PGA Of America Life Member 73-75–148 +8
MC David Morgan Eagle Creek Golf Club 76-72–148 +8
MC Justin Pollock Toledo Country Club 74-74–148 +8
MC Kevin Sullivan GolfTEC – Brecksville 72-77–149 +9
MC Mike Rankin Westbrook Country Club 73-76–149 +9
MC Tim Perin Lakewood Country Club 74-75–149 +9
MC Rob Smyser Fox Meadow Country Club 78-71–149 +9
MC Andy Silverman Canterbury Golf Club 75-75–150 +10
MC Adam Lewicki Portage Country Club 75-75–150 +10
MC Tony Milam North Coast Junior Tour 76-74–150 +10
MC Adam Stinogle Westwood Country Club 75-75–150 +10
MC Trent Maxwell Windmill Golf Center 73-78–151 +11
MC Michael Quinteros Inverness Club 76-75–151 +11
MC Collin McEndree Club Walden 77-74–151 +11
MC Matthew Creech Sand Ridge Golf Club 78-73–151 +11
MC Scott Pollack 1899 Golf – Cle East 76-75–151 +11
MC Bryan Zurawski Zurawski Enterprises Inc 79-73–152 +12
MC Shawn Tompkins Chagrin Valley Country Club 74-78–152 +12
MC Eric Morgan Plum Brook Country Club 76-77–153 +13
MC Kevin Moskevich Westfield Country Club 77-78–155 +15
MC Chad Kitzmiller Westfield Country Club 78-79–157 +17
MC Joshua Diemer Chagrin Valley Country Club 80-78–158 +18
MC Justin Long Windmill Lakes Golf Club 79-79–158 +18
MC Chris Knevel Westwood Country Club 82-78–160 +20
WD Andy Santor Trumbull Country Club 82-WD
